All Things in Relation to Christ

Intro

Anybody like racing? Goal to get ahead of everyone else. The glory is int being first.

Funeral precision. Participants are somber and morning. The honor is in following behind.

What draws the distinction between these two? Knowing the situation. Actions following the need of the moment.

Our passage today covers three scenes. Three interactions Jesus has with those seeking to find fault with Him. Jesus’ response in each situation has to do with understanding the times, traditions, and values God has established.

Pray

Fasting - Recognizing the Times

Mark 2:18–22 NLT

18 Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?” 19 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. 20 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 21 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. 22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”

This might sound somewhat disjointed to our ear. Jesus’ answer doesn’t seem to be directly responsive to the question. And if we’re honest, might not make a whole lot of sense to us.

Question about fasting:

The law says to

Other sects did it

Why are y’all?

Jesus’ answer draws from the purpose of fasting to point to the significance of the moment.

Fasting was:

Seeking God’s presence and response

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Fast, Fasting

Regular fasts were usually for one day, morning to evening, with food permitted at night (Jgs 20:26; 1 Sm 14:24; 2 Sm 1:12), although there are reports of longer fasts, such as Mordecai’s call for a 3-day fast (night and day specified) (Est 4:16) and the 7-day fast at Saul’s death (1 Sm 31:13; 2 Sm 3:35). Among special fasts were Moses’ 40 days on Mt Sinai (Ex 34:28) and Daniel’s 3-week fast prior to receiving visions (Dn 9:3; 10:3, 12).

In general, in the OT, fasting was abused. Instead of a sincere act of self-renunciation and submission to God, fasting became externalized as an empty ritual in which a pretense of piety was presented as a public image. Hence, the prophets cry out against the callousness of such hypocrisy. Jeremiah records Yahweh as saying, “Though they fast, I will not hear their cry” (14:12; see Is 58:1–10.).

A fast is a call and cry: “Be near, Lord God!” Jesus, being God in the flesh, WAS near! What more could they ask for?

When you have a beloved family member move across the country, you would rightly miss them. But when they came a visited, would you not enjoy that time?

Jesus response about he bridegroom being present is the first time in Mark Jesus uses this language about a wedding. It is one of the most remarkable and understudied images Jesus uses. It’s just so far outside our custom we just miss most of the imagery and language.

But it is key to understanding much of what Jesus was saying. We don’t have time to talk about it today, but we’ll do a whole series on it soon!

For right now, Mark begins painting the first strokes of Jesus’ clear claim that He was the Messiah, that believers (that is the church) are to be culled, called, selected, purified, and brought in to the presence of God as the bride of Christ.

But in this moment, Jesus seems to be indicating the splitting of the Jewish people. Some will follow Jesus, while others will be left. This is not about Jesus death, but about the time after His second coming. Jesus is taken away after His crucifixion and resurrection but that is not the time of the feast. The church will fast and seek God. But the feast is yet to come.

The days Jesus walked with His disciples were prefiguring the feast to come when Jesus calls the church to Himself. That time will be the fulfillment of the New Covenant. Just as a His crucifixion He was the fulfillment of the old covenant.

And this distinction between the new and old covenants seems to be the analogy He is drawing with the new and old cloth, wine, and wineskins.

Why do your disciples not fast? Because all that they sought is now being answered. The time has come. The day is now.

Sabbath Laws - The Servant or The Serving

Mark 2:23–28 NLT

23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” 25 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

The law for resting on the Sabbath (Saturday / 7th day of the week) was given to the Jewish people when they came out of Egypt. When they were told to rest on the Sabbath, God pointed to the days of creation: six days God created the heavens and the earth… On the seventh, He rested.

God didn’t rest because He was tired, He didn’t rest because everything was done. Creation was finished, but sin would wreck the ‘good’ God created. And so God rested to leave an anticipation for a final day of work. To resolve sin and bring all creation to His final design and purpose.

Why do we look to all that? Because that design and purpose is reuniting a rebellious but redeemed creation back to God. And God’s only and sufficient plan to do that is Jesus.

The Sabbath isn’t an end to itself, but a means to the ends of pointing people to God’s mercy and redemption.The laws to observe the Sabbath was the servant to point the Jews back to God.

The pharisees had made the menu into the main course. That being close to God WAS observing the Sabbath! And the more observy you were, then the closer to God you must be.

So they set rules upon rules. The only guidelines in God’s command were to do no ordinary work on the Sabbath. They stacked countless rules on top of this to make certain they would not cross the line. Because THAT was what being near God was. Or so they thought.

We can fall into a similar mindset. That being good Christians means going to church, not cussin’ (in front of another Christian), and making sure the dust doesn’t pile up too high on our Bibles. If we do that, God will be happy with us. Brothers and sisters, if you are depending on that for God to accept you, I’m sad to say you are on your way to hell.

The answer for us us the same as the answer for the Pharisees: Look to the promise. That is the promise of the redeemer, the Messiah, of Jesus.

Our answer for salvation is in Christ alone! The Pharisees should have been looking at God’s work for salvation not their own. Jesus was and is the one the Sabbath serves. To point to Him accomplishing what none other in all creation can - to resolve the issue of sin for those who believe.

Hurting and Healing

Mark 3:1–6 NLT

1 Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him. 5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 6 At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.

Our last section deals again with the Sabbath. This time with healing rather that harvesting. A man is there with a hand that had atrophied. The Pharisees knew he was there but preferred to use his suffering as a tool to trap Jesus rather than to lend aid and help.

Jesus knew their hearts. And he sought to lay them bare of the hypocrisy and inconsistency of their position.

Calling the beggar to stand out in the crowd, He turned to the Pharisees and asks the probing question: “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

Not only to they turn the Sabbath from an instrument to anticipate God’s glory into an ends to it’s own means; they contorted it even further to willingly see harm and death rather than mercy and healing.

Confronted with this contradiction, they were silent. Think about Jesus’ response. Because there are times when WE distort the mercies of God into tools of judgement for our own comfort.

What is stunning is that both the beggar and the Pharisees were stunned and deformed. Jesus called them both to the center of attention and pointed out their ailment.

To the ones who refused correction, Jesus was angered and grieved. He morned their hard hearts and determined foolishness. They were the one’s charged with bringing the Goodness of God the the people of God, yet they were obscuring the message.

May that not be us! May we take care to be willing to hear from God our own hypocrisies. May we turn from our selfishness and unmerciful attitudes. How devastating it would be to have the eyes of our savior look at us with disapproval, grieved that we ignored His call to pursue further our rebelion.

The other malformed beggar was more humble, and showed more faith. In obedience he came before Jesus. “Stretch out your hand.” Jesus’ words carries life to those accept them.

“Come to me all you who are hurting and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” On a Tuesday, or on the Sabbath. Hurting in your body, or in your soul. He will give you rest. He offers healing.

Jesus asks us all to come to him with our malformed lives and heart, He will heal. Will you stretch our your hand in faith?

I invite you to pray for forgiveness, for healing, for restoration for those things that afflict you today. Pray where you are. Come pray with me. As God leads, ask for that healing.

Most importantly, we need healing from sin. If you haven’t come to Jesus confessing He is the only way for forgiveness of your sin and following Him, I urge you to call to Him today. Talk with me or someone else about what that mean, and how to have a new life with Jesus.

Pray