The 5 clashes Jesus had with the Pharisees:
Mark 2:7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?
- Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins!
Mark 2:17 "Why does he eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?"
- Jesus has come to save sinners.
Mark 2:18 "How is it that John’s disciples & the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"
- The bridegroom is here. It’s a joyous occasion. Signal the beginning of something new.
No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The new has come.
Mark 2:24 "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" (Picking heads of grain)
- The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath - He has the sovereign authority over its use. And the next incident shows that.
Mark 3:2 Pharisees looking for a reason to accuse Jesus
- Jesus healed the man with a shrivelled hand in front of them.
Two powers at play here - for the PHARISEES
• The way to live is to toe the line - follow the rules. Be strictly obedient to the Law.
• This is the way to God’s heart - they claimed.
• Therefore to live a righteous life - try to follow all the rules and stay away from sin.
Jesus brought in the power of the Kingdom of God
• Put your trust in Me - the way to live is to trust Me
• This is the way to God’s heart - believe in My beloved Son, listen to Him!
• Therefore the POWER OF LIVING IS IN THE PERSON - not the rules.
Two things the Pharisees are blinded to – who Jesus is, and the dire needs of man!
(1) THE POWER FOR LIFE IS IN THE PERSON OF JESUS The Pharisees were blinded to that!
They have the text, the code and the creed, and to them that is the truth.
• So they pass it on to others. The result is the people are dying spiritually.
• To know the truth, we must KNOW the Son.
The power for living is in the person, not the law.
• His presence makes the difference - for the leper, the paralysed man, for Levi Matthew, for the disciples, for the man with the shrivelled hand... and many more.
• Paul the Pharisee wasn’t converted because of his great knowledge of the law but when he faced Jesus. He saw the resurrected Jesus in a close encounter of the supernatural kind.
What power can frees you from sin - what power can free you from your sadness, depression, handicaps, and weakness???
• Not your discipline. Not your knowledge. Not your ability to follow rules. It’s JESUS.
• He is the doctor in our midst, the Bridegroom in this banquet of life, the Lord of the Sabbath.
• Only He can forgive sin, only He can heal you and delivers you from all our bondages.
Don’t turn to self-help books. Turn to Jesus.
• The Pharisees were so focused on their disciplines and their rules, that they’ve missed the greatest ANSWER to their search for righteousness and acceptance from God
• In His presence the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk,
In His presence broken hearts are mended, marriages are healed, and minds are restored.
In His presence the dead are raised
In His presence there is peace, and there is joy, there is faith, there is hope, and there is love.
Don’t let the disciplines of life overshadows the PERSON
• Don’t feel glad simply because I’ve done my QT - have I really spoken to Him?
• Don’t feel happy simply because I’m in church on Sunday - did you really worship (slept through)?
Don’t put your trust in the methods and mediums - put your trust in Jesus.
FICTICIOUS DIALOGUE
A man and an old lady arrived at the gate of heaven. Someone was there to greet them. "Why should I allow you to enter heaven?"
The man said, "Well, I was in the ministry for many years, I planted churches and wrote a number of books and pamphlets."
The person then asked, "But do you know Jesus?"
Somewhat irritated the minister answered, "Would I have done all these things if I had not known Him?"
He was asked again, "Why should I allow you to enter heaven?"
The man sighed, "Listen to me. Through the ministry, I believe hundreds were converted. I helped the poor and treated the sick. The whole town knew about my ministry."
"But do you know Jesus?"
"Could anyone have achieved this without knowing Him?" the man replied adamantly.
Finally, the same question was posed to the lady: "Why should I allow you to enter heaven?"
Her achievements were not that impressive. She went to church, read her Bible, prayed, and helped in her own little way wherever she could.
"But do you know Jesus?" the gatekeeper at last enquired.
Suddenly a radiant smile flashed across her face, "Yes, of course, Lord! I recognized You right away! Thank you for saving me!" .... Author Unknown
(2) THE FOCUS OF LIFE IS THE NEED OF MAN The Pharisees were blinded to that!
( SPECIFICALLY SPIRITUAL NEED - SALVATION OF THE SOUL )
• Realised something? They were not too happy to know that a paralysed man was healed, or a tax collector turned good, that a man with a shrivelled man was healed on a Sabbath...
• Have you come to a point of time when the work of God in someone else’s life doesn’t excite you anymore? The conversion of a soul to Christ doesn’t stir you anymore?
• Can we be so caught up in the doing of "Christian" stuff and following rituals, that we’ve forgotten that we are in the PEOPLE business, and our concern should be the NEEDS of man?
Jesus’ perspective is very clear - He sees the NEED of man
• For the sinners to receive forgiveness of sin
• For the sick to see a doctor and receive healing
• Man needs the born-again experience through Jesus Christ
• God’s intention for the Sabbath was to meet the physical and spiritual needs of man, not to set religious restrictions.
• What is lawful? To do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill? (3:4)
BUT the Pharisees were concerned ONLY about the Law - what should be done, should not be done.
• It’s always about what is right or wrong, at the expense of the needs of man
• It does not bothers them even if the person is in dire circumstance or great need
• Is this the desire of God? Is this God’s intention when He gave us the Law? NO!
Jesus says NO - even David eats the holy bread.
• Meeting true human need and compassion takes precedence over custom, rituals and traditions.
Our concern is people. Jesus is concerned with people
• He wants to heal them. He wants to forgive them, and He wants to give us a NEW LIFE!
• Therefore for Jesus to refuse to associate with sinners would have been as foolish as for a doctor not to see the sick.
Warren Wiersbe: "Jesus comes to us in our need; He makes a perfect diagnosis; He provides a final and complete cure; and He pays the bill!"
That should be our perspective today! The focus of our lives is the need of man - for Jesus’ help!
WE DIDN’T EXPECT THIS
Once there was a church that had prayed fervently for God to give them growth. It happened that one Sunday at worship a known prostitute entered the building and took a seat in the back of the building.
Everyone ignored her. After hearing the sermon, she felt the call of the gospel and responded. The preacher and the congregation didn’t know what to do, much less say.
After a very long and uncomfortable silence one well-respected man in the congregation stood up, breaking the silence, and suggested that they all pray. He prayed, “Oh Lord, we know that we have prayed that this church would grow and that we prayed that many would hear the gospel and believe. But when we prayed we didn’t know that you would be sending such sinners as this. Don’t you know that we don’t allow people such as this in our church?”
This is the 20th Century version of the atmosphere described here.
If the Pharisees had understood the truth correctly, then the most rightful thing they could have done is to rejoice over the healing of the sick and the forgiveness of sin the people experienced.
LOOK AT JESUS as He approaches tax collector LEVI. Background:
• Levi is hated by the Jews for being a traitor; working for the Roman government. The system was open to great abuse and tax collectors make themselves rich at the people’s expense - involved in fraud and extortions. They are cheats, swindlers… They work on Sabbath - violating the Jewish Law.
• Categorised together with the ’sinners’ (mentioned 3 times in vv.15-16) - on the same level as prostitutes.
Yet Jesus steps in - He breaks all protocol or Law and approaches a sinner and CALLS HIM!
• He comes openly and unashamed to be associated with such people.
• And He calls him... with a sense of respect.
• He saw a man - not a category - and He knew what that man could become!
And what happened next?
• Levi sought out his friends so that they too can know about Jesus and His message.
• Luke 5:29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.
You know what has Levi becomes? After the record of this banquet, Matthew disappears from history.
• He became an important leader among Jesus’ followers. He wrote the Gospel of Matthew.
• Instead of a life of GETTING, he enters into a new life of GIVING.
• Only Jesus could have done it. No rules and rituals could have changed him.
Isn’t this amazing? A tax collector, greatly despised in his times, was transformed into a great disciple of Jesus, and with a lasting legacy!
• Your past has nothing to do with the call of God in your life!
• Don’t live in the past. Don’t live under the shadows of your past failures and sins.
Jesus sees in us the people who we can become. We are His workmanship.
Eph 2:10 "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
THE MARBLE BLOCK – DAVID
In Florence, Italy, a marble block arrived for Donatello but it had some imperfections on it and was set aside.
Later, another sculptor saw the block and decided to work on it for 2 years. On January 25, 1504, the veil was dropped to reveal that the stone of imperfection had become a work of art.
It became known as Michelangelo’s David.
Let us focus on the needs of man.
Hosea 6:6 “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Isa 1:11-17 11 "The multitude of your sacrifices--what are they to me?" says the LORD."I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations - I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
Have you been doing many ‘Christian’ things – ritualistically correct – but your heart is far from God? You have little regards for His work, little compassion for the needs of people?
Conclusion:
(1) THE POWER FOR LIFE IS IN THE PERSON OF JESUS
(2) THE FOCUS OF LIFE IS THE NEED OF MAN
Let us not fall into the folly of the Pharisees - blinded to Jesus; and blinded to the needs of man,
WHAT ARE WE HERE FOR?
Once upon a time some visitors took a tour of an oil refinery. The tour guide showed them all the intricacies of the refining process - the vast catalyst chambers, the pipes, and the heating vats—everything that went into the refining of oil.
As the tour ended, one of the visitors asked the tour guide a simple question. “Sir, you showed us everything except the shipping department. This size oil refinery processes a huge amount of petroleum, turning it into gasoline and lubricants. But you have not shown us where it is poured into containers and shipped out to the world.”
“Well, you see,” said the tour guide, “we don’t have a shipping department. Everything that is produced in this refinery is used up as energy to keep the refinery going.”
If all we do is spend all our energy on those who are already here, what are we doing to help grow the Kingdom of God?
Jesus will never call us to do something He hasn’t already done.
John 15:27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
Selwyn Hughes: Every Christian is called by God to show Christ to the world in a special and distinctive way - to show some aspect of Him through our individual gifts and talents that, because of our uniqueness, only we can show.
