011-Mark 2:23-28

📷12:32

INTRODUCTION

What would a city look like if Satan took full control of the city? Hear this surprising answer by former Tenth Pastor Donald Gray Barnhouse. Barnhouse said that if Satan took over Philadelphia (any city), all the bars would be closed, pornography would be banished, and pristine streets would be filled with tidy pedestrians who smiled at each other. There would be no swearing; the children would say, “Yes, sir!” and “No, mam!” and churches would be filled every Sunday … where Christ would not be preached.

You see, Barnhouse is saying something very, very important, something that I think is easy for us to miss; and it is that the greatest danger to the Gospel is not all those atheistic threats.You know, when we see those things, we rear up; we’re aware and we defend the Gospel.The greatest danger of the Gospel has always been and continues to be a counterfeit gospel.It’s a gospel that doesn’t actually need Christ.And when you hear that, you would like to think that, “Well, that wouldn’t be me.” The fact of the matter is that the seeds of the counterfeit gospel still exist in all of us.

We cannot simply assume that we have the Gospel. (What a wonderful warning!) We cannot simply assume that we have the Gospel unless we keep the Gospel at the center of the church, we are always in danger of shoving it off to one side and letting something else take its place. Martin Luther rightly warned that there is a clear and present danger that the devil may take away from us the pure doctrine of faith and may substitute it for the doctrines (now hear this) of works and human traditions. The Good News of the cross and resurrection must be preached, believed, and lived; otherwise it will be lost. The Church’s greatest danger is not the anti-gospel outside the church; it is the counterfeit gospel inside the church. The Judaizers did not walk around the city in Antioch wearing T-shirts that said, “Hug me, I’m a false apostle.” What made them so dangerous was that they knew how to talk the way that Christians talk; they used all the right terminology; they talked about how they got saved; they told people to trust in Christ; they presented the Gospel, only they did not have the Gospel after all. We should expect, therefore, that the most serious threat to the one true Gospel is something that is also called the gospel. The most dangerous teachers are the ones who preach a different Christ, but can still call him, “Jesus.”

Last week we looked at the problem of tradition. How tradition can move us away from the understanding of the Gospel. 

Today we will look at it’s cousin legalism. 

And that’s exactly what Christ collides with in these two accounts.

BIBLE VERSE

Mark 2:23–28 CSB

23 On the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry—26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. 28 So then, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

1. The Incident

EXPLANATION

Mark 2:23–24 CSB

23 On the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

The Sabbath was a big dealTwo things set Judaism apart, the Sabbath and circumcision—outward observances kept from generation to generationAccording to the law, it was okay to pluck heads of grain by hand (see Deuteronomy 23:25)

The Sabbath law was very complicated and very detailed

Not in the Bible

As Judaism went on, they picked up traditions and wrote rules

In the Mishnah, there are no less than 12 tractates, 39 different prohibitions—things that can’t be done on the Sabbath

Four deal with this situation

Could not reap

Could not thresh

Could not winnow

Could not prepare a meal

The Pharisees believed that these four were broken in this instance

It was hard work keeping a day of rest.

ILLUSTRATION

The way that the Pharisees interpreted the Sabbath law was case study number one of their legalism.Because their handling of the law was both prideful and burdensome at the same time.They were not content just to keep Sabbath laws. THEY NEEDED MORE.What always happens in legalism is that the law is added to, and the teachers of the law interpreted and reinterpreted and interpreted and reinterpreted the law to a minutia of laws. 

Let me give you some examples.

They would reason that because you couldn’t work on the Sabbath, it meant that you could only take 1999 steps on the Sabbath. And so a good legalist would count his steps. You must not reach 2000.Well, if it’s wrong to work on the Sabbath, then carrying something needs to be defined, and so the teachers of the law said that you must carry nothing heavier than a fig.You couldn’t throw something up in the air if you caught it with the other hand. This is where legalism goes.Women were told not to bathe. You’re wondering why. Well, I’ll tell you, lest the water go down on the floor, and you would be tempted then to clean up the floor; that would be work.You couldn’t wear jewelry if you were a woman unless (Do you know what I’m going to say?) it was lighter than a fig.

APPLICATION

Now hear what’s happening:

Legalism never elevates God’s law. Legalism reduces God’s law; it diminishes God’s law.

It has to do that because it makes God’s law a humanly doable standard, and so we reduce it, and we reduce it, and we reduce it until it’s something that all of us can keep; and as we keep it, we rise in pride, and we condemn all the people who don’t. Danger! Danger! Danger!

So, I can count my steps, but I may not have a heart that, as I’m counting my steps, is worshiping the Lord God Creator of all things. If I’m not worshiping Him as I’m counting my steps, I have broken the Sabbath no matter how many steps I have taken.- Paul Tripp

Here is what legalism misses:It misses that we are welcomed to come and commune with God. As we will see in a second God is asking us to come and be in his presence and celebrate and be one with Him.However, If we are not careful we can miss it because we get caught up in how things are “supposed” to be.

We think this does not happen now but how many people come to church every year in America and leave saying:

 I couldn’t worship today because_________.t

he order of worship was changed

they didn’t have the offering after the 3 songs.

 the pastor where that weird shirt, no suit, and tie.

there was a Christmas tree on the sanctuary.

Their problem was legalism. They were reducing God to something they could manage and therefore feel better about themselves without the need for a savior.

2. The Instruction

EXPLANATION

Mark 2:25–26 CSB

25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry—26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?”

David and his men ate the holy bread (see 1 Samuel 21)

The bread that was separated for the priests only.

David and his men had a need.

It superseded the ritual.

Legalism puts rules/rituals over relationships.It put’s do’s and dont’s over people

Example: People taking CBD oils. 

When we impose man-made regulations upon ourselves (or others) and lose sight of our liberty to do or not do those things which Scripture neither commands nor forbids, we destroy the fruit of the Spirit and we cease to grow (or to allow others to grow). – Sinclair Ferguson

Jesus is literally arguing this (it’s shocking to the Pharisees), that the preservation of a human life is more valuable than a ceremony.And then Jesus gives these two statements:

Mark 2:27–28 CSB

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

Another way to say this is:

God’s commands were made for man, not man for God’s commands.

We tend to forget this and try to control God through the things that he has given us.

The Sabbath is a display of Gods Grace.The instituting of the Sabbath that goes back to creation, (Are you hearing me?) is a grace.

Why do we need this Grace?This is God who knows two things about us.

He knows the limits of our strength.

He knows that none of us can go 24/7/365.

If you believe you can and that’s how it should be done, It shows pride and arrogance.

Not against the preacher but against God.

What a sweet and gracious thing! You do not have to work 24/7; God knows your weakness; He loves you. Stop it. Rest. Celebrate His love.

He knows that worship is a war for us.

Worshiping God doesn’t necessarily comes easy.

One of the main reasons we don’t spend time reading God’s word, praying is because we are busy.

God in his grace new that we needed time of to recharge and to focus our heart to continue to worship him.

The secret to freedom from enslaving patterns of sin is worship. You need worship. You need great worship. You need weeping worship. You need glorious worship. You need to sense God’s greatness and to be moved by it — moved to tears and moved to laughter — moved by who God is and what He has done for you. And this needs to be happening all the time. -Tim Keller

CONCLUSION

Few questions for today:

Legalism leads to rules and rituals and not relationships.

How is your relationship with God? Are you taking time to rest and focus your heart in worshiping Him?