Mark 2:20-22

Passage

Jesus teaches that there will be a day when the bridegroom (Jesus) will be taken away from His disciples.  Then His disciples will fast.  Then Jesus gives us two familiar parables.  Nobody sews a piece of new material onto old material.  If you do, the patch tears away and the tear is made worse.  Likewise, nobody puts new wine into old wineskins.  If they do, the wine will burst the skins as it ages and both the wine and the skins will be ruined.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus speaks clearly here about the ascension.  There was a day coming in the not-too-far-off future for His disciples when Jesus would no longer be among them.  There was a day coming when Jesus would not be physically present.  Already Jesus is preparing them for that day.  Jesus tells the people that in those days it will make sense for His disciples to fast because He will not be among them as readily.

Can you see Jesus preparing His disciples for the future with these words?  Can you see Jesus planting seeds to help them understand something that is going to be very difficult in the future?  What does this story tell us about the kind of vision that is required by disciple-makers?

Second Thought:

Jesus tells us about cloth.  Jesus is telling the people around Him that He is doing something new.  Through Him, God is doing something that has never been done.  This is why Jesus is gathering His own disciples.  He knows that through His death on the cross something brand new will be happening.  If He tries to keep that new teaching perfectly within the old understanding of the Jews, it will eventually tear away painfully.  Unfortunately, this is kind of what does happen anyway.  Rather, what Jesus is saying here is that in Him, we are better off starting from scratch than trying to put what Jesus teaches us into our “traditional” box.  As we heard yesterday, with Jesus life is often countercultural.  There does come a time when the time for patching up the old is done and you must start anew.

What differences are there between traditional Judaism and Christianity?  Do you think there are differences in the Christianity today versus the Christianity that exists several hundred years ago?  Why is change necessary in the church?

Third Thought:

Jesus also talks about wineskins.  In his day and age, they didn’t have bottles.  They put wine in skins or clay jars.  As the wine fermented, it naturally gave off gasses.  These gases would cause pressure to build up from the inside.  New skins still had some elasticity in them.  They could expand until the pressure was released.  Old skins, however, had dried up and become rigid.  They could accommodate already fermented wine but not accommodate wine that would cause any internal pressure because instead of stretching they would rupture.  Jesus is telling the people around Him that in order to follow Jesus one must have a certain amount of elasticity in order to be willing to change in the direction that God is leading.  This is especially true with Jesus, since the prior parable about the cloth told us that God is starting with a completely new thing and not patching the old!

Think back to the original context of fasting and tradition.  How does this parable of wineskins speak to us about tradition?  What are the dangers of tradition in light of these verses?  How should we approach tradition so that we don’t have to throw it out but we also have ability to grow and stretch?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:23-24

Mark 2:18-19

Passage

The Pharisees were fasting.  The disciples of John the Baptizer were fasting.  However, Jesus’ disciples were not fasting.  Some people began to ask Jesus why it is that His own disciples aren’t fasting.  Jesus replied that nobody asks the wedding guests to fast when the bridegroom is with them.  So long as the person of honor is present, there is no need to fast. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Fasting is indeed a Biblical thing.  A fast is a time when we remove something in our life for a time.  Commonly the thing removed is food, but it can be an activity, sensory input, or habit.  The fast is done to remind us what control things have over us and what influence things have over us.  Fasts are also done to remind us to be mindful of our relationship with God and to draw us closer to Him.  We know from elsewhere in the Bible that Jesus approves of fasting.  Thus, we can say that the issue in this story isn’t with fasting.  Jesus and God absolutely approve of fasting under the right spiritual conditions.

Have you ever fasted?  For what reason?  Why do you think fasting can have an important impact upon a person?

Second Thought:

Jesus’ disciples weren’t fasting when everyone else does.  I don’t know why – and you’re going to have to cut me some slack today – but this story reminds me of a “demotivational poster” I once saw.  It was a picture of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.  There is a host of bulls charging down the street.  A single man stands in their way.  The poster reads, “Tradition: Just because it’s always been done this way doesn’t meant it’s not incredibly stupid.”  You’ll have to forgive me, because I don’t mean to imply that Jesus thinks fasting is stupid.  My first point above speaks to the opposite point, actually.  But I do think that this story does illustrate a similarity between Jesus and the demotivational poster.  Just because everyone else is doing something for a particular reason doesn’t mean that everyone has to do it that way.  Nor does it mean that the reason is right!  Jesus’ disciples are doing something completely different from everyone else and that’s okay.  It is perfectly okay for people who are following Jesus to be completely different – perhaps even countercultural – from the world!

What is the benefit to tradition?  When is tradition a great and incredible thing?  When does it make sense to be willing to put tradition aside?  Is it easy or hard to be different?

Third Thought:

As I say above, people usually fast to help them draw closer to God.  However, the disciples were literally with God.  There is no getting closer to God than to be in the actual physical presence of Jesus.  Thus, it makes sense that Jesus’ disciples did not fast at this time.  They had God in their midst!

How close are you to God?  When do you feel the most close to God?  When do you feel the furthest from God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:20-22

Mark 2:15-17

Passage

In Levi’s house, Jesus was gathered for a meal.  There were tax-collectors and other “sinners” with Jesus and His disciples because Jesus attracted a large crowd.  When the scribes and the Pharisees saw the company that Jesus kept, they complained to Jesus’ disciples asking, “Why does He eat with them?”  When Jesus heard it, He replied that the only people who are in need of a doctor are the ones who know themselves to be sick.  Then Jesus reminded them that He was called to change the lives of sinners.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

At Levi’s house, Jesus meets more “sinners.”  Of course, everyone that Jesus met was a sinner because every human being is a sinner.  However, these people in Levi’s house would have been the fringe of Jewish society.  These would be those with ties to the Roman government - maybe other tax collectors.  Perhaps some soldiers – for the tax collectors always went about their work with soldiers to guard the collections.  There would have been Jews who were trying to connect with Rome.  Ancient life – much like today – was very political.  It was all about who you know and what connection you had.  These people – the fringe of Jewish society – were the ones that Jesus met with in Levi’s house.

What does it mean to you that Jesus ate among the fringe of society?  What does it mean to you that Jesus was not eating with the religious leaders and the heads of Judaism?

Second Thought:

The Pharisees and the scribes complain.  But notice something.  They complain not to Jesus but to His disciples.  The disciples are the ones who feel the brunt of the pressure.  They don’t go after the lead dog, the Pharisees and the scribes start looking for the weaker links.  They look to see if there are any stragglers in Jesus’ discipleship core that they can start to pull away from Jesus.  {In the long run, they do find one: Judas.}  There is a pretty clear lesson here.  When people want to disrupt a system, they don’t start with the leader.  They go after the leader’s followers.

Why is this important to understand?  Why is this dynamic important to teach people at the beginning of their discipleship process?  Why do the Pharisees want to attack the new disciples rather than Jesus Himself?

Third Thought:

When Jesus hears about it, He takes the offensive.  Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples to go back to the Pharisees and fight the battle.  This battle is serious enough for the Pharisees to receive a direct confrontation from Jesus.  On one hand, Jesus is absolutely protecting His disciples.  On another hand, Jesus is trying to convict the Pharisees.  The only people who can be saved are those who see their inability to save themselves.  The only ones who can be saved are “the sick.”  Those who arrogantly think that they are healthy on their own merit can have nothing done for them by Jesus.

What does this passage teach us about our need for repentance and humbleness?  What is the danger of overlooking repentance?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:18-19

Mark 2:13-14

Passage

Once more Jesus goes out to the sea to preach.  Once more the crowd comes near to Him.  Once more Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them.  As Jesus is going along, he comes across Levi (also called Matthew) and tells Levi to follow Him.  Levi rose up and followed Jesus.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus went out into the open air to teach.  More and more the synagogues were becoming dangerous.  Thus, Jesus does what any good rabbi would do – He teaches as He walks!  This is actually a really neat symbol.  It shows us that no time is a bad time to teach and to learn.  Just because travel is happening doesn’t mean a person cannot learn from God.  Just because a person happens to be walking from one place to another doesn’t mean they cannot be accompanied by a teacher and taught.  All of life is our classroom in God’s hands, not just the “holy spaces.”

How often does God come among your “ordinary time” and teach you?  How often do you find yourself learning from God in places that you wouldn’t expect?

Second Thought:

The crowd continues to follow Jesus.  Yet, what is really interesting is that nobody in the crowd becomes a “disciple.”  The crowd is simply there to follow Jesus, see what He does, observe, etc.  But they really don’t seem to be there to commit to Jesus.  Levi, on the other hand, does.

Does it seem strange to you that there is no mention of anyone in the “crowd” following Jesus with respect to being a disciple of Jesus – especially when they see the example of Levi?  What might this say about the difficulty of truly following Jesus when we really just want to be part of the crowd?  What could this passage teach us about how we think when we are an individual versus how we think when we are part of the crowd?

Third Thought:

Jesus calls a tax collector.  Of all the people in the crowd, Jesus pulls out someone who is “in league with the Romans.”  Tax collectors were the people who collected dues for the Roman government.  Tax collectors were the people who collect money to pay for the Roman soldiers and all the other things the Romans brought with them.  As such, tax collectors were also known for charging a little extra so that they could keep some for themselves, too.  The point in all of this?  Jesus takes one of “those kind of people” and tells him to follow Him.

What does this passage tell us about God’s willingness to use us regardless of our past?  What does this passage tell us about God’s willingness to forgive?  How does this passage speak about how God really looks upon who we are as a person?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:15-17

Mark 2:9-12

Passage

Jesus continues to speak.  He asks the scribes whether it is easier to say to a paralytic person, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk out of here.”  Jesus then reassures them that He will give proof that He is indeed the Son of God.  He turns to the paralytic man and tells the paralytic man to stand up, collect his bed, and walk out of a house that he had entered by being lowered through the roof.  The paralytic man did just that.  Everyone was amazed and glorified God by saying that they had never seen such a thing.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus forces the issue that we talked about yesterday.  The scribes wanted to keep their doubts private.  Jesus assures them that it is better to deal with spiritual issues like this publically so that they can have confidence in what they see and believe.  Jesus tells the paralytic man to get up and walk out of the house so that the scribes would know that Jesus can back up the claims that He makes.  Now it is no longer an issue of believing words.  Now it is an issue of believing one’s sight, too.

What amazing things have you seen Jesus do in your life?  How easy are those things to push back and forget about?  What is the spiritual danger of forgetting about those events and not talking about them?

Second Thought:

In Jesus’ day, many people assumed that conditions such as paralysis, deformities, and even illness were caused by sinfulness – even the sinfulness of a set of parents.  Thus, by healing the paralytic Jesus is actually making the point that both statements are identical.  If the scribes believed the paralytic to be in such a condition because of sin, then the only way to heal the condition would be to irrevocably do something about the sin, too.  By healing the man, Jesus was giving evidence that the sinfulness had been dealt with.  He had the authority to heal physically as well as to remove the guilt of sin.

How much do we believe that sin is tied to pain and suffering today?  Do you believe that it is still true that in order to genuinely heal a person you must also consider and deal with the effect of sin upon their life?

Third Thought:

The man immediately gets up and walks out.  Again we see that what Jesus commands happens without hesitation.  Jesus is master over creation.  He is master over life.  He is God.  There should be no doubt in the mind of these scribes {or the whole gathered crowd}.

Why is it important for the paralytic man to get up precisely at that moment and walk away?  How would the testimony have been different if the man would have taken a week to gradually improve in His condition rather than being healed on the spot?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:13-14

Mark 2:6-8

Passage

Some of the scribes observed the interaction with Jesus and the paralytic.  They began to consider what was happening.  They conclude that Jesus is harming God’s reputation by saying that the paralytic’s sins are forgiven.  After all, only God can forgive sins.  Jesus knows within Himself that the scribes are considering what is happening.  Jesus asks them why they are considering these things in their hearts.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

There are scribes watching Jesus.  We must be careful, however.  It is easy to read these words – especially in modern translations – as if these scribes are doing something wrong.  The Greek doesn’t say this.  The Greek word used here and often translated as “questioning” is dialogidzomai (διαλογίζομαι).  This word doesn’t mean question as in to doubt as much as it means to reason, to think through thoroughly, or to consider carefully.  These scribes aren’t yet to the point of rejecting Jesus or calling Him out.  They aren’t even doubting Him.  They are still considering.  They are still rationalizing.  They are thinking deeply.  These are actually very good things in which God’s people should be involved.

Why is thinking deeply about what God is doing a good thing?  Why is it easy to read this passage and come away ready to condemn these scribes?

Second Thought:

The scribes are considering deeply Jesus’ teachings on the forgiveness of sin.  Truthfully, I can’t particularly fault them for considering this topic deeply.  After all, if someone came into my midst today and told me that they were the Son of God and they had the power to erase my sins, I’d probably think pretty deeply on it as well.  After all, I can forgive people in that I don’t personally hold it against them.  But I cannot in any way force God to forgive them.  Only God knows if they are repentant.  Only God knows if they are truly forgiven.  In no way can I force God’s forgiveness.  The best I can do is to genuinely declare God’s promise of forgiveness to the repentant and then let it be between that person and God.

That being said, it is important to also teach here that we believe Jesus is God.  Being God, Jesus can proclaim a person to be forgiven because He is God.  He can indeed know the mind of God and the repentant nature of the individual.  Therefore, the conclusion the scribes ponder – whether or not Jesus is blaspheming – is not correct.  Jesus is not blaspheming against God because He is God.  That is the very point they are pondering.

Can it be difficult to truly believe Jesus is God?  What kind of doubts might enter our head with respect to this question?  What role does faith play in overcoming these doubts?  What else can help us overcome the doubts?

Third Thought:

If I am correct and we have to give these scribes room to think deeply about God, of what then are they guilty?  They – like all of us – need time to process and think about what they believe.  This is especially true at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  We can no more fault the scribes for thinking about God than we can fault ourselves for pondering what we believe. 

However, it seems that Jesus’ critique of them is that they have kept their pondering in their heart.  They have the Son of God before them and they are keeping their thoughts to themselves!  So often this is the ploy of Satan.  Satan wants to keep us from confidently knowing the truth, so Satan tells us to keep our doubts and our questions locked up inside.  We think if we keep our doubts to ourselves, we’ll eventually get over them on our own and save ourselves the embarrassment of perhaps asking a dumb question.  But if we don’t talk to our mentors about our doubts, we’ll never get confident answers and our doubts will stay doubts.  Jesus isn’t faulting the scribes for taking the time to process what is happening.  Jesus is challenging them to not keep their discernment locked up so deeply within them!

What does this story seem to be saying with respect to the mentors in our life?  What does this story seem to be saying about having a “private” spirituality?  How can keeping things bottled up within us ultimately lead us to a bad result?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:9-12

Mark 2:3-5

Passage

The crowds continue to come to Jesus, even after there is no more room.  So some people remove Jesus’ own roof and they lower down a paralytic man to Jesus from above.  Jesus saw the faith of this subgroup of the crowd and it pleased Him.  He told the paralytic man that his sins are forgiven. 

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The crowd keeps growing.  So some people have an ingenious plan.  They know that in those days rooftops we primarily made of layers of dead vegetation – branches, long grasses, maybe even some mud to hold it all together.  They know that such pieces can easily be lifted up and removed.  That would give them access to the framework below, which they could to support themselves while they lowered this man down to Jesus.  They were a people with a plan and they were willing to act upon it.

How crazy is this plan?  What risk did these men take?  Would you have been willing to go to these extremes to put a friend who needs to meet Jesus in touch with Jesus?

Second Thought:

Notice that Jesus doesn’t once show indignation towards these people who are quite literally messing with His house.  In fact, He is impressed with their faith!  The roof can be replaced; the moment may not be able to be replaced.

How willing are you to take advantage of the “moments of discipleship?”  What are you willing to put on hold in order to accomplish what God needs to be done?  How likely would you be to react positively to someone messing with your house in order to find you (or find Jesus)?

Third Thought:

“Your sins are forgiven.”  Do you think these are the words the paralyzed man wanted to hear?  I am absolutely sure that there were not the words the paralyzed man would have chosen to hear.  We’ll get to the “walking” part tomorrow.  But for today, let’s focus on the fact that Jesus chooses to start first with the “your sins are forgiven.”  This is the most important message Jesus could tell them man.  Walking is a temporary thing. Life eternal with God based on the absence of sin – that is a permanent thing.  Forgiveness is far more important than mobility.

Do you believe this?  Is this easy to say but tough to live out?  What makes this a difficult teaching for us to genuinely believe and live our life by?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 2:6-12