Fasting and The Sabbath

“3 Gifts From God”

Mark 2:18-28

Introduction

Sections

· VS 2:18-20

· VS 2:21-22

· VS 2:23-28

In VS 2:1 - 3:6 – We see the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders (Scribes and Pharisees) intensify

· This conflict revolved around the self-righteousness and legalism of the pharisees who hold to made-made laws and man-made traditions

· They were judging and condemning the things Jesus was doing

· VS 3:1–6 – It intensifies to the point that they plot against Jesus’ life

· Mark 7:1–23 - Jesus accuses the Pharisees of overvaluing God’s law and undervaluing the intentof the law itself

· Quote- “Believing that Torah was prescriptive for all of life, the Pharisees wove an increasingly intricate web of regulations around it, whose purpose may have been to honor the Torah, but whose effect was a confining and even crushing burden on human existence. The Pharisees valued conformity to legal prescriptions that replaced the disposition of the heart thus distorting the true intent of the law. - James Edwards

3 SECTIONS – 3 GIFTS

· THE GIFT OF ABSTINANCE

· THE GIFT OF THE NEW COVENANT IN JESUS

· THE GIFT OF REST AND RENEWAL

FASTING – VS 2:18-20 – THE GIFT OF ABSTINANCE

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

· Jesus uses the picture of a wedding to teach about fasting

o Jesus is the bridegroom and the guests are His disciples

· Why do Jesus’ disciples not fast when He is present with them?

o A wedding is time of celebration and feasting

o When Jesus was present with them, it was a time to rejoice (Feasting, celebration) and not fast

o VS 20 – Jesus says the disciples will fast when He is taken from them

§ Holding to the picture of a wedding – Taken away is the thought of the groom being forcibly removed from the wedding celebration – The bridegroom becomes the victim

§ When Jesus says He will be taken away – He is referring to His arrest, trial, death, resurrection, and ascension

§ This is when they will fast

· What is fasting? What does it entail? Why do we fast?

o Abstaining from things that are a regular part of our everyday life

o Doing this helps us:

§ Be closer to God while depending and relying on Him to provide for all our needs

o Fasting allows us to focus on sustaining the life of faith and growth into Christ-likeness.

o Fasting reminds us of our need to persevere in faithfulness to God

o A time for refreshing and renewal - Physically, mentally, and spiritually

OLD COVENANT VS NEW COVENANT – VS 2:21-22 – THE GIFT OF THE NEW COVENANT IN JESUS

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Illustration to help us understand what Jesus is teaching

· A business who has been around for a long time and their once success is fading

o So they give it a face-lift to get back the success they once had

o They change everything about it except its purpose

· These 2 versus give a short parable using common illustrations to teach a principle or a Biblical truth: Old cloth already shrunk (Old garments) sewn to new unshrunk cloth – New wine in old wineskins VS New wine in new wineskins

· Jesus is teaching us that the new patch and new wine cannot co-exist with the old cloth and wineskins

o If you try to combine them, the old substance will destroy the new

· In both instances something that once was useful is discarded and of no further worth

· These 2 illustrations represent the OLD AND NEW COVENANTS

o The old garment and old wineskin is the Old Covenant

o The new patch and new wine is Jesus and the New Covenant

o Just as the new cloth and new wine cannot co-exist with the old - The old and new covenants cannot co-exist

o Jesus is not an addition to the O.T. law

o However, you can’t altogether separate them – The OLD COVENENT in the OLD TESTAMENT was the sacrificial system for forgiveness – And is a picture of the true forgiveness in Christ (New Covenant)

Matthew 5:17

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

· Like the business that gets a face lift but doesn’t change its purpose – These 2 covenants hold the same purpose – Forgiveness of sin

· But the face lift is how forgiveness is accomplished

· The old sacrificial system for forgiveness is temporary and done through works by the blood of sheep and goats – The new is permanent and done through grace by the blood of the perfect lamb (Jesus)

Hebrews 10:1-4

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

· Understanding this is critical for our redemption and salvation

o Forgiveness and eternal salvation only comes by faith through grace – Only comes from the work of Jesus on the cross

THE SABBITH (4th commandment of the 10) – VS 2:23-28 – THE GIFT OF REST AND RENEWAL

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

· The Pharisees were accusing Jesus and His disciples of breaking the Sabbith because they were traveling and plucking the heads of grain to eat – A form of labor

The Jewish leaders established their rules of the Sabbith from Deuteronomy 5:12-14 (Exodus 23:12)

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lordyour God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.

· We again see the legalism of the Pharisees

o They added man-made laws and conditions onto God’s command and purposes for the Sabbith

· The Jewish Sabbith was to abstain from every kind of labor since God himself had rested on the seventh day of creation

o Not working on the Sabbith in the Jewish understanding and practice really was to not even lift a finger in work

§ Just one absurd example of this - It was forbidden to even carry children

Jesus’ used Old Testament Scripture to respond to their condemnation – Something they would all be familiar with – VS 25-26

· He recounted an event with King David regarding eating on the Sabbith

· Found in 1 Samuel 21:1-6

The point Jesus is making in these versus is that:

· People should not be burdened or confined by the Sabbith – Instead it is a gift from God

o It was for physical, mental, and spiritual rest and refreshment

· So, the Sabbith is more of a mind-set than an action

Jesus ends with a Biblical truth in VS 27-28:

· The Son of Man (Jesus) is the Lord of the Sabbith – He has authority over it, defines it, and establishes the reasons for doing it

o Jesus says the Sabbith was made for man – Not man for the Sabbith

CONCLUSION/APPLICATION

Let’s take what we’ve learned and look at how we can apply it to our lives

1st - Legalism

· How should we view legalism from the church and other Christians when it’s directed towards us?

Colossians 2:16-17 shows us how to respond

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

· Well, what about when we are the ones judging and condemning others?

o We must know the reasons why if we’re going to fix it

o When we being legalistic, we’re not responding to other’s actions the way Jesus responded to us

o We don’t show mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, and compassion towards others

o And it’s because we have forgotten the Gospel message

o In the Gospel - All these things were shown to us in the life and work of Jesus

o Here’s the deal, we have to live out the Gospel in our life every day to avoid legalism

2nd – Try fasting

· It doesn’t have to be just going without food

· We can choose to abstain from anything we do daily – Sometimes things you depend on

o TV

o Social media

o Coffee

o Or anything else

· And it doesn’t have to be a specified length of time

o Can be hours, a day, or even longer

o If you haven’t ever fasted, it’s probably a good idea to keep it short

· When we’re fasting, replace whatever it is with:

o Being in constant communication with God through prayer

o Pray for His provisions, self-control, and perseverance

o Focus on relying and being dependent on Him for every good thing in our life

o Replace it with time studying our Bibles

3rd - The Sabbith

· Personally, I believe we can still do things on Sunday’s – Do things we normally do

o I think the important thing is to have a mindset that that day is for our physical, mental, and spiritual rest and refreshment

o It’s a time to be close to God focusing on prayer, the grace and mercy we’ve received from Jesus, and strengthening our relationship with Him

o We can do this even going about our regular Sunday routines

Next Week

Mark 3:1-12