Thank you for joining us as we study God’s Word together. One of the things that validates God’s work on the earth is the lives that he changes. You probably know someone who was not following Christ. They may have been very harsh and unkind. Or maybe they were only concerned about themselves, always making sure they got what they wanted. But then, after submitting to Jesus as Lord, their lives were transformed, totally revolutionized. This change is not normal, but when we see it, it reminds us of God’s amazing grace. No one, no matter how evil and brutal, is beyond God’s grace.
Our lesson is taken from Mark 2, where Jesus answers a question from the Pharisees. Our title is the Gospel Pattern, and J Mark is here now to share with us.
Tōkichi Ishii was a notorious Japanese criminal. He was born in the 1870s and executed in 1918. He was cruel beyond measure with no pity for his victims. Without any pricking of his conscience, he brutally murdered men, women, and children in his career of crime. Eventually, he was arrested and imprisoned.
Two Christian ladies had a regular ministry in that prison. But he only glared at them hatefully. One day, they gave him a copy of the Bible even though they didn’t expect him to read it. But he did read it, and it changed his life forever.
On the day of his execution, the jailer expected to find an angry, raging man. Instead, he met a smiling, radiant man because Ishii, the murderer, had been born again. The evidence of his rebirth was a glowing smile, proof that a life lived in Christ is a life characterized by joy.
The characteristic of joy is central to the portion of Scripture we are studying this time. The text before us is Mark 2:18 to 22, and I’ve titled our study “The Gospel Pattern.”
18 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.
21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.
22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”
Jesus’ interaction with His critics in this text unveils several essential ELEMENTS in the Gospel pattern.
The First ELEMENT in the Gospel pattern is,
The Presence of the Bridegroo
This first element is introduced in the context of fasting. The Law only required one fast, and that was on the Day of Atonement. That fast was associated with repentance and confession of sin. It was a way to show humility before God.
By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had designated Monday and Thursday of each week as fast days. So, they and John’s disciples were fasting, but Jesus and His disciples were not. So, they asked, “Why do the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?”
Jesus responded with a question of His own. “Do the ‘sons of the bridegroom’ fast as they rejoice with the bridegroom?” The sons of the bridegroom were the wedding guests. Jewish customs exempted wedding guests from most religious obligations, including the weekly fasts.
For most people in that era, physical life was a struggle, so the wedding week could be the happiest time of a couple’s life! It certainly wasn’t an appropriate time for fasting.
In this text, Jesus is the bridegroom, and His followers are the bride. It is no more appropriate for His followers to fast while He’s here than for wedding guests to fast at an earthly marriage. Fasting and prayer were not needed in relation to a God who was physically present.
The Old Testament prophets, including Isaiah and Hosea, reveal the concept of God’s covenant relationship with Israel as a marriage. Jesus came to be Israel’s bridegroom, their husband, their Messiah. This was to be a time of joy and gladness, but Israel rejected Him and put Him to death. Jews today still believe there will be a time of feasting when the Messiah comes. We read about the great marriage supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19:9.
Jesus knew that His people would reject Him and put Him to death, so He went on to say, “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away, and then they will fast in that day.” The words “taken away” signify a sudden, violent removal. This seems to be the first reference to Jesus’ death in the Gospels.
For the disciples of John and the Pharisees, fasting was a duty. It was a way to impress God, a way to gain His favor and acceptance. In their belief and practice, one had to clean up their life before coming to God. You had to make yourself worthy of His acceptance.
But Jesus corrected that wrong belief. He reached out to sinners right where they were and transformed them from the inside out. He showed them that a relationship with Him was characterized by joyful obedience. Keeping the Law is a duty, but living in the presence of the bridegroom is a delight! Have you found that delight?
The presence of the bridegroom is the first element of the Gospel pattern. And even though we’re waiting for the bridegroom to come, we rejoice in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Another ELEMENT in the Gospel pattern is,
The New Robe of Righteousness
In the final verses of our text, Jesus introduces two analogies to illustrate the shift in pattern from the old covenant to the new covenant. Those analogies are clothing and wine. Clothing and wine were essential elements in a Jewish wedding.
Jesus takes ordinary physical objects and infuses them with spiritual meaning. Because they were handmade, cloth and clothing were expensive in those days. Ordinary people typically had only one or two sets of clothing, which had to last a long time. Everyone listening to Jesus understood the foolishness of trying to patch an old garment with new cloth. If someone does that, when the garment is washed, the latest patch shrinks and tears the threads of the old garment, making the tear worse and making the garment useless.
Jesus didn’t come to repair the old cloth of the Law. It was like a garment that was wearing out. Jesus wasn’t interested in patching the old system of righteousness based on external rule-following. He fulfilled the Law. He came to provide internal and external harmony between God and man. One must exchange the old garments of righteousness measured by religious practice for the new robe of Christ’s righteousness measured by the new commandment to love others.
There is a certain level of comfort in having a set standard by which to live. But the danger is that the guidelines can become the standard of what is acceptable, rather than the Holy Spirit working in the life of the Believer. One can mistakenly believe that because they meet a set of external guidelines, they are in good standing with God.
We need a new heart and a new mindset. When we accept Christ’s righteousness, we are given His nature, and we strive to live in a way that pleases Him, not ourselves. If we genuinely love Him, we will obey His commandments.
Another ELEMENT in the Gospel pattern is,
The New Wine of the Spirit
In the second analogy, Jesus refers to the Gospel as “new wine.” His audience understood His point in the natural sense. But Jesus wanted to move beyond the natural to the spiritual. He said you can’t put the new wine of the Spirit in the old wineskins of the law. There was no elasticity in the Law; it was rigid. Trying to incorporate the new wine of the Spirit into the aging wineskin of the law would create a disaster.
Most people who have grown accustomed to a particular order of things are content with it and do not automatically prefer what is new. When you and I are familiar with something, we know what to expect and what is expected of us. When something new comes along, those expectations are unclear, and we often feel uncomfortable and vulnerable.
This is especially true when the status quo has remained the same for a very long time, as it had for the Pharisees. Their daily activities and their religious observance were based on a formula that had been developed over centuries. They had an established expectation of what the kingdom of God would look like. Because they had developed their own ‘system’ of righteousness, they did not (as a group) desire the new wine of the Spirit that Jesus offered.
Don’t you find a certain level of comfort and security in the familiar? I do. Indeed, we must not adopt something simply because it is new. There are many supposedly new things being introduced into the Church, even things that carry the name “Christian,” that are contrary to divine revelation. Those things need to be rejected.
Are you still trying to put a new piece of cloth on an old garment? Are you trying to live a new life in the power of the flesh?
Have you embraced this new Gospel pattern? Have you been willing to taste the new wine of relationships and discover that it really is better than the old wine of rules and rituals? Have you accepted the new robe of righteousness that Jesus offers? That robe isn’t based on your worthiness or mine; we are all unworthy! Instead, it is based on His love and His desire to live within our hearts, to transform us from the inside out.
In each of the incidents in this chapter, Jesus reaches out to meet the inner needs of the person! The healing of the paralytic, the invitation to Levi, the tax collector, and the discussion about fasting were all about entering a relationship with Jesus.
As a result of their choice to accept Jesus’ offer, each one of them embarked on a new path in life. The love and acceptance they received from Jesus changed them profoundly at the core of their being. If you accept Jesus’ offer, the Gospel pattern will do the same for you!
Thank you, J. Mark, for sharing this teaching with us. Jesus had come, and Jesus was ushering in His Kingdom. This was a big deal. He was calling the Jews to a new standard of living. As we know, some followed Him, while others hated Him. Today’s lesson reminded me of the enormous change Jesus brought when He came to earth.
If you have any questions about today’s lesson or would like to contact us, please don’t hesitate. You can reach us by email or through our website. Our email address is [email protected], and our website is heraldsofhope.org. There, click on the “contact us” which is on the top right of the page, and there you can message us directly. Please get in touch with us using the method that is most convenient for you. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks so much for being with us for today’s lesson. So thankful and encouraged for his promise in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Go and live His abundant life.
