Why Do Christians Observe the Sabbath on the Eighth Day?

In the biblical lunisolar calendar—based on both the cycles of the moon and the sun—used by the Jews in the Old Testament and during Jesus’ time, the Sabbath was observed on the seventh day of the week. Even today, groups such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Seventh Day Baptists, and the Church of God still keep the Sabbath on Saturday, following the Old Testament pattern.

Christians, however, observe their day of worship on the eighth day—that is, the first day of the week, known today as Sunday in the Gregorian (solar) calendar. It is called the eighth day because it follows the seventh, the day of rest, and marks the day when Jesus rose from the dead. In Jewish reckoning, days were counted inclusively, meaning the first day of the new week was also viewed as the “eighth” in a continuous cycle—symbolising a step beyond the completed seven-day creation. Although the week itself still had only seven days, the “eighth day” became a theological term expressing newness and renewal beyond the old order. Even Jewish writings and traditions before Christ used this phrase to describe moments of divine renewal and beginnings that transcended the natural rhythm of creation.

The question, then, is this: Why do Christians observe the Sabbath on the eighth day?

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola write, “Eight is the number that follows seven. Many Bible students believe that seven in Scripture represents completeness or perfection—the fullness of God’s creative work. Eight, therefore, points to a new beginning or a new order. For instance, the eighth day is the first day of the week after the seventh (the Sabbath). There were eight souls saved in Noah’s ark to begin a new world. Israelite males were circumcised on the eighth day, symbolizing the cutting away of the old nature and pointing to the circumcision of the heart through regeneration. The firstborn sons were dedicated to the Lord on the eighth day. David, who began a new dynasty in Israel, was the eighth son of Jesse. And most importantly, Jesus rose again on the first day of the week—the eighth day. The church was born on the eighth day, at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the first day of the week. The old creation belonged to the seven-day cycle; the new creation began on the eighth. For this reason, the early church celebrated the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day.”

The Eighth Day in Jewish and Early Christian Understanding

In Jewish thought, the eighth day symbolised a step beyond creation—a glimpse into eternity. The seventh day represented God’s rest after creation, but the eighth day looked forward to the eternal rest that God would give His people. Many Jewish feasts ended with an eighth-day gathering, showing that God’s rest was not just physical but spiritual and everlasting.

Early Christians, many of whom were Jews, understood this deeply. They saw Jesus’ resurrection on the first (eighth) day as the fulfillment of everything the Sabbath foreshadowed. For them, Sunday was not a rejection of the Sabbath, but its true realisation. In Christ, what had been shadow became substance; what was weekly rest became eternal life. The rest God promised was no longer tied to one day—it was now found in a Person. This conviction was so strong that the early believers, from the first century onward, gathered on the first day even under persecution. Roman records and early Christian writings testify that many risked imprisonment and death rather than deny the risen Lord or cease meeting on the Lord’s Day. Their courage to worship on the eighth day became a living witness to the reality of the resurrection and the new creation it ushered in.

Jesus Himself declared, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This means that the Sabbath rest finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. He completed the work of redemption, just as God completed creation. On the cross He cried, “It is finished.” Through His death and resurrection, He opened the way for believers to enter God’s true rest—a rest not limited to one day but extending into eternity (Hebrews 4:9–10).

The Eighth Day and the New Creation

The idea of the “eighth day” finds its ultimate meaning in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What was long anticipated in symbols and ceremonies now became reality in Him. Respected New Testament scholars highlight this same truth.

N. T. Wright calls the resurrection “the beginning of God’s new creation,” saying that Easter morning was “the first day of God’s new week,” when the renewal of the world began.

G. K. Beale writes that “Christ’s resurrection inaugurated the end-time new creation and the true Sabbath rest.” Through His resurrection, the old order of sin and death was broken, and believers were ushered into the new age of the Spirit.

D. A. Carson also notes that the Sabbath command points forward to Christ, in whom we find our ultimate rest. As Hebrews 4 says, “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,” and that rest is entered by faith in Christ, not by observing a single day.

Therefore, Jesus is not only Lord of the Sabbath—He is the Sabbath. He is the fulfillment of rest, the source of new creation, and the beginning of the eternal eighth day.

The resurrection, then, was not merely an event in history but the dawn of eternity breaking into time. It signaled that the story of creation had found its true completion and its glorious renewal in Christ. For all these reasons, it is both biblically grounded and spiritually meaningful for Christians to rest and worship on the eighth day, the day of resurrection. To gather on Sunday is to declare that Christ has finished the work of salvation and that our rest is now in Him. Each Lord’s Day becomes a reminder that we belong to the new creation and are awaiting the final rest when heaven and earth will be renewed. When believers meet on the first day of the week, they are not merely following tradition—they are celebrating the victory of life over death, the dawn of eternity, and the rest of God fulfilled in Christ.

Therefore, Christians observe the Sabbath on the eighth day not to abandon the old, but to live in the fullness of what the old pointed toward. The seventh day closed the story of creation; the eighth day opened the story of redemption. Every Sunday is a foretaste of the eternal Sabbath to come—a day when time itself will give way to everlasting rest in the presence of God. Every Lord’s Day, the church proclaims that the new world has already begun in Christ—and that one day, the eternal eighth day, the everlasting Sabbath rest, will fully come

Liba Hopeson