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The Catechism in Questions & Answers

319. What is the significance of the Third Commandment in the New Testament?

Keeping the Sabbath—the seventh day of the Judaic calendar—holy was part of the law for the Israelites. Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and healed the sick, which was a kind of work, according to the understanding of the Israelites, and thus a violation of the commandment. Here Jesus, the Lord over the Sabbath, made it clear that doing good to others is more valuable than a purely formal fulfilment of the Third Commandment.

‘Synagogues’ are places of worship in which Judaic congregations have gathered for divine service since their captivity in Babylon. These were verbal divine services that consisted of prayer, reading from Holy Scripture, and interpreting it.

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
Mark 2: 27