The Gospel of Mark: The Unconventional Jesus

Text: Mark 2:1-3:6

Theme: Jesus was a unconventional Messiah. We need to be unconventional Christians.

Date: 12/09/18 File name: GospelOfMark07.wpd ID Number:

How do you view Jesus? Over the centuries, man have attempted to paint the face of Jesus. Their portraits are what we would call “conventional.”

Many view Jesus as a meak and mild man who sought always to live at peace with everyone and who avoided controversy whenever possible. But as you read the gospel accounts you see that the truth is that, from the very beginning, Jesus deliberately provoked certain groups. He never hesitated to flout the petty regulations of men, and he knowingly and deliberately offended people. In the end, he became too hot to handle, and the "establishment" of that day finally decided that the only way out was to get rid of him. We need the view of Jesus painted in this passage before us to balance the false impressions we often acquire. But we need to keep the entire picture in balance. Jesus was no "radical revolutionist," or a “social reformer” as we use the terms today. But he was unconventional. He challenged the status quo.

In the passage before us our Lord’s unconventionality is revealed in a series of questions put to him by various groups. Let’s look at them:

I. JESUS WAS UNCONVENTIONAL IN WHAT HE CLAIMED (Mark 2:1-12)

1. what does Jesus say that is so unconventional?

a. he tells the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven

2. the first question raised is Who can forgive sins but God only? v. 7

3. Jesus used the opportunity to assert his divinity and his sovereignty

a. He claims the title, Son of Man

b. now, to catch an idea of what the title is all about, we got to look at the Prophet Daniel

Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed." NASB95

4. Jesus was unconventional in what He said, but there was truth in what he said

II. UNCONVENTIONAL IN WHO HE ASSOCIATED WITH (Mark 2:13-17)

1. who does Jesus associate with that is so unconventional?

a. He calls as a disciple a Publican!

b. and then, he eats dinner with a whole bunch of publicans and other sinners

2. the second question raised is How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? v. 16

3. a Publican was a tax collector

a. they were absolutely despised by the Jewish people

b. they were seen as turn coats who, like Esau, had sold their birth right for a pot of porridge

4. Jesus responds in v. 17 by reminding his listeners that the healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick do

a. in a way, he’s agreeing with his detractors

b. He’s saying, “You’re right. There’s something wrong with these people. Their sick, hurting, troubled men. Their style of life has damaged them deeply. They don’t see life rightly. You’re right. these are sick men. But where else should a doctor be?”

c. on the other hand, there are people like the Pharisees who, because they think they have no need of help from God, are in no position to be helped

1) there is nothing to say to them

III. UNCONVENTIONAL IN HIS RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS (Mark 2:18-22)

1. what religious rites does Jesus do (or not do) that makes him controversial?

a. he does not regularly fast

2. the third question raised is Why do the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not? v. 18

3. once again the Pharisees have been offended

a. evidently this was a fast day, and Jesus and his disciples weren’t fasting

b. the Law of Moses required only one day of the year to be a fast day – Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement

c. but, over the centuries, the Pharisees in order to show how zealous they were for God had designated other days as fast days

1) on those days, you were to dress in sackcloth and apply ashes to your head

2) they hoped that God would take notice of their pious actions

3) but they also hoped that their neighbors would, too

4. the Lord’s answer is interesting: How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?

a. all this time, the Jews had worshiped in the Temple – solemn, ceremonial, ritualistic services centering upon sacrifice and silence before the greatness of God

b. now, Jesus comes teaching them that a new relationship has come in which there is a vitality and a warmth of intimacy with the bridegroom himself

1) that relationship can only be expressed in gladness and celebration

5. God is going to establish a New Covenant with the people of Israel vv. 21-22

IV. UNCONVENTIONAL IN HIS WORSHIP (Mark 2:23-3:6)

1. how does Jesus worship that makes him controversial?

a. he believes the Sabbath is for man and not the other way around

2. the forth question raised is Why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? v. 24

3. two events . . .

a. working on the Sabbath

b. healing on the Sabbath

4. the Sabbath originally was given to restore man – to give him rest and recreation

a. properly observed, it was to be a joy

b. but the Pharisees had ringed it with thousands of interpretations of what it meant to cease work that they had made it a terrible burden to bear

5. Jesus asserts that the Sabbath was made for man and that He, the Son of Man, is Lord even of the Sabbath

Dwight L. Moody was anything but conventional. To attract poor, urban children to his Sunday school, he bought a pony and offered rides. To preach the gospel to people who resisted attending church, he held meetings in theaters, auditoriums, and sprawling circus tents. When managers of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago decided to keep the Fair open on Sunday, many Christian leaders called for a boycott. Not Moody. He said, “Let us open so many preaching places and present the gospel so attractively that people will want to come and hear it.”

D.L. Moody earned his famous nickname “Crazy Moody.” But in his delightfully unconventional way, he reached 100,000,000 people with the good news of Jesus Christ.

In short, being a Christian isn’t about your church, your liturgical style, or your “denomination”. It’s about a simple mandate. Love. Love God (easy difficulty), love yourself (medium difficulty), love your neighbor (expert difficulty).