The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. GBU
In regards to Mark 2:27, "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath," this statement was in
response to the accusation by the Pharisees that His disciples were breaking the law regarding resting on the Sabbath while going through some fields and plucking heads of grain. (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)
Jesus responded by giving an example from the Old Testament that David was once in need of food and was given consecrated bread that was only lawful for the priests to eat. (1 Samuel 21:1-6) The bread served a practical need for David and his followers, just as with Jesus and His disciples, the grain served a practical need. David and his men were not acting sinfully in eating the showbread, and neither were Jesus’ disciples acting sinfully in plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath. Jesus concludes, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Jesus' response to the accusing Pharisees contains two important teachings.
First, the Sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them. In contrast with the grueling daily work as slaves in Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to take a day of rest each week
under the Mosaic Law. The
Pharisees had turned the Sabbath into a burden, adding restrictions beyond what God’s law said. The disciples had not broken God’s law; they had only violated the Pharisees’ legalistic, interpretation of the law. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the original intent of the Sabbath rest. Jesus statement does not teach that the Sabbath was made for all mankind, as some would suppose.
The Sabbath was not given to all the nations. It was given to the
nation of Israel. Look at Deuteronomy 5:1-15 which gives the commandments to
Israel. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3
The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.
Nehemiah 9:13 - "Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 14 So You made known to them Your holy
sabbath, And laid down for them commandments, statutes and law,
Through Your servant Moses." *Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that weekly Sabbath keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.
The Word of God makes it clear that Sabbath observance was a
sign between God and Israel: "The
Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a
sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested." (Exodus 31:16-17)
In Deuteronomy 5, Moses restates the Ten Commandments to the next generation of Israelites. Here, after commanding Sabbath observance in verses 12–14, Moses gives the reason the Sabbath was given to the nation Israel:
"Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." (Deuteronomy 5:15).
Sabbath keeping with all it's rules and regulations, was
part of a covenant with Israel (Exodus 16:23, 29; 31:12-18; 35:1-3; Leviticus 19:30; 23:2-3, 32; Numbers 15:32-36; 28:1-10; 29:39-40; I Chronicles. 23:30-31; II Chronicles 31:2-4; Isaiah 1:13; Amos 8:5; Nehemiah 10:31) that is
not binding on Christians in the New Testament.
*Colossians 2:16 - Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a
Sabbath day 17 things which are a
mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.