PONDERING... Is Religion Bad? (Mark 2:18-22)

Is Religion Bad? (PM Bible Study Notes)

GIST: Jesus does not come to us on our terms.

SCRIPTURE: Mark 2:18-22

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”

1. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT FASTING?
• Required in Old Testament once a year, but done at other times freely.
• Numbers 29:7
• Purpose? Drawing nearer to God.
• 1 Kings 19:8, Jonah 3:3-5, Matthew 4:1-2, Matthew 6:16-18, Acts 14:23
2. IS THIS ABOUT FASTING?
• Nope. Jesus sees the heart. Remember the passage we looked at this morning? Jesus saw the need of the paralytic and the complaints of the scribes. We have a very similar scenario here. Jesus hears what they’re asking, “why don’t you fast?”, but knows what they’re really asking.-->
3. THEN WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
• Obey Extra Laws=Get the Messiah? Here’s the great irony of this passage and the following one on the Sabbath (we’ll look at this next Sunday night). At this time, the prevailing thought was if everyone could obey the Law perfectly, the Messiah would come. So they set up all these “safeguard” laws to ensure the real laws were definitely kept. For example, the law required a yearly fast. They required it twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays). Yet, here Jesus, the Messiah, stands before them--and they miss Him because He’s not what they were looking for!
• Trying to make Jesus’ message fit their parameters. Jesus sees this and calls them on it. He tells them fasting is for mourning and seeking God. Right now, they are with Jesus...why would they mourn and seek what they have? He knows they’re not talking about the purpose of fasting, but about obeying their laws. That’s what the cloth and wine skin examples are all about. Take a piece of unshrunk cloth and sew it to an old garment (already shrunk) and when the new shrinks, it will tear the old away...making the situation worse and defeating the purpose of having a patch. The same point is being made with the wine bags (I giggle everytime I type that). Though I know nothing about wine, the idea is that new wine is still fermenting and expanding, so old bags that have lost their flexibility would burst with new wine...again, defeating the purpose of making new wine. The message: don’t be an old whinebag. ☺
4. SO, IS RELIGION BAD?
• Yes!...if it’s sinful. Worshiping God in a formalized manner that reflects an understanding and constant study of God’s Word is good. But when our traditions are more important than God’s Word, or doing church stuff more important than actually serving Jesus personally and showing His love to the world around us...then it is bad.

TAKEAWAYS

1. How were the religious leaders trying to fit Jesus in their mold?
• Their expectations trumped His truths. So they missed Him.
2. Are there any “old wine bags” you can let go of?
• This was a question from IVP daily reading plan for Mark, and it makes a very good point. What are you not willing to let go of?
3. Are you an “old whinebag”?
• ☺