Five Conflict Stories
Does Jesus Christ strike you as a likeable guy? The type of guy most people would look up to and respect, even if they disagreed with his teachings? Most people would say “yes,” but think about how his life ended. It ended in his early 30’s with the crowds in Israel begging the Romans to crucify him. Why? What happened? I’ve had a lot of people get upset with me in my lifetime, but I’ve never had a lynch mob screaming for my blood. Why was their such vehement hatred for Jesus?
Very early in the book – starting in v.1 of ch.2, Mark wants to show us the storm clouds begin to gather that ultimately lead to the crucifixion. He’s going to show us how that violent hatred for Jesus started and grew. In this section, we’re going to see Jesus collide with the authorities 5 times. Jesus had lots of run-ins with the Jewish authorities, but Mark picks out five and puts them all in a row here to show us how that hostility began, and why it progressed.
All through these 5 encounters, you’ll see the opposition escalating. In the first one, it was just in their thoughts, and it gets more and more confrontive, until the 5th one, where Jesus and the Pharisees end up toe to toe, both furious with each other. You can’t have two kingdoms occupy the same place at the same time. They are going to collide, and one will have to give way to the other.
1) Blasphemy
It all began in their thoughts. We started looking at this last week – when Jesus forgave the sins of the paralytic. Jesus said to him:
Mark 2:5 …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?”
The word translated thinking is actually the word for arguing. They are arguing with Jesus, but only in their own minds. That’s the best way to win an argument. I almost always win arguments when I keep them in my own head. That’s what they try, but it doesn’t work.
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?”
Jesus Sees into the Heart
Jesus knows their thoughts. He sees everyone’s heart in this account. He knows what’s in the paralytic’s heart, all four friends, and now the Scribes. That’s something the OT promised the Messiah would be able to do.
Isaiah 11:3 … He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears.
The Messiah won’t have to rely on what he sees and hears – he will know people’s hearts so he can judge perfectly. And so he says:
8 … “Why are you thinking these things?”
Thought Life
That’s a good question for us. At any given moment in the day Jesus might ask, “Why are you thinking these things?” Repent as quickly and as thoroughly as you can over bad thoughts and attitudes, because God will hold you responsible for what’s in your heart. And what is in your heart will eventually come out in your actions anyway. That’s what we’re going to see happen in the next few encounters.
Blasphemy
So in their thoughts they accuse Jesus of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins, so by forgiving this man’s sins, Jesus was claiming to be God. And if you question whether that’s what Jesus meant, look at v.10.
10 … the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
He didn’t back off. It used to be that the only way to have sins forgiven was to look to heaven. But now there is someone walking around on the earth who has the authority to forgive sins committed against God.
Now, when you see the word blasphemy, don’t think of just a doctrinal disagreement. Blasphemy carried the death penalty. And those were the charges when they finally did condemn him to death.
Mark 14:64 "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death.
So this was a very serious issue. (Although, the blasphemy charge wasn’t the real reason they killed him. We don’t find out the real reason until the last one of these 5 conflicts.) But they claim the reason is blasphemy, and the irony is that in ch.15 it says they blaspheme Jesus while he’s on the cross. So the reader of the Gospel of Mark has to deal with the question of who is blaspheming. Either Jesus is guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be God, or they are guilty of blasphemy for not worshipping him as God. The debate about who Jesus is is a high stakes debate, and you have to land on one side or the other.
Son of Man
And not only that, but look how he refers to himself: the Son of Man. That was by far Jesus’ favorite title for himself. If Jesus printed up business cards, that’s the title that would be on it. That comes from Daniel 7. And the Son of man in Daniel 7 is clearly God, because he rides on the clouds, he has eternal glory and sovereign power, and is worshipped forever. Those things are only true of God.
Daniel 7:13 … there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. … 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
The Son of man is God himself.
Unique Claim
Nobody had ever made these claims before. No OT prophet, no founder or leader of any major world religion has claimed the ability to forgive sin. Not Mohammad, not Buddha, not Confucius—no one. You can’t even find a reference in the OT about the Messiah being able to forgive sin. So this is new information, never before revealed. When the people in Capernaum said Jesus spoke with authority unlike anything they had ever seen, this gives you an idea of what they were talking about.
Proof
So how does Jesus respond to their mental accusation of blasphemy? He’s actually very patient with them. He accommodates their doubt and then gives them proof.
9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?
Neither one is very easy, right? Imagine if Jesus had said, “Hey, how about if we put it on you guys? Which would you rather do – forgive all the sins this man has ever committed against God? Or tell him to stand, pick up his mat, and walk?” “Uh, yeah, how about neither?” And Jesus says, “How about I do both? First I’ll forgive all his sins, then I’ll prove my authority to do that by doing this…” Then he heals the man in front of everyone.
2 Association with Sinners
So, does that convince them? Do they fall on their knees and repent and worship him? Let’s see what their attitude is in the next encounter – the calling of Levi.
The Challenge
I won’t repeat the story because we covered it last week. Jesus calls Levi the tax collector to follow him and then goes to a party with all Levi’s low-life friends. Now the meal is over. The scribes are still too intimidated to confront Jesus, but they figure they could handle his disciples. Jesus is still inside talking to some of the people. A couple of the disciples step outside – now’s their chance! The scribes pounce. Verse 16: "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
The disciples are speechless. These poor disciples probably weren’t crazy about the whole idea of this dinner in the first place. Peter was as kosher as they come, and he struggled with cowardice, so I can see Peter sweating bullets here, not knowing what to say. So you’ve got these disciples with their backs up against a wall, some of the most powerful men in the country accosting them like a bunch of bullies surrounding some little kids. The scribes are demanding to know why their master eats with tax collectors and sinners. They don’t have an answer. And then suddenly comes this strong, authoritative voice from behind them. I bet they jumped out of their skin.
17 … It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
They whirl around and there they are being stared down by the unflinching authority of the King of kings. They went from being in charge to being in trouble.
Jesus’ Response: Doctors Are for Sick People
How do they respond? Same as last time – dead silence. What could they say? What they probably thought would happen was that the disciples would try to defend Jesus by saying, “These people he’s eating with—they aren’t really that bad…” But the scribes no doubt had specific, documented details about the sins of each the people they saw there, and they were all ready to prove that these people were a bunch of sickos.
But Jesus does the last thing they expected. He concedes – yeah, I admit, I ate with a bunch of sickos. But then he says this:
17 … It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
You’re accusing me of being around sickos? I’m a doctor, geniuses. Who else am I going to be with? Then he says this:
17 … I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.
The OT Scriptures were clear about that. Isaiah 61:1 said that the Messiah was going to come as a light for those in darkness and the poor and broken-hearted and prisoners (the sickos and the unrighteous). So if you are spiritually healthy and righteous on your own then guess what – the Messiah is not for you. Jesus gives them an answer they can’t possibly argue with, because who are the healthy and the righteous that Jesus didn’t come for? The scribes and Pharisees. But they can’t object and say, “What? How dare you call us righteous and healthy!” So by their own beliefs Jesus paints them into a corner where they are the ones who are excluded from God’s blessing, and the sinners are included.
Again, Jesus silences the religious authorities with one sentence. You know, I would love to see Jesus go on Bill Maher or one of those shows where they stack the panel against one Christian and then tear him to ribbons. I’d like to see them try that with Jesus, although, it wouldn’t make great TV because if it were anything like Jesus’ encounters with the smartest men of his day, Jesus would ask them one question and Maher and the rest would be completely silenced, because Jesus’ responses were completely unpredictable, they stripped his opponents bare in front of everyone, exposing their stupidity and evil, they thoroughly stumped everyone (no one ever answers any of Jesus’ questions), and they instantly put an end to the argument.
3) Why Don’t they Fast?
Ok, now let’s move on to the third conflict starting in v.18. Not only were they upset that Jesus was eating with spiritual sickos; they were also upset that Jesus was eating at all, because, evidently, this happened on a fast day. The Pharisees fasted every Monday and Thursday. And this must have been one of those days because:
2:18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.
The twice a week fast requirement wasn’t from the Bible – it was their religious tradition. But that didn’t matter – it was considered one of the baseline minimum things that every pious believer would practice.
18 …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?”
So how does Jesus answer? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave some teaching on the right and wrong ways to fast. But he doesn’t get into that here. He wants to talk about something much, much bigger. He’s about to reveal yet another truth about the Messiah that has never been revealed before.
Jesus’ Claim: I’m the Bridegroom
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.
In the OT, who is Israel’s bridegroom? God. Isaiah 62 is about that great day of salvation that God promised.
Isaiah 62:5 as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.
The bridegroom is Yahweh God. And the wedding is the great day of salvation the Jews had longed for for thousands of years. Jesus is saying that he is God, that his arrival equals the arrival of salvation for the world, and that his presence is the determining factor on whether people should be sad or happy. If he is here, sadness is totally out of place, and so fasting at this point is inappropriate, because no one fasts at a wedding.
New Era
Every time they get angry at Jesus for making grandiose claims about himself, Jesus steps it up even further. This is the greatest claim any human being has ever made. But Jesus isn’t even done. He goes on in v.21 to say that his arrival begins a whole new era of redemptive history.
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.”
“The old era of fasting, waiting for the kingdom of God – now that I’m here, that whole segment of history just ended. My arrival introduces a completely new age that changes everything. So as of right now, the old ways are out. I am the pivot point of redemptive history.” These claims Jesus are making is driving the religious leaders insane. But he’s not done – let’s look at the 4th run-in.
4) Sabbath Breaking
Mark 2:23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.
That’s a problem. In the 10 Commandments it says that on the Sabbath (Saturday) you have to rest from your normal work. The rabbis had written volumes and volumes on what counts as work. And pretty much everything ended up being forbidden, including any kind of farming. So when the disciples grabbed some grain off the stalks for a snack, that was technically harvesting according to the ridiculous, legalistic regulations of the rabbis. And guess who happens to see this. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawfulWhat are the Pharisees doing in the middle of the wheat field on the Sabbath? The disciples are just walking along, they grab a little grain, and suddenly these Pharisees pop out from behind the wheat stalks: “Ah ha! We caught you farming on the Sabbath!” What are the Pharisees doing out there? By this point they are dogging Jesus’ steps, watching for him to do something wrong.
That’s the way many people approach Jesus and the Bible. All they are looking for are things they can criticize. Their minds and hearts are completely closed.
So now they accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath, which is another very serious accusation. Sabbath violation was another law the required the death penalty in Scripture. If you’re living in ancient Israel, you don’t ever want to be guilty of violating the Sabbath, or your life is over. God took it seriously, and the people did too. Observing the Sabbath was a huge part of the Jewish identity. It was a big part of what showed them to be God’s special people.
And in a very real way it was the oldest part of the law of God because it went all the way back to the creation week. God established it by creating everything in six days and then resting on the seventh.
So all that to say, if there is one law you don’t want to mess around with, it’s the Sabbath. So what is Jesus’ answer? What you expect him to say is, “My disciples didn’t evenbreak the Sabbath.” It’s not like they are farmers trying to sneak in a little extra Sabbath day farming on the sly. They are just grabbing some handfuls of food. They didn’t break the Sabbath; they just broke your silly rules.” That’s how I would have responded, that’s what I would expect Jesus to say, but Jesus is full of surprises. Look at his response:
25 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.
He’s saying, “What David did was ok, therefore what I’m doing is ok.” That’s quite the argument to make, because David was a special case. David is by far the most important human being in the entire Bible except for Jesus himself. David’s name is mentioned 1089 times in the Bible. That is 400 more than Adam, Isaiah, Noah, Elijah, Paul, and Abraham all put together. David is mentioned twice by name before he is even born. God devoted 68 chapters of Scripture to the life of David. Second place is Joseph, with 13. David is the prototype of the Messiah. And in this situation in 1 Sam.21, David was the rightful king of Israel, anointed by God, even though he was not yet sitting on the throne. To say David was a special case is an understatement. And Jesus is saying, “If an exception to a ceremonial law can be made for David and his men, then it can definitely be made for me and my men.” He’s claiming to be greater than the greatest man in the Bible.
Lord of the Sabbath
But that’s not all. Look what else he says.
28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.
You couldn’t dream up a more staggering claim if you spent your life trying. God made the Sabbath during the creation week. Throughout the OT Yahweh God refers to the Sabbath as “my Sabbath.” And Jesus says, “Oh, I’m Lord over that.”
And as Lord of the Sabbath Jesus made changes to how the Sabbath is observed by God’s people. After thousands of years of God’s people stopping their work on Saturday, Jesus comes along and says, “Now that part is fulfilled,” and changed the whole way God’s people observe the sabbath – as spiritual rest. The old way was a shadow, now we have the reality, and Jesus is the one who made that change. Go to some church or institution that has been around even just 100 years and pick one of their traditions and try to change it. You won’t succeed. Jesus takes the most ancient institution in existence, established at the creation, one of the most fundamental identities of the people of God, one of the Ten Commandments, and just says, “It’s mine. I own it, I define it, I interpret it, and I can make whatever exceptions to it I please whenever I please. It’s mine to define, and if I tell these guys they can eat grain then they can eat grain.”
Jesus was not a reformer. Jesus was not saying, “I’m here to reform your religion.” He said, “I’m here to end your religion and replace it with me.”
Conclusion
Once again, no answer from the Pharisees. The word “stunned” probably doesn’t quite capture it. I can picture them standing there, speechless, motionless, dumbfounded. Peter smiles at them and pops another handful of grain in his mouth. And Jesus and the disciples walk on down the path, leaving the Pharisees nonplussed, standing there in the middle of that field. They don’t even know what hit them.
But Jesus isn’t done with them. There’s one more encounter we need to look at, and here’s where the situation really explodes. And here is where we finally find out the real reason they killed Jesus.
5) Healing on the Sabbath
Their Purpose: Entrapment
3:1 Again he went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2 They were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they might accuse him.
So they’ve got Jesus under surveillance. It’s a trap, and they had a clear purpose. It was in order that they might accuse him. They are not here with open minds, they want to convict him of a crime. And they have the perfect sting operation set up here with this shriveled hand guy, because according to their laws, it was a clear Sabbath violation to heal on the Sabbath. And they know Jesus will heal this guy when he sees him.
Confidence in Jesus’ Power
Isn’t it amazing that they are counting on Jesus performing a miracle? Not even Jesus’ enemies doubted his power. The Pharisees had more confidence in Jesus’ power then many Christians today.
So, were they right? Does Jesus heal this guy? Not yet. Look what he does.
Jesus Makes a Scene
3 Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
Jesus is going to make a scene. With all the people gathered for corporate worship, and the religious big shots in the house, Jesus interrupts the service, and calls this guy to stand in front of everyone – literally, in the center. Jesus could have just whispered to the guy, “Meet me out back afterwards and we’ll talk off line.” Or Jesus could have just waited a few hours until sundown, when the Sabbath ended – then it wouldn’t bother anyone. They guy has had this disability for years – what’s a few more hours? But Jesus isn’t going to do that; he’s going to make a scene.
So he gets this guy up in front of everybody, but then he doesn’t heal him. He turns to the Pharisees and puts them on the spot.
4 Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”
Instead of talking about rules and regulations, Jesus reframes the whole issue and forces them to think in terms of good and evil. Jesus’ question is this: Which is better on the Sabbath, to move in the direction of preserving and restoring and protecting life, or in the opposite direction?
Brilliance
How can they possibly answer this question? Whatever they say, they lose. If they say it’s lawful to do good, then they just gave Jesus permission to heal the guy. But they can’t say it’s lawful to do evil. And if they remain silent, what happens to their case against Jesus? How do you convict someone for doing something when he asked the authorities right before he did it if it was ok, and they wouldn’t answer? No matter what, they lose. One of my favorite parts of reading the gospels is to see the genius of Jesus Christ. This is child’s play for him, but it’s so much fun to watch Jesus play chess with these grand masters because every single game he puts them in check mate with one single move.
Silence
4 … But they remained silent.
They took the 5th. So what does Jesus do?
5 he looked around at them
Jesus is still waiting for an answer. It was not a rhetorical question. But they don’t respond, so he stares them down.
Jesus’ Anger
Why? Why won’t the most highly trained theologians of the day answer the easiest Bible question ever? Their reason for not answering is something that infuriates Jesus.
5 he looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.
Literally, hardened hearts. That is what infuriated Jesus. They are actively rejecting Jesus’ message. It’s not like they are trying to get it, but Jesus is mumbling or being unclear. They have their fingers in their ears and they are saying, “La, la, la, la… I can’t hear you…”
That is a sin that, more than anything else, provokes fury from God – a hard heart. A hard heart is a heart that cannot be penetrated with truth from God. They might be open minded to a lot of things, but their minds are closed to God. People claim to have all kinds of intellectual arguments against Christianity, but when you get right down to it, the reality is, they just don’t want to believe because their hearts are hard.
Hard Hearts
And so Jesus just looks around the room and watches each one of their hearts crust over and calcify in their resistance of the truth. It’s like they are saying, “Hey Jesus, leave our hearts out of this.” They don’t care about this guy’s life. They don’t care about the quality of his life, they don’t care about his soul, and no doubt they would be perfectly fine if Jesus never healed him at all.
We don’t have time to go through it, but Jesus does heal the man, and look at their response:
6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
The Pharisees’ Anger
There it is. Why did they put Jesus to death? They didn’t kill him because he healed this guy. It wasn’t because of all his claims. It wasn’t because he ate with sinners. It wasn’t even because of blasphemy. They killed him for exposing their hypocrisy and for shining light on their dark hearts. Nothing is more infuriating to a hypocrite than someone who exposes his evil heart.
John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
Conclusion: Receptiveness
So what should we do? Very simple: today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. We have more glimpses of his glory, we’ve seen his wisdom and his wrath and his compassion and his power – let that strengthen your faith and take you one more notch up in your love for him, your fear of him, and your trust in him. And instead of hardening your heart, do the opposite. Have a receptive, eager heart – like the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 2:13 … when you received the word of God … you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as … the word of God
It’s a very, very big deal how you listen when God speaks.
Luke 8:18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.
