Read Today's Passage
I feel as if we are just cruising along with Jesus. It's like a fast-paced novel or movie where we come into the action somewhere in the middle. And Mark is not slow to show that Jesus and the Pharisees disagreed on many things (who do you think was right?) and those confrontations were typically public. There are many things that this passage sparks in my mind, especially the talk about the old and new wine skins. How indeed could the disciples be fasting, awaiting the Messiah, their Savior, when He was already there? Sure, we are all encouraged to fast elsewhere as a means of dedicating that time we would normally be eating to spending with God, but HE WAS ALREADY THERE! Man those Pharisees were afraid of Jesus wresting power from them. I am noticing a trend with the Pharisees...
And the argument (was it really an argument if Jesus' words just flat-out silenced the Pharisees?) over the forgiveness of sins versus simply healing the man. I know that at this point the Pharisees are at best afraid that Jesus is who He says He is, and at worse they believe Him to be a liar, but if I were in their position and I saw someone healing and forgiving sins, I wonder if I would react the same way. I probably would today, since Jesus was already here, but how would I have reacted then, after years of awaiting the Messiah? Would I have the same attitude toward sinners? Would I look down my nose at them? How many times have I placed incredibly high expectations on people who do not know Christ, or have just come to know Him? Expectations that cannot be met by this person and then I look down upon them? I shudder as I think through just how much I can be like the Pharisees from 2,000 years ago.
Make sure you read a couple of different translations for today's passage, especially the sections of fasting and the Sabbath. You might be surprised at how they share the same thing, just phrased a little bit differently.
So share with us what you think about today's reading...
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5 comments:
The Pharasees were probably really comfortable in their little religious rut of authority and didn't like anyone filling it in. Your right, I can be kind of like them at times too. I like my normalicy. It can be comforting to know what to expect, and with Jesus you never know what He is going to do next :).
well being as how i didnt have an acount when i started haha o well
basically i noticed that the pharisees were given jesus crap 4 they way he treats his disciples becuz jesus didnt do it the way man thaught it should have ben done. jesus's disciples were plucking the heads of grain and the pharisees ask jesus y they were doing that becuz it was not lawful on the sabbath, than me told the story of david and how he and other ppl ate bread on the sabbath that only the priests were sapposed 2 eat in the house of god,
i really like verses 2:27,28 witch basically said he is lord haha witch he said alot
tyler
The wineskin and patch thing is something we deal with now. If Jesus came back now, would he come to a church or to a bar to call people to repentance? Jesus' teachings on justice and surrender are incompatible with most church people who think they do good enough already on their own.
Sometimes we do get caught up in the ritual of church when God is trying to do something new. What do people say when someone asks why the youth kids are so crazy in church? Brett I think you are right on when you say we place certain expectations on how people should act when they become a Christian. Some people who are not Christian know how to act like a typical one, and we are responsible for propagating the stereotype.
amen matt. just think for a moment. if Jesus were to come back today, how fed up with us would He be? I think more often than not we humans are more like the Pharisees than we are like the Apostles. especially when it comes to things like expectations on others, and thinking that we don't need to surrender our lives to Him.
Pharisees. I HATE when I slip into that mindset. Doesnt it seem like the Pharisees were little spies, sneaking around to find everything wrong with Jesus? I mean how in the heck did they find him in a random field picking grain anyways? I know that I have been like that at times, pointing out everything i find that is "wrong" in someone else, when they don't do things my way. How childish!! I love how Jesus answers them with Scripture and with so much authority.
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