Audio file from Sunday, November 30, 2008. (Right-click and choose "Save As" to download MP3 audio file)
December 2, 2008
Dear Church Family,
Mark 2 and 3 primarily deals with the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees (or teachers of the Law). By 3:6, this conflict has escalated to the point where they are plotting with the Herodians to destroy Jesus. They have concluded that He is a tool of Satan (3:22) and must be opposed. How has it come to the point where the most respected religious leaders of the day completely fail to recognize Jesus as sent by God?
From last week, we saw how 2:1-17, and especially verse 17, highlights the difference between Jesus’ and the Pharisees’ view of sinners. The Pharisees view sinners as people who are sick with a contagious disease. Sinners are like the leper at the end of chapter 1 who needs to be ostracized from community so that he cannot infect or corrupt others. Jesus’ main interest is seeing sinners healed. Just like Jesus touching the leper, Jesus is able to be with sinners without His holiness being corrupted. Instead, He is able to make them clean by healing them and forgiving their sin (2:5). Then they are able to be restored to community as healthy and faithful Jews
2:23-3:6 contains two stories where the Pharisees and Jesus clash over the issue of keeping the Sabbath. For the Pharisees, keeping the Sabbath had become an important identity marker for faithful Jews living in an increasingly Hellenistic culture. This view had some merit, but they had become legalistic in their approach. They created laws and regulations to protect the Sabbath and identify unlawful conduct, such as harvesting (picking heads of grain) and non-emergency medical attention (such as healing). They did not realize that Sabbath was a means to an end, to help create a Godly people. They had made it an end in itself. In His response, Jesus not only points that out, but claims authority in His person over and above their laws and traditions related to Sabbath. The story of the man with the withered hand serves to expose how wrong the Pharisees are in their understanding and practice. By the end of the story, we realize that the Pharisees are opposing Jesus for healing on the Sabbath (“doing good”) while they are plotting, on the Sabbath, to destroy Him (“doing evil and seeking to kill”).
2:18-22 is right in the middle of these four scenes about conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. We looked briefly at how the literary structure of this section serves to highlight this scene as a key to that conflict. This scene is primarily about Jesus’ disciples and it is possible to read into the question about them not fasting some doubt as to their suitability as disciples. This is an understandable concern in that so far we have seen Jesus call fishermen and a tax collector and hang out with sinners. It would seem that disciples of John or the Pharisees would be better suited to the task. Jesus first answers why it is not appropriate for his disciples to be fasting now while He is with them. He then goes on to answer why He has chosen such unusual disciples. The main point of the metaphors to cloth and wine is that new cloth and new wine are dynamic and need to be attached to or contained within something that is flexible. Old cloth and old wineskins are not flexible enough to accommodate the dynamic kingdom of God that Jesus is bringing. We see that the Pharisees are not able to change in their religious perspectives and convictions, but rather evaluate Jesus according to those convictions. The word for “ruined” (“both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined”) is the same Greek word translated “kill” when the Pharisees plot to kill Jesus. Jesus’ metaphor is playing out in the story. The disciples of Jesus are new wineskins without a lot of preconceived ideas about spirituality. They have a better chance of stretching and accommodating what Jesus is bringing, although it remains to be seen if they are up to that task or not.
This central scene also serves to expose a motive behind the Pharisees opposition to Jesus. They are angry that they have been passed over in God’s plan. They see themselves as the religious leaders that God should work through. So a significant part of their motivation to destroy Jesus is pure pride and jealousy for their position of authority and respect.
Continuing with the story, we see that the crowd is becoming more of a problem for Jesus’ ministry as the words used in v. 9 for “crowd” is the translated affliction or harassment elsewhere (2 Cor 7:5). Jesus then formally chooses twelve disciples “that they might with Him and he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” Designating twelve is a clear reference to the twelve tribes of Israel. There is a sense of continuity here but also a sense of a new beginning for the restoration of Israel.
The final passage in chapter 3 introduces Jesus’ family along with another confrontation with the teachers of the law. The fact that this passage intertwines these two stories means that the two groups are linked. We see that amongst those who are unable to accept Jesus as Messiah there are two conclusions about Him that make sense. One is that He is out of His mind, both in His ministry and the claims that He is making about Himself with His statements. The other is that He is being given power by Satan. (Interestingly these are two of the conclusions that C.S. Lewis references in his famous Liar, Lunatic or Lord trilemma.) Jesus answers the accusation that He is operating with demonic power by talking about divided kingdoms and houses and how such division indicates defeat. With this answer, Jesus is assuming that it is obvious that His ministry is in opposition to the purposes of Satan (“How can Satan oppose Satan?”). This is precisely what the teachers of the law fail to recognize. In fact they are operating on the opposite conclusion, that Jesus’ ministry is serving the purposes of Satan. That is why they accuse Him of operating with demonic power and thereby blaspheme the Holy Spirit. So Jesus is inviting people to examine the result of His ministry and determine whether it serves God’s purposes or Satan’s. The teachers of the law are in real trouble here as blaspheming the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin. But do not lose sight of the great news in the passage, that “all [other] sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them.”
By the end of the chapter it is clear that Jesus is doing God’s will and He says that anyone else who does God’s will can be a part of His family or community. Part of what that means is to be a people who reach out to sinners rather than becoming protective of spiritual community. This may well disrupt our lives as Jesus was disrupted by the crowds, but it is necessary for discipleship. We should see the Pharisees as a warning that we too can be religious and considered faithful but not be doing God’s will. And in those cases, it will be our pride that will keep us from being corrected and put back on track. So far we are learning that following Jesus is challenging, primarily seeks to expand community to outsiders, and requires flexibility born out of humility. How is your understanding with regard to those areas being shaped by Mark’s story?
Seeking to do God’s will,
Bo