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For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Matthew 12:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
  • BSB For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
  • NKJV For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
  • NASB For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
  • NLT For the Son of Man is Lord, even over 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 claims authority as Lord of the Sabbath, asserting his divine right to interpret and rule over it.

Overview

The Sabbath was instituted by God at creation, so to call himself its Lord is a striking claim to deity and messianic authority. The day made for man's good finds its true Master in the Son of Man. Christ is the one who gives the rest the Sabbath only foreshadowed (Hebrews 4:9-10).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Luke 6:5And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
  • Mark 2:28Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
  • John 5:17–23But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
  • Mark 9:4–7And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
  • Matt 9:6But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
  • Matt 8:20And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
  • Rev 1:10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
  • 1 Cor 16:2Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
  • 1 Cor 9:21To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 12:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 12:8 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.