Class Notes, Mark 3:7-6:6a (4:35-5:34)

Mark 4:35-41 (NIV) 35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

• We have all experienced storms in our life. For some the storm is literal, like Katrina, for others, it is a metaphor for family troubles, finances, satanic attacks, and poor decisions
• While we may enjoy an occasional weather storm, no one looks forward to living on the coast and the next hurricane, or living in tornado alley and wondering "when are those tornadoes coming?" We don't look forward to storms in life either, but they happen to everyone. Even the person who looks like he/she has everything together will experience storms
• Job had everything together. He was the richest man in the east. His three friends, who were convinced he had done something wrong to merit such storms, mentioned how people use to come to him all the time for advice. So Job was very smart -- very rich and very smart. When the storms (weather, raiders, etc) hit and destroyed his livestock, his fields, killed his children, and caused painful sores all over his body, Job's riches and wisdom couldn't stop it
• It is interesting that when God speaks to Job, it says "the Lord answered Job out of the storm (job 38:1)"
• We don't usually see good in a storm, but I think God speaks to us out of storms

• The disciples are experiencing a storm, why are the so frightened?
• It was a furious squall
• Water was coming and starting to swamp the boat

• And where is Jesus?
• He was resting in the stern
• Now God the Father does not sleep, but Jesus was fully God and perfectly man, and he did need sleep. But there is a metaphor here for our own struggles, sometimes it seems as if God does not answer, that He is asleep to our struggles, to our storm
• C.S. Lewis: "Meanwhile, where is God?" he asks. God is present, or seems to be, when all is well. "But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away."
• I'm not sure why God uses silence to our prayers, but it is a common thing. God speaks to us out of the silence as well

• It is perfectly alright to cry out to God, but the disciples make one mistake. Note what is said to Jesus:
• Teacher, don't you care if we drown
• Faith is not believing that God has power, that is a given. The demons believe in God and our terrified of his power, but they don't have faith. The disciples were terrified when they saw his power, but that wasn't faith
• Faith is believing that God cares for me
• Faith is believing he loves me tremendously
• Faith is believing that he is working for my good

• Heb 11:6 says "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (NIV)"
• Two things required for faith
• One, to believe he exists
• Two, to believe he cares and he will give good things
• Rom 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
• Both of these verses mention one other thing, Hebrew says "those who earnestly seek him" and Romans says "of those who love him"
• How can we say we love someone or earnestly seek that person when the only time we come to the person is when the storms of life are threatening?
• Real faith does not wait until we are at the end of the rope to call out to God. Now when we are in a storm, I believe it is God calling us to him, and so we do need to cry out
• APPLICATION: But the most important thing, is after the storm is over, do we go back to forgetting God or do we continue to seek him like we did in the storm?
• Until we seek him, as he desires, we will continue to experience the storms of life calling us back to him

Mark 5:1–17 (NIV) They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

• Any observations? Some of my observations:
• I'm not sure who started the storm. Not all storms are from God. See Job. But all storms are allowed by God, and God uses all storms for good in a believer's life. This storm may have been designed to prevent Jesus from coming to Gerasenes and healing a man possessed by many demons
• Not every work of God will help the local economy. Jesus healing of this man wiped out a big pork industry
• Of course, it was against the religious law to eat port (or grow it, I think). It could be the Jews were eating pork, or more likely, they were making money selling the pork to local Gentiles
• I remember a good Christian friend who worked for the government in Indian affairs. He would argue with me that Indian casinos were a good thing because they helped the Indian tribes. I wonder if Jesus would agree. Even if the Jews weren't eating the pork, he had no trouble shutting down the local operation

• There is definitely a link between mental illness and chemical imbalance. Although, we really don't know what causes certain chemical imbalances. I wonder how much of our mental illness and health failures are the result of demonic influence manifesting itself in physical change in our bodies. One can treat the symptoms, but ultimately the source of the problem may well be spiritual
• The bible says that sin is causing decay on our planet. Things are not the way they are supposed to be
• Rom 8:20-22 (NIV) For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

• A lot of the garbage in this world is the result of sin and the effects of sin over the generations. Troubles and storms remind us that this is not the way God intended the world to be
• Luke 13:1-5 (NIV) Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
• Jesus doesn't give any answers for the death of the innocent Galileans by Pilate or the accident death of eighteen when the tower in Siloam fell. He didn't blame the government. He didn't blame the engineers or the manufacturers. His lesson was real simple: We need to repent. All of us are going to die someday and our most important need is to repent of our sin and turn to God. That's what the storms of life remind the unbeliever. The storms of life remind the believer to turn back to God, and may teach some lessons, but the unbeliever is called to repent

[OPTIONAL]

Mark 5:21-34 (NIV) When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." 24 So Jesus went with him.

A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

31 "You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?'"

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

• If we were Jesus, we might say we were on a mission. We have somewhere we need to get to. It is very important
• I'm sure Jairus felt that way. I'm sure he was not happy at the interruption. His need was urgent, but Jesus (God) seemed slow to respond
• Isn't that the way we feel. It is so hard to wait, much like the boat being tossed by the storm, why does God tarry?

• The woman is also someone that most can relate to. She has a medical ailment. She had seen many doctors and had only suffered worse. She had spent all of her money. She was out of solutions
• But she believed that if she could only touch Jesus, just the hem of his clothes, she would be healed
• She reached out and touched the Savior (this is her cry to God at the end of her rope)
• It is interesting that Jesus does not let her go in a quiet private healing. He forces her to come forth publicly (we want to keep our faith private, but God wants it to be public)
• He tells her that her faith healed her. She believed she could be healed. She believed that God loved her and knew what was best for her

• In the meantime, one person's answer is another person's rejection
• The time spent with the woman has resulted in the death of the young girl
• Jairus had faith to believe Jesus could heal when she was alive, I'm sure he was heart broken, and nothing is said of his response, although his friends were convinced that it was over
• Sometimes a vision has to die before it can be restored
• Someone once called that the death of a vision
• Why does God allow visions to die, or a person to go broke searching for healing for an answer?
• Maybe it is because we only go to him when we have tried all other sources, and He is our last hope
• We need to go to him first and every day, so that he does not become last.

• SUMMARY:
• I was reading a blog on the internet where a young man was commenting about happy he was to have given up being a Christian, that a great weight was off his shoulders, and he felt so good and so free
• I should have wrote him. I felt very sad for him. You see, he is both right and wrong
• I grew up in a very religious upbringing. I was a very strong Catholic, but being a Christian was getting old for me as well. I'm not sure how much longer I could have continued my façade
• The problem is that I didn't know what a Christian was, nor did I understand that most of Christian religion has nothing to do with what Jesus truly taught
• I thought I grew up a Christian, but I was wrong. I wasn't a Christian. I was a person who called himself a Christian and attended a church that called itself Christian, but that doesn't make someone a Christian
• I've heard the gospel many times. Jesus died for my sins, was buried, and rose again from the grave
• But I never asked Christ to come into my heart and be my savior. I never knew what a real relationship with God was
• When I did that 33 years ago next week, I experienced a total change in my life. I understood what a real relationship with God was about. It is not about "BEING" a Christian, it is about growing in a relationship with Jesus Christ which completely transforms your life
• What true real freedom and joy!
• What a great hope I now have. I am a child of God. I am a son of the kingdom. I have an inheritance guaranteed. I have a future
• My sins are gone. I don't need to "BE," I need to enjoy Him!
• Thank you LORD!

Class Notes, Mark 3:7-6:6a (3:11-4:32)

Review:

o Mark establishes Jesus' authority

o Mark emphasizes the conflict over the spiritual leaders to Jesus' claim of being the Messiah, and also the son of God

· In 3:1-6, the leaders are looking for a capital offense, so they have obviously reached a decision

Mark 3:11-12 (NIV) Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12 But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.

· For those who say that the first three gospels do not make a claim of Jesus deity, this is the fourth major reference in Mark alone. First, the baptism, second, his authority over all things, third, his claim to be Lord of the Sabbath, and fourth his quieting of the demon-possessed because they knew his true identity.

Mark 3:20-21, 31-35 (NIV) Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

...

31 Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."

33 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

· A number of points about the Catholic doctrine of Mary

o Some people interpret brother or sister to mean near relative or in the Christian generic sense

· There is a word for near relative, which the scriptures do use but is not used here

· The generic use of brother and sister does occur often in scripture, but the context is very clear. Here is would be difficult to argue a non-blood usage

o Note that the term family is used, which implies plural

o Note who is there, Mary, but not the Father mentioned, therefore who is the plural

Mark 3:22-30 (NIV) And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons."

23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

30 He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit."

· Obviously, the leaders have come to a conclusion regarding Jesus. He is possessed by Beelzebub

· Mark shortens a much longer discussion (seen in Matt 12) in to two short points

o First, it does not make sense for Satan to oppose Satan

o Second, the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is defined (i.e., the unpardonable sin). In context, what is it?

· The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is having Jesus in the flesh before you, doing miracles and wonders, and speaking God's word, and saying (vs 30), that he has an evil spirit (Fruchtenbaum's argument)

o In Matt 12, we find that Jesus pronounces judgment on "this generation"

· The offer of the kingdom is withdrawn from the nation, but still open to individuals

· The nation will be destroyed and scattered

Mark 4:1-8 (NIV) Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

· A very familiar parable, but is the context for the next two sections

Mark 4:10-13 (NIV) When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

"'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"

13 Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?

· Jesus makes a couple of key points

o The parables are intended to keep some things secret

o The disciples are given the secret of the kingdom of God

o Understanding the sower and the seeds is important to understanding other parables

Mark 4:14-20 (NIV) The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop — thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

· Seed: word of God

· Sown on path, open to birds. Birds: devil. No fruit

· Rocky places: no root, trouble or persecution causes them to fall away. No fruit

· Thorns: cares / worries of this world, deceitfulness of wealth, and desire for other things choke the word. No fruit

· Good soil: hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop. Fruit varies but ranges from 30 to 100-fold

· APPLICATION:

o Enemy of the word: Satan, the world, and the flesh

o No distinction is made as to who is a believer or not, except for the final soil

· Some insist that three of the four are believers

· Other only the last

· And still others that all but the last can represent believers and unbelievers (since we are discussing the impact of the word and not necessarily salvation)

Mark 4:21-25 (NIV) He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

24 "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you — and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

· If you take all these verses together, as one context, what is the warning?

o If we do not use the things God has given or revealed to us, even those things will be taken away

· APPLICATON:

o I believe that the biblical growth does not include a principle of plateau-ing. You are either growing or you are regressing. There is no middle ground

Mark 4:26-29 (NIV) He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

· This parable may be the corollary to sower and the seed, except we are only talking about the final soil type. What is the point?

o The kingdom will grow mysteriously

o Like Jesus parable of the wind to Nicodemus, you can't see it but you see the effect

o And ultimately, there will be a harvest. We are expected to produce fruit with our Christian lives

Mark 4:30-32 (NIV) Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

· Last point. The kingdom of God starts out small and grows to a huge size. But one other things happens. The birds rest in the branches. Jesus said you couldn't understand the other parables if you didn't understand the parable of the sower. In that case, what might the birds refer to?

o Followers of Satan, those who try to take the word of God away, will roost in our churches. That, of course is true (see churches in Revelation).

o In this case, the kingdom of God might be more properly entitled "Christendom," because not everything that calls itself Christian is in fact Christian

Class Notes, Mark 2:1-3:6 (2:15-28)

· Correction Discussion: 30AD vs 33AD

· Overview: Last week we discussed (or didn’t) Jesus authority

o Anointing by the Dove and the Father

o By John the Baptist

o By his authority to call (or invite) men

o By his teaching (he taught as one who had authority

o By his power over demonic spirits

o By his power over disease and sickness (Peter's mother in law and all those who sought him)

· Mark ends the last section with a key miracle : healing of the man with leprosy

o There were three messianic miracles

· Healing a Jewish Leper (none recorded since Miriam; Commander Elijah healed was Jewish)

· Healing a man who had been born blind (Pharisees rejected that miracle because it was done on the Sabbath and therefore in disobedience to the law)

· Casting out a dumb demon (actually Jesus casts a demon out of a dumb and blind man). Pharisees could cast out demons but only if the demon spoke his name

o Pharisees were required to perform a two-stage investigation

· First stage was observation. A delegation is sent to observe what was taking place and report back to Jerusalem. It would determine if the event was significant or insignificant

· Second stage was interrogation. A delegation was sent to confront the messianic person through questions and accusations. The delegation would report back to Jerusalem where the claims would be rejected or accepted

o Jesus tells the leper what?

· To tell no one but the Priest. That would be the key person to start the chain of events

· Also, this next section records 5 cases of opposition to Jesus' ministry. This would be a case where the Jewish practice of ordering by theme takes precedence over chronology, although in my look, the 5 cases of opposition appear to be in the right chronological order

#1 Conflict

Mark 2:1-12 (NIV)

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

· How does the delegation from Jerusalem (Luke 5:17) to the event?

· This is an interesting conundrum for the Pharisees. Jesus makes claims that only God can make or do. Yet Jesus is standing before them as a man. If he is a man, then God cannot be working through him since he is blaspheming. But since he has the power to hear, where is it coming from? Ultimately, in Matthew 12 they will make the decision that Satan himself is empowering Jesus. I wonder if the ever considered the other possibility or just refused to accept it

#2 Conflict

Mark 2:15-17 (NIV)

15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

· I'm not exactly sure when we shift from observation to interrogation. In this section, they question his disciples, in the next they question Jesus directly

· Who is Levi? His nickname is Matthew

· What do we know about tax collectors? He worked for the governing authorities, indirectly for the Romans and more directly for Herod Antipas (not a very nice guy himself)

· Who are the sinners? There are various opinions

o One, it seems unusual for Jews to label other Jews as sinners, so some think they are Gentiles. In the story of Peter in Acts, it was against Jewish law to eat with a Gentile or even go into their home. This doesn't seem to be the problem. Plus, Jesus made it pretty clear that his ministry was first to the Jew

o Second, it could be essentially anyone who lived outside of the Law. The tax collectors were social outcasts and they probably hung around with others who were rejected by the religious leaders. Why do you not eat with them? Because you risked ceremonial defilement

· There is something new here in Jesus teaching, what do you think it might be?

o It is not the doctrine that God saves sinners

o It is that God loves and saves them as sinners (Constable, 2008)

· APPLICATION: One other thought. Sometimes church and religion can do more harm than good. The religious didn't see their need for Jesus because they didn't consider themselves sinners. Those who are not religious are more likely to recognize a need, provided that heart has not been hardened to their sin. There are two ways to harden a heart, to believe you are good enough (religious), or to believe there is not such thing as good or bad or sin or God. But both end up with the same result, not seeing your need for a savior

#3 Conflict (skip if not enough time and do one or both Sabbath issues)

Mark 2:18-22 (NIV)

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"

19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

· It's not clear why John's disciples were fasting. It could be because of John's imprisonment. The Pharisees fasted twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) and it is possible that Matthew's banquet for Jesus fell on one of these days

· Jewish custom exempted friends of the bridegroom from certain religious obligations (including weekly fasts)

· In this wedding we have certain actors --

o Groom: Jesus

o Guests of the bridegroom: disciples

o Bride? Israel

· What does Jesus mean by "he will be taken away?"

o This is Jesus first hint (in Mark's Gospel) on his coming death

· APPLICATION: The new covenant is now about rules, rituals, and regulations. It is a heart response to God founded in a relationship with the savior. When rules rule our life, we lose connection with the more important, a relationship with God

o The two parables further highlights this point. The old garment is our sinful condition in OT terms. The new patch doesn't work in the old setting. Judaism is the old wineskin. It is rigid and inflexible, and something new is needed to contain the new wine

#4 Conflict (also John 5:1-47 occurred prior)

Mark 2:23-28 (NIV)

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

27 Then 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."

· There are three major Sabbath conflicts recorded in scripture. John 5:1-47 records the other one

· So what is the issue?

o It is okay to pluck the ears of wheat or barley (even if you did not own the field)

o Doing it on the Sabbath violated the traditional Pharisaic interpretation of the law. That was considered reaping, threshing, or winnowing, and the law did forbid work

· What was Jesus counter argument?

o He shares an example where David eats the consecrated bread (as he is fleeing from Saul)

· Also, David lied to priest about his mission (note: David did have some men with him since Jesus says he gave some to his men; although most of his men joined him later in the wilderness)

· Jesus argues that David's offense (which was a violation of ritual law, and not moral; and of the letter of the law) was okay because human need is a higher law than religious ritual

· What is Jesus' argument about the Sabbath?

o The Pharisees had made the Sabbath into a straight jacket

o Jesus argues that the Sabbath was a good gift from God

· It freed his people from ceaseless labor

· It gave his people rest

· This is the only one of the ten commandments that is not repeated in the NT

o The New Covenant reinterprets the Sabbath

o Furthermore, the Sabbath has always been Saturday and nothing in the New Covenant changed that

o The New Covenant adds a day by tradition, and not command, called the Lord's day or the first day of the week. It is celebrated because of Jesus resurrection

o The Sabbath was a day of rest and not of religious observance in the old covenant. The use of Synagogues grew out of the exile in Babylon. The requirement to visit the Temple was only a three times a year obligation

o Finally, we are not under the law. The OT commands are no longer binding on us. This is one very good example. Although, this is also pre-law, and the principle behind rest once a week still stands as a very good idea, and an important aspect for remaining healthy

· Also, another claim to divinity is seen in Jesus calling himself Lord of the Sabbath

#5 Conflict

Mark 3:1-6 (NIV)

Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."

4 Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.

5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

· This is the final Sabbath conflict. The invalid from birth has already occurred, the one Jesus told to carry his mat. He was confronted by the Pharisees for carrying his mat like Jesus told him

· Why were they looking, on the Sabbath for a reason to accuse Jesus?

o It was a capital offense to violate the Sabbath

o Ex 31:14-17 (NIV) 14 "'Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'"

· What does Jesus do that one might have done differently?

o He doesn't avoid the conflict

o He actually provokes it

· What is Jesus asking?

o What is more important, the legal (letter of the law), or the moral (spirit of the law)?

· This is the only place in the NT where the writer explicitly states that Jesus was angry. We can infer it from the money changers in the temple, but this is the only place where it is stated. Since Jesus is angry, what do we know about his anger?

o It is righteous indignation in the presence of unrepentant evil

· We end the passage with the first explicit reference to his death

· APPLICATION: What stands out to me is threefold:

o God is more interested in the heart than my actions

o People are more important than rules, no matter what the rule. That is why Rahab could lie and still find her name in the hall of fame of faith

o My faith needs to built upon my relationship, and not knowledge or activities