“A New Way” 1-16-22
Overview
A New Way in the Presence of Jesus
In Mark 2, Jesus stirs up controversy not because He dismisses the law, but because He fulfills it. When the Pharisees question why His disciples do not fast, Jesus answers, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them" Mark 2:19. His presence is the wedding feast itself—a time for rejoicing, not mourning. A day would come for fasting, when the Bridegroom would be taken away at the cross, but in His company the disciples are caught up in something genuinely new.
The law given to Israel was good and purposeful: it carved out a holy people, distinguishing clean from unclean, sin from righteousness. But the Pharisees had turned obedience into a mechanical exercise, using the rules to elevate themselves and judge others, losing sight of the very humanity the law was meant to serve. The prophet Amos had already warned that God despises religious assemblies that crowd out justice and mercy Amos 5:21-24. The law was never meant to manufacture self-righteousness; rather, as Paul writes, "through the law comes knowledge of sin" Romans 3:20. It exposes our need so that we will turn to the One who saves.
That One is Jesus Himself. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" John 14:6. He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it Matthew 5:17, and where we fall woefully short, He was perfectly obedient. Then He took our failure upon Himself, becoming a curse for us Galatians 3:10-13 and inaugurating "a new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin." The old garment and old wineskins of self-justifying religion cannot contain this gift; righteousness is not earned but received.
This is freeing news for the Church. We do not have to anxiously wonder if we are doing enough, nor measure ourselves against our brothers and sisters to feel secure. In baptism we are washed into Christ's perfection, and the Holy Spirit writes God's moral law—love God, love neighbor—on our hearts, so that we relate to one another in grace rather than in suspicion. The old is not simply discarded; it is made new because we are new in Christ. So the call is not "out with the old, in with the new," but always with the new—always living in the presence of the Bridegroom, who has invited us to the eternal wedding feast.
Transcript
If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark the 2nd chapter, we will be in 2s
the Gospel of Mark the 2nd chapter. 9s
Have any of you ever tried to learn a new language or a 2nd language or a 3rd or a 4th? 12s
One of the interesting things in language that we don't realize that we have until we come 18s
across it trying to understand in another language are idioms. 26s
We have idioms and idioms are a grouping of words that don't really make sense together 30s
except for that the collective have decided that they agree on what it means. 38s
So if I say it is raining cats and dogs outside, you know that there are not literally 43s
cats and dogs falling from the sky, but that there is a big rainstorm. 50s
Or if someone says they are going to hit the books, it doesn't mean they are going to the 56s
library to punch the different books on the shelves. 60s
It means they are going to study and they are going to study hard and with determination. 64s
So if I say out with the old in with the new, it sounds like we are dismissing everything 71s
that is old everything that is past and we are looking forward, we are looking to freshness, 81s
newness, forgetting anything of the past in our gospel text today. 87s
We hear about this new path of Jesus Christ, this new teaching of Jesus. 98s
And the question is, is he bringing up this idea of out with the old and in with the new, 106s
out with the old and with the new? 117s
Now Mark, as we have realized, is very fast-paced and we see that Jesus usher's in healings, 120s
he usher's in casting out demons and along with these healings and casting out demons and 129s
their miracles. 135s
We see that Jesus also brings upon himself opposition, he brings judgment from the current 137s
rulers upon himself and he brings about a lot of conflict or controversy. 146s
What Mark does that we are going to be looking at in chapter 2 and just a smidgen in chapter 153s
3 though we won't study it. 158s
He uses a heastic form of literature so heastic form is this parallel. 159s
So we have at the beginning of chapter 2 we studied last week where Jesus heals the paralytic 167s
and then in the beginning of chapter 3 we have another healing where he heals a man with 174s
a withered hand and then from that healing we move towards a center point and we see 178s
these controversies over eating or food laws where where Jesus is eating with sinners 186s
and tax collectors or Jesus disciples are going about on the Sabbath and they are plucking 194s
and eating the heads of the grain of the grains and these move parallelally into a center 200s
point which is Jesus and this new way that Jesus is bringing in. 209s
Jesus is ushering in a new way but is this new way really new? 220s
Is the way of Jesus really new? 229s
Is he commanding his disciples to forget everything that they have ever known or practiced 232s
and to go in a new direction? 239s
Is he saying forget the rules and regulations that you have been raised in that you have 243s
followed from birth until now forget it all. 249s
Move past it we're doing something new. 254s
The Jewish people were given rules and regulations for a very specific reason. 258s
It was to carve out for them a holiness, a sacredness where they would be separate or 263s
separated from others they would be holy unto the Lord it was to separate the Jewish people 271s
to be holy to the Lord himself. 281s
The law that was given to the Jewish people was distinguishing between clean and unclean 284s
between sin and righteousness. 292s
So there was a very specific purpose for the law the Jewish people needed this law for 297s
holiness, wholeness in the holy relationship they had with the Lord. 306s
So we want to look down on these Pharisees it's really really easy for us to in our modern 314s
era condemn the Pharisees for wanting or questioning why there's an abuse or a dismissal of the 321s
law why the disciples would not be fasting why Jesus would be eating with sinners because 331s
they are concerned with seeking righteousness. 339s
Not so sure about that. 348s
In their concern over obedience to God's rule and law the Pharisees miss the entire purpose of the 351s
rules and regulation of the law of God they look past the very humanity that the law is there 360s
for them to pay attention to to serve the prophet Amos writes for the Lord regarding the law he 373s
says I hate I despise your festivals and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies even though 383s
you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings I will not accept them and the offerings 392s
of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon them take away from me the noise of 400s
your songs I will not listen to the melody of your harps but let justice roll down like waters 407s
and righteousness like an ever flowing stream you see the Pharisees the Pharisees took the law 414s
took the rules and the regulations and they they turned it very mechanical in interpretation 425s
and all of a sudden the humanity was lost due to obeying the law due to seeking out how others 433s
were flawed and failing when it came to the law seeking to use the rules to embolden themselves 447s
and abuse of the law led the Pharisees to self love and self righteousness 459s
when the Pharisees were questioning Jesus when they were questioning the lack of fasting the lack 470s
of righteousness under the law Jesus says something new is here something new is here I usher in a new era 479s
a new word a new way of righteousness and what's key here is that new way 488s
is in the presence of Jesus the new way is in the presence of Jesus in verse 19 Jesus says 499s
the wedding guests cannot fast while the bride groom is with them can they as long as they have 510s
the bride groom with them they cannot fast the days will come when the bride groom is taken away 516s
from them and then they will fast on that day Jesus compares his presence with the disciples 524s
as to when a bride groom is present with his bridal or bridal company and no one is fasting 534s
at the wedding feast no one is fasting in the presence of the bride groom it's a celebration 544s
it is a time to rejoice there will be a time when there will be fasting there will be a time 551s
when the bride groom is taken away from these disciples and we of course know that Jesus is 562s
speaking of his crucifixion when he will be taken from his disciples and there will be 570s
persecution there will be trials there will be suffering there will be a time for that 580s
solemn fasting for that solemn quiet but now in Jesus presence now was not the time 588s
the disciples they don't fast because of who they are with they don't fast because of who they 602s
are in the presence of and what he has come to bring he has come to bring a new way this is not 611s
to say that the old covenant is no and void if we remember in the gospel of Matthew Jesus says 622s
I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it he did not make it no and void but he 630s
fulfilled the very law of righteousness which no man or woman ever could or will the old covenant 641s
is not no and void under Christ but it is fulfilled righteousness is not found in the law 654s
scripture says that sin sin is found in the law in Romans the third chapter Paul writes through the law 666s
comes the knowledge of sin when we stand ourselves up against the holy law of God we find 675s
that we fall woefully short woefully short of righteousness woefully short of obedience 687s
great in our sin part of what Jesus brings to the people around him to the disciples 700s
is a word to repent and turn to the Lord we repent and we turn to the Lord because the law 710s
shows us our sin and in our sin there is nowhere to turn but to the Lord who saves the only 721s
place righteousness is to be found Jesus is the way we read that in the gospel of John 736s
Jesus says I am the way the truth the life no one comes to the Father except through me 747s
Jesus is the only way of righteousness Jesus is the only way we are able to stand before the 756s
Father we are able to be in the presence of the Triune God the old cloth that we read about the 770s
line skins that we read about those are metaphors for living the old life under the law the the 781s
old covenant but Jesus fulfills that law for us and when we're living in this new covenant the 792s
Christ's blood we can't be bound by the old laws the ceremonial laws the ritual law 804s
in Galatians the third chapter Paul writes for all who rely on the works of the law are under 815s
a curse for it is written cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written 822s
in the book of the law now it is evident that no one is justified by God a before God by the law 829s
for the one who is righteous will live by faith but the law does not rest on faith on the contrary 839s
whoever does the works of the law will live by them Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law 848s
by becoming a curse for us we are not redeemed we are not made righteous by following 855s
the old covenant by making sacrifices of grain offerings animal offerings by making sure that we are 868s
we can never be fully obedient to God's holy and perfect law but Jesus 885s
Jesus was obedient Jesus fulfilled the very law every single one of them every single point 897s
of the old covenant and what are we told in the last supper what does he say that this is a new 907s
covenant in my blood shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin 914s
Jesus Christ fulfilling the law he lived a perfect life that none of us can do 926s
but he took it further he did not lord it over us that he can live perfectly and we cannot 937s
instead he became a curse for us instead he took his perfect life under the old covenant 948s
and he placed himself upon a tree and he hung outside the city and he died and he died 962s
to the old law he died under the old covenant and in that death to the old covenant 979s
he took every single one of our sins thoughts words and deeds and he brought them with him 996s
into death and in our baptisms as we are washed through the waters we are washed with his 1010s
perfection we are brought into this new way of Jesus Christ into this new way of righteousness by his blood 1023s
and his blood alone and this new way when we try to fit it back into the old covenant when we try to 1033s
work our way into righteousness the new way bursts forth and says mm mm you cannot earn your way 1047s
to righteousness I give you your righteousness out of my mercy out of my grace out of my love 1058s
and then God's law not the ritual not the ceremonial law the moral law the law 1070s
that says love God love your neighbor that law enters into us by the power of the Holy Spirit and we 1079s
are able to relate with one another through God's perfect law God's righteousness and by his grace 1089s
and his guidance by the Holy Spirit we are able to live into the new covenant and we don't seek 1100s
to find this old way of righteousness we are given righteousness we are given away the way 1113s
to eternal salvation to the great wedding feast through Jesus Christ can it be that simple 1133s
we try so hard to drag in the old covenant for our righteousness 1148s
what are we doing we have been given the only way to the Father through the blood of Jesus Christ we 1157s
don't have to wonder am I doing this right we don't have to look at our brothers and sisters to see 1170s
how flawed they are but we live in the freedom that we have been given through Christ and Christ alone 1179s
and we have been invited to that eternal wedding feast in the presence of the Father the Son and 1190s
the Holy Spirit out with the old in with the new doesn't quite work right always with the new 1202s
always with the new the old then is not tossed but the old is made new because we are new in Christ 1223s
and Christ alone 1238s