Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 2:28

"so that the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath." — Mark 2:28 (ASV)

The follow-up pronouncement is preceded by the phrase “Then he said to them” (cf. 4:2b, 11, 21, 24, 26; 6:10; 7:9; 8:21; 9:1), suggesting an independent saying of Jesus that is relevant to the subject at hand. To Jesus the Sabbath was not created for its own sake; it was a gift of God to the human race. Its purpose was not to put humans in a kind of straightjacket. Rather, it was for their good— to provide rest from labor and opportunity for worship.

Is v.28 a statement of Mark about Jesus or of Jesus about himself? If v.27 is a separate saying of Jesus inserted by Mark to climax the teaching of Jesus about the Sabbath, then it seems best to regard this verse as Mark’s comment to the church (cf. 2:10). In any case, Jesus has authority to determine the use of the Sabbath.