The Sabbath Created for Whom and When?
"And [Jesus] said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath'" (Mark 2:27-28).
The Sabbath was not just created; it was made with someone in mind. The prevalent idea today is that the Sabbath was made "for the Jews"—but that is not what Christ says! Christ says it was made "for man"! It was something created for the benefit of all of mankind, not just for a certain group of people. God created the Sabbath immediately after He created the human race—not at the origination of the Jews:
Then God said, "Let Us [plural, God and the Word] make man in Our image, according to Our likeness." . . . So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
Verse 31 shows that this happened on the sixth day of creation week. Further, man was the very last thing or being created on that day. Man came into being, then, probably in the late afternoon of the sixth day.
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3)
When "God said, 'Let Us make man,'" who spoke? As John 1:1-3, 14 shows, Jesus Christ is also called the Word—that is, the Spokesman. He speaks only as the Father directs. God created all things by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16). Therefore, the One who became Jesus said: "Let Us make man." Jesus did the work of creation, as instructed by the Father.
Notice that He did not complete His creating on the sixth day, but it continued through the seventh day: "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done." God ended His work, but the creation week was not yet over! Creation Week was a full seven days of creation.
What did He create on the seventh day? He made the Sabbath! However, He made the Sabbath, not by work, but by ceasing from it. On the seventh day He ended the work of creation—what was created by work. He rested on the seventh day, and by doing so, created the Sabbath. He then blessed and set apart the seventh day as a day of rest and worship for mankind.
