Have you ever seen images or film clips of the stock exchange- I think it would be an awfully chaotic environment – there seems to be noise and everyone out for themselves. There’s a similar environment sometimes in political debates in parliament – the speaker of the house on occasions having to cry order, order. 

In our gospel reading Jesus brings order out of chaos. He calms the raging waters. He is not worried by the chaos, he’s asleep . It’s the disciples who seem terrified; first, at Jesus’ is inactivity and then by the fact that he could still the storm. Jesus’ question to them was why are you afraid? Have you still no faith? The disciples response? Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

It’s not uncommon for storms to whip up on the Sea of Galilee- today in the car parks on the waters edge on the north Coast there are warning signs against what can happen when sudden winds whip up, the waters can come in and damage the vehicles, maybe even put life at risk. Storms are a normal thing.

And as much as we might not want it to be true, metaphorical storms are also true of life. Things come along that can grip us with fear, change our world, knock us off our feet, turn us around. They might affect our confidence, feeling of safety and security and even our relationship with God. Have we ever questioned God why something was allowed to happen, have we questioned if God is there? Have we questioned his apparent inactivity? Being in a relationship with God through Jesus doesn’t exclude us from storms.

Jesus calming the storm is a miracle – demonstrating Jesus’ power over nature but I think it is in many ways also a parable. This miracle follows on from parables about Gods kingdom and is a physical representation of Jesus ushering in this new kingdom. Life, as we’ve discussed, can have a lot of chaos. Jesus, through this miracle, is aligning himself with the Creator God who brings order out of chaos. There is a lot of Old Testament imagery and ideas being used in Mark’s storytelling to demonstrate this.

The first creation account in Genesis 1 shows God in his creativity bringing about order, the rhythmic flow of the first account of the creation story conveys that sense of structure and order – everything has its place.

There are also echoes in this miracle of Jonah – the storm came up as Jonah was escaping his calling – there was a wrestle between the fears and powers at war within Jonah that prevented Gods word from being preached – when Jonah surrendered his life the storm calmed.

In the book of Daniel the sea is where monsters come from. For Jews, the sea came to symbolise for them the dark power of evil threatening to destroy God‘s good creation, God‘s people, God’s purposes. What threatens that in our life – fear? Apathy? thinking we aren’t good enough to share truths about Jesus?

 The Psalms speak of the creator God who rules the raging sea, telling its rough and threatening waves to quiet down.

Psalm 65:7 – you silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the people

Psalm 89:9 – you rule the raging of the sea; when it’s waves rise,  you still them 

Psalm 93:3-4 – the floods have lifted up, O lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. More majestic than the thunders of mighty Waters, more majestic than the waves of the Sea, Majestic and high is the Lord!

So this miracle account would resonate with the listeners – here is Jesus aligning himself with creator God who calms the seas. ‘Just as in Daniel 7 the monsters have come up from the sea finally put to flight by ‘one like a son of man’ so here Jesus assumes the role of God’s agent in defeating the forces of chaos.’

Jesus’ confidence and trust in God lead to his ability to be asleep in the midst of a storm. ‘The forces of evil, are roused, angry and threatening, but Jesus is so confident of God‘s presence and power that he can fall asleep on a pillow.’

I think we can struggle with Jesus’ words : have you still no faith? They can feel a bit like an admonishment and I think sometimes as Christian’s we can use sentiments like that in a harmful way – if you have more faith then you wouldn’t be experiencing x y or z. I think Jesus’ statement here is much more filled with compassion – longing for their confidence  to be in him that they will weather the storm because he is there with them in it.

Psalm 107:23-30 speaks into this – ‘someone went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty Waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. He commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven.; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their calamity; they reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he brought them out from their distress; he made the storm be still and the waves of the sea hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet and he brought them to their desired Haven.’

The Christian life is not one without hardship. Afflictions come but it is truth of who Jesus is – that he reveals time and time again throughout the gospel – a God of power who brings order out of chaos – that leads to eternal calm and rest.

JC Ryle writes: by affliction he teaches us many precious lessons which without it we should never learn. By affliction he shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, makes us long for heaven.

I love v30 of psalm 107: Then they were glad because they had quiet and he brought them to their desired Haven.

Who then is Jesus? He is the one we trust in the storms of life, the one we can question and cry out to in our distress , the one who has power and brings order amongst the chaos – until he brings us to our eternal rest. Let’s hold on to him as we weather the storm knowing he is in the boat.

What are the storms you are experiencing whether in your own life- or because of situations you see in the world around you. What are your questions , doubts and fears ? We can bring them to him. And that’s what we’re going to do right now.

Sermon presented at St. George’s 23rd June 2024 by Claire

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear!” (Mark 4:9)

Have you got “ears to hear”? At one level this saying from Jesus which appears twice in Mark 4 seems to imply that deaf people are excluded and those who are not deaf should listen. But Mark 4 is a chapter full of parables, short stories or images that mean one thing on the surface but are meant to point to a deeper meaning.

Doctor Who – Episode 5 – Dot and Bubble

This week Fiona and I watched episode 5 of the latest Doctor Who series.

The Doctor Who episode, told a story about young people living on an alien planet in the distant future. The weird thing was that they quite literally lived in a bubble. From when they woke up until when they went to sleep they had a futuristic dot that projected a bubble around their head, so that they could communicate with their friends by video link in a manic non-stop social media kind of way. The problem was they were so engrossed in their bubble that they could not see what was going on around them in the real world. This was a problem, because there were big slug like creatures eating them one by one!

The story focuses on one of these young people, whom the Doctor and his companion try to communicate with to warn them about the danger. At first they refuse to listen to these two strangers talking what seems like rubbish, but eventually they are convinced to look more carefully at what is going on in the world around them and they see the monsters.

In a way, the episode is a not a very subtle parable. A parable at its simplest is a comparison between one idea, image or story with another idea, image or story.

In this case, the story and setting in the future is meant to be compared with our world where the bubble is like the mobile phones that distract them non-stop.

We can only guess what the futuristic monsters are meant to represent in today’s world? Perhaps the mental health crisis caused by addiction to social media?

The voice of the doctor would then represent the warnings from people about the dangers of addiction to social media. Will today’s young people listen to such warnings? Or will they reject the warnings in favour of the non-stop distraction of social media on their phones?

Of course many people will have just enjoyed the fun of watching a good story and completely missed the blatant connections. It is after all just meant to be entertainment isn’t it? Some, though, may be made to think more carefully about what addiction to social media on phones is doing to them.

Parables: Hidden Truth – vs. 33-34 and 10-12

At the end of today’s reading from Mark we are told  that Jesus spoke almost exclusively in parables.

Unlike the Doctor Who episode his parables were not so much science fiction as Gardener’s World, in Mark 4 especially, they are based on something much more mundane and quite literally down to earth – planting and growing seeds!

Also, unlike the Doctor Who episode his parables were much more subtle and obscure. Take the famous Parable of the Sower he tells at the start of chapter 4. Imagine you were hearing it for the first time, sitting on the beach in first century Galilee as Jesus speaks from a boat. Jesus tells you about a man sowing seed, the seed sown on a path gets eaten by birds, the seed sown in shallow ground grows to start with then withers and the seed sown among weeds is choked, but the seed sown in good soil produces a good crop. This feels more like a school biology lesson than deep spiritual truth. Would it really be obvious what Jesus was getting at? I don’t think so. What’s more those closest to him didn’t think so, either. In verse 10, we are told they had to ask Jesus what the parable was all about. Jesus then seems to imply that teaching in parables was designed to conceal the truth. In verse 12, he quotes Isaiah, which says, “in order that they may be ever hearing but never understanding, otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.”

But, the parables do not remain obscure to everyone. Those who are intrigued by them and come to Jesus to find out more are told what they mean. That happens in verse 10 and verse 34 tells us this was a common pattern. For these people a parable explained or understood is a much more powerful and memorable teaching method than just being told something. For those on the inside, who seek the truth, who come to Jesus and do not dismiss him, the hidden truths in the parables are disclosed and they end up with a much deeper understanding.

The issue then is one of how willing people are to hear what Jesus is saying. In this sense, Jesus’ parables are just like the Doctor Who episode. It is only when the person listens properly to Jesus rather than dismissing him that she is saved from the monsters. The Parables are a barrier to those not willing to listen, but treasure to those who are. As Jesus says, twice in the chapter, if anyone has ears to hear let them hear.

Indeed, that is the whole point of the first parable in chapter 4, the Parable of the Sower. It is not simply about what the best soil is for the seed to fall on. Jesus repeatedly says in his explanation that the seed refers to the ‘word.’ That is his ‘word’ about what God is doing and God wants, the good news about the Kingdom of God. In the end Jesus is saying it is only those who value his word as  the most essential thing who hear it in a way that allows it to take root and flourish in their hearts. If it is not truly valued, then peer pressure, ridicule or bullying will lead to ultimate rejection or the distractions and worries of life, will choke it off.

• So do you, truly value the words of Christ. Do you see them as words of salvation, words that bring forgiveness, words that help us live the good lives God made us to live, words of eternal life? Are you someone who has ears to hear?

The parables as a whole are Jesus’ way of reaching those who will truly hear, whilst leaving his identity and mission obscure to those who reject him. But each parable also adds its own perspective. In particular, Jesus says that the two in our reading show us what the Kingdom of God is like.

Mysterious Growth – vs. 26-29

The first of the two is unique to Mark’s gospel and compares the Kingdom of God to the mysterious growth of crops.

But wait a minute. If you start with the phrase, “The Kingdom of God is like…” you might be expecting something grand, magnificent or powerful. After all how do kingdoms become large and powerful?  By brute force and bullying. Surely, if Jesus was bringing in a Kingdom, you would expect him to be raising an army, leading a military revolution. You would expect him to say the Kingdom of God is like a lion, able to overpower its enemies.

But Jesus uses neither a magnificent or a powerful image but one of the most mundane images you could imagine. The Kingdom of God is like a man scattering seed… Then the mad doesn’t even do anything. He gets on with his day to day life and leaves the seed to it, not really understanding what is happening until finally the seed is ready and the harvest comes. How on earth is that like any kind of kingdom you have ever thought of? What is Jesus going on about?

Well the biggest clue is that in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus repeatedly refers to the seed being sown as the ‘word’, his message about the coming Kingdom of God. It makes sense then to see the seed in this parable as also referring to the word. All the man does in the story is sow the seed. Jesus seems to be saying the way you build the kingdom is by declaring the word of God, and letting that word do its work.

• This is a warning for us: The Kingdom of God does not grow through military crusades, spectacular buildings or multimedia advertising campaigns, but by the proclamation of his word. We should be careful then not to try and make the Kingdom of God come about by brute human force. Rather we should focus on sowing the seed of God’s word and allow it to work in God’s mysterious way.
• It is also an encouragement. When we do not have much power or influence or strength in human terms, we can rejoice that we can still sow the seed of the word and God will still work despite our lack of power and strength. This point is also underlined by the second parable, which is about unimagined growth.

Unimagined Growth – vs. 30-34

It is easy for us to look at the weakness, struggles and decline of the church in our society and the fact that so few seem to have ears to hear the good news and despair that the church will ever grow. But the same was true for Jesus when he spoke these parables.

We have seen over the last couple of weeks that the response to Jesus setting himself up as a rebel king was that the powers that be plotted to murder him and people accused him of being the Prince of Demons. Even his own family thought he was mad. The Kingdom of God was not taking the world by storm! Rather it appeared tiny and insignificant. Just Jesus and the small number of people who chose to follow him and listen to him. Compared to the religious powers in Judea they were a tiny faction. Compared to the might or Rome they were like a gnat taking on a lion.

Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. The mustard seed was believed to be the tiniest seed around and it was pretty small. Jesus says, yes, as you look at the Kingdom of God now, it is tiny and insignificant. It seems to be making very little impact. But Jesus says, it is like the mustard seed. It starts small, but it grows into the largest of the garden shrubs. In the same way from these tiny insignificant beginnings the Kingdom of God will grow into something amazing.

When you think about Jesus speaking to his disciples in the first years of his ministry, facing rejection from the religious leaders and even his own family this was a bold and radical claim. Now, we look around the world and we see billions of people who would call themselves followers of Jesus and whole civilizations built on values that are rooted on Christ. His words and kingdom  have spread beyond Galilee and Judea to be embraced by people in places as different and far flung as Korea, Nigeria, India and even the United Kingdom. Whether people follow Jesus or not, most would accept that he has had a bigger impact on the world than anyone who has ever lived. From the perspective of Jesus and a handful of followers that is an utterly massive growth!

• And this should encourage us. Even though in our own context in England, where the kingdom of God has been shrinking for decades or even centuries, we should be encouraged by this. Even as the church shrinks to a tiny size, the potential for incredible transformational growth remains. That won’t happen overnight, growth is a slow gradual process with growth spurts and periods of stagnation or even falling back. But the growth potential remains in the seed of the word of Christ – no matter how small the church becomes. Why? Because despite appearances the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. All it needs is for people to begin to have ears to hear.

“Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:20-35)

As followers of Jesus, we are now family – Jesus the radical King is the head of the family and we bear his likeness, sharing his power and authority – sharing the ways of his kingdom and living in obedience – we have a family business of living out God’s kingdom in word and deed. Let’s encourage each other in that task.

I’m always in awe of how people tell stories – of the skill involved in luring in the audience whether that’s in a book or film or TV or theatre . Storytelling has changed a lot as our culture has changed so has the way we take in the telling of stories. I was listening to a podcast recently about how streaming platforms have changed how TV shows and films are created. There’s an expectation that when people are watching this content they might also be on their mobile phones and so their attention isn’t fully on what they’re watching. Content creators are to not make storylines too complicated because it’s unlikely that full attention is being given. Theres a need for things to be fast paced. There’s nothing wrong with a slow developing story but even I find myself wanting quickness and action with what I’m involved with, whether that’s a book or a show. I want to get stuck into the action of what’s taking place.

Mark’s Gospel is definitely a gospel of action. Mark’s gospel doesn’t contain the the sermon on the mount of Matthew or the sermon on the plain of Luke. There aren’t big chunks of teaching – a lot of it is about the action of Jesus. If we look through the first three chapters of Mark we see that. Jesus has been busy: healing and driving out demons (1:21-34); healing and forgiving sins of the paralysed man (2:1-12); befriending sinners (2:13-17); upsetting the pharisees (2:23-3:6); encountering crowds (3:7) and impure spirits (3:11) and finalising his team (3:13-19). There is a lot of action that all points to who Jesus is and what he came to do.

Up to and including our reading today from the first three chapters of Mark there are already opinions of Jesus and his ministry. Word has got around – the general public have seen his power and the crowds flock wherever he goes. Today’s passage shows us that there was so many people crowded there there wasn’t room to eat. We also get an idea of what his family think of him – words got back to the family about what he’s doing and they seem to take it upon themselves to find him – thinking that he’s mad. And then we have the opinions of the teachers of the law, the scribes, Pharisees, herodians – in the beginning of chapter 3 they want to destroy Jesus. In our passage today, they think he’s possessed.

As we said, Marks gospel is one of action things are punchy and to make it punchy Mark has a way of editing and composing his book to communicate in really effective ways to highlight who Jesus is. I’m fascinated by the role of editors in the entertainment industry – there’s this plethora of material that has been written or filmed and then a really skilled editor can cut things in a way that gets to the heart of what the storytelling is about. They are able to edit and cut and position things in a way that really gets the message across. And that’s what Mark has done in his writing. He’s edited his material in way that really communicates things about who Jesus is and the kingdom he demonstrates in quick snappers of information.

One of Mark’s editing tools is the use of a sandwich. He’ll start something then they’ll be an interruption and then he finishes the starting thought. like a sandwich. the starting and the finishing are the bread and the middle is the filling. Together it makes sense and holds together and communicates something that might seem separate but actually holds together to make a strong point.

In our passage today the bread are the first two verses and the last five verses and the filling is from verse 22 to 31, where we have this weird kind of Beelzebul controversy and on first reading we might think how is that related but hopefully we’ll see.

In v 22, we get the accusation from the teachers of the law that Jesus is of the Devil, that he has an impure spirit. Almost feels like desperation on the part of the teachers of the law that they’re so desperate to destroy Jesus they’re trying to create any kind of conspiracy to diminish Jesus’ ministry and popularity.

Then we get this explanation in v 23-26 that shows if that were true why would Satan want to destroy himself – Jesus has been casting out demons so why would Satan drive out Satan? if Jesus was of Satan what would be the point? When a kingdom is divided it often collapses or becomes weaker as a result – division leads to Civil War. Satan’s reign would end.

And Jesus says that’s what he has come to do, not because he’s of Satan but he’s come as a stronger one to tie up the devil. Tom Wright put it this way: the stronger one has arrived and the strong one finds his house burgled. Jesus’ healings and particularly his exorcisms are signs that God‘s kingdom is indeed arriving – the kingdom in which people who have been held captive will at last be set free. This freedom comes through the forgiveness of sins (v28) as he brings in the new kingdom.

In the context of Jesus being accused of being if the Devil Jesus reveals more about who he is and what he has come to do. Then we get this interesting verse, v 29, which is often taken out of context and causes lots of puzzlement and confusion. We need to keep it within the context of what Jesus is saying in response to this accusation that he’s possessed by the devil and the misunderstanding of who he really is.

With relation to this verse about this unforgivable sin and blaspheming of the Holy Spirit- I found Tom Wright’s thinking on this really helpful so I’m going to read this: ‘Once you label what is in fact the work of the Holy Spirit as the work of the devil there is no way back you will be blind to the truth if you decide firmly that the Doctor who is offering to perform a lifesaving operation on you is in fact a statistic murderer you will never give your consent to the operation.’

I found that imagery really helpful – Jesus himself said earlier on in Mark’s Gospel about a doctor being for the sick and not for the well. If you don’t believe that Jesus is going to be able to forgive our sins, if we don’t believe he is the Son of God and has the power to conquer sin and death then where do we stand? The Holy Spirit helps us to understand who Jesus is and if we reject him, we are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us to come to a place where we invite Jesus into our lives and this unforgivable sin is about saying I don’t want Jesus in my life – I think that that is what this verse is about in the context of Jesus being the Son of God who is going to bring in a new kingdom and defeat the evil one.

So who is Jesus? From the passage is he the devil? Is he a madman? He was bringing in a new kingdom with power and authority. I think sometimes we might think that Jesus is meek and mild, that he is all about fluffy love. But last week Paul talked about how Jesus is a radical king bringing in a radical kingdom that turned a lot of the thinking of the day on its head.

If the filling of our passage from v22-39 is about Jesus bringing in a new kingdom that will oust Satan, where does the bread fit in? As we look at those verses from Mark 3:20-21 we read: When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” that’s the top bit of bread. And the bottom bit of bread comes from v31 to 35. These bread parts are emphasising the importance of whose family Jesus part of. Jesus is not of the Devil’s family. He’s bringing in a new kingdom that will extend God’s reign beyond the Jews to include Jew and Gentile, slave and free.

This new kingdom breaks the mould of what has gone before. Jesus doesn’t even fit with the normal family values of his day, he’s shaken them up. Jewish culture the family unit was tight and long-lasting, children often lived and worked closely with their parents. There was a sense of loyalty to family as being part of their God-given thinking. And yet in these verses following on from Jesus being accused of being a member of Satan’s family – Jesus challenges his loyalty to his family unit: “Who are my mother and my brothers? … Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus will extend his family to include all believers in Him.

Jesus is not a madman he’s not the devil, but he is the Son of God shaking things up. He’s shaking up the understanding of who God is and how he acts and who he has chosen.

We are family. All who follow Jesus and want to do his will, are family. Part of our obeying God’s will is that we are a family of believers – some of us are quirky, we might not always get on with each other, there might be disagreements, but we are all family. How can people tell that we are family? What does that look like?

I think our demonstration of being family is impacted by who we think Jesus is in our lives. Are we trusting in God’s power to give us the strength and energy to show love for each other in the care and support we give to one another? What do we need Jesus to shake up so that we really are being family to each other?

How can we continue in his will, being part of the radical kings’ kingdom, being part of his family, growing in his likeness? In God’s family, we all have different skills and giftings, but we all work together in obedience to him.

So how do we show our community that we are family? How can they tell? What are we going to do so it’s clear that we are family with the authority and power that Jesus has given to us through his spirit as we live out our lives in obedience to Him?

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27-28)

God commanded the Sabbath for our good. As Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man.” Yes, Jesus also challenged the legalism that had been built up from human tradition around what could or could not be done on the Sabbath, because those Sabbath regulations had become a kind of slave master themselves. Yet he still saw the Sabbath as good for us.

Do we make sure we get the weekly day off work that God commands for our good? Or do we allow work to enslave us?

Mark 2:23-3:6 – What is the Sabbath for?

Russell Brand

Russell Brand is someone who in the past has not been worried about coming across as a radical, but who last autumn was also mired in controversy when he was accused of rape and abuse. More recently still, in perhaps a surprising twist, he has announced that he has become a Christian and been baptised.

We need to be careful about focussing on celebrities becoming Christians. Christianity is no more true or good because it is endorsed by a particular celebrity. There can also be a danger for celebrities who are new Christians and find that they have an authority to speak about Jesus because of their celebrity but lack the Christian maturity they need to do that in a Christian way.

Nonetheless, for someone like Russell Brand to become a Christian is an encouragement that people like him can and are turning to faith in Christ. It is useful to consider what has attracted him to Jesus.

In a recent video he said this:

“Is becoming a Christian a political act? Yes!

Is it about joining an institution that is by its nature conservative?

When I say conservative, I mean leave things the way they are. No!

I have become a Christian because I have surrendered to a figure that was a great radical and a great rebel. That believed that God’s kingdom would come to Earth, that indeed it did come to earth in his figure.”

It was the idea of Jesus as the ultimate rebel king, bringing in not just a better world, but God’s kingdom on earth that seemed to appeal.

But is it right to see Jesus as a great rebel? As someone who wanted to change the status-quo?

In our passage, Jesus is certainly seen as a controversial figure. At the end of the passage, the people in power want him dead!

The main arguments are around the issue of Sabbath – and we will think about how we should see the Sabbath today – but from the start of chapter 2 to the plot to kill Jesus in 3:6 Jesus has recorded five incidents in which Jesus is in conflict with the religious leaders of the day. He is challenging the status quo and claiming he has the authority to do so. Jesus is acting as a rebel king leading a true revolution.

Jesus the Rebel King:

He claimed a radical authority

Let’s look first at his claim for a radical authority.

1. Authority to Forgive Sins (2:1-12)

The story at the start of chapter 2, is the famous one, where Jesus heals the lame man who is friends have lowered from a hole in the roof to Jesus’ feet because the house is too crowded. That alone makes the story memorable, but the really radical thing that happened was that in front of some teachers of the Jewish Law he told the man that his sins were forgiven.

This was unheard of. Only God can forgive sins. In the eyes of these lawyers, to claim to forgive sins was to take the place of God. It was blasphemy.

Jesus response is to say in verse 10:  “I want you to know that The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” (2:10) and he proves his point by healing the lame man.

Jesus has claimed the authority of God to forgive sins and backed the claim up with an amazing miracle. He has also called himself by a new title: ‘The Son of Man.’

1. The Bridegroom (2:18-22)

In the third incident, Jesus goes a step further. He is asked why his disciples do not fast, like the disciples of all the other religious leaders, including John the Baptist. Jesus does not respond by saying that fasting is wrong or unnecessary, rather he responds by saying, that in their case fasting is inappropriate, because he is the ‘bridegroom’ and the guests of the bridegroom do not fast while he is with them, because they are celebrating his coming wedding. It would be a very strange stag do if no-one ate or drank.

This is a very strange thing for Jesus today. Calling himself a bridegroom, suggests a wedding, which in itself is a joyful celebration of a new beginning, a new relationship. Jesus seems at least to be claiming that he is bringing about a radical new beginning that is centred on him as a person.

But, it could be that Jesus is going even further. For in the Old Testament, it is God himself who is described as the bridegroom of God’s people. Once again, Jesus’ claims about himself, if untrue are verging on blasphemy.

1. Lord of the Sabbath (2:23-28)

In the fourth incident of conflict, when Jesus is criticised for allowing his disciples to pick corn on the Sabbath, his response it to refer back to an Old Testament story where David leads his men to break the law and eat the bread that only the Priests were allowed to eat. This was clearly breaking the law, but in the circumstances, David is not condemned for it, rather it is accepted as appropriate in the situation.

By using this argument, Jesus seems to be putting himself in the place of David, the king of Israel, to whom God promised that one of his sons would always be on the throne. But Jesus goes even further in verse 28, by claiming that he as the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.

This is the second time he has used the title, ‘Son of Man.’ It is one he will use frequently in Mark and usually in the context of his conflict with the authorities, who are out to kill him.

The title refers to a great vision recorded in Daniel 7. There the different kingdoms of the earth are pictured as terrifying beasts, which is meant to show the corruption and oppression of human power systems. God, however, replaces these beastly kingdoms with a new kingdom, which has one like a ‘Son of Man’ in charge.  The title is probably meant to show that the new kingdom God brings in shows us the true humanity, that the beastly kingdoms fail to bring in.

In using the term, Son of Man, Jesus claims to be the figure bringing in God’s new kingdom. He also claims to be bringing in a rule that enables true humanity as opposed to the corruption created by the man-made systems of the world.

In contrast, those who seek to kill the Son of Man show themselves to be representatives of the beast-like kingdoms of the world. Radically, that turns out to include the Pharisees who are meant to be upholding the Law of God. So, what had they got wrong?

The challenge to the Pharisees

Let’s look at two of the key confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees illustrated in Mark 2 and 3.

1. Eating with Sinners

example, they thought that to encourage righteous living, the wicked and unrighteous should be shunned and avoided. Jesus, however, did the opposite. In 2:14 he called a tax-collector, Levi to become one of his followers, someone who had sold his soul to the non-Jewish occupying forces, by agreeing to collect taxes for them in order to get rich himself.

Then rather than avoiding the wicked and sinners, he spent time with them and had a party with them at Levi’s house. To the Pharisees this was outrageous: “Why does he eat with sinners and tax collectors?” They asked. Jesus’ response was not just to claim that such behaviour was OK, but fundamental to what he was about:

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but those who are ill. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (2:17)

We may have qualms about someone like Russell Brand, with his reputation for wrongdoing, becoming a Christian. But surely Jesus celebrates people like him coming to faith. It is the Pharisees who would see it as unacceptable.

1. Healing on the Sabbath

The second issue on which Jesus and the Pharisees clashed on was the Sabbath. Observing the Sabbath was a key identity marker for Jews. It set them apart from the rest of the world and they were keen to make sure they observed it properly, to make sure they did not work on the holy day.

But what counted as work? And were there exceptions? Such questions caused a lot of discussion and debate and led to the Pharisees and teachers of the law drawing up a very long and complicated rulebook about what was and what wasn’t allowed on the Sabbath. The point was they said, to ensure the Sabbath was kept.

But they had built a man-made rulebook on top of a divine command. They had distorted the good law aimed at making us more human and created a beast of legalism that demanded the obeyance of all before it or risk public condemnation.

In contrast, Jesus, the Son of Man, says,

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (2:27)

He as the Son of Man has come to destroy the beast, to restore the Law to its true purpose. The Sabbath was to bring liberation from work, joy and blessing to people, not curse them with a legalistic straight jacket

So, a showdown is set in 3:1-6. As Jesus comes into the synagogue that Sabbath, with a man who has a withered hand, would he as the Son of Man defy the beast and risk their wrath by healing the man or would he challenge their excessive legalism and bring restoration and healing – true humanity.

The tension is high, and the emotions are strong. Jesus says:

“Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to good or to do evil,

to save life or to kill?” (3:4)

No-one answers. They are not concerned with the truth, goodness or salvation. All they care about is obedience to their ways.

Mark tells us that Jesus was angry at their hardness of hearts, their unwillingness to change or let go of the status quo. Anger is an appropriate response to the oppression of the beast. It is a necessary emotion in any revolution.

So, Jesus defies the beast. He heals the man. How does the beast respond? It licks its lips and goes away plotting to destroy Jesus. Even here at the start of the gospel, the shadow of the cross looms large. The beast will have his day, but the Son of Man will ultimately triumph.

Jesus Lord of the Sabbath: How should we embrace the Sabbath?

So, if we as Christians are followers of this rebel king. How should we live and behave in our world? The man-made power structures of today are different to those that Jesus was dealing with. Each beast corrupts true humanity in different ways, but we are called to follow Christ, the Son of Man, even when it means rebelling against the ways of our world.

That will include like Jesus, being willing to mix with and call those that others might avoid or reject, in the hope that they too might come to know the joy of following Jesus. But it will also include a right attitude towards the Sabbath.

Two points to make.

A Positive view of Sabbath

Firstly, Jesus did not reject the idea of Sabbath, he says the Sabbath is made for man. It is something that does us good. It is a gift for us to enjoy. The question should not be “What am I not allowed to do on the Sabbath?”, but “How can I ensure I receive the liberation from work, restoration and joy that God designed the Sabbath to bring?”

A Rebel attitude in our society

Secondly, though in our society, to receive the blessing of the Sabbath, we do not need to be rebels against legalism, but the strong pressure to work 7 days a week. A pressure that comes from desiring more money or wanting to please our bosses.

For many people in our society to take the command of the Sabbath seriously does not require rebelling against legalism, but against the constant pressures to work more and more. Let’s pray for God’s strength to do just that. Let’s pray that we can truly be followers of Jesus’ the rebel king.