Collection for the Saints.

Collection for the Saints: The Apostle Paul instructed the Corinthian church to set aside contributions on the first day of the week for the support of fellow believers. In 1 Corinthians 16:2, he says, “On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.”

The phrase “Collection for the Saints” appears in the Bible, specifically in 1 Corinthians 16:1. Let’s explore what it means:

In this passage, the apostle Paul addresses the Corinthian Christians regarding a fund that he intends to raise for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Here’s the verse from the New King James Version (NKJV):

1 Corinthians 16:1 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also.”

Paul encourages the Corinthian believers to contribute to this collection. He instructs them to set aside a portion of their income on the first day of the week, storing it up as they prosper. The purpose of this collection is to provide support for fellow believers in need, particularly those in Jerusalem.

Acts 20:7: The passage you mentioned is Acts 20:7, which states: “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.” Some interpret this as evidence of early Christian gatherings on Sundays. However, there’s an interesting nuance here. The Greek term used in Acts 20:7 is " (sabbaton)", which means “Sabbath.”

So, it’s possible that Paul met with the believers on the Sabbath (Saturday) rather than Sunday. The mention of “the first day of the week” could refer to the timing of their gathering (Saturday evening, transitioning into Sunday) rather than a regular Sunday service.

Breaking of Bread: Acts 20:7 also mentions the breaking of bread during their meeting. While some interpret this as a form of communion or Eucharist, others believe it was a common meal shared among believers. Luke’s Gospel also highlights the significance of breaking bread in recognizing Jesus (Luke 24:35). However, this doesn’t necessarily imply a formal church service.

Paul did not hold a service on Sunday.

It has long been held that Paul met on the "first day of the week" Acts 20:7 this may be untrue. It might be a cultural translation that misreads the text, the Greek text actually uses the term Sabbaton !

The possible reason for a misunderstanding is that the Jewish day follows the pattern of Scripture, there was "evening and morning" (Genesis)

Thus the Sabbath starts at dusk on our cultural (as opposed to Biblical) Friday night. Sabbath ends on our cultural (not Biblical) Saturday night.

The Greek of the text suggests that Paul met with the disciples at the close of the Sabbath ( our cultural Saturday evening?). The meeting lasted until midnight. Indeed Paul continued talking until dawn (our culturally dawn on Sunday?).

This would explain the emphasis on artificial lighting (verse 08)

It would explain why Eutychus fell asleep and fell backwards out a window (verse 9)

If the meeting was held at the close of Sabbath - an all nighter - should it be the pattern for our services?

Paul worshipped on the Sabbath before his conversion - and after, was this a sabbath meeting?

Going on the Greek text alone i.e. Scripture we get a possibly different reading from the cultural accretions that might overlay a cultural mistranslation.

A late-night gathering

Are we brave enough to set aside tradition long enough to seriously examine what the Greek text tells us?

The apostle Paul was en route to Jerusalem. His ship stopped in Troas and, while waiting there for it to sail, he called together his converts and held a meeting. He preached until after midnight and then held the Com­munion with them.

The first day of the week.

There is nothing mentioned here about holding a first-day service, thus indicating that that day was the Sabbath, otherwise when Paul held a meeting at Miletus on the following Wednesday (Acts 20:14-18) that service would have sanctified Wednesday also. But where is the Christian who keeps Wednesday for that reason?

Our Lord instituted the Communion on a Tues­day night. If the Communion service makes a day holy, why are we not observing Tuesday as a Sabbath? Furthermore, the Communion has no relation to the resurrection of Christ , but rather, refers to His death. "Ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (1 Corin­thians 11:26).

Breaking bread daily.

In Acts 2:46, 47, we find the disciples break­ing bread daily, but that does not make every day the Sabbath. Friend, let us remember that every institution incorporated in the new covenant was given before the death of Christ, not one after His resurrection. His last will and testament was sealed with His blood and it did not include first-day worship in commemoration of His resurrection.

Some people are convinced that Sunday, the first day of the week, is the Biblical Sabbath. Others believe that Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is the Sabbath.

Let’s take an in-depth look at this topic and examine the facts about what day is the Sabbath of the Bible. According to the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath is located on the seventh day of the week. Exodus 20:8-10 says the following, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.” At creation God also rested and declared the seventh day holy (Genesis 2:1-3).

Is the seventh day the Sabbath?

After sundown on Saturday, for the Jew, it was now the first day of the week, the seventh day being over. So the dark of Saturday evening, to a Jew, is the first day of the week.

We, thinking like Romans, don’t consider it the first day of the week until we get up in the morning on Sunday, but 1st century Jews did not think like Romans. They thought like Hebrews.

During the Sabbath, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, work was prohibited. In order to set the day apart from the rest of the week (which is what keeping the day holy means) they greeted the Sabbath on Friday evening with a special ceremony, and they bid the Sabbath farewell on Saturday evening with a special ceremony. In between the ceremonies, no work was done.

The Friday evening ceremony usually consisted of a special family meal in their homes; special prayers and blessings were said, and special food was served. Sunday dinner at Grandma’s is the American equivalent in concept. Then the Jews gathered together twice on Saturdays: in the morning, in the synagogue, to hear the Torah reading, and the readings from the Psalms and the Prophets, and the teaching on the readings.

The Gospels record one instance where Jesus gave the teaching on the reading from the Prophets in one synagogue meeting.

Then in the evening, as it was drawing toward sundown, the Jews gathered again, usually in homes, for a havdallah service: a special ceremony in which the Sabbath was bid goodbye. This Saturday evening meeting often consisted of a shared meal in which everyone who came brought food to contribute to the meal. The havdallah service often lasted well into the night, as it was an opportunity for fellowship which did not occur during the rest of the week.

The meeting in Acts 20:7 was most likely a havdallah service. Paul did not preach from Sunday morning until midnight (not really humanly possible, for the preacher or the listeners); but from Saturday at sundown, at the close of the Sabbath, until midnight. Either meaning for “one of the sabbaths” could apply in Acts 20:7: the meeting began on “the first of the Sabbaths” as we can see from reading the verse in its context with Acts 20:6; and it ended on “the first day of the week,” as Jews considered the dark of the night Saturday night to be the first day of the week.