Thank you for reading the message today. I hope that your day is going well. I am doing well today, and thankful for the opportunity to post the sermon.
Today, we are once again studying what the Lord has to teach us from the Gospel of Mark. In our message for this week, I want to focus on two sections from Mark. In the first section, Jesus is asked by some why His followers did not fast. Fasting was and is an important part of the Jewish faith.
Jesus said that it was not appropriate for His followers to fast while He was with them. There would come a time when He was not with them any longer. Then they would fast.
The Lord then went on to say that one doesn't put a new patch on an old garment. That will cause the garment to tear. In the same way, Jesus said new wine is not put into old wineskins. If that happens, the fermentation process will cause the old wineskins to burst.
Shortly after these events, Jesus and His disciples were walking through the fields. As they were walking, the disciples were taking some of the heads of grain and eating them. The Pharisees said that that was not a lawful thing to do on the Sabbath. To this Jesus responded that the Sabbath was for man and not man for the Sabbath. Jesus made it clear that He was the Lord of the Sabbath.
So, what is Jesus getting at in these two passages. Jesus is saying that when He entered into the world, when God became man and dwelled amongst us, things were going to be different. The old ways and the old covenant was replaced by what He was bringing into the world. He was making a new covenant and a new way.
Jesus was bringing a new spiritual dynamic. It wasn't about the old laws and regulations. His teachings would be the basis of doing what is pleasing to God.
One other place in the Gospels where we see Jesus doing this is in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus will say something like you have heard Moses say followed by but I say. For instance, Moses said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Jesus ended that and said we should turn the other check.
When Jesus came into this world, He was the Word made flesh. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity came among us in the person of Jesus Christ. He inaugurated a new way. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is God's final word. He is the ultimate word and what He has told us is far superior than anything that came before. That is why Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. He came to show us what God is really like and how we can please Him in what we do.
Jesus also brought in grace and truth. By His atoning death on the cross, He has made a new covenant through His shed blood. Now, those who put there faith and trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross are in Christ and they are redeemed through and by Him.
We are not made right with God by falling the old covenant with its laws and sacrifices. We are made right with God through the death and resurrection of His dearly beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord of the Sabbath because He is Lord of all. He is the superior one. He is the great one. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Whatever He says, we do. His way and His path are what we follow.
Jesus has come into the world, and He has made all things new. All praise honor and glory belongs to Him. Amen.
Prayer Requests
I am feeling some better, and I thank you for your continuing prayers on my behalf.
Please keep praying for a ceasefire between the US and Iran. Pray for peace in Lebanon. Pray for peace in the entire Middle Eastern region which is enflamed with tension. We also need to keep praying for peace in Ukraine and Sudan.
Pray for those affected by the storms and tornadoes here in the US. Pray that they will get the aid and the help that they need.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Cambodia and Kosovo. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will continue in Mark. I will post the verses on Tuesday and the next chapter in the James commentary on Wednesday. May God bless you all.
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