MARK LESSON 5
We will begin in this lesson in Mark 2:18.
Mark 2:18 "And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to
fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and
of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?"
In Luke 18:12, we see a self-righteous Pharisee bragging that he
fasts twice a week. Possibly, to make others look on him as more
righteous than he really was. Luke 18:12 "I fast twice in the week, I
give tithes of all that I possess." Jesus warned about this type of
fasting. Jesus told us when we fast to wash our faces and not let the
world know when we fast, but to fast unto God. Possibly, the reason
John's followers were fasting was because John was in jail. It really
appears, to me, that these Pharisees were jealous that Jesus' disciples
were not fasting.
Mark 2:19 "And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they
have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast."
People fast when they are in desperate need of having a prayer
answered. While Jesus was with them, there was no desperate need of an
answer to prayer. This verse is, also, prophetic. Jesus is the
bridegroom of the bride of Christ (which we, Christians are). I say
again, there is no need to fast when everything is going good. While
Jesus was with them, He took care of all their needs, and there was no
need to fast.
Mark 2:20 "But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be
taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days."
All who study the Bible know that when Jesus was taken by the
authorities, the disciples ran. They suddenly forgot all the times
Jesus had told them that this very thing would happen. He told them He
would be crucified and then rise from the grave on the third day. Then
they would need to fast and pray, because Jesus had been taken
away. Instead of fasting and praying, they went back to their old jobs
and old ways of life.
Mark 2:21 "No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old
garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the
old, and the rent is made worse."
We know that this statement is very true. If we are patching an
old garment, we should cut a patch of something equally worn so that
the tear and the patch wear together. It would be a waste of new
material, also, to put it in something worn out.
Mark 2:22 "And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the
new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the
bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles."
The literal message here needs very little explanation. The
fermenting of the new wine could cause old containers to give
way. Probably, these were not glass bottles, but bottles made of
skins. I believe the real message that the Lord would have us receive
here though is: The people who were caught up in the law would not
accept this new message of grace. We see this even in our day. Those
who have always looked at the literal message will not even try to
see the spiritual message. New converts can be taught easily to see
the spiritual message.
Mark 2:23 "And it came to pass, that he went through the corn
fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to
pluck the ears of corn."
We see here, that they were on the move. Perhaps, they had not
been eating and they saw this fresh, ripe corn. They did not stop to
cook this, so they just shucked it and cleaned the cornsilks off as
they walked and ate these juicy kernels. There is a little more
detailed account of this same thing in Luke 6:1, "And it came to pass
on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn
fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat,
rubbing them in their hands." The spiritual message that we must get
from this is: The Word (food) is not always prepared for us. We have
to do a little work digging (rubbing) the Word out before we can
digest it.
Mark 2:24 "And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they
on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?"
This reminds me so much of our churches today. Each church has
its own little laws that you have to stick to, or you are just not
allowed to be in that body. Every church has its Pharisees: caught up
so in the "don'ts" that it is very difficult to get anything
going. These Pharisees pointed to the law and said you can't do this, you
are breaking the Mosaic law. They didn't even realize that Jesus was the
law maker.
Mark 2:25 "And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David
did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with
him?"
Jesus, here, said don't you even know what is in your own book of
law? You profess to know everything about the book of law, and yet, you
do not know this simple thing. The story of David going to the temple
when he was running from Saul and getting five loaves of shewbread for
him and his men is found in First Samuel 21. These Pharisees did not
realize that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath.
Mark 2:26 "How he went into the house of God in the days of
Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not
lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were
with him?"
Helping David caused problems for this priest with Saul, and he
later fled and joined David in exile. This shewbread was the bread in
the holy place on the table always before the Lord. This bread was
sprinkled with incense when brought into the holy place and was
eaten by the priests only. The new bread was brought each sabbath to
replace the old which was eaten . This eating of the shewbread had
sustained David in his time of need, and this is just what the
disciples had done as well, eaten to sustain themselves.
Mark 2:27 "And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the sabbath:"
Man must cease labor one day a week to give his body a time to
restore itself. If a man fails to rest one day in seven, he soon
becomes sick and not able to go. When we stay too busy, we have a
tendency to forget about God. On this day of rest from daily labor,
we can tend to the needs of our souls. It gives us time to think about
other things, besides just making a living. We remember that there were
exceptions made for necessity in the law. God allowed a man to free his
animal, if he got in trouble on the sabbath. This just shows that God
is concerned about the needs of mankind more than He is interested in
us dogmatically obeying the law.
Mark 2:28 "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
The Son of man is Lord of everything and everyone. We have
mentioned before that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.
Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
[things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the
earth;" Philippians 2:11 "And [that] every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father." No further
explanation is necessary. He is Lord of everything.
Notes
Mark 5 Questions
1. Whose disciples who fasted came and asked why Jesus' disciples
didn't fast?
2. What describes the attitude of the Pharisees?
3. When we fast, who are we to tell?
4. What did Jesus call Himself in verse 19?
5. When do people fast?
6. When will Jesus' disciples fast?
7. What did Jesus' disciples do when the authorities took Jesus?
8. What had they forgotten?
9. Why would a man not put a new piece of cloth in an old garment?
10. Why would you not put new wine in old bottles?
11. What is the spiritual message in the statement above?
12. Those who have always looked at the literal message in the Word
will seldom see the ___________________.
13. Who is easy to teach the spiritual message?
14. What did the disciples do, as they walked through the cornfield?
15. What day was it?
16. What does Luke 6:1 tell us about this story that was not in Mark?
17. What is the spiritual meaning of this?
18. Who complained about the disciples doing this on the sabbath?
19. What are the Pharisees in the church doing today?
20. What Old Testament personality did Jesus remind them of?
21. What had he done that could have been judged a sin?
22. What happened to the priest that helped David?
23. What was the shewbread sprinkled with?
24. Who was the sabbath made for?
25. Who is the Lord of sabbath?
Notes
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