And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Ver. 27. The sabbath was made for man] That is, for man's safety and advantage. As he would be undone without it, he would grow wild, and forget God; so, if it stand in the way of his safety, it is not to be observed, as if an enemy then assault us, we may fight with him. Pompey could never have taken Jerusalem, but that the religious Jews refused to defend themselves on the sabbath; which when he observed, he then on that day most fiercely assaulted them, and took their city. (Dio Cassius.)