Christ the Author of the Sabbath

"The same being who wrought in the creation of this earth, and the

arrangement of it for the habitation of man, who had ordained the marriage institution, and had placed the first human pair in possession of their goodly heritage, was the same one who spent the seventh day in holy rest and contemplation, and thus laid the foundation of the Sabbath for the new-fledged world. 

He then blessed the day and set it apart for holy use. 

Severing it by a boundary which never should be invaded, from all secular time, he dedicated it forever to the worship of Himself, and the memory of His creative work; for, says the record, He "sanctified it"; that is, 

He put it under the guardianship of a definite statute, formulated to regulate its observance. 

To "sanctify " means nothing less than this. 

When Christ declared so emphatically to the people of His time that 

"the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27), He knew whereof He affirmed; for He was the very one who performed the acts that made it, and He knew, better than man can know, its object and intent." 

Uriah Smith