Mark 2:13-28
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” [1]
___________
Today’s passage presents three conflicts with the Pharisees. The three topics are distinct: Eating with sinners, fasting, and keeping the Sabbath. But there is a common thread running through all three that speaks to us today.
The Pharisees sought to honor God by keeping the Law. In order to help people (or so they thought) in keeping the Law, they built a fence around it. For instance, we are to avoid being influenced by sinners, therefore do not eat with them. Fasting is a good practice, therefore we will prescribe certain fast days and what exactly is allowed and not allowed. We are to keep the Sabbath, therefore we will describe just exactly what is allowed and not allowed.
The problem was that their “fence” around the law is not in the Law itself, but over time became synonymous with the Law. In other words, keeping outside the “fence” and its traditions meant that you kept the Law and were a good Israelite. Going past the “fence” meant you were unlawful – even if you didn’t break the Law itself.
Jesus didn’t acknowledge their “fence” and walked right over it. He did this because His eyes were on the heart of God behind the giving of the Law. We are not just to avoid being influenced by sinners, but rather we are to influence them, so we must be with them. Fasting is to provide a discipline to draw us closer to God, but if God’s Son is present and teaching, what point does it serve? The Sabbath is not an end in itself, but was given to be of benefit to people, providing for their rest and the opportunity to draw close to the Lord. In their focus on the “fence,” the Pharisees lost sight of the big picture.
We are quite capable of doing this today. We have many religious and spiritual practices and traditions that are not in Scripture. No doubt they arose for very good purposes, and many of them still fulfill those purposes. The problem comes when we put more importance on the tradition for its own sake, rather than the mission which the tradition should serve, and the Christ we are to proclaim.
Lord Jesus, keep my focus on You and Your mission. Help me as I make use of good and helpful traditions to keep them in their proper sphere so that they may be helpful in following you, and not a hindrance.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
To subscribe to Abide Daily Devotion e-mail please click here
[1] The New International Version. (2011). (Mk 2:13–28). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Teresa
Well said!