And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28)
In Mark 2:23–28, the Lord Jesus Christ cuts through the Pharisees’ legalism to recover what the Sabbath was always meant to be: a gift to man and a day belonging to its Lord.
1. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for the benefit of man. If man lives, there is a need for Sabbath, which means “rest.” God made it as a creation ordinance along with labor. In the beginning, God created the universe, then man and woman, and then the Sabbath on the seventh day. He blessed it, made it holy, and rested on it Himself (Gen. 2:2–3). The fact that He gave man work to do shows that man also needed rest.
God created us to glorify and enjoy Him daily—every hour and forever. Beyond our daily worship in our homes and our vocations, the Lord has prescribed in His law a day for rest and worship. Nearly everyone follows a seven-day-week pattern. This is informed by the law of nature in us. If we work, then we should also rest. The Sabbath is a creation ordinance, just like work and marriage.
2. The law teaches that the Sabbath is to be remembered.
The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, which summarize the moral law, and it is in the first table of the law. The first commandment shows that the object of worship is God alone. The second commandment reveals that the proper manner of worship is not by representation. The third commandment displays the subject of worship, the name of God. The fourth commandment points us to the time of worship.
The Sabbath law is not a matter of Christian liberty or adiaphora (something neither commanded nor forbidden by God); it is the law of God. Shall we worship any other god but God? No. Shall we take the name of the Lord in vain? No. Shall we ignore the Sabbath? No. Is the fourth commandment only ceremonial and so fulfilled by Christ so that it is no longer binding? No. While under the old covenant it was to be observed on the seventh day of the week, with the resurrection of Christ the Sabbath is to be observed on the first day of the week since His resurrection. Nevertheless, the principle to keep the Sabbath holy is part of the moral law of God and perpetually valid. Like the other nine commandments, it was engraved on the stone tablet by the finger of God (Ex. 31:18).
3. Jesus did not deny the Sabbath.
The Pharisees charged our Lord with laxity regarding the Sabbath. They accused Him of breaking the Sabbath (John 5:18). They said, “He does not keep the Sabbath” (John 9:16). Did Jesus respond to the Pharisees, “I’m sorry, but I don’t keep the Sabbath”? He could have told them that the Sabbath was no longer binding because He had fulfilled it. Instead, He simply took them back to the law, interpreting it accurately.
The Pharisees’ interpretation of what it meant to keep the Sabbath was flawed because it was inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. Jesus took them to what David did when he was hungry. The disciples of Jesus were not harvesting corn; they were in need and hungry. This is why they plucked the ears of grain to eat. The Pharisees’ interpretation also denied the purpose for which God made the Sabbath—it is for man. God made the law for the sake of safeguarding the best interest of His people and for His glory. The law shows us our sin. It is the mirror to expose guilt, and it is also the guardian of righteousness. This is all for the benefit of man.
Jesus kept the Sabbath. Where did the Sabbath day find Him, and what did it find Him doing? Was He in the field harvesting wheat? Or was He in Joseph’s workshop planing boards and fastening wood to make a table or a bed? Did He go with the disciples on a fishing expedition in Galilee? Was He taking scenic tours of the Mediterranean? Not at all. He was in the synagogue preaching the Word, doing good to distressed souls, healing them and destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
4. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Jesus determines and controls what happens on this day because He owns it. It is for His special use—holy to Him. He is “lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28). The Lord Himself ordained the first day of the week as the day of rest and worship for the church. He did this by rising from the dead on the first day (Luke 24:1); by meeting with His disciples on the first day, prior to the ascension (John 20:19, 26); by coming to the church in the Holy Spirit on the first day (Pentecost was a Sunday); and by directing the Apostles and the Apostolic church to gather for worship on the first day (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1–2). The early church gathered on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath.
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Ligonier Ministries