Mark 2:23-3:6. Great expectations part two.
Regulations shape all our lives. Michael imagine a game of bridge without rules, Brain imagine a Cricket match without the wickets and the crease, Mark imagine a football match without a ball and the posts. Imagine these roads without highway code, Imagine this land without a civil law and now Imagine a God without any law!
Here we have a further two encounters with the Pharisees focusing upon the weightier side of the law in regard to the Sabbath the day that God had instituted (Gen 2:2-3) After the days of creation. The Pharisees recognised the Sabbath was holy and to ignore such a fact and to turn ones back upon it was to turn ones back upon the God of the covenant.
The Pharisees examined the Sabbath law.
The Ten Commandments forbid working on the Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11, Deut.5: 12-15)
So they began to ask the question what is exactly involved in working and how can we avoid doing such work? It involved a lengthy list of do’s and don’ts on Sabbath work, this was their hedge (39 Sabbath laws) to make sure they were never in danger of breaking the Sabbath commandment.
Ultra orthodox Jews still today form hedges for instance: Israel’s major airline, El Al, recently rejected a plea by ultra-orthodox Jews with a priestly heritage to fly inside body bags. Why would someone want to do this? Ritual law states that a priest who enters a cemetery becomes religiously "unclean."
A ruling by a prominent rabbi declared that flying over a cemetery was the same as entering it. He suggested body bags as a means of maintaining separation, but abandoned the idea when told by airline security that it would be unsafe. Orthodox priests can now avoid pollution by flying late at night, as the noise levels require night flights to follow an alternate route which doesn’t pass above the cemetery.
This type of behaviour sounds bizarre to Western ears, but it harks all the way back to the time of Jesus. The Pharisees too went to great extremes to ensure they observed the Law of Moses. The goal was to be totally committed to God’s will.
There’s one thing for certain - orthodox Jews stand out! According to the Old Testament, purity laws such as these made Israel stand out, identified Israel as God’s people. Jesus declared that God’s will is no longer focused on ritual purity, but purity of character. We should be marked by our love, grace, forgiveness, etc, and as committed to developing such character as the ultra-orthodox Jew is to ritual purity.
source: reported by reuters.com,
This might sound bizarre to our ears but it stems back to the Pharisees in Jesus day. Christians can also use add ons which are not warranted.In regard to what is permitted and not permitted on the Lords day for example.
In actual practice Jesus was’nt in breach of Gods law but was in breach of man made regulations they equated to disobedience to Gods law. V24. That’s exactly why the disciples of Jesus were rebuked because law no 3 of 39 hedged laws on the Sabbath states there was to be no reaping on the Sabbath.
Imagine how they must of felt when Jesus began to move their familiar boundaries?
Although Gods law stipulated that farmers were not to harvest on a Sabbath this was in the realm of Ex.34:21. personal gain and not human need they missed the intent of the law. And it wasn’t that they were stealing Deut.23: 25 for Gods law gave room for such reaping at the edges of a harvest field.
1. The expectation of legalism over human need (V25) (1Sam 21:16.) Imagine walking to Church and you see a person begging for food, Do you walk by or feed him?
Jesus response to the question is to take them back to Scriptures with a question
V25 Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? V26 In the days of Abithar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And also gave some to his companions.
Here we see Ahimelech going against the ritual requirement of the law. He put Davids need and life ahead of religious ceremony and fed him with the consecrated bread.
This upheld the higher law of love. Lev.19;18. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of you people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.
Jesus is saying that Gods law should not be applied without compassion to do good and to save life is Gods greater law.
There is a story about a Golf club committee who to preserve their fairways from being cut up with divots enforced members to play all shots from the rough at the side. But golf courses like Sabbaths are meant to be enjoyed not preserved like a museum. The Sabbath had become a burden to the Pharisees.
Sabbath laws had become more important than the Sabbath itself. What lay behind this was a fundamental Biblical principle the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (27) That the Sabbath was for his benefit to meet his needs and to bring him a special blessing, not to restrict his life and keep him a rule keeping robot.
2. The expectation of legalism over doing good. (2-4)
The next Sabbath setting is in the synagogue where a man with a shrivelled hand is present alongside the Pharisees and Jesus we see that the Pharisees are looking for a way to accuse Jesus. So they kept a close eye on Jesus to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath. Jesus made no attempt to avoid the trap he was walking into as he could have done.
Scenario: Your on the way to Church its Sunday, driving down an isolated road, you see a person sprawled our upon the road its a hit and run its not serious, do you stop and help?
The Pharisees taught only if his life was in danger was healing on the Sabbath permissible by the Rabbi’s but not otherwise.
Doing good versus doing evil.
Jesus at this point asks them a simple question which goes straight to the heart of the issue. (4) Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?
Clearly to leave a man unhealed when Jesus had the power to heal him would be to do evil. To do good and heal the man was surely the right course. The second half of the question is a stronger way of saying the first!
Jesus is showing once again that the Sabbath was given to man to be a blessing, what could
be a greater blessing to this man than to have his hand healed. Jesus is saying why should the Sabbath be the one day that his healing should be a blessing to this man. Jesus has the power to bring change
Profound truth is that the Pharisees were powerless to change this man with all their ritual requirements (legalism) they could never change this mans condition. Jesus enables this man to enter into the joy of the Sabbath. As he meets his real need.
Call individuals to turn to Jesus: He has the power this Sabbath to save you to heal you spiritually to make you a child of God
Jesus also demonstrates again here that he alone is able to give us the grace to enjoy the Sabbath and to live in obedience to it. And as Christians we can lose the joy of the Sabbath as we turn back to legalism and forget the liberty that Jesus gives us to know Him and enjoy Him this Sabbath day.
Where there is legalism in a fellowship, there will be no power to bring change in the lives of people who enter in. But where the Spirit of grace is present there will be a profound change in the lives of the congregation enabling them to do good to those who enter because Jesus is able to transform lives and enable individuals to enter into the joy of the Sabbath rest.
3. The expectation of holiness and yet there is hypocrisy and hostility (2,4,6.)
Pharisees the set apart ones were a Jewish religious political group that zealously followed the OT laws as well as their own religious traditions. Pharisees were ordinary people unlike the Saducees who were generally rich landowners and powerful priests. The Pharisees had a prominent role within the Jewish Sanhedrian (Jewish ruling council).
They were well respected in the community being seen as an authority on questions upon the law of God. This may seem surprising because they would not only be set apart from Gentiles but would place limits also on their contact with other Jews, who were not careful enough about keeping the laws.
Above all Pharisees were keen upon tithing and ritual purity on the outside they would appear devout and holy yet a major occupation with them was focusing upon minor details and forgot the most important. Matt23:23.
Adolph Hitler- was known as a Master of outward religiosity - yet with no inward reality. He would often quote and refer to the Bible as hs guide. What nonsense!
All eyes are upon Jesus v2 Hypocrisy and hostility
So when Jesus came along usurping their power base and blatantly ignoring their man made traditions the real Pharisee was seen. Their holiness was shown for what it really was because deep down there was hypocrisy and hostility.
It’s like the wood chip veneer you get down at the builders merchants its all on the surface, there is no inner quality and so it was with many of these Pharisees.
The Pharisees showed blatant hypocrisy.
They kept a close eye on Jesus to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath. Why? They wanted to accuse Him. Here we see the depravity of their human heart. Religious men on the Sabbath who espouse piety and love for God and yet here they are entering into the synagogue not to worship God but to condemn and plot to kill Jesus.
We must always be careful in our attitude towards others as we enter into worship together. All eyes are upon you. (The world is watching you)
Be careful a spiteful world is always watching the Christian their behaviour is scanned by a watchful eye we should always beware of how we conduct ourselves because the world delights to see the Christian fall. It desires your downfall as these Pharisees desired the downfall of Jesus.
Jhn 7:7 Jesus tell us that if the world hates us to keep in mind that it hated him first. Why? Because he exposes evil. Then don’t be surprised if your life indeed exposes the evil in others.
They remain silent v4
Jesus asks them a simple question but.v5 They had stubborn hearts, they were not prepared to accept what Jesus was saying.
In their silence we see their hypocrisy, because if they had answered they would have been condemning themselves. Because how could they have failed to answer in the positive? Of course its best to do good to save, yet they remained silent!
Jesus asks us the same question Do we know this gospel of grace?
Jesus was (5) Angry and deeply distressed at their uncaring attitudes.
How often is true that we remain silent when we should speak out at hypocrisy and heresy within the Church herself. Jesus speaks out and it moves him to act and to heal the man.
V6 A shared hostility towards Jesus (secular and religious today strange partners )
Here we have a very peculiar partnership with the Pharisees and the Herodians.
The Herodians were Jews of influence and standing who were favourable to Greek customs and Roman law in NT times.
They were sympathisers to the Roman Empire and they were opposed to the Pharisees. They were a completely secular party supporting the Herodian dynasty and yet we see them working for a common cause.
Jam.4:4 Friendship with the world is hatred towards God
Secular and religion
Here we see the world and a religion, which has drifted into corruption coming together and working together for a common Goal in a joint venture of the eradication of Jesus.
They plot to kill Jesus, it will satisfy both parties religious and secular. To justify it own ends to contnue its kingdom and its power and authority.
Application: The world will use its entire means possible to destroy Gods kingdom and that will come from at times some unusual partnerships secular and religious.
One world religion is on the cards with a coming together of all faiths, an unusual partnership, to plot the eradication of Jesus and the gospel of Grace.
Jesus did say in Matt.24.28. You will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
Friends as Christians we must stand as Jesus did highlighting all hypocrisey and legalisim in all its forms. There are great expectations placed upon us by those around, but let us not rise to man made rules, but lets live out the gospel of grace in our lives. Meeting human need when ever and where ever possible Lets be like Jesus. Amen.
