Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, September 25, 2022

Rule Keeping versus Relationships.

Today, Pastor Michael is back in the book of Mark looking at the Pharisees, John the Baptist, Jesus, his followers, the whole enchilada.  And all those folks are trying to figure out what is going on…why don’t Jesus’ disciples fast for starters.  Why do they have to be so different? 

Mosaic law only required fasting only on the Day of Atonement but by the first century, it was practiced twice a week. Jesus’ response came from a custom of the time and a metaphor that John the Baptist had used. When celebrating at a wedding, did the associates of the bridegroom fast?  Jesus was picturing Himself as a bridegroom at a feast, but He indicated this joyous situation would change. A time would come when He would be taken away from them and in that day they would fast.

(CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) 2:18–22. That Jesus’s disciples do not follow the examples of the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees, both of whom were considered morally and ritually exemplary, is a further cause of offense to his contemporaries (2:18). Although fasting was technically required of Jews only on the Day of Atonement (Lv 16:29–30), Pharisees typically fasted every Monday and Thursday. The Pharisees understood true religion to consist of fasting (i.e., what is not done), whereas in this story Jesus understands it as feasting (i.e., what is done).

So, something unique was happening.  He was present and that wouldn’t last forever.  The disciples didn’t understood what that meant but sanctified grieving is coming.  So Jesus was letting everyone know that it was a time to be together and feast, the time of fasting was soon to be.

Instead of a system where people assume if they follow enough of the rules, they will have a relationship with God, Jesus put the relationship FIRST.  It didn’t come from rule following, but because there is a relationship, we want to do what is right, out of love and respect to Him.

Verses can be found today in Mark 2: 18-22.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.