Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28
The Sabbath was a very big deal in the Old Testament mindset. There were strict rules about doing no work, like something as simple as picking a head of grain (Mark 2:23-24). If someone worked, they thought back then, they were showing disrespect to God.
When God created the earth and rested on the seventh day, he told mankind to follow that work week schedule and rest on the last day. The commandment in Exodus 20 said to keep the Sabbath holy. What does that mean? "Holy" means sacred, a day to set aside from the others. The day should look different than the other days and be a day of worship, serving others, where one re-energizes and focuses on God and family.
Jesus told the Pharisees in Mark 2 that the Sabbath was a day for man, not man for the Sabbath. He's saying that the Sabbath was supposed to be a beneficial day for man, not a day of tight regulations. In those days, people were serving the Sabbath when the Sabbath was meant to serve man.
People need a day of rest and reflection. The Sabbath is a day of trust, when someone does not working trusting that God will provide. Many businesses show that to be true, closing their doors on Sunday and still prospering.
When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we no longer needed to follow the Old Testament regulations for temple worship and cleanliness. All those practices were preludes to what Christ was going to complete on the cross. Mankind can now "rest" from that work. Jesus finished the task.
On the Sabbath we can reflect on that and praise Christ for giving us the opportunity to rest in his arms.
