Mark 2:27 (ESV)
"And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath."
SDA Arguments:
1.) "Anyone who teaches that the Sabbath is only for Israel is mistaken because Jesus clearly said, ‘The Sabbath was made for MAN!’ If you consider yourself part of humanity, you should observe the Sabbath, as it was made for you, not just for Israelites!”
2.) "The word “human” in Mark 2:27 in Greek is anthropos, which means mankind or humanity. Therefore, the Sabbath was established not only for Israel but for all of humanity .
Answer:
Many have been deceived due to a misunderstanding of Mark 2:27, especially because of tricky questions frequently posed by Seventh-day Adventists (SDAs), particularly to those unprepared for discussions about the Sabbath. When I was an apologist for the SDA church for 24 years, I believed that SDAs were unbeatable in debates about the Sabbath, even if we only used Mark 2:27. In my past experiences debating “Sunday keepers,” I could easily lead them in circles and make them admit that the Sabbath was not only for Israel but also for all of humanity (“anthropos”).
However, now that I am a born-again Christian, the Holy Spirit has removed the deception from my use of Mark 2:27. I understand now the correct way to interpret this verse—through proper exegesis (reading FROM the text) rather than eisegesis (reading INTO the text). I realize that the SDAs’ conclusion regarding Mark 2:27 is incorrect because they apply eisegesis instead of exegesis.
The Context of Mark 2:27
The context of Mark 2:27 reveals the purpose WHY the Sabbath was made, rather than focusing on TO WHOM it was given.
The central point of contention between Jesus and the Pharisees, as per the context of Mark 2:27, revolves around Jesus' disciples plucking grain from a field on the Sabbath day.
The Clear Word Bible, translated by Seventh-day Adventist theologian Dr. Jack Blanco, provides a clear rendering of Mark 2:27. According to this translation, the message in Mark 2:27 is to emphasize WHY the Sabbath was made, rather than focusing on WHO it was made for.
"Then to clarify, Jesus added, “You see, man was not created to serve the Sabbath; the Sabbath was made to serve man.” (Mark. 2.27 The Clear Word Bible)
The purpose of the Sabbath, according to this SDA translation, is to serve man, not for man to serve the Sabbath. Interestingly, this passage does not discuss to WHOM the Sabbath was given. When we listen to the common argument made by SDAs regarding this passage, it diverges significantly from the true intention behind Jesus’ statement. While SDAs claim that Mark 2:27 is evidence that the Sabbath was given to everyone and not just the Jews, Jesus’ actual point is to emphasize the PURPOSE why the Sabbath was made for man.
The Sabbath was made for Israel alone
Mark 2:27 is not the appropriate verse to establish that the Sabbath is universally commanded for all of humanity. Numerous other Bible verses, beyond those found in Mark chapter 2, address the question of to whom the Sabbath was specifically intended and when it was made. Here are some of the examples from the SDAs Bible translation, The Clear Word Bible along with other more reliable translation:
Psalm 147:19-20 (The Clear Word Bible)
"He reveals His word to Jacob and gives His laws to Israel. He has not done this for other nations, so they do not know His laws.”
According to the clear statement from the Seventh-day Adventists’ own Bible translation, it explicitly states that the Law, including the Ten Commandments, was exclusively given to Israel. Furthermore, it emphasizes that this same Law was not intended for any other nations apart from Israel. The reason cited is that these other nations "do not know His laws."
Where did the SDAs get the idea that God instituted the Sabbath at Creation in Genesis, if the law—including the Sabbath—was only given to the Israelites 430 years after Abraham's time? This verse also dispels the myth spread by the SDAs, which holds that Abraham followed the Ten Commandments and kept the Sabbath, which is not supported by the Bible. The Bible makes it abundantly evident that none of the Israelites' ancestors, not even Abraham, received the law or the Sabbath that the Lord established for them on Mount Sinai. The Clear Word Bible, an SDA translation, explains it as follows:
Deut. 5:2-3 (The Clear Word Bible) "Remember how the Lord spoke to us at Mount Sinai and made a covenant with us? It wasn’t with our ancestors that He made a written covenant, but with us and with all who are alive today.”
The Amplified Bible captures the essence of this passage in the following manner:
Deuteronomy 5:2-3 (AMP) "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made this covenant not with our fathers, but with us, who are all of us here alive this day."
Another erroneous method of interpretation by SDAs in Mark 2:27 concerns the Greek word "man" or "anthropos." What SDAs do is they isolate the word "man" or "anthropos" in the verse and look for its definition in secular dictionaries, where "anthropos" is defined as "humanity" or "mankind." After separating this word and relating it to the dictionary definitions, they then return it within Mark 2:27 and read it with the insertion "the Sabbath was made for MANKIND or HUMANITY," then conclude that therefore, the Sabbath was made by God for all people, not just for Israel.
However, this is not the correct approach of SDAs to the Bible verse. The final arbiter of the accurate definition of a word is not the dictionary, but rather the context itself or how it is used in a particular situation. In the case of Mark 2:27, the situation or background of Mark 2 will determine how Christ used it in a manner fitting to the discussion at hand.
This point was affirmed by a renowned New Testament Scholar, Dr. Donald Arthur Carson, stating that the word "anthropos" cannot be confined to just one meaning such as "mankind," as the SDAs would like to imply. This is because Mark uses this word multiple times in his Gospel with various nuances or meanings. Dr. Carson stated:
"The noun anthropos occurs in Mark as follows: (1) in the expression “sons of men,” 3:28; (2) in “Son of Man,” 2:10, 28; 8:31, 38; 9:9, 12, 31; 10:33, 45; 13:26; 14:21 (twice), 41, 62; (3) with reference to a particular man or men, 1:23; 3:1, 3, 5; 4:26; 5:2, 8; 8:24, 27; 12:1; 13:34; 14:13, 21 (twice), 71; 15:39; (4) as “man” generically, 1:17; 7:7-8, 15 (three times), 18, 20 (twice), 21, 23; 8:33, 36-37; 10:7, 9, 27; 11:2,30, 32; 12:14. The distinction between (3) and (4) may be artificial, as in 12:1 or the parables. Neither the article nor the number changes the meaning of the noun itself (cf. 7:21 and 7:23). It must be concluded, therefore, that 2:27 cannot refer to “mankind” merely on the basis of the word anthropos."[1]
Therefore, the frequent emphasis of SDAs on the word "anthropos" as a basis is weak. They are the ones providing such a definition that does not align with the context of the entire book of Mark. This might also be the reason why only Mark mentions "the Sabbath was made for man," a phrase never mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
If Jesus' intention was indeed to emphasize that the Sabbath should be observed by all people, His response to the Pharisees' question in verse 24, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" would be quite different. Would Jesus' answer to the question be appropriate if He responded with, "The Sabbath was made for all people, not just for Israel!"? It seems like quite a distant answer, doesn't it?
I also used the context of Mark 2 to answer the question of who the "man" mentioned by Christ was that led to the establishment of the Sabbath in a formal debate that took place on social media. The topic of the debate was about Mark 2:27. My debate opponent was an SDA layman who was an apologist for the SDA. During my cross-examination of him, I asked who the "people" involved in the scene of Mark 2 were, Jews or Gentiles? The disciples of Jesus who plucked grain on the Sabbath were no doubt Jews, Jesus himself was a Jew, the Pharisees were Jews, David and his companions who ate the consecrated bread in the Temple that Jesus used as an example were Jews, and the other example Jesus gave of the priests who violated the Sabbath in the Temple were Jews. Therefore, Jesus' answer that the Sabbath was made for "man" aligns only with them since the people involved in that scene were all Jews! So my final question to the SDA debater was, were there any Gentiles in that scene in Mark 2? The amusing answer from the SDA debater was "I wasn't there in that scene so I can't answer!" That's how it goes when you collide with the truth and still try to oppose it!
When was the Sabbath was made?
Nehemiah 9:13-14 also assists us in answering our question of when the Sabbath was established or revealed.
Nehemiah 9.13-14 (The Clear Word Bible) “At Sinai you spoke to them from the mountain and gave them good laws and sound teachings. It was there that you wrote the Ten Commandments and made the Sabbath plain. Also, through your servant Moses, you gave them precepts, statutes and laws to govern their worship and their land.”
The SDA translation made it evident that God originally gave the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath at Sinai:
Ezekiel 20:10-12 (The Living Bible) “But I didn’t do it, for I acted to protect the honor of my name, lest the Egyptians laugh at Israel’s God who couldn’t keep them from harm. So I brought my people out of Egypt right before the Egyptians’ eyes and led them into the wilderness. There I gave them my laws so they could live by keeping them. If anyone keeps them, he will live. And I gave them the Sabbath—a day of rest every seventh day—as a symbol between them and me, to remind them that it is I, the Lord, who sanctifies them—that they are truly my people."
Only the Israelites, who had been freed from the land of Egypt, were granted the privilege of keeping the Sabbath. This is an exclusive divine command for the Israelites alone. God established the Sabbath as a symbol of the covenant He made with Israel, which none of the other nations were ever made by God.
The New Testament also offers support in Galatians 3:17. Paul argues that the Law, which undoubtedly contains the Sabbath commandment, was added just 430 years after God made His covenant with Abraham, refuting the SDA claim that the Sabbath was a creation institution.
Galatians 3:17 (The Living Bible) "Here’s what I am trying to say: God’s promise to save through faith—and God wrote this promise down and signed it—could not be canceled or changed four hundred and thirty years later when God gave the Ten Commandments."
The Clear Word Bible, an SDA translation, confirms the meaning of Galatians 3:17:
Gal. 3.17 (The Clear Word Bible) "Also notice that the law at Sinai was given to Israel four hundred and thirty years after God made His agreement with Abraham. So the law, given many years later, does not set aside God’s earlier promise nor void the agreement He made.”
It is evident from the scriptures we cited that, contrary to what some SDAs assert, the Sabbath was not intended for everyone. Rather, we now know the reality that:
1.) The Sabbath began as a law given by God to Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses (Nehemiah 9:13-14).
2.) The Sabbath is included among the laws added by the Lord 430 years after the time of Abraham (Galatians 3:17).
3.) And the "people" to whom God gave the Sabbath were none other than the nation of Israel alone (Deuteronomy 5:3; Psalm 147:19-20).
If Seventh-day Adventists humbly understand the three points mentioned above, it explains the meaning of Christ's words in Mark 2:27, "The Sabbath was made for man." This means that the law regarding Sabbath observance was given by God 430 years after the time of Abraham at Mount Sinai for the Israelites alone. We will never find in the entire Bible that this commandment was also given to other Gentile nations. So, we can ask Seventh-day Adventists if they can find even a single verse in the Bible where God punished other nations for violating the Sabbath. Why did God only punish Israel for Sabbath violations? Why not other nations?
A case in point is found in Nehemiah 13:16–20. Only the Israelites were subject to God's rebuke for their commercial activities on the Sabbath telling them how, i.e., they were desecrating the Sabbath again as their fathers had done; While the people of Tyre, who were not Israelites, were not reminded about the Sabbath command since their fore. Since the non-Sabbatarian merchants were not part of the Old Covenant between God and Israel alone, Nehemiah threatened to attack them personally if they returned on the Sabbath without informing them of God's Sabbath covenant in Sinai.
Nehemiah 13:16-20 (The Clear Word Bible) "I saw people from Tyre who had moved to Jerusalem and had set up their markets to sell fish and all kinds of other imported merchandise to our people on the Sabbath. So I confronted the city fathers and said, “What is this wicked thing you are doing and letting others do? It’s desecrating the Lord’s day and is against all reasonable Sabbath keeping. It’s openly breaking the fourth commandment.” I reminded them that their forefathers had done the same thing and that’s why the Lord had allowed the Babylonians to come and destroy the city. Now they were desecrating the Sabbath again as their fathers had done and the consequences would be the same, because the Lord had not changed. So I ordered the city gates to be shut as soon as the evening shadows began to fall on the sixth day of the week and not to be opened again until the sun had set and the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates of the city to make sure my orders were carried out and that nothing was brought in through the gates into the city on the Sabbath. Once or twice after this, the merchants who were accustomed to selling their goods to our people on the Sabbath spent the night before outside the city walls. But I warned them not to wait there hoping to come into the city Sabbath morning, because the gates would not open until sundown. If they persisted and tried to come in, I would have them arrested. From then on, they stopped sitting outside the city walls during the Sabbath.”
It cannot be denied by anyone that in the narrative of Nehemiah 13:16-21 and other evidences we mentioned earlier, the Sabbath was instituted on Mount Sinai through Moses solely for the Israelites. We have proven this by considering the context of Mark 2, where when Christ said that the Sabbath was made for man, it was for the Israelites only, as it is part of God's covenant with them, and we non-Israelites are not included in it.
[1] Carson, D. A. (1999). From Sabbath to Lord’s Day: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Investigation. Wipf and Stock Publishers p. 89 footnote 56.
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