"The Die is Cast" (Mark 2:23-3:6)

By Introduction …

This passage is theologically complex, yet contains clear lessons to apply to our life and witness. Let’s see if we can find them together. Mark’s community in the first century were being reminded about the circumstances of Jesus’ death – what led up to this, and how they could emulate Jesus rather than his opponents.

We have already seen in the first part of Mark’s Gospel how Jesus has upset the apple-cart … forgiving sins (something only God could do), hanging out with the worst of sinners, and consistently critiquing the religious leaders’ application of their law. This was all just too much to handle, and something had to be done. So as early as verse six in chapter three, a plot was being conceived to destroy Jesus. We have here the Pharisees conspiring with the “Herodians” – who were likely to have been Jewish leaders in some way connected to Herod, thus wielding some political influence. Already a dark cloud hovers over the gospel story … while Jesus will continue to minister God’s grace, there is violence poised to strike against him. Jesus himself had already acknowledged his likely fate in 2:20 – “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day”.

Easter is approaching …

It won’t be that long before we gather on Good Friday to consider again the impact of Jesus being taken to a cross. Mark’s Gospel itself looks back to events about 40 years earlier and tries to grapple with the reasons behind Jesus’ death on the cross, and also what it means to follow Jesus in light of this. Can we possibly make similar errors of judgement about Jesus that the religious leaders of the time made? Those ‘leaders’ refused to believe Jesus was God incarnate, and rejected his challenge towards God’s true priorities. Could we possibly miss the wondrous call towards taking a new direction and experiencing life-changing faith? Might we also turn a blind eye to Jesus’ radical offer of grace and forgiveness to all humanity? Easy to point the finger at the Pharisees, but where do we stand on the subject of Jesus! Who is Jesus to us? This Gospel text is asking questions of us! Could we ever at times be opponents of Jesus without even knowing it?

Jesus’ Anger & Grief …

In verse 5 of chapter 3 we read that Jesus was angry and grieving. This was Jesus’ reaction to the opposition he was experiencing. What was this anger and grief directed at? The hardheartedness of his opponents! They just didn’t get the import of the presence of Jesus amongst them! And the longer the story goes, the worse this situation gets. They could not adjust their view of things (in line with God having done something new)!! You’ve probably met people who were so fixed in their ways, that even having something so reasonably and fully explained to them, they still wouldn’t be prepared to change their opinion. This can be so frustrating. This is what Jesus faced, but on so much of a greater scale than we would! Jesus could change lives (and the world) so much for the better, and this in some quarters was being thrown back in his face. Jesus grieved these missed opportunities. As we go on to read, all this potential for good was nailed to a cross, in an attempt to fatally disempower it. Of course we know that God had the final word on this – the resurrection – yet the responsibility for embodying Jesus’ offer of grace rests with the Jesus followers of each generation.

How did this hardheartedness show itself?

The religious leaders had put rigorous rules in place when it came to observing the Sabbath. Yet the “Sabbath” – the day of rest – was never meant to have a negative threat around it; rather it was purely designed to facilitate a more healthy life – physically as well as spiritually. So the “Sabbath” was not supposed to be primarily about restrictions, but rather about having time to celebrate God and life.

Once you start putting rules in place … dos and don’ts on the Sabbath (like you can’t do all sorts of work on this day) … then you have to start thinking about exceptions (like what if someone’s life is at risk, or in more contemporary terms – what if you have to work on this day to keep your job, or put food on the table) … then you have to have someone making judgements about these things … then suddenly all the joy and potential has been destroyed.

There was a time (that Jesus referred to in 2:25-26) when the greater good was served by David doing that which was technically unlawful so that he and his companions survived – this being accepted as a necessary course of action under the circumstances. Plucking a few heads of grain on the Sabbath, as the disciples were doing, was such a small issue, compared with the presence of Jesus among the people at this climatic point in history.

Jesus pointed out that the “Sabbath” was created for the benefit of humankind (rather than as their master), so that we would just pause to take seriously our need to rest and to reflect and to worship God. Then, as Jesus the Word created the “Sabbath”, Jesus has the authority to interpret the purpose of the “Sabbath”. If David’s ‘illegal’ actions on behalf of his companions were seen as acceptable in the circumstances, then Jesus’ support of his disciples’ actions should be seen as more than acceptable. The “Sabbath” as such (especially in this legalised form) was not central to Jesus, but rather the doing of good to others. Yet, clearly the point was not conceded, and the combative situation degenerated further!

Here was a case in point …

Jesus was being watched carefully (3:2). Would Jesus’ opponents be able to catch Jesus in the act of breaking the Sabbath regulations? Would Jesus heal the man with a withered hand, this being regarded as ‘illegal’ work, on the Sabbath? The Pharisee tradition listed thirty-nine majors works banned on the Sabbath (with six sub-categories each). If it was a matter of saving this man’s life then it would be permitted, but this on the surface wasn’t the case.

Jesus knew why these opponents were there in the synagogue – not to worship – but to try to negate Jesus’ mission. And so he threw up to them a question which no doubt interacted with some of the debates that such religious leaders would have continually discussed for generations (3:4). Any sensible consideration would see that to fail to do good … is to do harm (and to fail to save life … is to kill). This applies on the “Sabbath” as for every other day. The opponents had nowhere to go, but rather than admitting the ridiculousness of their attitudes, they remained silent. This might remind us of Israel’s rejection of their own prophets’ calls toward justice and loving-kindness, leading to God’s need to send Jesus in the first place.

Jesus would then confirm his own interpretation of the “Sabbath” (and thereby demonstrate the nature of God’s grace) in healing the man. The most important dynamic in this scene is when Jesus asked the man with the withered hand to … "Come forward" and become the centre of attention (3:3); here is the priority – the person in need. And saving a life – this would now be seen, not simply from the law’s perspective, but from the suffering man’s own perspective – to him it could well be a matter of life and death. Then this ‘saving activity’ would also be seen more broadly from the full perspective of Jesus’ ministry – to save a life also entails the eliciting of faith, the offer of spiritual enrichment, and the beginnings of a relationship with God.

The Challenge …

Hardheartedness, and rigidity, and an unwillingness to see things with new eyes … all such states lead to disrupting God’s purposes and being opponents of God. Do you see anything hypocritical or ironic here? It is ironic of course that Jesus was expected to refrain from healing on the Sabbath, yet it was not seen to be hypocrisy to be plotting Jesus’ demise on this same Sabbath (refer v. 6 – “immediately”). This was surely a very selective application of the law, and such cases of convenient selectivity usually reek of floored human agendas.

So what do we get from this passage for our everyday lives???
There are some very tough questions being asked here (unfortunately)!
· Are we putting Jesus on the cross again, or, on the other hand, participating in his resurrected life?
· Are we continuing Jesus’ work?
· Are we helping God, or getting in the way?
· Are we on mission with God, or on some other mission?
· Do we see the needs of others as central to our spiritual life; thus Who is Jesus to us?