As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the 284 power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.

Da jøderne vendte sig fra Gud og ikke ville gøre Kristi retfærdighed til deres egen ved tro, mistede sabbatten sin betydning for dem. Satan søgte at ophøje sig selv og drage mennesker bort fra Kristus, og han arbejdede på at forvanske sabbatten, fordi den er tegnet på Kristi magt. Jødefolkets ledere gik Satans ærinde ved at omgive Guds hviledag med besværlige forordninger. På Kristi tid var sabbatten blevet så forvansket, at overholdelsen af den snarere genspejlede selviske og egenmægtige menneskers tanker end den kærlige, himmelske Faders sind. I virkeligheden fremstillede de skriftkloge Gud som den, der gav love, som det var umuligt for mennesker at overholde. De fik folket til at betragte Gud som en tyran og at tænke, at en overholdelse af sabbatten, sådan som han krævede gjorde menneskene hårdhjertede og grusomme. Det var Kristi opgave at bortrydde disse forkerte opfattelser. Skønt de skriftkloge fulgte ham med ubarmhjertigt fjendskab, rettede han sig end ikke tilsyneladende efter deres krav, men gik den lige vej og overholdt sabbatten i overensstemmelse med Guds lov.