And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
- BSB Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
- NKJV And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
- NASB Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
- NLT Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus declares that the Sabbath was given as a gift to serve human flourishing, not as a burden under which people exist. It matters because it reframes God's command as gracious provision rather than oppressive ritual.
Overview
Against a legalism that had multiplied restrictions, Jesus restores the Sabbath to its created purpose: rest and refreshment for humanity. The day was instituted at creation for human good, so works of mercy and necessity honor rather than violate it. This reveals God's heart of generosity behind his law, anticipating the deeper rest Christ himself offers.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Col 2:16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
- Luke 6:9Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
- Deut 5:14But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
- Ezek 20:12Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
- Isa 58:13If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
- Ezek 20:20And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
- Exod 23:12Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
- John 7:23If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
- Neh 9:13–14Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
- 2 Cor 4:15For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
- 1 Cor 3:21–22Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 2:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.