Monday, May 26, 2014

We’ve been studying Mark 2 and have identified a title, key verses, a significant truth, some cross references and some questions. This process has given us a grasp of the contents of this chapter. Now let’s see if we can put this information into an outline. Remember, the title we gave, is: Jesus Christ Breaks the Religion Mold. He did this when He claimed authority to forgive sin, when choosing a tax collector as his disciple and socially related to his friends, when he indicated His teaching and ministry would expose the inadequacies of old religious patterns and when He allowed freedom regarding the Sabbath. Put into an outline, He proposed: 1. a new relationship with God, 2. a meaningful relationship with people, 3. a substantive change of perspective regarding spiritual disciplines. In a new relationship with God you’ll discover you often get more than you expected – illustrated by the paralytic being forgiven of his sins in addition to being healed physically. Jesus illustrated how socially undesirable people could experience a meaningful relationship with God by calling Levi to become one of His disciples. When he responded to this invitation he wanted to celebrate by inviting his friends to his home for a feast. The religious critics couldn’t understand, because they never saw the need for forgiveness and grace, that is, spiritual healing. When Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” He was giving spiritual disciplines a new perspective. Sabbath keeping frees you to have unhurried, guilt free time, to worship God and enjoy life. He wanted to free believers from the constrictions of religion to enjoy the new life He came to give us.