Mark 2:27
in Mark 2Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
KJV
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
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This verse in Mark 2
Commentary
11 notes on this verseIt goes on: And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. For greater is the care to be taken of the health and life of a man, than the keeping of the sabbath. Therefore the sabbath was ordered to be observed in such a way, that, if there were a necessity, he should not be guilty, who broke the sabbath-day; therefore it was not forbidden to circumcise on the sabbath, because that was a necessary work. And the Maccabees, when necessity pressed on them, fought on the sabbath-day.
This site's exposition
The sabbath was made for man
on Mark 2:27-28
The sabbath was made for man reverses the fence-builders' logic entirely, the day existing to serve human need and rest rather than human beings existing to serve an ever-multiplying set of restrictions. Verse 28 then claims something larger than a principle about sabbath-keeping, the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath, a direct claim to authority over an institution instituted at creation itself, Genesis 2:2-3, and therefore a claim of authority equal to the one who made it. The bench reads the chapter's two sabbath scenes, forgiveness proven by healing and now lordship proven by teaching, as building toward the same conclusion Peter will finally speak aloud in chapter 8.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
In the higher sense, understand it thus: Christ's disciples walk on the Sabbath, that is, in the repose of the soul (Sabbath means rest); consequently, when they have attained freedom from the passions and from the assaults of demons, then they make the journey, that …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The sabbath is a sacred and divine institution; but we must receive and embrace it as a privilege and a benefit, not as a task and a drudgery. First, God never designed it to be an imposition upon us, and therefore we must not make it so to ourselves. Man was not made for the sabbath, for he was made a day before the sabbath was instituted.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And he said unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Sabbath was made for man - That he might have the seventh part of his whole time to devote to the purposes of bodily rest and spiritual exercises. And in these respects it is of infinite use to mankind. Where no Sabbath is observed, there disease, poverty, and profligacy, generally prevail. Had we no Sabbath, we should soon have no religion. This whole verse is wanting in the Codex Bezae, and in five of the Itala.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses set before us a remarkable scene in our Lord Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. We see our blessed Master and His disciples going "through the grainfields on the Sabbath day." We are told that His disciples, "as they went, began to pluck heads of grain." At once we hear the Pharisees accusing them to our Lord, as if they had committed some great moral offence. "Why are they doing that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?" They received an answer full of deep wisdom, which all should study well, who desire to understand the subject of Sabbath observance. We see from these verses, what extravagant importance is attached to trifles by those who are mere formalists in religion. The Pharisees were mere formalists, if there ever were any in the world. They seem to have thought exclusively of the outward part, the husk, the shell, and the ceremonial of religion. They even added to these externals by traditions of their own. Their godliness was made up of washings, and fastings, and peculiarities in dress, and will-worship, while repentance, and faith, and holiness were comparatively overlooked. The Pharisees would probably have found no fault, if the disciples had been guilty of some offence against the moral law. They would have winked at covetousness, or perjury, or extortions, or excess, because they were sins to which they themselves were inclined. But no sooner did they see an infringement on their man-made traditions about the right way of keeping the Sabbath, than they raised an outcry, and found fault. Let us watch and pray, lest we fall into the error of the Pharisees. There are never lacking professors who walk in their steps. There are thousands at the present day who plainly think more of the mere outward ceremonial of religion than of its doctrines.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
These verses set before us a remarkable scene in our Lord Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. We see our blessed Master and His disciples going "through the grainfields on the Sabbath day." We are told that His disciples, "as they went, began to pluck heads of grain." At once we hear the Pharisees accusing them to our Lord, as if they had committed some great moral offence. "Why are they doing that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?"
Modern Voices2 voices
I should have some sympathy with the Jewish Sabbath, if it were a Jewish Sabbath, and that for three reasons; first, that religion is an intrinsically sympathetic thing; second, that I cannot conceive any religion worth calling a religion without a fixed and material observance; …
Morality did not begin by one man saying to another, "I will not hit you if you do not hit me"; there is no trace of such a transaction. There is a trace of both men having said, "We must not hit each other in …
How the passage was read
On Mark 2:18-28On Mark 2:18-28
The bridegroom's exemption and the Sabbath made for man
Two collisions sit side by side here, and both run on ground the tradition itself honors. The fasting question (verses 18-22) comes from devout practice: voluntary fasts, typically Monday and Thursday, kept by the pious beyond the Torah's one commanded fast. Jesus answers from wedding law: the tradition exempts a bridegroom from reciting the Shema on his wedding night because joy overrides duty (Mishnah Berakhot 2:5). “Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?” claims that exemption for His disciples, and names Himself the Bridegroom, a role the Prophets give to God (Hosea 2, Isaiah 62:5).
The grainfield scene (verses 23-28) is unpacked in detail in this site's Matthew 12 note (the thirty-nine categories of Sabbath labor; plucking as reaping). What Mark alone preserves is the saying “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath,” and it has a striking parallel in the tradition itself: “Shabbat is given into your hands, and you are not given to it” (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 85b). Jesus argues on ground the sages would themselves articulate, then goes where no sage went: “therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Berakhot 2:5 (the bridegroom's exemption) · Yoma 85b (Babylonian Talmud: the Sabbath given into your hands)
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἔλεγεν | elegen | He was saying | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτοῖς· | autois | to them; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τὸ | to | The | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σάββατον | sabbaton | Sabbath | G4521 → | 68 times |
| διὰ | dia | on account of | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπον | anthropon | man | G444 → | 549 times |
| ἐγένετο, | egeneto | was made, | G1096 → | 667 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| οὐχ | ouch | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἄνθρωπος | anthropos | man | G444 → | 549 times |
| διὰ | dia | on account of | G1223 → | 664 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σάββατον. | sabbaton | Sabbath. | G4521 → | 68 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἔλεγενHe was saying
elegenG3004 →1325 times
αὐτοῖς·to them;
autoisG846 →5565 times
τὸThe
toG3588 →19766 times
σάββατονSabbath
sabbatonG4521 →68 times
διὰon account of
diaG1223 →664 times
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωπονman
anthroponG444 →549 times
ἐγένετο,was made,
egenetoG1096 →667 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
οὐχnot
ouchG3756 →1664 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
ἄνθρωποςman
anthroposG444 →549 times
διὰon account of
diaG1223 →664 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
σάββατον.Sabbath.
sabbatonG4521 →68 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Colossians 2:16Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
it leads to
- Romans 14:5–6
One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
- Romans 14:10
Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Romans 14:13–17
Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
- Romans 14:5–6
Through
Isaiah 58:13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:21–27
This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
- Psalms 92:1–2
It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,
- Isaiah 56:2–6
Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
- Nehemiah 13:15–22
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being…
- Revelation 1:10
On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
- Jeremiah 17:21–27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Mark
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; GK Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles, A Cab Ride Across Country (1909); GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Ch. 5: The Flag of the World (1908); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.