“Out With the Old” - Wild Heart: Mark’s Portraits of a Radical Messiah

We’re continuing our series Wild Heart: Mark’s Portrait of a Radical Messiah this morning.

Last week we were challenged to follow Jesus out of our comfort zones so that we can be set free from our addiction to the familiar, predictable rituals, routines, and relationships that prevent us from connecting with people who are outside of that familiar circle.

By its very nature Christianity is relational. First we begin to follow Jesus but as soon as we do we are immediately brought into relationship with other people who are following Jesus. Then all of us together follow Jesus out to serve and touch other hurting people in the world so they too can follow Jesus and walk with us.

When we withdraw into our comfort zones we are actually turning back from following Jesus. You can’t follow and stay at the same time.

I heard someone say this week “When we bend over in our holy huddles think about what everyone else sees.” Not the prettiest picture or message to send is it?

This week we find another side to this same issue that Jesus has to confront. But instead of challenging His disciples by teaching them not to make judgments about others based only on what they see.

Let’s read Mark 2:18-28

Weekly fasting was not part of the Law of Moses, but it had become a regular part of Jewish religious practice. Even John the Baptist taught his disciples to fast regularly. There’s nothing wrong with fasting, in fact you are welcome to do it and, I’d go even further to say that its something we should all do from time to time.

In fact there are some scriptures that suggest fasting when it is accompanied by seasons of prayer can be lead to spiritual power.

What that tells us is that fasting isn’t the real issue here. They were questioning Jesus’ relaxed attitude toward religious practice. In their mind the Messiah would be an orthodox Jew who held strictly to their religious rules and rituals, but Jesus didn’t do that.

That’s also what was going on when the disciples were plucking the heads of grain on the Sabbath. Strike 1. Technically they were reaping, which was one of the 39 activities strictly forbidden on the Sabbath.They were walking too far. You could only walk a little way on the Sabbath.Strike 2. Then they husked the grain. Strike 3. So as far as the Pharisees were concerned Jesus and His disciples were out of line. Of course I guess you might ask why the Pharisees were in the grain field in the first place and how they got there, but like us when you’re being all ‘holier than thou’ you don’t taketime to look at yourself.

Here’s the deal.

From the beginning of time God desires relationship with people. In the garden of Eden God would come down to walk with Adam and Eve.God spoke to Abraham, and told him that his offspring would be God’s own people and that He would dwell with them.

Then God set His people free from bondage in Egypt so that they could once again worship Him in freedom and so that He could dwell with them again. To make that possible God gave them the law. The law was given so that people could enter into relationship with God, but in time the religious rituals of the law took the place of the relationship with God they were intended to help.

Even today we’re sometimes quick to judge people based on their religious rituals instead of their relationship with Jesus. The Pharisees had far more knowledge of the Scriptures. In fact they had probably memorized huge portions of Scripture. You’d have to just to keep from looking dumb to the other Pharisees. But it seems pretty clear that Jesus’ disciples didn’t know much, if anything, about the Scriptures. I mean if they did they wouldn’t have been doing what they were doing.

The big difference between them was that. The Pharisees had built a religion about God and the disciples were building a relationship with Him.

I think we’re tempted to substitute the things we can do to please God for the relationship we can have with Him. We struggle with the idea of….

a religion about God vs. a relationship with Him

Before Jesus came to live and walk as a man the only way to build a relationship with God was through the religious rituals that He instituted. That’s what the old wine skins are. But Jesus came to make it possible to have relationship with God personally that wasn’t dependent on rituals. This is the new wine skins. Jesus is saying that we can’t mix the two.We can’t allow ourselves to trust in religious rituals to enter into relationship with God because that will only lead us to getting to the finish line only to find out we were on the wrong track.

Then Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is Lord of the Sabbath. In that statement He is declaring two things. He’s claiming His equality with God, and He’s telling than that He alone is the judge of His people.

Here’s where this leaves us. First,

We have to be careful not to condemn others who don’t measure up to our standards. That’s God’s job, not ours. Will there be evidence of a changed life? Sure and aren’t we supposed to keep each other accountable so that we don’t fall into sinful and destructive life patterns? Yes, but we don’t have any right to condemn another’s servant.

Second,

Don’t trade performance for grace. Reading the Bible cover to cover, feeding 1,000 poor orphans, or praying six hours a day won’t earn you any glory points with God. If you’re doing those things to gain His approvald on’t go any farther. Stop now before you hurt yourself. Repent and ask God to forgive you for trying to earn His grace. Instead read your Bible everyday to learn more about your Savior and to hear His whisper as you turn the pages.Feed the orphans and look for God’s image in their faces. Pray and commune with God allowing Him to pour the new wine of His Spirit into your soul.

Isn’t it time that we throw out our old habit of self reliance and accept God’s new wine of grace.

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