Commentaries:
It was Christ, as the God of the Old Testament, who actually created the Sabbath (John 1:1-3). It is a sign that identifies God's people just as a sign identifies a business or a street. Notice also that this covenant, made after the ratification of the Old Covenant, bound the Sabbath as a "perpetual covenant" upon God's people. Since the Sabbath has been in force from Creation, it is not just for the Jews, but for the foreigner and all mankind as well. All who keep the Sabbath properly are blessed.
Martin G. Collins
The Fourth Commandment
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When God set apart and made holy the seventh-day Sabbath for man (Genesis 2:2-3; Mark 2:27), He gave mankind a day of rest that has great significance.
To His "church in the wilderness"—the congregation of ancient Israel (Acts 7:38)—God revealed that Sabbath keeping would be a "sign" between Him and His people (Exodus 31:16-17). This sign is a proof of identity. Keeping the weekly Sabbath reminds us that God is the Creator of all things, including man. It is also a major sign identifying the true people of God.
The Sabbath also pictures to God's people the soon-coming Millennium, when mankind will experience "rest" from war, poverty, fear, and suffering. This 1,000-year period will be the seventh millennial "day"—the "Sabbath"—of God's 7,000-year "week." It is then that the knowledge of God's wonderful purpose will fill the earth (Isaiah 11:9).
But the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath has even further significance and meaning. It also looks forward to the completion of God's spiritual creation in man. The Sabbath is a type of the Christian's future spiritual "rest"—of being born into the divine Kingdom or Family of God! When born of God's Spirit, we will no longer be working against the weaknesses of our present mortal flesh. With spirit-composed bodies, we will never become tired or weary. We will always be alert and active!
Why Christians Should Keep God's Holy Days
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The Sabbath was made for mankind, to serve mankind, and therefore it also serves God's purpose. Notice that He does not say the Sabbath was made for the Jews only, as most people read into this. Some also say that Jesus kept the Sabbath because He was a Jew, but that is merely a dodge. God says what He means. Jesus clearly understood He was to keep it, and He did. If it were God's intent that only Jews keep it, Jesus would have stated it that way.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Sabbathkeeping (Part 4)
These verses contain a number of things critical to Sabbath keeping:
- Jesus refers to the Sabbath as a specific day; it is the Sabbath, not a Sabbath.
- The Sabbath was not made for its own sake as were the other six days, but as a service to mankind. An alternate translation would be that it "was made on account of man." Jesus presents it as the Creator's specific and thoughtful gift to man.
- It was not made just for the Jews, but for mankind. When God created the Sabbath, He intended it from the beginning as a UNIVERSAL blessing to benefit mankind. He made it to help ensure man's physical and spiritual well-being.
- The broader context reveals a disagreement over how to keep it. Jesus claims to be its Lord, its Owner or Master, and He thus lays claim to His right to show by His example and verbal instruction how to keep it, not whether to keep it. Since He expresses no disagreement with keeping it, He implies that He expects man—not just Jews—to keep it. He has a perfect opportunity here to reply that it does not matter if men keep it, but He gives no such indication.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fourth Commandment (Part One)
Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath because He made it (Colossians 1:13-16)! He was the Lord of the Old Testament and the actual Creator of all things.
By ceasing to work on the seventh day of creation week, Christ set apart that 24-hour period and every seventh day afterward for a special and holy use. (The Sabbath begins at sunset, in the evening, at the close of the sixth day, and ends at sunset, in the evening, at the close of the seventh day. See Leviticus 23:32 for an example of when God begins and ends days.)
Why Christians Should Keep God's Holy Days
It helps us to understand a little better if we retranslate just one word: The Sabbath was made on account of man. Man needs the Sabbath! He needs it physically, because he needs to rest (Exodus 20). Over and above that, he needs the Sabbath even more spiritually (Deuteronomy 5:15) to recognize the fact that he has been redeemed. He is no longer in bondage, and he needs to use his time to be prepared for the Kingdom of God, to please God, to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, to maintain the liberty that we have been given, and to grow towards the Kingdom of God.
Nowhere does Jesus say that the Sabbath is done away. He does not indicate it at all—anywhere! Thus, when He says that He is "Lord of the Sabbath," He is saying that He has the authority to determine how the day is to be kept. We ought to be able to see—especially from what is recorded in John 5, 7 and 9—that God does not intend the day to be one of loafing around
There may be occasions when that is needed, because a person is simply worn out. We need to feel that we have the liberty to "crash" on that day. But if that is occurring to us regularly, we need to ask ourselves, "Why do I need to crash on the Sabbath?" Then, we need to make an adjustment on the other six days. We must repent, so that the day does not have to be used to "crash"—because that begins to profane God's intention for the Sabbath.
He intends the day to be for the good of His spiritual children so that they are prepared for the Kingdom of God and remember why they are here. It can, therefore, be a day of very intensive work, but it is work that leads to salvation, getting prepared for the Kingdom of God, and giving service to those in need of salvation. It is through these things that growth and faith in God are promoted.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fourth Commandment (Part 3)
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Genesis 2:1-3
Genesis 2:2-3
Genesis 2:2-3
Genesis 2:3
Exodus 20:8
Exodus 20:8
Exodus 20:8
Exodus 31:12-17
Isaiah 58:13-14
Isaiah 58:13-14
Jeremiah 17:19-27
Matthew 24:4-5
Mark 2:27
Mark 13:5-6
Luke 4:16-19
Luke 4:16
Luke 16:29-31
Luke 21:8
Philippians 3:3
Library resources that contain this verse:
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