What did Jesus mean, the Lord of the Sabbath?

The Pharisees were trying to find fault so they were looking for a excuse to pick a fight with Christ and they found what they thought was a good one, their interpretation of the Sabbath.

Matthew 12 King James Version (KJV)

"1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day."

While walking through a field, the disciples plucked the heads of grain, rubbed them in their palms, and ate them. But the Pharisees twisted the fact to charge the disciples with breaking the Sabbath commandment. But Jesus set them straight and refers the Pharisees to David, who, when he was hungry, entered the House of God and he and his men ate the shewbread, which only the priests were allowed to eat. By doing this, Jesus was pointing out how the Pharisees, through a long history of legalism, have heaped rule upon rule, tradition upon tradition, and turned the Sabbath from the joy it was supposed to be into a burden instead...

Mark 2:27-28 King James Version (KJV)
"27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."

We read through the scriptures how Christ observed the Sabbath and He set an example for us to follow...

Luke 4:16 King James Version (KJV)
"16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read."

Jesus followed "as his custom was" of going to the synagogue each Sabbath, and nowhere does scripture have anything contesting this. The practice of observing the first day of the week as Sabbath has no sanction either in Christ or in the New Testament or anywhere in the Bible...

Luke 6:6-11 King James Version (KJV)
"6 And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
7 And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
8 But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.
9 Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
10 And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
11 And they were filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus."

When Christ went to address this mans withered hand, the Pharisees and scribes who were present looked how they might entangle him in his actions or words. The Pharisees had evil intent and waited to charge Jesus with Sabbath breaking in the event He chose to heal the man. But Jesus read their hearts and proceeded to show that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, the One who created the Sabbath, and did not fail in His mission to deliver those in the bondage of pain and suffering and sickness. He placed Sabbath keeping in a even broader perspective, it is lawful on the Sabbath day to do good and to save life. We see the true nature of what Christ mission was, even on the Sabbath and it gives us a even better view of what Christ words meant, "Lord of the Sabbath".

Luke 13:10-16 King James Version (KJV)
"10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"

This woman was looked down upon by the Pharisees from some sin of her own, she had been crippled for 18 years, and unable to free herself from its bondage of pain and suffering. Jesus sees her, and calls her to come near Him, speaks to her in order that she may be healed, lays His hands on her, and “immediately she was made straight”

Luke 14:1-6 King James Version (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.
2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.
3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day.
4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;
5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
6 And they could not answer him again to these things.

Jesus was on His way to a Pharisee’s home for a meal on the Sabbath, and He heals a man who suffered from dropsy. Anticipating the objections from Pharisees and lawyers who were watching Him closely, Jesus raised two questions: first, on the purpose of the law “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? ” second, on the worth of a human being “Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?” . His point should have been obvious as they would not have suffered to lose their animal, and we it was, because according to Luke they had no answer to what He had said. Jesus revealed their hypocrisy, the worst kind because it came under a veil of supposed holiness and righteous indignation over what they perceived to be a grievous violation of God’s holy law.

 

Now we read this..

Luke 4:17 King James Version (KJV)
"17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,"

Christ clearly showed that the Sabbath was not only for going to church in order to worship but also to hear God’s Word. And He did even more..

Luke 4:31-41 King James Version (KJV)
31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.
33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.
35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.
38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her.
39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.
40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.
41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ."

On the Sabbath day we find Christ in His mission to teach, to relieve the oppressed, to heal every kind of disease, and we also find something else Christ handled on this Sabbath day, a demon-possessed man. This man confronted Jesus with what amounted to a confession: " ‘Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God." He did not argue or engage these unclean spirits, but rebuked them just as He rebuked the Devil himself....

Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

It was His custom if we look and see...

Matthew 17:18
And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

Mark 1:25
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

Mark 9:25
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

Luke 9:42
And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

Truly, Christ was the Lord of the Sabbath in every way, and He gave this gift to us at Creation for our benefit.