Mark 2:18-3:6

A New week in the book of Mark.  Are you ready?  Here we go!

South's SOAP for the Day
S-Read Mark 2:18-3:6.
O-Jesus performs actions that seem to some as if they break the law.
A-Do these verses supply a basis for times when it is ok to act outside of the law? Why or why not?
P-Pray for the courage to do what’s right, whether it’s hard, confusing, or won’t even make a difference.

Jesus the rule breaker!  Jesus the rebel!  I was going to try for one more, but I got nothing.  The way this next set of scripture starts out should not surprise us.  On Friday we saw Jesus sitting down at the table with the tax collector Levi and his sinner friends.

Today there are three quick stories that we happen upon.  The first story is about why Jesus and his disciples are not fasting.  The second and third stories are about doing work on the Sabbath.  While we don't have time to discuss all the details of these three little stories here, we can certainly make some observations that challenge us.

Before we do that, a little background on all these rules.  The Jewish religious system was totally shaped around the Torah--the first five books of the Bible.  The Torah was life to them and their ancestors, known as the Israelites.  It told of how God created and how His creation continually turned from Him.  One of the central themes of the Torah was the giving of the Law.  In Exodus, God chooses to make a covenant with Israel.  In a covenant, both parties involved in the contract with one another agree to live in certain ways.  The Law was God's statement to the Israelites of a new way of life...a God shaped way of life.  And, if God gives you a new way of life/living, you tend to get a bit obsessive about about it.

The problem is, the Israelites got a little crazy with the Law.  They took what was written in the Torah and complicated it.  For example, there is the Torah--the first 5 books of the Old Testament.  Then, the Jewish people felt there was another oral explanation that was given about the Law to Moses.  It is recorded in the Mishnah.  Think of it this way.  God said, don't work on the Sabbath.  Well, the question is then, what is work?  The Mishnah gave more insight and explanation of what thinks like work were.  But then, there needed to be commentary or more explanation of this Mishnah.  That section is called the Gemara.  These two components make up the Talmud.  Makes total sense, right?  To make it even more clear, there were specific respected teachers of the Law in history, and so they had their own renditions of the Talmud.

Think of it like BBQ sauce.  Yes, I said BBQ sauce.  Someone created BBQ Sauce.  They think its the best.  However, someone else thinks the sauce isn't good enough.  So, they work on their own recipe of BBQ sauce.  And then someone else does the same thing.  Its all still BBQ sauce, yet flavored in a different way by each person.

So in all of this Law, the commentary on the Law, and the commentary on the commentary of the Law, you had to be vigilante that you lived up to the Law.  Otherwise, you were sinning against God.

Now, I know what you are thinking.  "Who cares!"  Well.  In the stories we are reading today, the Jewish people cared.  They knew that you had to live out the Law to be good little Jewish people.  You had to fast.  Otherwise, you weren't following God's Law.  Also, you couldn't work on the Sabbath.   Work could be translated as, for example, cooking/prepping food, walking too far, and lighting a candle.

If you wanted to stay holy with God, you lived the Law and didn't work on the Sabbath.

Yet, in each of these passages, we see Jesus NOT living the Law.  This puts us in a quandary.   Is Jesus really breaking the Law?  Are the people simply flipping out of some simple things?  Is Jesus challenging the Law, and subsequently, God?  Or, is Jesus challenging the commentary on the commentary on the commentary of the Law (I.E., the way the Jewish people have decided to live out their faithfulness to God)?

I believe Jesus is challenging the system.  He's challenging the religious leaders and all those living out the Law to question whether their tenacity of following the Law has gotten in the way of their faith.  Even more, I think he's challenging them to think about how their tenacity has limited the Kingdom of God.  They can't see the forest from the trees.

The challenge then for us is this: what things--in our lives, in our faith, in our being the church--what things are holding back the Kingdom of God?  Are we all about ourselves?  Do our spiritual practices (or the lack there of) hinder us in some way? Are we caught up in our religious practices so much so that we have lost the focus for the lost?

And then there is this question....How do we need to change?  I know, I said it.  I used the C word.  Hopefully you aren't plotting on how to kill me now, like the Pharisees did with Jesus.  I am no Jesus.  I don't have good answers to these questions.  Check that, I don't have any easy answers to these questions.

Jesus calls us to be tenacious about the Good News that the Kingdom of God has come near.  As it does, lives are changed.  Sins are forgiven.  The lame walk.  The blind see.  The lost are found.  The down and out have hope...are given hope.  To do these things we, as the Kingdom of God, must be the Kingdom of God to all.

Lord, help us to really question how we are living as your people.  Give us the ability to be honest with ourselves and to desire change for the sake of your Kingdom.  Give us a passion for the lost, as Jesus had.  Help us to become Your Kingdom here on the earth.  Help us overcome our unfaithfulness and our fear of change for Your glory.