Short answer
The Church and a Roman emperor moved the day of rest, not God or Jesus. The Sabbath commandment names the seventh day, Saturday. The Law calls the Sabbath a perpetual (lasting) covenant, and Jesus kept it. No saying of Jesus moves the day to Sunday. Christians began meeting on Sunday because they believe he rose on that day. By about 155, Justin Martyr, a Christian writer, said they gathered on "the day called Sunday". In 321 the Emperor Constantine made "the venerable day of the Sun" a day of rest by law. Later a church council told Christians to work on the Sabbath. The Catholic Church itself teaches that Sunday replaces it. The Qur'an says the Sabbath was laid on the Jews. The Prophet (ﷺ) said God (﷾) guided Muslims to Friday.
Full explanation
What the commandment says
The Sabbath commandment does not ask for just any one day in seven. Most Protestant and Orthodox lists count it as the fourth commandment. Catholics and Lutherans count it as the third. It names the seventh day and gives the reason: God (﷾) rested on the seventh day and blessed it. The Law then calls the Sabbath a perpetual covenant (a lasting agreement), to be kept throughout the generations. Sunday is the first day of the week, not the seventh.
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
“Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”
Jesus kept the Sabbath
Going to the synagogue (the Jewish house of worship) on the Sabbath was Jesus' custom. He said he had not come to destroy the Law. He said not the smallest part of it would pass away till all be fulfilled. Luke also tells of the women who followed him. After the burial he describes, they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment. No Gospel records Jesus moving the day of rest to Sunday.
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
“And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”
How Sunday came in
By the middle of the second century, Christians met on Sunday. Justin Martyr, a Christian writer of that century, gives their reasons. God (﷾) began creation on the first day, and Christians believe Jesus rose on that day. In 321 the Roman emperor Constantine made the day of the Sun a legal day of rest. His law speaks of "the venerable day of the Sun" and does not mention Christ. Around 363 the Council of Laodicea, a meeting of church leaders, went further. It told Christians to work on the Sabbath and to honour the Lord's day (their name for Sunday) instead.
Justin says that Christians gather on the day called Sunday, the day of the Sun, because it is the first day, on which God made the world, and the day on which Jesus rose from the dead.
Constantine's law of 7 March 321 orders judges, city people and all trades to rest on "the venerable day of the Sun", while allowing farmers to work their fields.
Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath. They must work on that day, and honour the Lord's day instead, resting then if they can, as Christians. Anyone found judaizing is to be anathema from Christ.
- The Law of Moses
The seventh day
The commandment names the seventh day, and the Law calls the Sabbath a perpetual covenant.
- The Gospels
Jesus keeps it
Going to the synagogue on the Sabbath was his custom.
- About 155
Meeting on Sunday
Justin Martyr says Christians gather on the day called Sunday.
- 321
Constantine's law
The emperor makes the day of the Sun a legal day of rest. His law does not mention Christ.
- About 363
The Council of Laodicea
Christians are told to work on the Sabbath and honour Sunday instead.
- Today
Catholic teaching
Sunday's observance replaces the Sabbath for Christians.
What the churches say
The Catholic Church teaches plainly that Sunday's observance replaces the Sabbath for Christians. Christians cite the resurrection on the first day. They cite meetings on the first day in Acts and in the letters of Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century. They also cite "the Lord's day" in Revelation. Not all Christians agree. The Seventh-day Adventist Church holds that the seventh day is still the Sabbath and keeps it on Saturday.
Teaches that Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath, which it follows each week, and that for Christians Sunday's ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath.
“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,”
Holds that the seventh day, Saturday, is the Sabbath God set apart at creation and commanded in the fourth commandment, that Jesus kept it, and that Christians today are to keep it from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.
What the Qur'an says about the Sabbath
The Qur'an says the Sabbath was made strict for those who differed over it. It says God (﷾) took a covenant from the Children of Israel not to break it. Muslims were given Friday: the Qur'an calls believers to the prayer on that day. The Prophet (ﷺ) said the earlier nations differed over the day, and that God (﷾) guided Muslims to Friday. Islam does not ask Christians to keep Saturday. The point is that churches which call the Bible God's (﷾) word changed a day their own Bible calls a perpetual covenant.
“The Sabbath was only made (strict) for those who disagreed (as to its observance); But Allah will judge between them on the Day of Judgment, as to their differences.”
“And for their covenant we raised over them (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai); and (on another occasion) we said: "Enter the gate with humility"; and (once again) we commanded them: "Transgress not in the matter of the sabbath." And we took from them a solemn covenant.”
“O ye who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if ye but knew!”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: we are the last to come but will be the first on the Day of Resurrection, though the earlier nations were given scripture before us. This day, Friday, was made a duty for them, but they differed over it, and Allah guided us to it. The others come after us: the Jews tomorrow, Saturday, and the Christians the day after, Sunday.
Verse by verse
Matthew 28:1 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verse 1
“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.”
Cited for
Jesus rose on the first day of the week, so Christians honour that day.
The response
The Gospels record the day of the empty tomb. None of them records Jesus telling anyone to rest or worship on it instead of the Sabbath. The same women came to the tomb only after resting on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Where it lands — The resurrection accounts contain no command to change the day.
Acts 20:7 — Acts of the Apostles, chapter 20, verse 7
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
Cited for
The disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread. So Sunday worship goes back to Jesus' first followers.
The response
The verse records one meeting, held before Paul left the next day. It does not call Sunday holy or say the Sabbath had ended. Paul himself went to the synagogue on the Sabbath "as his manner was".
Where it lands — A record of one meeting is not a command to replace the Sabbath.
1 Corinthians 16:2 — First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 16, verse 2
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
Cited for
Paul told the churches to set money aside on the first day of the week, which shows they met on Sunday.
The response
Paul asks each person to lay something by at home, so that no collection is needed when he arrives. The verse is about saving money. It says nothing about rest or about the Sabbath.
Where it lands — The verse concerns a collection, not a day of rest.
Revelation 1:10 — Revelation of John, chapter 1, verse 10
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,”
Cited for
John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, meaning Sunday.
The response
The verse does not say which day the Lord's day is. Of the days of the week, the only one the Bible calls the Lord's is the seventh: "the sabbath of the Lord thy God". Reading Sunday into the phrase goes beyond what the verse says.
Where it lands — The verse names no weekday, and the only weekday the Bible calls the Lord's is the seventh.
Colossians 2:16 — Epistle to the Colossians, chapter 2, verse 16
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:”
Cited for
Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, says let no one judge you about Sabbath days. So Christians are free from it.
The response
These are Paul's words, not Jesus'. Even read as freeing Christians from the Sabbath, the verse does not name Sunday or move the day of rest to another day. Romans 14:5 likewise leaves the day to each person's judgement; it does not set up Sunday. Jesus himself kept the Sabbath.
Where it lands — The verse does not set up Sunday, and it is not a word of Jesus.
Exodus 31:16 — Torah, Shemot, chapter 31, verse 16
“Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”
Cited for
The Sabbath was a sign between God and Israel, so it never bound Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians.
The response
Christians teach the Ten Commandments as God's (﷾) moral law and hold the other nine binding on everyone. Only the day in this one was changed. Jesus and his first followers were Israelites who kept it. The Catholic Church does not say the commandment never applied. It teaches that Sunday replaces it. The Qur'an's point is different: God (﷾) Himself gave Israel the Sabbath and gave Muslims Friday. No church council did either.
Where it lands — If the Sabbath was Israel's alone, the Ten Commandments Christians teach are nine. If it binds them, they moved it.
Mark 2:27-28 — Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, verses 27-28
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
Cited for
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, so he could set it aside.
The response
The verse says who is Lord of the day. It gives no command to replace it. In the same passage Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man, and he went on keeping it (Luke 4:16).
Where it lands — The verse names no new day.
John 5:18 — Gospel of John, chapter 5, verse 18
“Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”
Cited for
John says Jesus broke the Sabbath, so he did not keep it.
The response
This comment comes from the writer of John's Gospel, not from Jesus. Jesus said he had not come to destroy the Law, and Luke says going to the synagogue on the Sabbath was his custom. Whatever John meant, no Gospel has Jesus move the day of rest to Sunday.
Where it lands — No Gospel, John's included, has Jesus move the day of rest to Sunday.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Christians gather on Sunday, the Lord's day, because Jesus rose on the first day of the week. The Sabbath was a sign for Israel, and its meaning is fulfilled in Christ.
Jesus rose on the first day of the week, and his disciples met on that day.
Rebuttal
True, Matthew names the first day for the visit to the tomb, and Acts 20:7 records one meeting. Neither gives a command to change the day. The women even rested on the Sabbath first (Luke 23:56).
The Catholic Church teaches that Sunday's observance replaces the Sabbath for Christians.
Rebuttal
This is the Church's own teaching, not a saying of Jesus. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16), and no Gospel has him move the day.
The Islamic perspective
God's (﷾) commandment named the seventh day, and Jesus kept it. The change to Sunday came from the Church and an emperor, not from God (﷾) or Jesus. The Qur'an says the Sabbath was laid on the Jews, and the Prophet (ﷺ) taught that Muslims were guided to Friday.
The Sabbath commandment names the seventh day and calls the Sabbath a perpetual covenant.
Jesus kept the Sabbath. After the burial he describes, Luke records that the women who followed Jesus rested on it, according to the commandment.
No saying of Jesus in the Gospels moves the day of rest to Sunday.
Constantine made the day of the Sun a legal day of rest in 321. The Council of Laodicea later told Christians to work on the Sabbath.
The Qur'an says the Sabbath was made strict for the Jews, and it calls Muslims to prayer on Friday.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said the earlier nations differed over the day, and Muslims were guided to Friday.