Lord of the Sabbath is one of the names of Jesus (Yeshua‘) that indicate the scope of His authority as Lord. Jesus taught His disciples that, “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” It is one of a few examples where Jesus used the messianic name “Son of Man” in place of the personal pronoun “I.” Jesus claimed dominion over the sacred day of rest.
The context of the passage is an incident in which the disciples got into trouble with the priests because they plucked and ate grain on the Sabbath. According to the pharisaic additions to the Law of Moses (Torah), their actions constituted work, and work on the Sabbath was a sin. Jesus pointed to a precedent from the life of David. Jesus likened Himself to David and His disciples to temple priests (Matt. 12:1-8). It was another messianic claim.
Lord of the Sabbath in the Greek text of Matthew 12:8
Lord of the Sabbath in Greek:
Kyrios tou sabbatou
Strong’s Concordance numbers: 2962, 4521
Bible references: Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5
Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:5 NIV)
