Normally I like to teach a Book of the Bible verse by verse in an exegesis manner but due to the length of Mark and just 10 weeks we have to complete the task, I am going to use the natural divisions given by the translators in the Bible and discuss take-aways and applications under each division. We’ll see how that works! In my Bible there are eleven division in the first two chapters – some of you may have a few more some a few less – no matter, as all the verses hopefully will be covered. Let’s get started!
Chapter One:
John The Baptist Prepares The Way:
Mark began by putting his account into its proper scriptural context. Aside from Old Testament quotations by Jesus this is the only place Mark referred to the Old Testament in his Gospel. He begins with the Baptist and quotes from Isaiah 40:3. Isaiah 40:1-3 is worthy of our look as it begins with God’s call for our comfort that our sins would be paid for and He uses the voice of His earthly cousin John (who btw was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth) to herald this great announcement:
1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:1-3 (NIV)
John’s clarion call was towards one’s preparedness. Repentance comes to mind here. Repentance is to undergo a moral reorientation of the soul in which one acknowledges the error of his ways and turns toward the divinely prescribed way of Truth and righteousness which, of course, we have been given in God’s revealed will, His Word. It is opening one’s eyes to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan and self to the power of God. It is acknowledging God’s ways are right. Reminiscent of Paul’s words to King Agrippa in Acts:
19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.” Acts 26:19-20 (NIV)
“Serious and sincere repentance routes us back into God’s will.” Robert J. Morgan
“The conviction of the Holy Spirit is always precise: He identifies root causes of sin, and He moves the heart to specific acts of repentance and obedience. All those who trust God sufficiently to desire to obey Him, and who are patient in waiting upon Him, will find unfailingly that HE gives clear guidance. ‘In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths’, promises Proverbs 3:6. For those who love God everything is aboveboard. To know Him is to know what He requires and more than that, it is to have the power to carry it out. In fact these two—enlightenment and empowering—go hand in hand, and where they do not, then the Lord is not in it.” Mike Mason
Comfort therefore arises for the believer who through the power of the Holy Spirit turns in repentance from his ways to Gods and seeks through His power to stand firm in all the will of God mature and fully assured. Becoming a believer is just the beginning. We spend the rest of our life in the sanctification process of being conformed into the image of Jesus – through His power for His glory.
I think it fair to say that John the Baptist typified the marking of a true believer in Jesus. The Holy Spirit indwelled him and he went forth in His power; he did not blend with the world, indeed he went into the desert region preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins – he knew the truth and he had to share it; his clothing would not have been on the front cover of Vogue nor his food choice been on the food network – neither did he do to impress anyone but in reality it did as it drew “all the people from Jerusalem” confessing their sins and being baptized. To be sure, if you want to make a stand for Jesus you cannot afford to blend with the world.
“It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and a wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians…and I am one of them.” St. Cyprian, 200-258
To me, though, by far John’s greatest attribute mentioned was his humility. He willingly bows to the superiority and authority of the Lord Jesus. His message:
7 And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:7-8 (NIV)
“Love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ.” John Newton
2 “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:2 (NIV)
“Jesus found His glory in taking the form of a servant. There is nothing so divine and heavenly as being the servant and helper of all. Humility, the place of entire dependence on God, is, from the very nature of things, the first duty and the highest virtue of the creature, and the root of every virtue…Humility is the only soil in which the graces root; the lack of humility is the sufficient explanation of every defect and failure. Humility is not so much a grace or virtue along with others; it is the root of all, because it alone takes the right attitude before God and allows Him as God to do all. Brother, are you clothed with humility? Ask your daily life. Ask Jesus. Ask your friends. Ask the world. And begin to praise God that there is opened up to you in Jesus a heavenly humility of which you have hardly known, and through which, a heavenly blessedness you possibly have never yet tasted, can come to you.” Andrew Murray
“Pride always looks more powerful than humility on the outside. But in reality, it’s not. It’s not even close. Humility is stronger than pride like heaven is stronger than hell. Like the cross was stronger than the Roman Empire. Like the Resurrection and the Life was stronger than the grave. In the same way, thankfulness is stronger than lust, and serving is stronger than exploiting.” Jon Bloom
Indeed, humility is certainly a beautiful choice flower in God’s garden. John came pointing us to Jesus. He still does. By faith he still speaks, even though he is dead as the writer of Hebrews says of Abel in Hebrews 11.
The Baptism And Temptation Of Jesus:
Abruptly, Mark announces the coming One as Jesus. Jesus came to John to be baptized in the Jordan. We learn from Matthew’s account that John sought to deter Jesus stating he needed to be baptized by Him rather than to baptize Him. But Jesus replies:
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. Matthew 3:15 (NIV)
Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness meaning His baptism was essential. He lived the perfect life so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sin.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
As Jesus was coming up out of the water heaven opens up and the Spirit descended on Him like a dove. As if this wasn’t enough the icing and cherry came when the voice from heaven called down expressing God’s unqualified approval of Jesus and His mission. Can you even imagine the sight? Heaven is open the Spirit comes down and then we hear:
11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11 (NIV)
Talk about a mountain top experience! Then we see in Scripture immediately the Spirit sends Jesus out into the desert. Can anyone relate here besides me? I can be on the pinnacle and then in the poop house (so to speak) in no time flat! Unfortunately, it is often because of my on poor choices. Yet some times I think God allows these diverse set of circumstances as trials for me to see exactly what is in my heart. In that day the desert was viewed as the haunt of evil powers. When we are in our own deserts it can feel that way as well, amen??? The important thing is we are to guard our hearts in both the high and low places of life.
“Guard your heart zealously - not to simply keep it in a particular pattern or habit by merely following a rule or regulation – rather to keep it responsive to each breath of the Spirit. He is to lead, we are to follow.” BHY
Satan made trial of our Lord for forty days and much to his chagrin Jesus remained sinless. Neither the adversary nor his cohorts could tempt Him to go against His divine mission. In His humanity Jesus proved sinless. A good question for us to pose to ourselves is how do we handle temptation. The Bible is clear – flee! God is faithful to show us the door of escape:
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
Pray that He will pull you through the door of escape – by the hair or by the back of the neck if He has to!
The Calling Of The First Disciples:
As God would have it, His perfect timing had the Baptist in prison so all eyes would be on the Savior. Interestingly, Jesus said that among those born of women there had not risen anyone greater than the Baptist yet both his ministry and his life were short. He fulfilled his earthly purpose than went home to heaven. John’s ministry ends and Jesus’ ministry commences. Our Lord begins to preach and herald the good news of God. The time has come, the kingdom of God is near, it was the opportune time to repent and believe. Paul also tells us whenever one hears the very good news of the Gospel, it is the opportune time to repent and believe. There is no time like the present:
1 As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (NIV)
Jesus is ready to commence His ministry and He begins to call His inner circle. First seeing Simon and Andrew casting their nets Jesus issues the call to follow Him and start fishing for men. At once they left their nets and followed Him. James and John were next and without delay they leave their father and their profession. These examples remind me of Jesus’ words:
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:23-26 (NIV)
These words were not written for a few but for all. Wherever He leads we are to go.
Jesus Drives Out The Evil Spirit:
Jesus taught as One Who had authority because He was Authority personified and those who heard Him knew the difference and were amazed. An evil spirit shows up and cries out:
24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!” Mark 1:24 (NIV)
Interestingly, the demons knew that Jesus was the Christ yet over and over He sternly told them to be quiet. He orders the demon out of the man shaking him violently and amazing all the onlookers. Jesus’ teaching had authority and news of Him began to spread. He backed up His Words with actions and people took notice. Does Jesus’ teaching have authority in our lives? Do people take notice of Christ in us, the hope of glory? If we are His, then it should be so.
Jesus Heals Many:
Next we see our Lord Jesus compassionately healing Simon Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. The most beautiful portrait I see of receiving a gift and giving back in return. She is healed then she immediately began to wait on them. As believers, we are healed spiritually and we all are given spiritual gifts to serve one another. That’s how the body works. Gifts are given to us but they are not for us meaning they are for the benefit of others. If you do not use your gifts the body will suffer. I am reminded of Peter’s words in 1 Peter:
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:7-11 (NIV)
That evening, Scripture states, the entire town gathered bringing the sick and the demon possessed and Jesus healed many.
Jesus Prays In A Solitary Place:
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 (NIV)
I ask you to consider your own life for a moment. If it was important enough for Jesus to get up early in the morning seeking solitude in prayer and meditation how much more important it is for His followers? We do ourselves a great injustice by not spending time in His Word and in prayer. It is always for our benefit. It should be protos (foremost) in a life – in every life. We will never grow up in Him riding on someone else’s coattails or living in the shallow land. We have to own Truth ourselves as the Holy Spirit teaches us individually. He is truly a “with us” God meaning just what it says: He desires to be with us. Life is fleeting do not rob yourself of this divine pleasure. In doing so we miss out on life that is truly life. Remember as well it is all too easy for our hearts to grow cold. We are so prone to wander.
Read: Recall what God Remembers 1.21 Oswald Chambers – My Utmost For His Highest (1)
“I am sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day. I wonder why they deprive themselves of the strength and of the pleasure.” Woodrow Wilson
A Man With Leprosy
Again Jesus’ compassion shines forth in this encounter. A man with leprosy humbly approaches the Master on his knees begging to be healed. This man experienced a pitiful existence due not only to the physical ravages of the disease but also to ritual uncleanness and exclusion from society. Lepers were to remain outside the city and forced away from all human contact – no hugs, no family, no friends. Isolated, they were even to scream out “Lepers” if anyone approached or got close. Leprosy brought anguish at all levels: physical, mental, social, and religious. In the Bible, it serves as an illustration of sin.
The Rabbis regarded leprosy as humanly incurable. Only twice does the Old Testament record that God cleansed a leper (Miriam Moses’ sister in Numbers 12:10-15 and Naaman a valiant soldier in 2 Kings 5:1-14). Yet this leper was convinced that Jesus could cleanse him. Are we as convinced that He can cleanse us as well? Without presumption (If You are willing) and without doubting Jesus' ability (You can make me clean), he humbly begged the Mater to heal him. Moved by compassion (having deep pity) Jesus touched the untouchable and cured the incurable.
Jesus strongly warns the cured leper not to tell anyone rather go to the Priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for his cleansing as a testimony to them. Instead, I am most certain out of pure joy and thankfulness, he spread the good news freely of his healing and therefore Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but was forced to stay in solitary places. Another example of Jesus taking on our infirmities upon Him. The cleansed leper goes about freely and Jesus is forced to stay in solitary places. Yet, Scripture states, that the people kept coming from everywhere seeking healing.
“Jesus, Thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love Thou art.” Charles Wesley
Read Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening January 16 Morning (2)
Chapter Two:
Jesus Heals A Paralytic:
News was reported that Jesus had again entered Capernaum. He was more than likely again at Peter’s house. In the freedom of Jewish custom, many uninvited people arrived thus crowds quickly gathered where the Master was - so much so there was no room left not even outside the door preventing access. He began to preach the Word of God to them. How amazingly privy these hearers were! The Logos speaking the Logos to them – what succinct clarity of the Truth they must have heard!
We are told by the text that four men arrived carrying a paralytic. When they saw that they could not enter through the door because of the crowd they proceed to make an opening in the roof above where Jesus was. Digging through it they lower the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. Amazing faith demonstrated by these companions. I wonder if my faith would have stood that test. Isn’t it often all too easy to hit a roadblock and turn back instead of proceed on when it comes to spiritual issues? These four men show us the importance of ingenuity, perseverance and tenacity in regard to demonstrating faith. They knew Jesus could heal and they were undeterred by any obstacles from carrying him there on the mat to putting him on the roof, to digging a hole through it, to lowering him down before the Master. Amazing.
Their efforts did not go unnoticed by Jesus. He marvels at their faith and honored it by pouring out His mercy on the paralyzed man. Jesus uses the term “son” revealing His great affection and compassion for the young man’s plight. He tells the man his sins are forgiven. This is interesting in that the men probably came to Jesus for healing in lieu of forgiveness, however He gave them both! He looked past the man’s immediate need meeting his real need. Based on Who He is and what He would accomplish on the cross, Jesus extended to a paralyzed sinner God’s full and complete pardon of sin. He may have needed healing, but even more he – like all the rest of us – needed to experience the forgiveness of sins made possible only by Jesus. Of course, this stunned the scribes and religious leaders of Israel and they immediately accuse Him of blasphemy - the very charge they will eventually use to get Him crucified. This was a grave offense punishable by death.
Everyone begins to question “Who is this One claiming to forgive sins?” The scribes were correct – only God can forgive sins and that was exactly and precisely what Jesus was asserting and He will prove it momentarily by healing this man. These first-century Jews knew exactly what was going on: if He could forgive sins, then Jesus is God. Knowing precisely what they were thinking (another evidence of Deity) He asks which is easier to forgive sins or to heal. He concludes with “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” He heals the paralytic further amazing the crowd.
Those who bring the hurting in faith to Jesus will not be disappointed. I am reminded of the words of Job:
10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. Job 9:10 (NIV)
“Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God…What this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips…I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him. ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis
The Calling Of Levi:
Jesus! What A Friend For Sinners (oh thank goodness!). Some have called this section of Mark “the scandal of grace” and it has the potential to bring great conviction to the hearts of many of us. Here we see our Lord going out from Capernaum to the lake (Sea of Galilee) once again.
To summarize His activity, Mark stated that Jesus was teaching a large crowd which kept on coming to hear Him. Here He meets Levi (whose name means “gift of God”) a Jewish tax official in the service of Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee. The tax official job often involved fraudulent practices and therefore these officials were despised by the Jews. They were considered as thieves and murderers and expelled and banned from the synagogue. Yet mercifully, Jesus extended to Levi a gracious call to follow Him and leave his old calling of sin and self behind. Jesus reaches out to the seemingly unlikely, the socially undesirable and the spiritually unhealthy and the religious elite of that day did not like it one little bit. The Pharisees disdained the fact that He was eating with “sinners” and tax collectors. In that day to share a meal was an expression of trust and fellowship and they therefore criticized Jesus for not being a separatist, for failing to observe their pious distinction between “the righteous” (of which they themselves presumed to be) and “the sinners.” It both offended and angered them. Bigotry is always ugly and pathetic is it not? What they and we so often forget to realize is that we are all sinners in desperate need of a Savior – all of us. We all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross.
When questioned why He would eat with the tax collectors and sinners Jesus replied: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The words, the righteous, are used ironically to refer to those who saw themselves as such, namely, the Pharisees. They saw no need to repent and believe. But Jesus knew that everyone, including “the righteous,” are sinful. He came (into the world) to call sinners - those who humbly acknowledge their need and receive His gracious forgiveness - to God’s kingdom.
“What a Friend for sinners! Jesus! Lover of my soul! Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole. Jesus! What a Strength in weakness! Let me hide myself in Him; Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing, He, my Strength, my victory wins. Jesus! What a Help in sorrow! While the billows o’er me roll, Even when my heart is breaking, He, my Comfort, helps my soul. Jesus! What a Guide and Keeper! While the tempest still is high, storms about me, night o’ertakes me, He, my Pilot, hears my cry. Jesus! I do now receive Him, More than all in Him I find, He hath granted me forgiveness, I am His and He is mine. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end.” J. Wilbur Chapman
Jesus Questioned About Fasting:
Despite the prophets’ warnings that fasting without a repentant heart and right conduct was in vain, many still believed that vigorous fasting was a foolproof method of earning God’s favor or action. The Pharisees certainly believed that and added many fasts that were not mandated in Scripture. They asked Jesus why John’s disciples and the Pharisees disciples fasted and His disciples did not. Jesus replied that it was inappropriate for guests of the bridegroom to fast (which was an expression of sorrow) in the presence of the bridegroom, therefore it was inappropriate for Jesus’ disciples to fast (in sorrow) while He was yet with them. His presence with them constituted a situation as joyous as a wedding festival. But this situation would change, for the time would come when the Bridegroom (Jesus) would be taken (the word used here implying violent removal) from them and on that day (His crucifixion) the disciples would fast in the metaphorical sense of experiencing sorrow in place of joy. The Prophet Isaiah tells us:
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. Isaiah 53:8 (NIV)
Jesus’ presence with His people now was a time of newness (fulfillment) and signaled the passing of the old. An attempt to bind the newness of the gospel to the old religion of Judaism is as futile as trying to patch an old “worn out by use” garment with a new, unshrunk piece of cloth. When the new (“qualitatively new”) piece (“fullness”) becomes wet, it will shrink, pull away from the old, and make the hole larger.
It is equally disastrous to pour new (“fresh”), not fully fermented wine into old (“worn out by use,” with no elasticity, brittle) wineskins. Inevitably, as the new wine ferments (expands), it will burst the skins and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Salvation, available through Jesus, was not to be mixed with the old Judaistic system. John tells us:
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 (NIV)
“Jesus came to usher in the new, not to unite with the old. The Mosaic economy was decaying, getting old, and ready to vanish away. Jesus would establish a new covenant in His blood. The Law would be written on human hearts, not on stones; and the indwelling Holy Spirit would enable God’s people to fulfill the righteousness of the Law.” Warren Wiersbe
The Christian life is not a mixing of the old and the new; rather it is a fulfillment of the old in the new. The shadow has gone the reality has come. In Jesus Christ we have the fulfillment of all that God promised. Paul tells us:
20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)
Lord Of The Sabbath:
While walking on a footpath through someone’s grainfields one Sabbath, Jesus’ disciples... began picking some heads of grain to eat. This was legitimate in Scripture:
25 If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain. Deuteronomy 23:25 (NIV)
Yet the Pharisees, in their legalism, viewed this as reaping, an act of work forbidden on the Sabbath, so they demanded an explanation from Jesus.
In response Jesus appealed to Scripture and a precedent set by David and his companions when they were hungry and in need in 1 Samuel 21:1-6. The words “his companions” and “in need” are key elements in this incident. David entered the tabernacle court, requested the consecrated bread which was restricted by Mosaic legislation to the priests gave some to his men. Jesus used this action which God did not condemn, to show that the Pharisees’ narrow interpretation of the Law blurred God’s intention. The spirit of the Law in respect to human need took priority over its ceremonial regulations. Once after healing a crippled woman on the Sabbath the spiritually elite were again indignant and Jesus responds calling them out on their hypocrisy:
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. Luke 13:10-17 (NIV)
Legalism is deadly poison. It is destructive because it breeds death rather than life – all sin carries with it a death sentence. It is seductive because it has a natural allure for the flesh that causes us to look to ourselves rather than to Christ for our spiritual status before God. It is deceptive because it makes us think we are the spiritual elite when actually we are spiritual slaves. Legalism is taking our traditions and preferences and imposing them on others as an act of spiritual superiority, even though the Bible does not make such practices universally prescriptive. Legalism is characterized by looking for the shortcomings in others rather than in oneself. It looks for what is wrong in someone’s life in order to criticize and condemn them rather than what is right in order to commend and encourage them. It reinforces feelings of spiritual superiority and elitism that are man centered rather than Christ centered. It didn’t die with the Pharisees. It is still alive and well today. And God hates it.
Jesus smacks them with their legalism by stating that the Sabbath was instituted by God for mankind’s benefit and refreshment, not that people were made to keep burdensome regulations pertaining to it. Mark concluded this section of Scripture with Jesus’ Words: “The Son of Man is Lord even on the Sabbath.” Jesus has sovereign authority over its use as we will see demonstrated in the next incident recorded in Mark Three.
The Pharisees relied on their own traditions for guidance, and in doing so, they missed the Lawgiver entirely. For Christians, He is our anchor of spiritual authority in all things. In sum, “Jesus says…” settles all issues. As God, He is Lord of the Sabbath. We do not get to choose whether we will allow Him to be such. It is a fact, regardless of our permission. The question to ask is, Have you surrendered to Him as your God and the Lord of your life? Trusting in His work and not your own. You will never be disappointed.
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.