Last week you may have noticed something in the passage that I didn’t really address: the growing hostility towards Jesus from, of all people, the religious leaders.
And if you’ve read further in Mark’s gospel, you’ll find that it is not the atheists who plot to kill Jesus, not the idol-worshipping Romans, not the tax collectors and sinners – but the religious elite. Why? Surely they are the ones who know the Scriptures, know of the Messiah, are waiting patiently as the stewards of God’s people?
But no, they had forgotten their place, imagined themselves as Kings instead of caretakers, the rulers instead of the servants, the righteous instead of those needing righteousness.
It reminds of a character in the Lord of the Rings called Denethor. He is the Steward of Gondor, a caretaker for the kings. But he and his line have reigned for centuries, and so when the King, Aragorn, suddenly appears he says this: “Word has reached my ears of this Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and I tell you now, I will not bow to this Ranger from the North - last of a ragged house, long bereft of Lordship.”
GANDALF, the bearer of this news “Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the King - Steward!”
DENETHOR (explosive) The rule of Gondor is mine, and no others!
As Jesus says in verse 17“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The question we must then ask is who is righteous, and who are sinners? The surprising thing we will find out tonight is that the religious elite, the good people, the “righteous” people – are far from God. They were born into God’s people, the Israelites – but that cannot save them. They have the Law, but that cannot save them.
Chapters 2&3 can be summed up as the “conflict stories” chapters. We begin to see the battle-lines drawn between Jesus and the Pharisees (teachers of the law). These conflict stories give us one immensely important message: the way to be saved is not through the Law. DOING cannot save you. Next week we’ll see that it is LISTENING that will save us. Listening to Jesus.
1. Free your mind: religion is about Jesus
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. 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.”
“Hey, why are your guys not following our religious traditions?” is the question. The fasting they were engaging in was not one of the requirements of God’s Law, so Jesus isn’t breaking the Law. But people are confused by his behaviour: why aren’t you acting like the other religious leaders?
His answer is twofold:
Firstly, because nobody fasts during a party! Fasting implies sorrow, and Jesus is here, so let’s celebrate. Furthermore, Israel is repeatedly described as God’s bride in the Old Testament – so Jesus is saying rejoice! Israel’s Bridegroom is here: the Lord himself.
Secondly, his arrival changes things. He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises. The old religious order was simply a foreshadowing of his work. He is the new Temple, the meeting-place between man and God. He is the perfect sacrifice for sin. He is the atonement offering. He is the great High priest – no priests are necessary now. He is the final Prophet. He is the King. He is the Righteousness of the Law. He is the Messiah, the Christ. The old order has been fulfilled, the new has come, centred on and in Jesus.
I’ve never seen new wine and old wineskins, but apparently new wine expands as it continues to ferment. And old skins tend to be brittle and dry. So if you put something expanding in something brittle… It’s like blowing up an old, brittle, balloon. Bang! So trying to squeeze the new order into the old is like putting new wine in old wineskins (it bursts) or a new patch on old clothes (they tear).
Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises. Watch him, listen to him, for he is now the centre of God’s work in the world.
2. The Law is a guide – and guides us to Jesus
23 One Sabbath he [Jesus] 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?” 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 first question was raised by the people – this question is raised by the Pharisees. “Why are you not obeying the law?”
(Interestingly, again, this “law” is not found in the Bible. The religious leaders had extended or explained the law – and over time those commentaries on the Law had started to be just as – or even more – important than God’s Law.)
Jesus’ response is…confusing. Huh? What’s he talking about. Remember, though, who he is talking to: teachers of the law – the guys who were serious about the Bible. They were so serious about the Bible, they’d forgotten who had written it. They had fallen in love with their own commentaries about the Bible, and forgotten He who should have been their first love. There is a great warning in that for us.
Jesus’ answer, as usual, reveals the need of the people asking the question. Jesus could quite easily have said that picking heads of grain is not unlawful – instead he gets to the heart of the matter: “Have you never read…”
He was revealing their lack of understanding. Although they claimed to be experts, they’d missed the point of the Law: the One standing before them: Jesus! For those of us who aren’t Pharisees his reply is confusing, but, without going into copious detail, Jesus is comparing himself to David: the anointed king, opposed by those in authority. And if David could be given the priest’s bread, how much more his greater descendant, the Messiah, the Son of Man, the figure with all authority in Daniel 7? And Jesus indicates an upheaval in the old priestly order by saying that Abiathar was high priest: Abiathar replaced Ahimelech when David replaced Saul as king. The King is here, and the priestly order is about to change.
“Have you not read…” Do you not understand? “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. The purpose of the Law is not a narrow straitjacket: it is to set us free. It is a diagnostic, which reveals our tremendous need for God. Without the law, we continue to fool ourselves that we are righteous and not in need of a doctor, despite the copious evidence to the contrary – yes, Colorado shooter, Anders Bering Brievik – but also closer to home, little white lies, flashes of anger, perhaps divorce, adultery, betrayal, theft, cheating on taxes. We are sick, and need a doctor.
Imagine, for a moment, that you’ve got a problem in your heart. One of your valves is about to give in. But you don’t feel it. You may feel a bit tired, a bit run down, but that’s normal, isn’t it? But that valve is fluttering and wheezing away – at any moment it could shut down, and bye-bye you. Well, my Dad doesn’t have to imagine that, because that’s what happened to him! Thankfully, he went to the doctor, and did not ignore him when he said “I want you in for heart surgery in two days time”. Because of that, he’s alive. But he could have been dead if he’d ignored the diagnosis.
Have you never read…? What is it that you are trusting in for your righteousness? Do you not think you are sick? Is it everyone else that’s the problem, not you? Listen to the “Sabbath” word – it is made to set you free. You are sick. Go to the Lord of the Sabbath for he, and he alone, can heal you.
3. Religion without Jesus leads to damnation
After his audacious statement “I am the lord of the Sabbath” = I am God Almighty, the religious leaders are starting to get angry. So he provokes again by healing on the Sabbath to reveal the evil is in their hearts.
3:1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.(notice that they had closed their mind to the truth) 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
This story is dripping with irony. The “righteous” looking to accuse Jesus for doing good on the Sabbath – the day of honouring the Lord God! Their refusal to answer his question – what is lawful on the Sabbath? And the contrast between Jesus, the one who heals, the one who in his grief still holds out the hope of repentance and restoration even to the Pharisees – perhaps seeing that miracle and hearing his words they would repent? – and the Pharisees who go out and plot murder – on the Sabbath!
They accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath – but they are the law-breakers by plotting murder. Their self-righteousness drives them to destroy Jesus instead of repent. They are blinded to their own sin, convinced in their own mind of their righteous acts.
We are so good at fooling ourselves aren’t we – explaining away our own behaviour. We are masters at painting ourselves in the best possible light! Listen to Brievik – he considers himself a hero! What a dope. But listen to yourself, and despair. I do exactly the same thing! Snap at my wife – but it was her fault because… get angry with the traffic – it’s the traffics fault, not mine.… leave out some income on your tax form – it’s not really income, not really. Anyway government’s got enough money… or downloading songs is not really theft (try talking to a musician and ask if they think it’s not theft!)…
The other day in Kiwi I was unpacking my groceries, and a bit of a queue was forming (four people). A man was growing more and more impatient, until he suddenly bursts out “Det er et helvete å handle her” (it is HELL to shop here) and continued to berate the cashier for the long waiting time, then, like a five year old, shoved his trolley out of the way, and stormed out of the shop, almost colliding with the other cashier rushing to open the other tillpoint…. Now what was the problem? The waiting time? Or his attitude? It was fairly obvious to the rest of us where the problem lay, but not to him. And how often are we that guy?!
We are so good at placing the blame for our bad behaviour elsewhere. It’s an excuse as old as time: Adam said to God “the woman you put here with me, she gave me the fruit”.
Not me, her.
Not me, them.
Not me, the situation.
Not me, Jesus.
If I could just get rid of Jesus, my life would be better. And so we plot to kill Jesus. Ignore him. Write angry letters on Christian websites. Follow scientifism. Hide in another religion, another way of earning salvation as a Bhuddist or Hindu or Muslim or Wiccan.
Even better, hide in the church, with all the trappings of Christianity – but no Jesus. Follow the rules, be good, be polite, toe the line.
If that’s your Christianity, then you’re headed for damnation, for that is Christless Christianity. Those who are “well” have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But what if you’re sick, and don’t realise you’re sick, then you end up grieving Jesus as you turn away and begin to plot how to kill Jesus.
Don’t be fooled. Free your mind from its desire to justify itself, and acknowledge your need for Jesus. Listen to the Law, guiding us back to Jesus. The Law is made for us, not us for the Law: it shows us our need for the lord of the Sabbath. And realise that religion without Jesus leads to damnation.
The King is here.
Repent (turn away from empty religion) and believe the gospel!
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