Mark 1-3 Jesus Irritates People!!

October 15th, Mark 1-3

       I think about how often Jesus seems to irritate the rulers of the day concerning Sabbath rules. Here in the end of chapter two we see Jesus picking grain on a Sabbath. In chapter three Jesus comes across a man in need of healing on the Sabbath. Tension is in the air, Jesus asks..."Is it lawful to do good or do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or kill?"(your rules would allow you to watch a man die rather than work on the Sabbath, does that make sense to you?)
       Silence... imagine the scene. A group of people, so convinced that they are right about something. This intruder, this outsider, this rebel, this annoyance asks us these questions. US... doesn't he know who we are, yet also intimidated enough by the question to keep their mouth shut (Thought Bubble: I'm tired of  him making us look like fools)
       "Is it lawful for us to do good on the Sabbath?" Chapter two the statement..."The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath?"  One is lesser than the other. One is made for the other. Sabbath was created to be a blessing to man. Man wasn't made to be a blessing to the Sabbath, you've got it messed up here boys...
       In this moment on Sabbath afternoon, what's more important, a man with a withered hand or a day of the week. Verse 5 , this moment of silence, the unanswerable question, Jesus response..."After looking at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "stretch out your hand." As he stretched it out his hand was restored." The immediate knee-jerk reaction to a life-changing miracle is..........
        A violated rule; rules. mean. more. than. people...Destroy Jesus. Adventures in Missing the Point.
        The intent of the law and the heart behind it. Pharisees were son intent on keeping the law, added so many provisions to the law, that eventually they failed to understand why God asks it of us, what his desire is for us in the midst of living it out. Don't miss the point, it takes you to crazy places and in this case keeps you from honoring the most valuable thing(that sounds bad).