Mark 2 Bible study

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The Gospel of Mark Chapter 2:18-3:6 Five New Things a) The First New Thing 18 - 20.

2.18. Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?"

John's disciples and therefore John, along with the Pharisees kept rigidly to the ceremonial law of the Jewish religion. Several of the Lord's disciples had been followers of John the Baptist. Although it was not required by the law of Moses to fast every week it had become an important weekly practice of devote Jews. Here we see some of John's disciples along with the Pharisees questioning Jesus as to why His followers did not observe this custom of fasting as they did.

2.19. Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast.

In answer to them Jesus uses the illustration of a bridegroom, and in so doing asked them a question. In Hebrew weddings the friends remained with the bridegroom during the celebration feast which could last from seven to fourteen days before he took his bride away to the bridal chamber; this finalized the wedding ceremony. So Jesus asks, "how can the friends fast while they are rejoicing in the presence of the bridegroom ?" Here, He refers to himself as the bridegroom as He also does in the parable of the ten virgins (Math. 25: 1 and 6). The church of Jesus Christ is likened to His bride (2 Cor. 11:2. Rev. 21: 2, 22:17). A. Cole says as long as Jesus was with the disciples they could not fast for in a time of joyous fellowship who thinks of fasting ?. Fasting in the Bible is either a sign of disaster or of voluntary abasement of the spirit.

2.20. But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and at that time they will fast.

Here in this verse He foretells that the day would come when He would be taken away from his disciples (to be crucified) and then would be the time for them to fast (John 16: 20). There is a right time for everything (Eccl. 3: 1 and 4).

b) Second New Thing 21 - 22.

2.21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

For the first time in His ministry Jesus speaks of bringing something that would replace the old covenant of the Jews. Although this had been foretold in the Old Testament (Jer. 31:31) the religious people of His day were not prepared to accept it. In this illustration of sewing a new piece of cloth onto an old garment He makes it clear that the new order, or New Covenant was not a patched up version of the Old. Neither was it to be a sect within the Jewish religion. The result of such and unequally yoked union would in fact make matters worse concerning the spiritual state of man and not better, for the New would pull away from the old making the gap between Jew and Gentile greater. It was always a part of God's plan of salvation to "reconcile to Himself" both Jew and Gentile and to unite them into a single body by means of the cross thereby killing the mutual enmity and bringing the feud to an end between them ( Eph. 2: 14 - 16). It was a completely New Covenant or Testament that would do away with the old all together (Heb. 8:13) for God's law would be written in the heart (Heb. 8: 10, 10: 16)

c) Third New Thing 22.

2.22. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins."

Here Jesus uses the illustration of putting new wine into new bottles to show that the new wine would come from Him, for He is speaking of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3: 16) In Acts 2: 13 those who received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost were thought to be drunk with new wine. Only those who are born again of the Spirit of God who are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 6:15) can be filled with the Holy Spirit and are able to contain Him without being destroyed.

d) Fourth New Thing 2.23 - 28 - Sabbath Day. This was not really a new thing but a correction on something that religion had altered from God's original purpose.

2.23. Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat as they made their way.

The disciples on feeling hungry while passing through corn fields pluck the ears of corn and rub off the husks in their hands and eat them (see Deut. 23: 25).

2.24. So the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?"

In plucking and rubbing the corn the disciples were breaking the law of working on the Sabbath Day. In accosting Jesus about this the Pharisees were not so much concerned for the Sabbath Day as much as they were in obtaining evidence that they might charge Jesus of aiding and abetting his disciples with breaking the law. Notice that Jesus did not pick the grain or partake of it Himself.

2.25 - 26. He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest52 and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?"

But Jesus turns the tables on them by referring to an incident in the life of King David, who they honoured as the greatest king Israel ever had and who was a man after God's own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). When he and his soldiers were starving he took and ate the shewbread which had been consecrated and set before God as an offering and the only people allowed to eat it after the allotted time were the priests (Lev. 24: 5 - 9). Therefore David broke the law. Jesus uses this as evidence that the law of need comes before the ceremonial law.

2.27. Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.

The Pharisees were mistaken they had put many burdens upon the people by their rules and regulations (Math. 23: 4), and had twisted the purpose of the Sabbath around to man was made for the Sabbath instead of the Sabbath being given to man for his physical and spiritual good by resting from all his labours and keeping it a holy day to the Lord (Ex. 20: 8, 34: 21).

2.28. For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

But Jesus goes even further by stating that as the Sabbath was made for man and He was the Son of Man then He has "the absolute right to overrule the Sabbath if He wills, because of His Person and work as God's representative man" (A. Cole).

e) Fifth New Thing - Chapter 3: 1 - 6 - Doing Good on the Sabbath.

3.1. Then Jesus entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

As was His custom Jesus now attends the local synagogue where He meets a man with a withered hand.

3.2. They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him.

The Pharisees are there scrutinizing His every word and action ready to pounce on Him. They had no thought or compassion for the man they saw the man's handicap as an opportunity of bringing an accusation against Jesus. Jesus saw the man's need and then used it as an opportunity of bringing home a truth concerning the Sabbath.

3.3. So he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Stand up among all these people."

In calling the man to come forward in front of the whole congregation the Lord was challenging the man's faith.

3.4. Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?" But they were silent.

He then challenges his opponents by asking them the question "is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath ?". But they did not dare answer Him for they knew they would be ensnared in the trap that they had hoped to catch Him in.

3.5. After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

The Lord became angry and grieved over their hardness of heart, in their unwillingness to bend their rules even for meeting the need of an helpless man. To the Hebrew 'hardness of heart' meant "a stubborn resistance to the purpose of God (A. Cole). If to find such hardness in His enemies caused Him so much sorrow how much more it must have been when He found it in the common people also (John 12: 37 - 40) and in His disciples (Mark 6: 52). At the command of Jesus the man stretches out his hand and as he does so it is healed.

3.6. So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him.

The Pharisees did not rejoice to see the man healed they only saw Jesus as a threat to them and the Old Covenant or Testament. Their hatred for Him was far greater than what they had for their enemies, the Herodians, and so they join forces with them to plan His death.

Note: Herodians. These were a party among the Jews who were supporters of King Herod and his family as they looked upon him as the last hope of retaining for the Jews a fragment of national government as distinguished from absolute dependence on Rome.

Š Derek Williams 2013 Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges.

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Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org