The lutheransermons's Podcast

Sermon for Maundy Thursday - April 1, 2021

Sermon for Maundy Thursday, based on:

Exodus 12:1-14 

1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-32

Mark 14:12-26

 

Sermon originally delivered April 5, 2012

Bible Study on Mark - Part 8, Mark 4:1-41

We have been hearing in the Gospel of Mark of Jesus continually “proclaiming the Gospel of God” and “the Kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14-15). As His public ministry began after His baptism and when He was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3: “It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:3-4). As we heard last week, Jesus then chose twelve disciples and began to teach them the Word of God, so that they could then help Him share that Word of God with others.

In Mark Chapter 4, Jesus told a series of parables, most of which use the picture image of the Word of God as being like seed which is sown in the ground and produces a crop and eventually is ready for harvest. Jesus of course describes farming as it was done in His own day, very different from our own. Yet we can still get the main point of each parable.

I’d like us to begin with the short parable in Mark 4:26-29. This is a parable of Jesus that only Mark recorded for us. Read those verses. Jesus says that this is what happens as the seed of God’s Word is scattered in the world, for growth in the Kingdom of God. The sower sows his seed and then waits, night and day, until the seed sprouts and grows - note what is said next - “he knows not how.” There is much that the farmer does not know or understand or have control over. So, he waits some more and plants grow and eventually are ready for harvest.

Obviously, today we know much more about the process of farming and can do much more - but we still don’t know and cannot control everything. I planted some seeds some weeks ago and hopefully will have plants to go in my garden once the weather is warmer and we are beyond the killing frost that can still come well into April where I live. But guess what? Not all the plants are coming up. Some are and others are not. I don’t know why and what to do. Most likely there was some error on my part, in some way. The good news, though, is that in spite of me, some seeds are working and growing and there will be some plants to go in the garden and a harvest will come.

God’s Word is like that. It is not simply ordinary words on a page. God’s Word has power, because God’s Holy Spirit is working with the Word and accomplishing what God wants - though we don’t know just how or why it works as it does. Just as this parable tells us, “we know not how.”

As we read more of these parables in Chapter 4, we will have questions. We will wonder the how and why about some of these things. But we are simply to try to trust God and keep on spreading the Word, listening to it first for ourselves and sharing it with others and then trusting that God will bring some fruit, some effect in peoples’ lives, as He knows best.

Let’s go back now to the first and main parable, as Chapter 4 begins. Jesus had already been teaching God’s Word, as he always wanted to do. Then “a very large crowd gathered about Him” and He needed to use that boat we heard about in Chapter 3. He went in the boat, a little off shore, for safety’s sake, and began to teach in parables from the boat. In verse 3 He said, “Listen!” Hear! Pay attention! “A sower went out to sow seed.” In those days, seed was simply taken by the handful and scattered over the earth. If the wind was blowing, seed could blow all over, not only where wanted.  If the casting of the seed wasn’t perfect, the seed could also end up in undesirable places, with unknown results. Jesus gave several example in verses 4-7.

There were paths running around fields and sometimes through fields. These had packed-down soil, and seeds would just sit on the top of the soil and soon be eaten up by birds. There were rocky areas, with more rocks than soil. The seeds might work and begin to spring up there, but had small, weak roots, and would wither away and die in scorching heat. There was thorny ground, as well. The seeds might grow, but the weeds would likely grow even better and choke them out. Again, there would be no fruitful grain.

By God’s grace, seeds would also fall on good soil, and those seeds would grow and do well and produce a bountiful harvest, though with differing amounts of grain in different places. Jesus then ended this parable as He began it. “He who has ears, let him hear.” Listen to and think about this parable (v.8-9).

When Jesus was alone later with His 12 disciples and some others, the disciples asked about the parables. Even they didn’t get what the parables meant. Jesus then told them that He would give them “the secret of the Kingdom of God” - which centered in receiving and trusting Him and His Word and works, as their Savior, in spite of the many temptations to ignore or reject Him and His Word.

Jesus then quoted from a surprising passage from Isaiah 6:9-11a. When Isaiah was called to preach God’s Word, God warned him that he would speak to a sinful and rebellious people. He was to keep preaching and writing, though, no matter what the response was. Isaiah did so - with 66 chapters of God’s Word, full of warnings (the Law) and of very hopeful promises for the future (the Gospel). Many would refuse to listen and would reject this Word. Sadly, the more they rejected the Word, the harder their hearts would become, the more blind they would be, and many would never repent and turn to the Lord in faith.

Isaiah asked, “How long, O Lord” will this go on? God warns of judgment coming for both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel. Both would fall to enemy nations and many would be carried away into captivity. Yet through it all, some would believe and trust in the Lord. There would be fruit from God’s Word, and eventually the Savior (Jesus) would come to help His people and the whole world. Isaiah was to trust the Lord, no matter what, and keep sharing His Word.

Jesus quoted this passage because He Himself would face similar opposition, as would His disciples. Many would reject the Word and eventually would kill Jesus Himself. Yet, He and His disciples were to keep spreading the seed of the Word of God, because there would be fruit and some would believe. Jesus went on, then, to explain the barriers to the Word of God described in the parable.

In Mark 4:15, the seed falling on the path represents people who hear the Word, but Satan quickly tries to obscure it and take it away, by His own opposition and by the opposition of others, who would question and attack God’s Word and plans in Jesus. Remember that later even Peter would try to stop Jesus’ plans, and Jesus had to say to him, “get behind Me, Satan” (Mark 8:31-33). There are parts of the world even today where it is hard for people even to have a Bible or hear the Word, because such teaching is forbidden.

In Mark 4:16-17, some seed of God’s Word falls on rocky soil. This represents people who receive God’s Word with joy and it begins to grow in them, but the roots of their faith are weak, not yet strong, and troubles come and even “persecution on account of the Word” and they stumble and fall away from the faith.

In Mark 4:18-19, some seed of the Word falls on thorny ground. People hear the Word and it begins to grow in them, but then “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in.” We know the excuses that sometimes even we use. “I don’t have time for God and His Word right now. I have better things to do. I need to get ahead with my work and investments and future plans. I need to relax and rest and have time for myself and what I want. I’ll have time for God and spiritual things later.” People listen less to God’s Word. Their faith is not nourished. The Word of God is choked out. There is no fruit of faith, and that “better” time for God may never come back to them.

There are so many failures in people’s spiritual life. The key to failure is a rejection of Jesus Himself and His Word of Life. He is the Sower of the seed. As one commentator put it, “The kingdom comes in the unspectacular and vulnerable form of the Word of God, which can be devoured, scorched, and choked. But the 'failure' of the Word indicts the soil, not the Sower or the seed. A person is responsible when confronted by God’s Word and guilty when he fails to use it. Therefore there is the stern warning at the end of the parable. 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear'" (Martin Franzmann).

The good news comes in Mark 4:20. The seed of God’s Word also falls on good soil, where people do, by God’s blessing, receive and trust the Word of God and bear fruit through Jesus at work in their lives, through that Word. There are different kinds and amounts of fruit, but there still is fruit in Christ and His Word. The believers are blessed, and the Kingdom of God grows. Jesus says through this parable that the Word of God is always worth receiving and sharing with others. It will work, for you and others.

But be aware of the opposition to and dangers to the faith and weak spots in your own life. Keep hearing the Word of God. Keep praying that the Lord will keep your heart strong in faith. As a Gospel song by Handt Hanson says, “Lord, let my heart be good soil” (© 1985 Prince of Peace Publishing/Changing Church Inc.). Keep sharing the Word, also. It helps others and strengthens your own faith.

In Mark 4:21-23, Jesus told a related parable. The Word of God is also like a Lamp. It needs to be out where it can be seen and give its light, not under a basket or under a bed. The Word of God shines light and reveals our sins and secrets, but it above all gives us hope and forgiveness in the darkness of our lives and a very troubled world. It gives direction for our lives. See other Bible passages like Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 6:23, and 2 Peter 1:19-20. Keep listening to that Word of God, Jesus said, in Mark 4:24-25. The more we listen, the more blessings we have. The less we hear, the less the blessings. The ultimate danger would be losing our faith entirely, for lack of nourishment.

In Mark 4:30-32, Jesus returned to another parable about the Kingdom of God being like a growing seed, a mustard seed. It is a very tiny seed, but it can grow into a very large bush, where birds can even live and build their nests. In the same way, Jesus and His few disciples were a very small group. From that small group would grow a great Kingdom of believers, by God’s blessing. Again, don’t give up, Jesus was saying. Keep sowing the seed of God’s Word.

Jesus was also using picture images used in the Old Testament that people might know and remember. Great Kingdoms like those of Assyria and Egypt and Babylon were pictured like a great growing tree, towering over others. Yet all of those kingdoms fell. Earthly nations come and go. (See Ezekiel 31, and especially v.5-7 and 10-14, and Daniel 4:11-15.) In contrast, God would provide a new Kingdom for His people, like a mighty tree (Ezekiel 17:23-24). That is the Kingdom of God ultimately brought by Jesus. It will continue forever.

As we read Chapter 4 of Mark, we may still be left with lots of questions. “We know not how” all this works with our Lord (Mark 4:27). We are simply called to trust our Lord and His ways and promises in Christ and His Word and to keep sharing that Word. Other Scriptures also tell us that there is no promise of a perfect life now - but only when we are in heaven. In the meantime, the Lord will help us through, as we trust Him.

The final story in Chapter 4 of Mark, v.35-41, is a real, true story of what happened with Jesus and his disciples later that evening, but it is also a kind of parable about trust in Christ. Jesus told His disciples to go across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He was in one boat, asleep, and there were other boats with His, too. A great windstorm came up and the boat was filling with water and about to sink. The disciples woke up Jesus and said, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, saying. “Peace! Be still!” “And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” And Jesus said to the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And instead of having great joy in Jesus, at their rescue, the disciples had “great fear, asking “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Clearly, the disciples did not yet understand a lot about Jesus, who He was and what He was doing. They really needed more of Jesus and His Word, for a growing faith. (Do you think Jesus ever says to you and me, too, “Why are you so afraid?”) The Lord keeps calling us to trust Him and His Word and His eternal promises for us, too. He kept on sowing the seed of the Word and encouraging His disciples and others, as we will hear in the next chapters of Mark, too. These are words for us, too.

Sermon for Palm Sunday - March 28, 2021

Sermon for Palm Sunday, based on:

Zechariah 9:9-12

Philippians 2:5-11

Matthew 21:1-11

 

Sermon originally delivered April 1, 2012

Sermon for Midweek Lent VI - March 24, 2021

Sermon for Midweek Lent VI - "Lies of Satan vs. The Truth of Jesus"

 

Sermon originally delivered March 21, 2012

Bible Study on Mark - Part 7, Mark 3:7-35

As Mark 3:7-12 begins, Jesus had left the synagogue where He had healed a man with a withered hand and again angered the Pharisees, who now began to make plans to destroy Him.

Jesus went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, but they were not alone. Interest in Jesus was increasing, and a great crowd followed Him, from inside and even outside the land of Israel. People had “heard all that He was doing” - His preaching and teaching and especially His miracles of healing. Jesus had to ask his disciples to have a boat always ready to take Him off the shore, so that He would not be crushed by people pressing in all around Him, just to touch Him, in hope that they would be healed by Him. (We still hear today of people being trampled by excited crowds, out of control.) Jesus sometimes taught the crowds from the boat, too.

People possessed by unclean spirits were being healed also, and the unclean spirits would cry out to Jesus, “You are the Son of God.” As we have heard before, they were correct, but Jesus ordered them not to say who He was. It was not yet time for all the opposition that would bring His suffering and death; and He did not wanted to be connected with evil spirits. (We will soon see the wrong connections being made by some religious leaders.)

In Mark 3:13-19, Jesus went away by Himself to a mountain. Another Gospel tells us that He spent the night in prayer and then “called to Himself those whom He desired” from among those following Him. They came, and from that group Jesus “appointed the twelve” who would work most closely with Him and be His “apostles” (men sent out on a mission of His choosing). Note, as we have heard before, Jesus does the calling and choosing and appointing of the men He desires for this work. Verses 14-15 tell us that they needed to “be with Him” - to learn directly from Him and have personal contact with Him  and be taught by Him and have practical training and then be sent out on short-term mission trips in local areas, and “to preach” and even to “cast out demons” by the power He gave them.

These are the twelve who stayed closest to Jesus during His public ministry and later on would be the “apostles” (minus Judas Iscariot) sent out to tell the good new of Jesus to the whole world. A few others, like Paul, were added later on, by a personal call and contact with the risen Lord Jesus. (A key element in accepting the Scriptures of the New Testament later on was that they had to have been written by one on these apostles or someone who had direct contact with these apostles. These twelve often did not understand what Jesus was teaching them at first, and it was a process of growing in the faith for them - as for us, still today.)

Notice in verses 16-19 that the twelve sometimes had more than one name, and that Jesus sometimes gave some of them a nickname, too. Here are the twelve, with other names and identifiers:

• Simon (Peter, the “rock” man)
• James and John (brothers, and sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them “sons of  Thunder” - maybe because of their strong personalities)
• Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother)
• Philip
• Bartholomew (Nathaniel)
• Levi (Matthew)
• Thomas
• James (son of Alphaeus, sometimes called James the younger)
• Thaddeus (Judas, son of James)
• Simon (the Cananaean, a word which means “the Zealot”. This Simon may have earlier been with a group of “Zealots” - revolutionaries who wanted to overthrow the Roman government. He obviously had to learn a whole different way with Jesus.)
• Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Jesus. Iscariot mean that this Judas was from Kerioth in Judea. This Judas was the only one from Judea. The others all seemed to be from Galilee.)

(As in our own day, lots of people has the same names and did not have middle and last names to help with identification. Hopefully, this helps us a little in sorting them all out.)

In Mark 3:20, Jesus went back to a home. This may have been the home of Peter and Andrew, as before. Crowds quickly gathered again. Jesus and His disciples were likely tired and hungry, but they were so busy dealing with people “that they could not even eat.” Note in 3:21 who hears about all this - Jesus’ family. They were concerned about Him - that He was not taking care of Himself. They in fact wanted to come and seize Him and take Him home and settle Him down, because they thought He was “outside of Himself” - out of His mind - had lost His mind. Likely, the family was still living in Nazareth and had about 30 miles to travel to get to where Jesus was, in Capernaum.

Before they arrived, though, another event had also taken place. Scribes, experts in the Law of the Old Testament, had come down from Jerusalem, in 3:22. (Jerusalem was one of the highest points in Israel; so leaving Jerusalem always meant that one went “down," though these scribes were headed North to Galilee, as one looked on a map.)

Already, we know, the Jewish authorities were talking and plotting against Jesus. Now, they had come up with another way to attack Him. They claimed that Jesus could cast out evil spirits, because He Himself was possessed by evil and could use evil power to cast out other evil spirits. “He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons, he casts out the demons.” “Beelzebul” is an Old Testament name for “Exalted Baal” or “Prince Baal.” “Baal” was the name of one of the popular false gods worshipped by many people outside of Israel. Too often, even Jews went astray and worshipped “Baal,” too. Baal did not really exist, but people were worshipping evil when they followed Baal. (Sometimes, to make fun of Baal, Jews were said to have changed the name to “Beelzebub”, which meant “Lord of the Flies”. (If you ever had to read a novel by William Golding, by that same name, you saw his description of how evil and sinful human nature can taken over in a group of English boys, stranded on a deserted island.)

By the power of Satan, the prince of demons, then, Jesus was able to cast out demons, the scribes said. In 3:23, Jesus called the scribes to Himself and “spoke to them in parables”, using simple examples they should hopefully understand. What sense does it make for Satan to cast out Satan? Why would he work against himself? “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Neither can a house divided against itself.“ (You may know that Abraham Lincoln quoted this passage with regard to the United States. A nation half slave and half free can’t survive. A terrible Civil War followed, with effects that still bother us today.) Jesus said, in 3:26, that Satan had not risen up against himself. That would only bring an end to his kingdom. (Some think that the words about a “house divided” may be a kind of warning from Jesus about His own family, which was divided about Him at this point, as we shall see.

In 3:27, then, Jesus described what was really going on. Satan was like a strong man, with all his evil forces. Jesus had come for the very purpose of battling against Satan, not in support of him. Jesus came to tie up Satan, to bind him, to defeat his power. Jesus did so by battling and casting out evil and evil spirits all through His ministry and finally by dying on the cross, when it looked like Satan had defeated Him. He would win the victory by His mighty resurrection and giving His believers strength to continue to resist Satan and finally overcome in eternal life in heaven.

Some think that Jesus was alluding to the prophecy of Isaiah 49:24-26, where God Himself said, “Can the prey be taken from the mighty; or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For this says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.... Then all flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Jesus is the very Son of God Who came to set us free from the greatest enemies, sin and death and Satan himself.

In 3:28-30, Jesus gave a very solemn warning to the Scribes. He started with a phrase used fairly often for emphasis. “Truly, I say to you.” Literally, it is “Amen, I say to you.” We think of “Amen” at the end of a prayer or to affirm that a statement is most certainly true. Jesus used “Amen” at the beginning of a sentence or statement, often. Pay attention. This is really true, He was saying.

Jesus had come to forgive sins, as we have already heard. “All sins will be forgiven the children of man, even blasphemy,” as the Holy Spirit brings people to repentance and faith through the Word of God and the gift of baptism. Jesus, too, worked by the power of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit. But if people reject and keep on rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit, calling the Holy Spirit evil, they are rejecting the only means by which they can be saved. They cannot save themselves; and there is no other way to salvation than through Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit. “For they were saying of Jesus, He has an unclean spirt” (3:30).

Jesus is not saying that these scribes have committed this eternal, unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit; but they were in danger of doing so. There can be a point  when people get so far away from God, in resisting the Holy Spirit’s work, that they will never come to faith. Jesus demonstrated, as we go on in Mark, that we should always assume that people can still be brought to faith and trust in the Good News of Jesus, though. Jesus kept on preaching and teaching and sharing the Word of God, through which the Holy Spirit works, wherever He went. We are called to do the same and never give up on people.

These words of Jesus may have come also because of what comes next in Mark 3:31-35. The mother of Jesus, Mary, and some of His brothers finally arrived where Jesus was. It was very crowded again, and they could not get to Jesus. They sent in a message, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” It seems again that they wanted to take Jesus home and settle Him down - in effect, to shut down His ministry. We are bluntly told in John 7:5 that at least at some point in His ministry, “Not even His brothers believed in Him.” We don’t know what Mary, Jesus’ mother, was thinking, but she came along; and there is no clear Scripture that says that she was without sin. She may have had weak, struggling faith at this time; and even she, earlier, had said, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46). She too needed a Savior - and Jesus came for that very purpose, for all, including her (and us).

In 3:33-35, Jesus does not respond to His family. Instead, He looked around at the people gathered around Him to hear the Word of God and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?... Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus was teaching that there can be closer ties than simply family ties, especially when family is resisting God’s will and leading us away from that will. The family of faith might be closer and more helpful at times. And what is “the will of God” most of all? Jesus put it very simply in John 6:28-29. “They said to Jesus, ‘What must we do to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He has sent.’”

Believing in Jesus is the key. At this point, though, the family of Jesus is not so sure about that or that Jesus is doing what He should be doing. Jesus does not abandon His family, though. Family ties are very important, in both the Old and New Testaments. “Honor your father and mother,” the Commandment says (Exodus 20:12). We will see Jesus quoting that Commandment later in Mark 10:19, too. Jesus made sure His mother was taken care of (John 19:26-27). He surely kept reaching out to His own family with the Word; and they knew of His death and resurrection and ascension, too.

After the Ascension, we read that the 11 disciples and others gathered. We also read in Acts 1:14, “these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers” (Acts 1:14). Jesus’ family was a family of faith, also, at this time! Later on, a brother of Jesus, James, wrote the New Testament Scripture we know of as the Letter of James, also. May we never give up on our own family and friends, either. Everyone needs the faith and hope that come alone through Jesus, by the power and Word and Sacraments of the Holy Spirit.

Sermon for the 5th Sunday in Lent - March 21, 2021

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, based on:

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Hebrews 5:1-10

Mark 10:32-45

 

Sermon originally delivered March 25, 2012

Sermon for Midweek Lent V - March 17, 2021

Sermon for Midweek Lent V - "Lies of Satan vs. The Truth of Jesus"

 

Sermon originally delivered March 14, 2012

Bible Study on Mark - Part 6, Mark 2:18-3:6

Last week we heard of two conflicts Jesus had with the scribes and Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders of His day, about His authority to forgive sins and his willingness to associate with sinners.

In today’s readings we hear of three more conflicts. The first is over "fasting.” Fasting simply means abstaining from eating food or certain foods for a period of time. In Mark 2:18, people came and asked why Jesus’ disciples did not fast, while many others did.

John the Baptist’s disciples may have followed John’s very strict lifestyle and ways, and now that he had been thrown into prison, they may have combined prayer with fasting for his release from prison. The Pharisees had added many ritual requirements and new laws, including more fasting, for one to be really good and acceptable to God. See what the Pharisee says about himself in Luke 18:11-12.

In the Old Testament, the only required day for fasting according to Mosaic law was on the Day of Atonement, when God’s people were to confess their sins and receive forgiveness through animal sacrifices and other priestly activity (predicting what Jesus would finally do for us Himself on the cross). See Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27-31. The words “afflict yourselves” are literally “afflict your souls,” which included doing fasting. See Psalm 35:13-14, where David says he “afflicted himself with fasting” along with other outward signs of sorrow and concern when people were sick.

Later in the Old Testament, leaders fasted and called upon others to fast during times of national disaster or trouble. See Nehemiah 1:2-4, Joel 2:12-13, and Ezra 8:21-23 as examples. However, fasting often was not done rightly, when people were not really repentant or wanting to go the right ways in their lives as they fasted. See Isaiah 58:3-7 and Zechariah 7:4-5 and 8:16-19, where the Lord encourages seasons of joy and gladness in Him and seeking to do right things instead of times of fasting.

In the New Testament, Jesus fasted when He was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2), and as a good Jew, he surely fasted on the Day of Atonement, as clear Old Testament law required. In the sermon on the mount, He taught people not to fast to impress others, but to fast privately, in relationship with the heavenly Father (Matthew 6:16-18). Otherwise, Jesus never mentioned fasting, other than in what we will hear in this passage in Mark. In the rest of the New Testament, we never hear again of fasting, except in Acts 13:2-3, when early Christians prayed and fasted as they sent out Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:2-3) and in a passing reference to “the Fast” (the Day of Atonement fast) in Acts 27:9, to identify the time of year when voyages on the Mediterranean Sea were more dangerous.

Fasting, then, is certainly OK to do and even helpful if it helps us focus on the Lord, and as an outward sign of genuine repentance and sorrow for our sins; but it is not required under the New Covenant Jesus brings. Fasting does not make one holier or better by itself. (Neither is fasting or giving up something for Lent or avoiding certain foods during Lent required or commanded. We can do these if we choose, though.)

Going back to Mark 2:19-22, Jesus responded to the question about fasting by telling three very simple parables. (A parable is just a story from everyday life to make a special point.) In verse 19, Jesus asks whether people would stop during a wedding celebration to fast. For the Jews, weddings were very happy, joyous times that could last for a week. It would not be normal to stop and fast during such a happy occasion, since fasting is associated with sorrow and repentance. Jesus is describing Himself as the Bridegroom, coming for His bride, His church, the believers. This image is used in other parables and in the Book of Revelation and in Old Testament passages like Isaiah 62:5, where we hear, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (This is the correct reference for this verse, rather than the one I gave in the podcast!)

The coming of the Savior is a time for rejoicing, not fasting, Jesus says. At the same time, in Mark 2 verses 19-20, He gives His first indication of His death, His being “taken away” from His followers. That would be a proper time for fasting and sorrow, He says. That time of sorrow would not last long, though. Jesu died on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday, with the joy of Easter. For 40 days, Jesus then spent time with His disciples and appeared alive to many more people, and even with His ascension into heaven promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The overwhelming focus now will be upon Jesus and the joy of what He does for us, rather than upon us and rules we are told to follow, that are not even clearly commanded in Scripture - like the demands for fasting.

Jesus goes on in Mark 2:21-22 to give two more parables to say that what He comes to bring will not always fit with the old form of Judaism being presented in His day. The first image, in verse 21, is of trying to patch old clothes with a piece of new cloth that has not yet been washed and shrunk. New cloth, as it shrinks, could make things worse rather than better and tear old cloth more. (I use the example of my three lively grandsons, who always seem to have holes in their jeans. The clothes can be patched and passed on for a while,  but there comes a time for some new jeans, too.)

One commentator, Lenski, says that all the rules and practices of the Pharisees, with their false human righteousness, cannot be combined, even in part, with the grace and faith and new life that come through Jesus. “Discard the old robe of human works and receive the new robe of Christ’s righteousness,” Lenski says.

Mark 2:22 makes almost the same point. “No one puts new wine in old wineskins.” In Jesus’ day, wine was stored in goatskins. When new, those skins would stretch quite a bit. When old, they became stiff and more brittle and could burst under pressure, ruining the skin and the wine. So “new wine is for fresh wineskins,” as new wine still needs to ferment and will cause pressure on the goatskins. In effect, Jesus is saying that He is bringing in some new ways. One cannot just go with the old and the new combined. Throw away the old Pharisaism with its law-centered ways, and receive the new way of grace and life in Him, Jesus is saying.

That means that we need to read the Old Testament now in light of the new way, the New Testament, the New Covenant, and Jesus as the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and all that he reveals to us through the whole New Testament. The Old Testament is still God’s Word, and the Old Testament leads us to the new Testament and helps us understand it better. Jesus agrees with the Pharisees on some issues, where they are right, in contrast with some other groups like the Sadducees, as we shall see. But there are also real changes that Jesus brings, too. We will see that in the next two sections of Mark’s Gospel, especially about the Sabbath Day.

Old Testament Law said that no work should be done on the Sabbath Day, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. But what was work? What could and could not be done? In Mark 2:23-24, the disciples of Jesus were passing through grain fields and picking some grain for themselves. This was allowed under Old Testament Law. See Deuteronomy 23:24-25. They could take just a little. The Pharisees considered picking anything on the Sabbath Day to be work and therefore wrong. They had complex rules about 39 kinds of generic activity that were forbidden on the Sabbath: to plow, to sow, to reap, to bind sheaves, to thresh, to winnow, to grind, to pound to powder, to cut up vegetables, to pick even a bit on grain (for that was “reaping”), and on and on. The Pharisees were blaming Jesus for not correcting his disciples with their own interpretations of the law - earlier about not fasting and now about doing evil work.

In Mark 2:25-26, Jesus answered with a story from the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 21. See Leviticus 24:5-9 to hear about a special bread made for each Sabbath Day, the Bread of the Presence, which was presented to the Lord each Sabbath day. After the Sabbath, the bread was reserved for the priests to eat. In the 1 Samuel passage, David and some of his friends were in danger and on the run, threatened by King Saul. They were hungry, and David went to the priests to see if they had any food to give them. All they had was some of the leftover Bread of the Presence, meant for the priests. An exception to the general rule was made, and David was given some of that bread, because of the need that was there and because David and the others were not ritually unclean. In the same way, the disciples of Jesus had not broken clear Old Testament law. This was only the opinion of the Pharisees. There was some clear need there for hungry people.

Jesus goes even farther in Mark 2:27. He said, “The Sabbath was made for man (for us human beings) not man for the Sabbath.” The Sabbath day was intended to be a blessing for us, for our physical rest, and more important, for time to attend to our spiritual needs, too. The Pharisees were inverting this, For them, it was as if people were created for the purpose of obeying the Sabbath laws - and exactly as the Pharisees gave them and interpreted them, whether they had Biblical basis or not.

Jesus went even farther yet, in what he said in Mark 2:28, with His claim that “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” The religious leaders often acted as if they were lords of the Sabbath and of the other people. Jesus, as the promised Messiah, the Son of Man, and as the very Son of God, really was Lord of the Sabbath. He could change things, and changes were coming. Jesus would “fulfill all righteousness”
(Matthew 3:15) and keep the Sabbath, and every other part of God’s will perfectly, as it was really intended, in our place, for our benefit. Jesus would pay for all sins, once for all, by His sacrifice on the cross, His one great atonement for us all so that there would no longer be any need for the yearly Day of Atonement and its rites. (See Hebrews 9:24-26.) There would soon not be a need for many of the old ceremonies and ways, and eventually all the animal sacrifices and even the Temple itself in Jerusalem would disappear (Matthew 24:1-2, John 4:21-24). The Sabbath would still be remembered, but in a different way and form.

This new way is emphasized even more in Mark 3:1-6. Jesus again was in a synagogue on the Sabbath Day. A man with a withered hand was also there - or some think “planted" there so that the Pharisees could watch and see if Jesus healed him and then they could accuse Him of doing evil, doing work on the Sabbath. Jesus knew what was going on, and He took charge, as Lord of the Sabbath. He asked the man with the withered hand to come to Him (Mark 6:3). Then He asked the Pharisees, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” If the Sabbath was for the benefit of people, then to do good and to save would be the better, the right thing to do.

There is total silence from the Pharisees, though. They knew they would be in trouble, no matter what they said. They couldn’t say that doing harm or killing would be lawful, for it was not. Doing good or saving life had to be good, any day. Why would it not be good even on the Sabbath? Jewish authorities did allow for animals in danger to be rescued in some circumstances. Why could people not be helped? In fact, in some ways, to neglect to do good when you can is a kind of evil itself (James 2:15-16).

There was no answer from the Pharisees, and Jesus was angry, with a righteous anger, because of “their hardness of heart” - another term for sinful hearts. Jesus also was grieved. He had come to be the help and Savior of all people, including His fellow Jews. Some of them, though, who should have known better, were already turning to evil against Him.

Jesus went ahead and did the right thing. He helped and healed the man with the withered hand. But notice how He did it. Jesus took no action that people could see and call work. He simply asked the man to stretch out his hand. The man did the action, the work, if one would call it that. The man stretched out his hand, and he was healed. Yet it was clear to all who it was who had done the healing, without a word or visible action. Jesus had healed the man, and what a good and helpful sabbath day that was for the man physically, and hopefully also spiritually.

Mark 2:6 tells us that the Pharisees soon left and immediately began to make plans to destroy Jesus. They would not say that it was lawful to harm or kill on the Sabbath, but they began to do those very thing on that Sabbath day, with regard to Jesus. Note also that they began to plot with the Herodians to get rid of Jesus. The Herodians were a smaller but still influential Jewish political group. They supported the rulership of the Herods in the land, who served with the approval of and under the control of the Roman Emperor. Herodians were generally considered unpatriotic Jews, because they benefited from the Roman control and did not want the Jews to become a totally free and independent people again. The Pharisees usually hated the Herodian,; but here they were willing to work with them, just to do away with Jesus.

One last thought. This conflict we see in Mark 2 and 3 shows the beginning of even greater conflict to come, between Jews and those who followed Jesus - and with Judaizers, people who liked Jesus but also insisted  on people keeping all the Old Testament ways and rules, as well. This is still a problem today with groups who call themselves Christians, but still insist that their people must worship on Saturday and cannot work on Saturday and must still follow Old Testament  festivals and rituals, and have other unique teachings. The Seventh Day Adventists and the United Church of God (used to be Herbert W. Armstrong’s group, with British Israelism) and other groups fall into this category. Watch out for these issues, still today.

Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Lent - March 14, 2021

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, based on:

Numbers 21:4-9

Ephesians 2:1-10

John 3:14-21

 

Sermon originally delivered March 18, 2012

Sermon for Midweek Lent IV - March 10, 2021

Sermon for Midweek Lent IV - "Lies of Satan vs. The Truth of Jesus"

 

Sermon originally delivered March 14, 2012