Mark 3:1-6

Rachel Workman: 3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus. The obvious thing to stand out here would be Jesus healing the man. But to me it was the verse that said he looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. You see Jesus was angry yet he still healed. But I have to wonder how many times Jesus has looked at me in anger deeply distressed by my stubborn heart? More than once would be my guess. 

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John Burnett:  3 He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. ² They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ³ He *said to the man with the withered hand, “^[a]Get up and come forward!” ⁴ And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately began ^[b]conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.  The wrath the Pharisees stored up for themselves is beyond what I can fathom.  The Sabbath was a day of rest and celebration for God’s blessings.  The Pharisees turned it into a day where they could say gotcha.  What is crazy is that they were questioning God who wrote the law when they had changed the spirit of the law.

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Tuesday's reading for Mark 3:7-12. There is no reading Friday or Monday.

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8 When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9 Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10 For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11 Whenever the impure spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” ¹² But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

Mark 2:23-28

John Burnett:  ²³ And it happened that He was passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And He *said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; ²⁶ how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the ^[a]consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath ^[b]was made ^[c]for man, and not man ^[d]for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”  He fulfilled the Law for us so our salvation has nothing to do with any rules we follow.  It has everything with the Son of Man coming to this earth, dying on the cross to satisfy God’s righteous wrath towards us, and being resurrected to overcome sin and death.  Our salvation has nothing to do with picking grain on a Sunday.

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Mike Grimm:  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.” In defending his disciples, Jesus argues from the scriptures that human need has precedence over ritual custom. When David and his men were fleeing for their lives, they sought food from Ahim'elech the priest (1 Samuel 21:1-6). The only bread he had was the holy bread offered in the Temple. None but the priests were allowed to eat it. In their hunger, David and his men ate of this bread.

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.” Jesus reminds the Pharisees that the Sabbath was given for our benefit, to refresh and renew us in living for God. It was intended for good and not for evil. Withholding mercy and kindness in response to human need was not part of God’s intention that we rest from unnecessary labor. Do we honor the Lord in the way we treat our neighbor and celebrate the Lord’s Day?

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Tomorrow's reading for Mark 3:1-6

3 Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. ² Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. ³ Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

⁴ Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

⁵ He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

Mark 2:18-22

Rachel Workman: 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.” I love how Jesus can just speak newness into us. But in order for us to be new we need to do away with the old. Christ can not reside inside of a sinful nature. Just like the religious leaders of that day needed to do away with old laws we need to do away with our old sinful selves.

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John Burnett:  ¹⁸ John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, ^[a]the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.  Christ is the bridegroom for the church and it doesn’t make sense for His disciples/groomsmen to fast while they are attending to the bridegroom.

²¹ “No one sews ^[b]a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise ^[c]the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. ²² No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”  Jesus is talking about the old way things were done and He being the new way.  The sacrificial system of covering sins was being replaced by an entirely new system of one sacrifice paying for all sins. 

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Mike Grimm:  ⁸ 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.”

Which comes first, fasting or feasting?  The disciples of John the Baptist were upset with Jesus' disciples because they did not fast.  Fasting was one of the three most important religious duties, along with prayer and almsgiving.  Jesus gave a simple explanation.  There's a time for fasting and a time for feasting (or celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in celebrating with the groom and bride their wedding bliss.  But there also comes a time when the Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification.  For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin.  Do you take joy in the Lord's presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins?  Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things.  The Pharisees had become rigid like old wine skins. They could not accept faith in Jesus that would not be contained or limited by man-made ideas or rules. My heart, like a wine skin, can become rigid and prevent me from accepting the new life that Christ offers. I must keep my hart pliable and open to accepting the life-changing truths of Christ.

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Tomorrow's reading for Mark 2:23-28

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.”