Fasting, Wineskins, and Sabbath

Bible Passage: Mark 2:18–28

The Joy of RELATIONSHIPS is GREATER > than RITUAL.

JAB: Parenting/Marriage: Mom/Dad or Husband/Wife you ever see and focus on the one thing your spouse or child does wrong, but you miss the 100 things they do well.

JAB: Think about the last time you did something out of habit instead of out of love. You didn’t stop doing the thing—you just stopped thinking about WHY you were doing it.

JAB: Now let me ask you something a little more uncomfortable: Is it possible to follow all the right spiritual routines, and still miss Jesus?

Hook: Some of the people closest to Jesus’ and closest to the time He was on earth were the ones who misunderstood Him the most?

They fasted. They kept Sabbath. They followed rules. And yet—they completely missed the joy of being with Him. The Joy of relationship.

The Joy of Relationship is GREATER THAN RITUAL.

That is exactly what we find happening in our passage this morning.

————

Story: Many years ago, I went to a wedding where everything was perfect—the venue, the food, the music. But something felt off when we gathered for photos. The thing that felt off become more evident when I saw two grown women pulling each other down by each others well manicured hair. Apparently, crispy hairsprayed hair is a great way to drag your foe to the ground and across the floor.

The bride and groom were there… but hardly anyone was paying attention to them. Apparently these ladies were focused on things going not right…the schedule, the seating chart, where they were in the photo, or who was getting credit.

That wedding had all the right traditions and photos… but very little joy.

Statement: We need to always realize that being in the presence of Jesus is greater than any practice, ritual, or tradition. Always!!!!! PRESENCE is GREATER than PRACTICE!

1. Presence > Practice

Mark 2:18–20 ESV

18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

What could have brought the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees together? Were they best friends? Or just a common trait or common enemy brought them together?

John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting—and fasting was a good thing. But somewhere along the way, both groups missed the very heartbeat of what fasting was meant to do: prepare the heart to recognize the Messiah.

Interestingly, John the Baptist’s entire ministry was to point people to Jesus—and yet his disciples are standing face-to-face with the Bridegroom and asking why His followers aren’t fasting. The Pharisees and John’s disciples weren’t allies, but they were united by one thing: they were zoomed in on the practice and missed the Presence.

Illustration: It’s like looking through a rifle scope while hunting. When you zoom in too tightly, you may miss the massive buck standing just outside your field of vision. Focus can become blindness.

Jesus responds with a wedding image. Weddings aren’t the time for mourning or fasting—they’re a time for joy, celebration, and relationship.

Jesus isn’t dismissing fasting; He’s redefining timing.

Fasting makes sense when the Bridegroom is gone. But when He’s present, joy is the proper response.

Application:

-Are we more devoted to the spiritual disciplines than the person they’re meant to lead us to?

-Have our practices become substitutes for intimacy?

———-

Read Text…continues describing something Jesus illustrates NEW is greater than STALE. (BREAD)

Who hear likes stale bread? Nobody. When we go to the store, we always check the bread for softness. Often checking dates. Often reaching behind the bread that has been pulled to the front because that is often the older bread. We want fresh bread. We want fresh bread. It is not a different recipe different ingredients, the difference is fresh vs stale.

And yet when it comes to our religions and relationships with God, we choose the stale.

Today, we need to realize that newness in a relationship with God through Jesus is greater than a stale relationship.

2. New > Stale

Mark 2:21–22 ESV

21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

Jesus shifts teaching between the following metaphors and parables. From weddings to wardrobes and wineskins. All teaching the lesson.

Old garments can’t handle new fabric.

Old wineskins can’t stretch for new wine.

Song:

There is this old song, you probably have heard it.

(Check your feelings right now)

Give me that old time religion. x3 It was good enough for Paul. It’s good enough for me. It was good for the Hebrew children. It’s good enough for me.

The sentiment is there.

However, we gotta remember. Jesus said you can’t put the new covenant on old garments, new wine in old wineskins. Paul had to teach the churches new ways to allow for the newness of Jesus in the world. The pharisees and Sadducees are the ones in the text who focused too much on ritual, and missed the good that God wanted from them.

The problem isn’t the old—it’s trying to force the new life of Jesus into rigid, unrenewed, stale systems or methods.

Jesus didn’t come to patch up religion.

Trying to force fit the Gospel into lifeless routines leads to ruptures/explosions… Garment destroyed. Wine is lost wineskins are destroyed. We must realize that the new life of Christ is far greater than any methods and definitely the stale methods that cannot handle all that God is doing in the lives of his people.

The great news about all of that is the great news that God is on the move in our world and has been through out all of history. There is nothing wrong with religion, until it keeps us from knowing and loving Jesus. Or keeps us from helping others do the same.

Application:

-Are your spiritual practices flexible enough to handle the work God is doing now?

-Or do you find that your so rigid that you cannot enjoy, live out, or even sense the new work God is doing in your life or the lives of those you love.

—————-

Shifts from metaphors to real life. And it is the Sabbath.

Read Text

3. Compassion > Custom

Mark 2:23–26 ESV

23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

Disciples are Hungry. They pluck grain. The Pharisees accuse them of breaking the law.

Jesus responds by pointing to David as an example that when people are genuinely hungry, breaking ceremonials rules to meet real need is good.

Compassion is greater than custom.

The point is NOT the rule breaking.

Religion asks, “Is this lawful?” follow the rule, do it, don’t do it.

Jesus asks, “Are they hungry” Do the right thing

Law centered. People centered.

Custom without compassion allows the law to be turned into a weapon instead of a gift.

Which leads to the final thought from this passage this morning that summarizes all of these things we have been discussing this morning.

4. Lordship > Legalism

(Cue Band)

Mark 2:27–28 ESV

27 And 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 text has these back to back metaphors and teachings not by accident by on purpose.

I am the Lord, not just of six days of the week, but of all the days. All things came into being through me. And I declare right here and now that I am Lord over all, and following me, loving me, loving like me is ok. Your rules may say plucking a grain is wrong, but I say to you the right thing is to feed someone who is hungry. No matter what day it is.

Conclusion:

I want to challenge all of us with this thought being emphasized in today’s passage.

What do we focus on?

What the rules are? What is the expectation? What am I obligated to do? What have I been told to do? What will people think?

OR

What is the right thing to do in this moment? What is the good that God desires in the room this morning? What do I have the oppurtunity to do? What is the best for others? What good can I do for people.

These two ideas are SO DIFFERENT! One if rule centered. The other is people centered. And Jesus said that the Law and the Sabbath were made for people. For our good. For our help. The laws and rules serve to make life better.

They do not exist to imprison or enslave us.

Church Dress: If it helps you worship, helps others draw closer to Jesus, then by all means do it. But if it causes pain, spending, and difficulty and distracts and stresses you from being able to worship the King. Then why are you frantially trying to get all dolled up and your kids looking a certain way setting your day off? Is it because of a real relationship with Jesus or because of what people might think? These things aren’t always mutually exclusive, but you know when they are.

Working on the Sabbath: Does mowing your grass on Saturday prevent you from worshipping the king? Does taking that day completely off of work help you be dependent on God? If someone is in need of something, do you help them. Or say I can’ because I can’t work. Just wait until the next day and I’ll feed you.

Jesus is not saying throw the rules out. But he is saying that…

-Ritual without relationship leads to exhaustion. -Relationship with Jesus leads to joy, renewal, compassion, and rest…come to me all of you who are burdened and I will give you REST!

Is there anyone being RULED by RULES and you have no JOY in your RELATIONSHIP with God or others? THis or anything else God is speaking to you about. By all means come to the altar.

Sticky Landing Line:

When Jesus is present, joy replaces ritual—and freedom replaces religion.