Sermon Tone Analysis

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

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

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

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

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.