The Uniqueness of The Gospel Mark 2:18-22 (NKJV)

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, April 8, 2018 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 10 in Making A Difference Series from the Gospel of Mark The Uniqueness of The Gospel Mark 2:18-22 (NKJV) Today we want to resume our series from the Gospel of Mark. Please turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter two. And let's read verses Mark 2:18-22 (NKJV) 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. ************************************************************ I N T R O D U C T I O N I have entitled my message this morning, The Uniqueness of The Gospel. The dictionary defines the word unique as having no like or equal, unparalleled; incomparable ; or one of a kind.

2 There is only one Hope Diamond...one Mona Lisa...one Mount Rushmore...one Jaguar XJ-13 automobile...one 1941 Gibson J-35 guitar...one Original Declaration of Independence...and one Statue of Liberty. Some have tried to copy, counterfeit, or forge some of these priceless treasures; but none can ever match the uniqueness of the original. And there is only one true Gospel. The apostle Paul writes in... Galatians 1:9,10 (NKJV) As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is unique......one of a kind...and exclusive. No other religious book...no other religious writings can even compare with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be mixed or blended with any another religious writings without poisoning the purity of the Gospel. Mix the Gospel with the Book of Mormon...you get poison. Mix the Gospel with the Quran and you get poison. Mix the Gospel with New Age philosophies and you get poison. Mix the Gospel with the Watchtower literature of the Jehovah's Witnesses and you get poison.

3 The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches salvation through Christ alone; therefore the Gospel cannot coexist with the writings of any other religion that teaches salvation by any other means than Christ. It is this Uniqueness of The Gospel that is the focus of today's message. First of all, let's consider... I. The PROBLEM (v. 18) 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? 1. The religious leaders already had their noses out of joint over a couple of things Jesus had done recently. * Remember when Jesus forgave the sins of that paralytic that was lowered through the roof of Peter's house in Capernaum, the religious leaders were sitting there thinking, Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins by God alone? * And remember when Jesus and His disciples ate in the home of Levi the tax collector, the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus' disciples, How is it that He (Jesus) eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?

4 2. So the religious leaders had a problem with Jesus forgiving the paralytic of his sins, and they had a problem with Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. 3. Now they have a new problem with Jesus and its over the issue of fasting. Notice again their question in verse v.18 Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast? By disciples of John the Pharisees are referring to those who were baptized by John the Baptist in the wilderness. While some of John's disciples had left John to follow Jesus, many had not. The Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist had absolutely nothing in common except one thing; both groups practiced fasting. 4. Now let's think about fasting for just a moment. In the Old Testament, the Jewish people practiced voluntary fasts when mourning the loss of a loved one, or in a time of repentance for sins. But the Old Testament law only required the Jewish people to fast one day of the year, and that was on The Day of Atonement.: (Leviticus 23:26-32 to afflict the soul refers to fasting. )

5 4. Now the Pharisees in Jesus' day fasted twice a week, every Monday and Thursday. They didn't fast because of their repentance or sorrow for their sins; they fasted because they believed it made them appear to be more religious than everyone else. True fasting was to be a very personal and private act of worship. But when the Pharisees fasted they made it a very public matter. They went to great lengths to make sure everyone knew they were fasting. Jesus talked about this in Matthew 6:16 (NLT)... And when you fast, don t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 5. The disciples of John the Baptist also practiced fasting, but for a different reason than the Pharisees. Remember, John the Baptist preached a message of repentance. in preparation for the coming of Christ. (Mark 1:4) So their fasting was an expression of true repentance in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. 6. So the Pharisees hit Jesus with this question: John the Baptist's disciples fast, and our disciples fast: why don't Your disciples fast?

6 7. Jesus could see right through the Pharisees. He knew exactly what they were trying to do. They were accusing Jesus and His disciples of not being religious enough. They were trying to squeeze Jesus and His disciples into their little religious mold. They were trying to force Jesus into blending His gospel of the Kingdom with their brand of legalistic...rules-keeping...works-based religion. 8. Jesus recognized this for what it was...a A TRAP! But Jesus always had a masterful way of turning the tables on the Pharisees. He would either answer their question with a question of His own, or He would answer with a parable. In verses we see Jesus do both. II. The PARABLES (v.19-22) 1. In verses Jesus uses three parables to illustrate how His Gospel is not about keeping a bunch of religious rules and rituals; but rather it is uniquely different than all other religions. (A) The Parable of The Bridegroom (vs. 19,20) 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.

7 Remember I told you while ago that one of the ways Jesus would turn the tables on the Pharisees was to answer their question with a question of His own. Here we see Him do just that. They asked Jesus, Why don't Your disciples fast? Jesus turned right around and asked them, Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? Jesus' question is in the form of a parable, which frustrated the Pharisees even more. They hated Jesus' parables! They didn't understand Jesus' parables. They could not grasp the truth Jesus taught in His parables. So you can almost see the perplexed look on their faces as they ponder what Jesus means by His question. To understand what Jesus meant, we need to understand a little about Jewish wedding customs in those days. Weddings in our day and time are far different than they were back then. In our day and time, we have the wedding ceremony, which is then followed by a reception, and at the end of the reception the couple leaves to go on their honeymoon.

8 But in Jesus' day, when a couple got married, the newlyweds hosted their family and friends in a week long celebration and feasting. It was a week filled with joy, and laughter, and feasting. No one fasted during a wedding celebration. As long as the bridegroom and bride were present it was a time of feasting not fasting. So here is the meaning of Jesus' parable. Jesus Himself is the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is present it is a time to celebrate! It is a time of joy, not a time for mourning. The time of mourning will come when Jesus is crucified and the bridegroom is taken away from His disciples. But that time has not yet come. On a practical level here is what this parable means to us. Should we practice fasting today? Yes, in times of repentance for our sins, and perhaps in times when we are mourning a great loss in life, or in a time of spiritual crisis when we need to reconcile our relationship with the LORD. But we should never turn fasting into a meaningless ritual like the Pharisees did in order to make our- selves appear super spiritual and look down upon those who don't fast like we do.

9 (B) The Parable of New Cloth vs. Old Cloth (v.21) 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. Remember when you were young that whenever you got a hole or tear in the knee or seat of your jeans or britches your mom would put a patch on the torn place? These days, if our jeans or pants become worn or torn, we often just throw them away and go out and get ourselves a new pair. In Jesus' day, clothes that were worn or torn were NEVER thrown out! Every mother was a seamstress and she would patch the clothes in order to extend the lifespan of the garment. In those days, most clothes were made either from wool or cotton. Both of those fabrics would shrink. So if the mother patched the old worn garment with a piece of new material, the first time she washed the garment, that patch...that new material would shrink and it would pull away from the old material and make the torn place even worse.

10 The principle Jesus is teaching in this parable is very clear and that is the old cannot be blended with the new. The old teachings of the Pharisees which emphasized external religion with all its rituals, and religious ruleskeeping cannot be blended with the Gospel of Jesus Christ which emphasizes inward holiness in one's heart and a close, intimate relationship with God. On a practical level, here is what this parable means to us today. The rules and rituals of the ancient Jews are no longer in force! We as Christians are not obligated to keep all the laws and rituals in order to please the Lord and be saved. Jesus has fulfilled the law and set us free from the bondage of man-made rules and rituals such as the Pharisees practiced. And we must never try to blend the old law with the new grace we have in Jesus Christ. (C) The Parable of New Wine and Old Wine Skins (v.22) 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wine-skins, the wine is spilled, and the wine-skins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wine-skins. They didn't have glass or plastic bottles in Jesus' day. The ancient Jewish people often used the skin of a goat as a storage container for their wine.

11 When the goat was killed, the skin was cut around the neck and the legs and pulled off the carcass in one piece. The hide would then be partially tanned. It could then be used to make a wine-skin. Initially the hide was still very elastic and it would expand as the wine fermented inside. But over the course of time the wine-skin would dry out and become brittle. If new wine was poured into that old wine-skin and began to ferment, the old, dry, brittle wine-skin could not expand and the wine-skin would burst and both the wine and the wine-skin would be lost. Again, the message of Jesus' parable is clear. Think of the legalistic, ritualistic religion of the Pharisees as an old, dry, brittle wine-skin. And think of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the new wine. The Gospel is fresh, its always new, and if you try to contain it with the old, legalistic traditions of men, it ruins both the old religion and the Gospel. The practical truth for us is this: When the Church becomes old, dry, and brittle and tries to limit the life-changing, soul-saving gospel of Jesus Christ with our old traditions and our old way of doing things, eventually the Church becomes so dry and brittle that she bursts and no longer fulfills her God-given purpose.

12 C O N C L U S I O N As we bring this message to a close, let me ask you something? Have you been trying to mix the old with the new? Far too many of us are trying to sew the patch of Christianity into the old garment of our lives. We want to keep on living the same old way we've always lived, and just allow Jesus to patch up a hole here and there in our lives. Jesus is NOT interested in patching up holes...he wants to completely change us and transform us into a new creation! And far to many of us are like those old, dry, brittle wineskins. When Jesus, the new wine came into our lives His desire was to stretch us and expand us to new limits. But just like those old, dry, brittle wine-skins many of us have tried to contain Jesus and restrain Jesus from expanding us spiritually by clinging to our old traditions and old way of doing things, and we have limited His life-changing power within us. Have you got religion or do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God?