Mark 2:18-28 - Jesus Faces Questions

First century Palestine is a time of competing religious movements. There were the Pharisees, the Saducees, the Essenes, more recently the disciples of John, and now Jesus. Of the first three, Jesus was most like the Pharisees. Yet in the gospels we find that it is the Pharisees with whom Jesus has the most debate. The Pharisees at the time would have been the most powerful sect, yet even in their heyday they numbered no more than about 1% of the population.

And while some of the followers of John became followers of Jesus when Jesus came on the scene, it is clear that many did not. We will find them mentioned again in chapter 6 and we are surprised to discover some of them living in Ephesus in Acts 19 who have yet to hear anything about Jesus. How this came to be is a mystery to us. But while we may have expected to see all of John's disciples become Jesus' disciples, that did not happen.

So what we have set before us by Mark are two more stories that demonstrate the opposition that Jesus faced in his Galilean ministry--an opposition that is growing. In the first we have people, regular people, come to Jesus and ask him, "Why do the Pharisees fast and John's disciples fast and yours do not?" It is an accusing question. It's like asking, "Why are the Pharisees and John's disciples more serious about their faith than you guys are?"

Jesus gives a compelling answer--something worth contemplating. But then Mark continues rapidly to the next incident, or pericope, and we see Jesus being accused of breaking the Sabbath. Did he? Did his disciples? What is going on in this story and how will Jesus respond? This and more is addressed in the sermon I preached from these verses on Sunday, February 26, 2017.  You will find the audio from the sermon below and I hope you will take the time to listen to it. Just click the link and a new window will open on your browser giving you options to listen to the sermon. I hope it will be a blessing to you.

Click here: Mark 2:18-28 - Jesus Faces Questions



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