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Jesus said in Mark 2:27-28, “The Sabbath was made
for man, and not man for the Sabbath. “So
the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Jesus was talking to the Pharisees who
had imposed restrictions on the Sabbath
that God never intended. Context is
everything. Jesus was a Jew — speaking to
Jews — teaching under the terms of the Old
Covenant. The New Covenant didn’t come into
effect until Jesus died on the cross (Heb. 9:12-17; 1 Pet. 1:19; 1 Jn. 1:7; Heb. 8-10).
Under the New Covenant, no one is
obligated to keep the Sabbath, or any of the
other Jewish Holy days, new moons, or dietary
restrictions. They were all part of the Old
Covenant that came to an end when Christ
died for us on the cross (Acts 15:1-20;
Col. 2:14-17; Eph. 2:11-16; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12).
Sabbatarians will try to use Mark 2:27-28 to
say that the Sabbath was made for all
mankind, but the passage doesn’t say that.
It says it was “made for man.”
The
Sabbath was given to Israel alone to serve
as a ceremonial sign of the
Mosaic Covenant.
Exodus 31:13, 17
says, “You are to speak to the people of
Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my
Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and
you throughout your generations, that you
may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you… 17
It is a sign forever between me and the
people of Israel that in six days the LORD
made heaven and earth, and on the seventh
day he rested and was refreshed.’”
And Ezekiel 20:12, 20 says, “Moreover, I
gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me
and them, that they might know that I am the
LORD who sanctifies them…and keep my
Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign
between me and you, that you may know that I
am the LORD your God.”
Covenant signs
like the Sabbath were used to validate that
a person was a party to the covenant. Like
circumcision, they
had to be unique to those people. The Sabbath had to
distinguish Israel from the nations
surrounding
them. If everyone was supposed to be keeping
the Sabbath then the covenant sign would be
useless.
The Pharisees were
always looking for ways to trap Jesus and
his disciples.
When the Pharisees
criticized Jesus’ disciples for picking a
few pieces of corn to eat on the Sabbath,
Jesus defended his disciples by referring to
two examples from the Old Testament. First,
when David and his men were very hungry and
needed food, they were rightly
allowed to eat the holy bread of the
tabernacle, which normally only priests were
allowed to eat (Matt. 12:1-4; 1 Sam. 21:1-6). Second, even the Levitical priests
worked on the Sabbath because they had to
circumcise male children on the 8th day of
their life, and prepare and offer the sacrifices (Matt. 12:5; Num. 28:9-10).
“Jewish tradition had so multiplied the
requirements and restrictions for keeping
the Sabbath that the burden had become
intolerable. Jesus cut across these
traditions and emphasized the God-given
purpose of the Sabbath—a day intended for
the benefit of people (for rest from daily
labors, allowing spiritual, mental and
physical restoration; see Exod. 20:8-11).”
[1]
These two
examples show that in a case of necessity
the legal requirements of the Sabbath
command could be overruled. Life is more
important than ritual, and exercising mercy is
more important than offering sacrifices. God
gave the Sabbath to Israel for their
benefit, not for their discomfort; and since Jesus is the
Son of man, he had the authority to decide
how the Sabbath could best be used (Matt. 12:6-8).
“Christ was not asserting his freedom to
violate the Sabbath law, but rather he was
declaring his qualification to interpret
that law.” [2]
The Sabbath was not a moral law, it was a
ceremonial sign of the Mosaic Covenant. God never said it was
okay to go out and commit adultery, or
murder someone, did he? If the Sabbath was a
moral issue there would be no exception to
the rule. Jesus was speaking to Pharisees
about the purpose and meaning of the Sabbath
for the Jews under the Old Covenant.
The New Testament
explicitly teaches that Sabbath-keeping
along with all of the other ceremonial
requirements of the Old Covenant Law are not
required for Christians who live under the
New Covenant (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8; Acts 15:1-28;
Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-18;
2 Cor. 3:3-11; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 8:6-9:4; 10:23-25).
References:
1. The NIV Study
Bible: Mark 2:27.
2. The Wycliffe Bible
Commentary: Mark 2:28.
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