Mark 2:23-3:6

[snapstur]

@Shield> let’s pray

@Shield> We are in the Holy presence of God

@Shield> We are in the purifying presence of the Holy Spirit

@Shield> We are in the hopeful presence of Jesus

@Shield> We are in the Holy presence of God

@Shield> amen

Tigre_blanc> Amen

Snapstur> amen

@Shield> Good evening to each of you as you have come from the busyness of your day to join us for the evening's activities.

@Shield> I should like to bring to your attention a few items of importance and then we will get right into our time of study of God's Word.

@Shield> As most of you are very well aware, CCNet has been in existence for about twelve years

@Shield> Some of you may have been here when it all started.

@Shield> I think it's possible that Katz fits into that category.

@Shield> For my part, I am a relative newcomer, having been here only about 8 years as a chatter, and the last 6 years or so as an admin.

@Shield> So I still have much to learn.

@Shield> My point in sharing this is that there are exciting things yet ahead for CCNet.

@Shield> Just recently, for example, our forums were moved to make them a little more consolidated with the site.

@Shield> so you may find the forums at www.forums.christian-chat.net

@Shield> the logs of these studies are placed there in their own folder, compliments of Snapstur, who diligently and faithfully posts them every week.

@Shield> So thank you next time you get a chance

@Shield> also, Pillar has done a wonderful job administrating the forums.

@Shield> It is one less thing for the CCNet admins to have to worry about

@Shield> so please thank him too

@Shield> and go over there and register your nickname, if you have not already done so.

@Shield> Don't forget, we have www.orangenoiseradio.com

@Shield> a great place to listen to your favorite tunes

@Shield> Also, we like to promote the channels on the network

@Shield> one of our channel founders has asked me to promote his channel

@Shield> Pat, we are just doing some announcements right now:)

@Shield> one of our channel founders has asked me to promote his channel

@Shield> that channel is #disciple

@Shield> you can go there to check it out and see what they have going on, things like Bible studies and prayer times

@Shield> If you are a channel founder and you would like us to promote your channel, you may email me directly at shield@christian-chat.net

@Shield> also...

@Shield> you can check out all the channels by typing /list

@Shield> at this time, let's go ahead and move right into our study

@Shield> We have been reading and considering the Gospel of Mark

@Shield> Our method has been to read the text and let it speak for itself

@Shield> by that I mean, we allow the text to speak on its terms, in its own context

@Shield> rather than taking isolated verses and reading into them our preconceived biases

@Shield> we left off last time at Mark 2:22, having just completed discussion of new wine in new wineskins

@Shield> and now, once again, we pick up the narrative afresh as Jesus leads his disciples, on the Sabbath, through a cornfield...

@Shield> let's listen in...

@Shield> sorry, I meant to say grain fields:)

@Shield> 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.

@Shield> as a matter of clarification, what they were doing was customary for the time, they were not poaching or stealing or any such thing.

@Shield> they simply were following custom, picking the grain as they walked along.

@Shield> because they were hungry and the grain was available...

@Shield> and the Pharisees knew that:)

@Shield> but

@Shield> 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

@Shield> so it begs the question...

@Shield> if taking the grain was not unlawful...

@Shield> then what were the Pharisees so worked up about?

@Shield> any ideas?

Tigeress-Away> o/

EarthAngel> ok

@Shield> yes Tigeress-Away?

Tigeress-Away> because it was the Sabbath they wanted to say they did wrong

@Shield> Pat, correct

@Shield> Tigeress-Away, very true...

@Shield> I agree with both of you

@Shield> and what was it that the Pharisees felt Jesus and his disciples did wrong?

Deacon> o/

@Shield> what was the burr in their proverbial saddle?

@Shield> yes Deacon?

Deacon> working on the Sabbath

@Shield> bingo

Pat> stole my answer!

@Shield> :D

@Shield> let's keep listening in, I will return to that point in a moment because it is crucial for understanding Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees not only here

@Shield> and not only in Mark

@Shield> but in the entirety of the gospel corpus

@Shield> so here is Jesus’ response...

@Shield> howdy Guest46816, join us for study:)

@Shield> 25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

@Shield> so Jesus, as often was his method, used a question to respond to their thinking

@Shield> he used a question to respond to their question

@Shield> he goes on and says, 6 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

@Shield> 7 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

@Shield> 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

@Shield> there are several things going on here

@Shield> and in the interest of time I will point a few of them out

@Shield> also in the interest of continuity

Pat> o/

@Shield> remember, we are attempting to let the text speak for itself

@Shield> not only in terms of specific verses, but also as a narrative whole

@Shield> yes Pat?

Pat> But David was not lord of the Sabbath.

@Shield> well this text is not about David

@Shield> this is about Jesus and his disciples eating grain on the Sabbath and the Pharisees criticizing them, accusing them of being lawbreakers

@Shield> in fairness to everyone, I am going to go ahead and mute the channel

@Shield> before speaking, we ask that you raise your hand like this o/

@Shield> I will call on you to let you know when it is your turn

@Shield> speaking out of turn will just cause me to mute the room and handle it that way, so that we may all benefit from the study, rather than going into rabbit trails

@Shield> there are other channels where you may have those discussions

@Shield> also, you may get caught up on the studies by going to www.forums.christian-chat.net

@Shield> that will answer many of the questions you are answering

@Shield> thank you

@Shield> so let's move on

@Shield> remember, we are attempting to let the text speak for itself

@Shield> not only in terms of specific verses, but also as a narrative whole

@Shield> a couple of themes stand out

@Shield> 1. Son of Man is Jesus’ preferred self-referent

@Shield> by that I mean, it is the title he used most commonly to refer to himself

@Shield> It speaks to his humanity

@Shield> for he is fully human

@Shield> And it also speaks to his divinity

@Shield> for he is fully God, having been born of the virgin who was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit

@Shield> 2. The Pharisees, as we saw foreshadowed in chapter one, are plotting to get Jesus

@Shield> to entrap him

@Shield> to catch him

@Shield> even to destroy him, as we will see soon

@Shield> Jesus turns the Pharisees' argument on its head

@Shield> they criticized the disciples...

@Shield> not for eating grain

@Shield> but for picking it while walking

@Shield> on

@Shield> drum roll please

@Shield> the Sabbath

@Shield> there is NO place in the OT which prohibits this

@Shield> but if you were to see their rabbinic teachings

@Shield> the writings penned to interpret the law

@Shield> there is much written about the most excruciating minutiae

@Shield> think of it this way

@Shield> every detail of your life was measured in terteriary, often irrelevant detail

@Shield> or as one of you pc'd me to bring me into a more readable style

@Shield> nit picky

@Shield> I happen to work with kids

@Shield> sometimes, during the summer, we have to deal with actual nits

@Shield> in the hair of children

@Shield> extremely tiny

@Shield> hard to see if you do not know what you are looking for

@Shield> but very problematic, obviously

@Shield> this is where the expression nitpicky came from

@Shield> the Pharisees were the kings of nit picky

@Shield> but here is the difference

@Shield> here is the reason Jesus called them hypocrites

@Shield> here is the reason this group which by all accounts started with ***le purposes had degenerated into a brood of viper in the judgment of Jesus

@Shield> they held others to standards which were impossible

@Shield> when they, themselves, refused to recognize the two greatest commandments as practically lived out in their lives

@Shield> 1 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength

@Shield> 2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

@Shield> instead, they plotted with the Herodians as we shall see in a moment

@Shield> the narrative continues, as we look in again on Jesus

@Shield> Mark 3:1 Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.

@Shield> 2 Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

@Shield> remember...

@Shield> same context, the chapter and verse designations do not exist in the original, so this flows as part of the same presentation by the second Evangelist

@Shield> Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."

@Shield> in this situation, there is no evidence that the plotters spoke at all

@Shield> it is reminiscent of the religious leaders in chapter one, early on

@Shield> 4 Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent.

@Shield> as we can see, they remained silent

@Shield> imagine Jesus’ frustration with them

@Shield> the Scripture says, be angry but do not sin

@Shield> 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.

@Shield> the Prophet, Jesus, had perceived the hardness of their hearts, had perceived the plotting of their thoughts, had recognized their inability to see past their self-imposed exile into legalism, and his was distressed

@Shield> not only for their sake, but for the sake of the thousands they influenced

@Shield> the man with the shriveled hand was made well in full view of all

@Shield> it was a complete and total miracle of Jesus

@Shield> but let's peek in again on their state of mind

@Shield> 6 Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

@Shield> Let's review for a moment

@Shield> 1. Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man

@Shield> this was and is a title of Divinity

@Shield> recognizing he is fully human and fully God

@Shield> it was the most comment way he referred to himself in the Scripture record

@Shield> 2. The Pharisees were out to get Jesus because he was perceived as a threat.

@Shield> and, watch this

@Shield> they believed, as Saul in Acts clearly showed before he became Paul, that they were doing God a service

@Shield> they plotted to kill Jesus, believing they were obeying Yahweh

@Shield> Some suggested possibilities for application

@Shield> the Pharisees were not stupid people in terms of learning

@Shield> often they were the brightest of scholars

@Shield> while they were a lay class of religious leaders, they were renowned for their disciplined study and learning of the Law and the Prophets.

@Shield> but they, in their great learning, had missed the point of the scriptures which they so dutifully interpreted

@Shield> is it possible that we also could miss what God has for us when we trust more in our learning than in his grace?

@Shield> is it possible that we could be working against God's purposes if we spend more time in theological hairsplitting than in loving God and our neighbors?

@Shield> another point of application

@Shield> deception usually rides on the winds carrying grains of truth

@Shield> the Pharisees were the conservatives of their day

@Shield> they believed in the resurrection

@Shield> they believed in Messiah

@Shield> they believed that the Law and Prophets were inspired by God

@Shield> they believed in a literal heaven and hell, and that God had created angels

@Shield> much of which their counterparts, the Sadducees, could not agree on

@Shield> the Pharisees were the religious fundamentalists of their day

@Shield> and in their zeal for theological purity, they had given themselves over to an ethic of hatred

@Shield> May the Lord God have mercy on us, especially in the USA, the way some of us treat each other in evangelical churches.

@Shield> and may he penetrate our hearts with the grace, truth, and love of Jesus Christ

@Shield> so that the truth of his Word will walk hand in hand with an ethic of loving servant hood.

@Shield> amen

Snapstur> amen

Tigeress-Away> Amen

carol> amen

Cats-Meow> amen

Tigre_blanc> Amen

Deacon> Amen

Holy_Joe> Amen