Message preached Sunday, November 16, 2014 from Mark 2:18-22
Theme: The New Covenant realities of grace in Jesus cannot be made to fit into the Old Covenant patterns of law.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We come this morning to a truly wonderful passage in the Gospel of Mark. It’s a short passage; but it’s one that is big in significance with respect to the ministry of our Lord. In fact, I’d say that it sets the liberty we enjoy in Christ before us in a way that no other passage of Scripture does.
You’ll find the story in Mark 2:18-22. It tells us of what happened during Jesus’ earthly ministry in the regions of Galilee—probably during or shortly after the events of the passage we studied last week. You’ll remember that Jesus had graciously called a notorious sinner named Levi—the tax collector—to become one of His disciples. Many of Levi’s friends came to a dinner he put on for Jesus; and so, Jesus was found eating at a feast with tax collectors and sinners.
In the original language, the word “and” begins this passage—making it possible that it was a story of something that happened around the time of that dinner. Mark tells us;
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?” 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. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 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. 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” (Mark 2:18-22).
So; here’s a story of some religiously ritualistic folks coming to Jesus with a complaint. It disturbed them that Jesus didn’t teach His disciples to follow the ritualistic patterns that they customarily followed; and they wanted to know why He didn’t do so. And Jesus answered their complaint by giving them three fascinating illustrations—parables from everyday life—to show that His followers were not bound to observe such rituals; and that, in fact, it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to do so.
This is a wonderful passage that speaks to the liberty we enjoy in Christ. But it is often misunderstood and misapplied. To properly understand it, we need to place things in their theological context. So; I’m going to ask you to follow along with me as we go back to the Old Testament and consider some important promises from God. When we do so, I think this passage will make far better sense to us.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; to rightly understand this passage, we need to understand something about the ‘covenants’ that God has made with His people. A ‘covenant’ is simply another way of saying ‘an agreement’. A biblical ‘covenant’ is an agreement that God initiates with His people that dictates the conditions of His relationship with them. If they faithfully fulfill their part of the agreement, He will faithfully fulfill His part of the agreement.
There have been several such agreements that God entered into with His people throughout the history of His relationship with mankind. But one of the most important ones for our discussion this morning is what some theologians have called the Covenant of Law. It’s the covenant that God entered into with the Jewish people at Mount Sinai; and hence it is sometimes called the Sinaitic Covenant. I like to refer to it simply as ‘the Old Covenant’.
You know the story, don’t you? It’s found in Exodus 19. After God had graciously delivered His chosen people—the Jews—from out of their bondage in Egypt, He gathered them together at the base of Mount Sinai and entered into a covenant with them. He called Moses to Himself up on the mountain, and told him to tell the people:
“‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation’” (Exodus 19:4-6).
What a marvelous and gracious offer from God! Moses went back down to the people and took the terms of this covenant to the people; and the people responded by saying, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (v. 8). And Moses took their words—words of agreement to the covenant—up the mountain again and spoke them to God. And do you remember the very next thing that happened? God gave His people the law from Mount Sinai. He gave them the Ten Commandments; and then, He expanded those commandments through various case laws—showing how those commandments were to be kept in specific situations of life.
If you were to go on to read in the Scriptures from the giving of the Old Covenant forward, you’d find that the laws were very detailed. And what’s more, God gave the people specific feasts to observe, dates to keep, rituals to follow, and dietary instructions to obey. They were told what they were to do in those cases when they might fail and transgressed His specific commands—what offerings they were to make for their atonement, how they were to bring those offerings, and how specifically they were to slay the offering and burn them on the altar. These commandments were good. They are reflections of the holy character of God. But in order to relate to God in the terms of the covenant that He was setting for them, they had to be in strict conformity to the letter of the law. They had to continually look at the calendar to make sure they were observing the right feasts on the right dates. They had to constantly keep the specific instructions of the law before them, so that they could make sure that the right offerings were being made for the right thing in the right way. The terms of their relationship with God was—you might say—all based on an external conformity to the rules and regulations of the Old Covenant. They had to keep rigidly true to the law.
And as you also find as you read on in the Bible, they failed. Terribly! They could not fulfill the terms of their relationship with God. Much of the Old Testament’s story of the Jewish people is a story of rebellion, and sin, and unfaithfulness, and idolatry; and eventually, of God’s wrath and righteous anger and judgment. The people that God had called to Himself, and who had willingly entered into the covenant He had set before them, broke the covenant repeatedly; and were eventually punished by God and sent into captivity to a foreign land for 70 years.
* * * * * * * * * *
But our sovereign God knew all along that this would happen. And so, He had it in His plan—at the right time in history—to establish a New Covenant with His people. You will find God giving the terms of this future New Covenant in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah—some seven centuries or so before the Lord Jesus came into this world. And what a different covenant this New Covenant would be! In Jeremiah 31:31-34, it says;
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
The holy demands of God’s law were not set aside in this New Covenant; because God Himself never changes in His holy character. But rather, He promises to change His people. He would transform them and put the standards of His holy law into their hearts. They would no longer be required to conform outwardly to the strict letter of the law in order to be righteous before Him, because God would instead graciously make them to be 100% righteous in His sight on the inside. They would then keep the demands of the law from out of what He had made them to be inwardly, and not because of what they had to work hard in order to become. They would no longer be God’s people on the basis of outward rituals of law and works; but rather, on the basis of an inward relationship of love and grace. They would truly ‘know’ God.
That New Covenant has come. And do you know who brought it about for us? It was none other than Jesus Himself! I would like to read to you what it says in the Book of Hebrews about what Jesus has done for us. And I ask you to please listen to these wonderful words very carefully! They tell us of how that Old Covenant was represented by the Tabernacle of long ago—along with the priesthood that served in it; which the writer of Hebrews says was
. . . symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:9-15).
I can’t express enough, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, how wonderful and liberating the New Covenant is! God promises to declare us righteous in His sight by grace. And on our part, the terms of the agreement are simple: Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved!
Now; the reason I have gone to such lengths this morning to explain the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is because it’s that very difference that explains what is happening in our passage in Mark’s Gospel. What is being taught to us in it is that the New Covenant realities of grace in Jesus cannot be made to fit into the Old Covenant patterns of law. It’s not even appropriate to try to make them do so.
Let’s look again at our passage in Mark’s Gospel; and I believe you’ll be able to see this clearly.
* * * * * * * * * *
Mark tells us what happened while Jesus was ministering in the regions of Galilee—perhaps while He was still having a meal with Levi the former tax collector, and with his friends. In Mark 2:18, he writes, “The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.”
Now first, notice who this was. It was the disciples of John the Baptist. John, by this point, was in prison—having been thrown there by Herod Antipas. And though John had been the one to announce the Lord Jesus to the world, he was nevertheless a man who lived under Old Covenant realities. And now that he was in prison, some of his followers still sought to live before God in those Old Covenant terms. And along with them were the disciples of the Pharisees. Scholars tell us that Pharisees didn’t ordinarily have ‘disciples’; but apparently, these were folks who had devoted themselves to the Pharisees’ teaching of strict obedience to the letter of the law. Both groups have an ‘Old Covenant’ focus toward the letter of the law in terms of how they sought a relationship with God; and that’s why they are mentioned together.
And second, notice what we’re told about them. We’re told that they “were fasting”. To fast, in this case, meant to abstain from food in a ritualistic manner in order to convey an attitude pious humility and sorrow before God. And the way that Mark uses the word here meant that they were in a regular, habitual practice of fasting. Did you know that the Old Testament law only required the Jewish people to observe one fast a year? That was on the Day of Atonement. But as time went on, the Jewish people added more fasts to their calendar . . . and more . . . and more! By the time of Jesus, some of the Pharisees were clogging up their calendar with fasts. Do you remember the Pharisee in one of Jesus’ parables? He came to the temple and said, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week . . .” (Luke 18:11-12).
And these regular ‘fasters’ had a real controversy with Jesus. Perhaps they saw Him eating a feast with a whole lot of sinners; and that prompted them to ask Him a question. Mark tells us, “Then they came and said to Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?’” (v. 18b).
Let’s pause for a minute. Do you ever meet up with people like that? They have their rules and rituals and practices—things that they believe they must do in order to get God’s attention and earn His favor. Sometimes its a matter of practices that they feel they must adopt. Other times, it’s a matter of things from which they feel they must abstain. And it’s not enough that they follow these rules; they aren’t happy unless you’re following them too!
I may be jumping ahead of myself a bit in terms of application. But dear brothers and sisters in Christ; don’t let anyone do that to you! The Bible tells us that when Jesus went to the cross for us, the list of Old Covenant requirements—the letter of the law that was so contrary to us—has been wiped out. It was nailed to the cross! In Colossians 2:16-17;
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).
Trust Jesus, walk in faithful obedience to Him in love, be feed on the Scriptures, follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, and don’t let people lay their outward religious rules on you!
* * * * * * * * * *
So; that’s the question that was put to Jesus. Why doesn’t He teach His disciples to fast—just as they do. And Jesus goes on to answer their question. He does so with three truly fascinating illustrations—all taken from common, everyday matters of life. Let’s consider them briefly.
The first is an illustration of groomsmen at a wedding. In verse 19, we read, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?’” Some translations have it “the guests of the bridegroom”; some have it that it’s “the attendants of the bridegroom”; and some have it that it is “the children of the bridechamber”; but the idea is all the same. These would be the friends that the groom asks to be with him at his wedding.
Now; I was talking with a group of guys about this the other day. I suggested to them that there have been times when groomsmen stood up with a bridegroom and fasted in a state of humbleness and sorrow during his wedding. But it was probably because he got the bride that they really wanted. Ordinarily though, the groomsmen would not ‘fast’ at their friend’s wedding. It would be utterly inappropriate! Rather, it would be a time for feasting and joy and celebration! They were with their friend on his greatest day; and they ought to rejoice with him in his presence.
Jesus—in this parable—is the bridegroom. He is with His beloved people. And it would be utterly inappropriate for His followers to be characterized by ‘fasting’ while in His presence. He went on to say, “As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days” (vv. 19b-20). There would be a time when Jesus would be away from His disciples—and that was when He was taken from them by the death on the cross. But their sorrow turned to great joy very quickly when He appeared to them after His resurrection. I believe that’s what He was talking about in John 16; when He told them,
“Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy” (John 16:20).
It would be a joy that no one would take away. And we’re in that state of joy now. We are in fellowship with Him. And the joy will be even greater when we finally see Him in glory!
So; the Old Covenant rules of ‘fasting’ and ‘sadness’ and ‘mourning’ no longer apply. We’re in a New Covenant—and the reality that is fitting to the New Covenant joy. A perpetual ‘long-face’ is not fitting to the reality to our experience as Christian—living as we do in the New Covenant. Sure; there are times when we have sorrow for a season. Let’s be real. But we don’t celebrate the sorrow. We celebrate the joy.
* * * * * * * * * *
The second illustration that Jesus gives is of a new patch of cloth on an old garment. In verse 21, Jesus said; “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” (v. 21).
I asked my wife if she had any samples of this. And she really didn’t. That’s because she’s smarter than to sew a piece of new cloth on an old garment. In fact, she showed me a pair of blue jeans she had where she sewed a patch of cloth over a hole. She told me that she shrunk the patch of cloth first. That way, it wouldn’t shrink after having been sown into place; and thus tear at the old jeans and make the hole worse!
And this illustrates to us that you can’t take the new spiritual realities of the New Covenant and try to patch the Old Covenant over with it. That may be what some people thought the grace of God through Jesus could be—just a ‘patch job’ to fix up what was lacking in the Old Covenant. But that won’t work. The realities of the New Covenant are too great and too dynamic—too utterly different—to be kept in place in an Old Covenant context. You can’t experience the liberty we enjoy in Christ while trying to live in under the burden of the letter of the law.
And the third illustration that Jesus gives us shows something of the same thing. He said, “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” (v. 22a). Back in the days of Jesus—and in some parts of the world even today—wine was not stored in glass bottles, but in the carefully prepared skins of goats. (Wouldn’t make me want drink any, frankly; but that’s how it was done.)
The newer, fresher skins of goats would be supple and have some flexibility. That would be important when it came to storing freshly pressed wine; because the wine would expand as it fomented. But what if someone foolishly put new, freshly pressed wine into the older, overstretched, brittle skins? As the wine was being stored, it would expand and burst the skins. Then, you’d not only destroy the skins but would also lose the wine.
As Jesus said, “But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” And in saying this, He was illustrating that the new, glorious, dynamic realities of the New Covenant relationship people have with God through Him cannot be contained in the Old Covenant context. The rules and rituals and regulations and ceremonies of the Old Covenant cannot hold the new life in Christ. In fact, it actually ruins things if you try it! The apostle Paul once wrote to a group of Christians who were trying to make that happen; and in his letter to the Galatians, he told them;
But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain (Galatians 4:9-11).
He urged them, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (5:11).
* * * * * * * * * *
This is a wonderful and liberating word of instruction from our Lord. I believe it highlights the freedom we have in Him in a way that no other passage does.
And what should we do with it? Well; let me suggest a few things.
First, I believe we should rejoice in our liberty in Christ! Now, I know you dear brothers and sisters; and I’m certain you won’t take that to mean that you have ‘freedom’ or ‘liberty’ to sin. The Ten Commandments express the holy character of God to us; and we are always to keep true to His standards. But we don’t do so under the bondage of the ceremonial rules and regulations of the Old Covenant! We do so as New Covenant people—with the law written on our hearts, and from the motivation of love for our Savior. Praise God that we aren’t under the bondage of dates, and dietary laws, and rituals and sacrifices. We don’t have to observe such things to be made righteous in His sight. We already are righteous through Jesus. Let’s not try to put the ‘new wine’ of our life in Christ into the ‘old skins’ of the letter of the law.
And second, I believe we should be on guard against those who would place the shackles of religious rituals and regulations back on us. There will always be some who ask us, “Why aren’t you doing things like we do? Why aren’t you observing the practices that we observe? You must not be right with God, because you don’t follow the rules that we follow!” Be careful! Don’t let them pressure you back once again under an Old-Covenant-style approach to God. We are free people—fully accepted in the sight of God through Christ. No ritual or religious ceremony will ever make you more righteous in the sight of God than you are through faith in Jesus Christ. Stay free; and don’t let anyone try to ‘patch’ your life in Christ onto the ‘old cloth’ of ritualism!
Third, I believe you and I should bear a witness to those who are caught up in a works-oriented approach to God. All around us, there are people who are bound in chains of ritualism and religious works. Their burden is horrible! Let’s rejoice in our liberty in Christ in the realities of the New Covenant. And let’s let them see that we have a fellowship of love with the Bridegroom! We’re in a constant state of ‘feasting’ because we’re with Him! And let’s invite them to come to know Him too.