Why.....Why.....Why....Why??
Jesus confronts dead religion Mark chapter 2.
Having confronted demons and disease, in a way that should have registered positively, now He is faced with the opposition of dead religion, which professes to be real, but which is powerless to deal with the problems besetting their nation. Not only are they occupied by an invading foreign nation; there is also an epidemic of illness and demon possession, hardly the picture of a people in touch with the living God! The story evolves around two incidents, the healing of the paralytic in the house, and the call of Matthew to Divine service by the seaside. Rather than rejoicing at the healing of a helpless man, the witnesses give vent to their scepticism, clinging on to the worthless platitudes of a failed religion in it's death-throes. The opposition comes from the nation's spiritual leaders, who should have known better, it is a case of the "blind leading the blind".
- Objection number 1 "Certain of the scribes.........why doth this man thus speak blasphemies; who can forgive sins but God only?" chapter 2vv6-7.
- Objection number 2 "How is it that He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?" chapter 2v16.
- Objection number 3 "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, and thy disciples fast not?" chapter 2v18.
- Objection number 4 "...why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?" chapter 2v24.
These were all based on religious dogma that was clearly devoid of any form of compassion, and full of misunderstanding of the Divine will. Man's religion, (which the Jewish one had become), has no concern for the sick, has no solution to the problems, it is only capable of religious conformity to petty minutae. Jesus, by His very presence and His actions, challenges this, as He does today. The story is about a man paralysed, and despite the cynicism of some, there are important lessons for us all to learn.
- The use of the home in the service of Jesus. Peter's wife's mother, healed of a fever in chapter 1vv30-31, allowed her home to be used for the healing of others. This involved a cost, not only of provisions, but the roof was broken to facilitate the healing.
- The care of friends in the suffering of their fellow He was "borne of four"; the persisted in the crowds to bring him to Jesus.
- The faith of the men in Jesus' ability to heal "When Jesus saw their faith He said thy sins be forgiven thee. The world is full of cynics, but Jesus responds immediately to faith.
- Jesus came not only to heal bodies but to deal with sin "Son thy sins be forgiven thee."; his paralysed body was immediately healed, and his sins before God were forgiven. There is not necessarily any link between sins and a particular illness, but one thing is true, that all illness is the result of sin.
- The preaching of the word will always divide audiences just as illustrated here The scribes "reasoned in their hearts" v6; the multitude "glorified God" v12. They were "amazed", astounded, as they should have been, while the sceptics rationalised it away.
- Jesus makes the significant declaration that He, the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. Anyone approaching God will need forgiveness of sins, and only Jesus has the power.
He moves to the seaside, followed by great crowds, and He taught them. Although Mark records more of His doings than His teaching, he refers to Jesus teaching more than any other writer. No less than 14 times in the gospel, he says Jesus was teaching, whether in the synagogue or the home or the seaside, or by the wayside, on the mountain. Bible teachers take note He taught the word everywhere and at every opportunity.
On the way He called Levi (or Matthew) who became a fellow gospel writer. His immediate response to the call of Christ is in stark contrast to the doubters. Jesus said "follow me" and he arose and followed Him. Matthew was a tax collector for the Romans, majoring in the lucrative fishing industry. Legend has it that the Roman soldiers were paid in what was called "fish money", since they were regular clients of the product. What Matthew left for Jesus was a very lucrative trade, and also because his paymasters were the occupying force, he was despised by the Jewish hierarchy. The second criticism came from the occasion of Matthew's hospitality. They were obviously spiritually dim-witted, since they had missed the import of the truth that Jesus was here to forgive sinners, else they would not have asked "why does He eat with publicans and sinners?" From this came the second powerful truth that ought to shake up every one of us, the reason why He came,....."I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." He came to deal with sin, and sinners; those who refuse Him are still in their sins.
They now move to the perceived defects in His ceremonial observances; first the issue of fasting. They criticised His disciples for not fasting. Their objections were purely of an external nature, they seemed incapable of understanding the deeper issues of life. He answers by teaching them the truth of; a) A new relationship with His followers and b) a new dispensation. The relationship was of the heart, like a bridegroom to a bride, and not that of cold rigid human rules which only tended toward spiritual slavery. Fasting would only be relevant when they were apart. The illustration of "new clothes" and "new wine", was a pointer to a new dispensation, a new administration of God on earth. The old way is worn and done, the old wine is turned sour; there is no more graphic description of the present day, in terms of the NEW COVENANT, THE NEW MAN, THE NEW JERUSALEM, ALL THINGS NEW, all stated in the new testament scriptures. This was predicted in the old testament and the scribes and Pharisees should have known it. Not the old mixed with the new but all things new, for the Messiah had come. Those who reject the claims of Christ miss out on the wonder of the new world order that Jesus will bring, the initial evidence being before the very eyes of the doubters. None of them could heal the sick, or cast out demons, or touch the leper or raise the helpless, but they continued to promote their worthless, powerless religion....Jesus had come to make people new.
Their spiritually bankrupt system was exposed in the final objection, that the plucking of a few ears of corn was equivalent to working on the Sabbath day, in violation of the law. This is what happens when men add to God's word, using logic to impose error. The law of God was never intended to bring people into religious slavery. Jesus answers their objection in two ways; firstly that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of man, not the other way round, the eating of a few ears of corn by hungry disciples was similar to the situation with king David in a needy time, and in no way flouted the law of the Sabbath. Secondly, and, most importantly, He proclaims "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." He instituted the Sabbath and no one can tell Him how it should be observed.
As always in studying scripture, it is most profitable to see what more each passage reveals of the Lord, and this chapter is full of detail about His wonderful person. In summary:
They now move to the perceived defects in His ceremonial observances; first the issue of fasting. They criticised His disciples for not fasting. Their objections were purely of an external nature, they seemed incapable of understanding the deeper issues of life. He answers by teaching them the truth of; a) A new relationship with His followers and b) a new dispensation. The relationship was of the heart, like a bridegroom to a bride, and not that of cold rigid human rules which only tended toward spiritual slavery. Fasting would only be relevant when they were apart. The illustration of "new clothes" and "new wine", was a pointer to a new dispensation, a new administration of God on earth. The old way is worn and done, the old wine is turned sour; there is no more graphic description of the present day, in terms of the NEW COVENANT, THE NEW MAN, THE NEW JERUSALEM, ALL THINGS NEW, all stated in the new testament scriptures. This was predicted in the old testament and the scribes and Pharisees should have known it. Not the old mixed with the new but all things new, for the Messiah had come. Those who reject the claims of Christ miss out on the wonder of the new world order that Jesus will bring, the initial evidence being before the very eyes of the doubters. None of them could heal the sick, or cast out demons, or touch the leper or raise the helpless, but they continued to promote their worthless, powerless religion....Jesus had come to make people new.
Their spiritually bankrupt system was exposed in the final objection, that the plucking of a few ears of corn was equivalent to working on the Sabbath day, in violation of the law. This is what happens when men add to God's word, using logic to impose error. The law of God was never intended to bring people into religious slavery. Jesus answers their objection in two ways; firstly that the Sabbath was made for the benefit of man, not the other way round, the eating of a few ears of corn by hungry disciples was similar to the situation with king David in a needy time, and in no way flouted the law of the Sabbath. Secondly, and, most importantly, He proclaims "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." He instituted the Sabbath and no one can tell Him how it should be observed.
As always in studying scripture, it is most profitable to see what more each passage reveals of the Lord, and this chapter is full of detail about His wonderful person. In summary:
- What He became Son of God (chapter1v1) became Son of man (chapter 2v10& 2v28), He is the long promised seed of the woman, the second man.
- What He can do He has power on earth to forgive sins (chapter 2v10).
- Why He came To call sinners to repentance (chapter 2v17).
- Who He is He is Lord of all , also of the Sabbath.
No comments:
Post a Comment