While many wonderful events in the Bible occurred on certain days of the week, there is no direct command from God to keep them holy.

For instance, Jesus died for our sins on a Friday. That is arguably the most significant event in all of history, marking the moment our death sentence was commuted and our opportunity for salvation assured. But not even one Bible text hints that we should observe this day of such great significance.

However, there is indeed a memorial of the resurrection commanded in the Bible, but it is not keeping Sunday holy. Instead, the apostle Paul wrote, “We were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Baptism is the memorial of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

Some teach that Christ’s disciples met in the upper room on the Sunday He was raised to celebrate the resurrection. But the Bible record shows very different circumstances. Luke tells us that when confronted with eyewitness accounts of His resurrection, they “did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). And Mark records, “After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen” (Mark 16:12–14, emphasis added).

If none of those upper room disciples believed that Christ had risen, they could not have been joyously celebrating the resurrection! John explains their reason for being together in these words: “The doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19).

It is true that Jesus was raised on the first day of the week, Sunday. What a dramatic moment and so vital to our salvation! However, not one instance of Sunday observance has been found in Scripture. And there is no biblical evidence—clear teaching or even an intimation—that we should keep that day holy. The basis for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath remains the direct command of God (Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15).