Acts 20

HAVDALAH IN ACTS 20

On Saturday evening many Jewish homes perform a ceremony known as "Havdalah." The word Havdalah means "separation" or "division." During the ceremony a special candle will be lit and blessings are said. The purpose of Havdalah is to close the Sabbath for the purpose of separating it from the rest of the week. It is believed that a form of Havdalah was first instituted around the fourth century BC by the Men of the Great Assembly.

It is very likely that the events of Acts 21:7-11 took place on a Saturday night as the disciples were gathering together for fellowship for the close of the Sabbath. Below are three reasons from the Biblical text that point to this being a Havdalah like, Saturday night, gathering.

1. Acts 20:7 says that they gathered on the first day of the week.

"Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight."

Although this could mean a Sunday morning or afternoon, a Biblical day starts in the evening (Gen.1:5,8,13,19,23,31), meaning that the first day of the week starts on Saturday night according to God's calendar. It is also important to note that the word "day" was added and is not in the original text. The verse actually reads "they gathered on the first of the week."

2. Acts 20:8 says that there were many lights in the room.

"There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together."

This would seem to indicate that they were meeting at night. It would make no sense to tell us there were lights in the room if they were meeting in the middle of the day.

3. Acts 20:7-9 tells us that a man fell asleep at midnight. If this was a Sunday morning gathering, this would mean that Paul preached for at least 12 hours. Highly unlikely!

Beloved ones, there is no such thing as a wrong day to worship God. The early Church met every day of the week (Acts 2:46) -- including Sunday. However, this passage does not teach that God changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day. The events of Acts 20:7-11 were extremely likely to have occurred during a Saturday night gathering known today as Havdalah. Even if this was a Sunday morning, the text just says they were gathered together on that day, it never says that they considered it the new Sabbath. - by Shon Cunningham