p. 2 | 3583 - Made for Man by F. F. F.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Oct 17, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 41.

3583 — Made for Man

By F. F. F.

Please explain Mark 2:27, 28, "The Sabbath was made for man [or mankind], and not man for the Sabbath."

1. The scripture itself is quite clear. "Man" is used in the generic sense, not in the specific sense, as referring to the race. The Sabbath was made for man, not particularly for the Jew man, nor the Gentile man, nor for the Greek man, but for man in general, and therefore for both man and woman, for all men and women.

2. Not only that; it was made not against man but for man — that is, to be a blessing to man. The Jews had so perverted it as to make it a curse. God designed that it should be a blessing. "The Sabbath was made for man."

3. The very thought of making carries us back to the making of the Sabbath, the account of which is given in Gen. 2:2, 3, and that confirms the fact that it was made for the race, because it was made and given to the first man of all, the father of all the race.

4. The very words imply the Maker of the Sabbath. The Maker of the Sabbath was the Maker of the world. And we learn by John 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:17, and other scriptures, that it was our Lord Jesus Christ who made the world, and therefore He made the Sabbath.

5. He who made the Sabbath must be Lord of the Sabbath; and as our Lord did the making of the world, He did also the resting. Consequently, the Sabbath is the Lord's day. This also explains Rev. 1:10: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." The Sabbath is the Lord's day, because it originated and was honored by our Lord Himself.

6. And therefore it was true that He who made the world and the Sabbath for man, was the very best interpreter of what that Sabbath law was designed to be — a blessing to man, not a curse. Therefore, it is lawful, according to God's Sabbath law, to do well on the Sabbath day (Matt. 12:12); but this does not mean working for man's own profit or pleasure. Read in connection with it God's own divine commentary in Isa. 58:13.

7. Furthermore, He who made the Sabbath for man knew that man could honor it, keep it, as the Sabbath law demands. The Sabbath is eternal and unchangeable.