Mark 2:21

 Mark 2:21 says, No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.  Verse twenty-two adds, And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles. Jesus had just answered the religious leaders' comments about His disciples and Himself not fasting and spoke of celebrating while the Bridegroom was with the bridal party.  He then spoke of new patches on old garments and new wine in old wine skins and bottles.  The religious leaders were still attempting to live by the old covenant, which had been impossible to live up to.  This was not because of there being anything wrong with the old covenant itself, but because of the rebellious nature of people.  Jesus came to usher in the new covenant, which was based on His goodness and obedience to the Heavenly Father alone.  The new covenant of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone could not be stitched into the old covenant without destroying both, and Jesus did not come to destroy the old covenant but to fulfill it.  We today cannot attempt to justify ourselves by the old covenant and faith in Jesus Christ also.  We must set aside obedience to the old covenant as a way to salvation. Salvation comes not by our ability to keep all of God's law, which we cannot do, but by faith in Jesus Christ alone as our Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-three states, And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. When Jesus and His disciples were going through a cornfield on the Sabbath, they began to pluck ears of corn to eat.  There were very explicit rules about what Jewish people could do on the Sabbath, and plucking corn was not one of the things allowed.  Verse twenty-four adds, And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?  The Pharisees were concerned about the disciples disobeying the law of the Sabbath.  They were more concerned with the law than they were with what the disciples were doing and why they were doing it.  We need to be careful that we don't become more concerned with religious rules than we are with doing whatever we can to share the gospel and enable others to do so.  Verse twenty-five states, And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?  Verse twenty-six adds, How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?  When the Pharisees confronted Jesus, He referred to a passage of scripture about David eating and sharing the shewbread in the temple.  The Pharisees could not deny this happened since they knew the scripture.   If questioned about why we may have done something that others may say is spiritually wrong, we need to be able to support our actions based on what the Bible teaches, and if we can, then they should no longer have a problem with what we have done.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:  Verse twenty-eight concludes, Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.  Jesus then said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, and that the Son of Man, Jesus Himself, was the Lord of the Sabbath.   We need to realize that our relationship with and obedience to God through our faith in Jesus Christ takes priority over any law, religious or otherwise.  Of course, this is all dependent on having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  

Mark 2:18

Mark 2:18 says, And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?  As usual, the religious leaders were trying to find fault with Jesus.  They said the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees used to fast, and asked Jesus why His disciples didn't fast.  Now, I assume that the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees still fasted, though it was stated that they used to do so.  Either way, the religious leaders were attempting to condemn Jesus based on what others had done or were doing.  I believe that we must be careful about attempting to find fault with how other Christians worship, as long as their focus is on God and bringing Him honor and glory.  I don't believe that we can even judge others by the way people used to worship.  I may not personally like some of the new trends in worship services, but that does not make them wrong, once again as long as God is glorified by the worship service. Verse nineteen adds, And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  Jesus told them that as long as the bridegroom was with them, the people of the bridal party didn't fast, and Jesus was the Bridegroom.  Verse twenty continues, But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. Jesus said His disciples would have time to fast after He was gone.  We today have time to fast, but even if we do, it should be done to bring honor and glory to God and not to ourselves.  For fasting or any other religious ceremony to have any meaning, you must first accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. 

Mark 2:13

 Mark 2:13 says, And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. After healing the lame man by telling him his sins were forgiven, Jesus went to the seaside, and taught the multitude that followed Him.  It would be wonderful today if people were so willing to come and learn about Jesus, but it may be that we should be going to where they are and witnessing for Him instead of trying to get them to come to us.  Verse fourteen adds, And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.  Then Jesus saw Levi, or Matthew, a tax collector who was despised by most people, sitting and collecting taxes.  Jesus called Matthew to follow Him.  God does not judge based on how the world may view us, but on the way He does and how we respond to His call.  Verse fifteen states, And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.  Matthew followed Jesus, and Jesus and His other disciples sat down to eat with him and other publicans and sinners.  We need to be careful that we do not become so self-righteous that we refuse to go out in the world and witness to others. Verse sixteen adds, And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?  As usual, the scribes and Pharisees found fault with what Jesus was doing, which was eating and drinking with publicans and sinners.  These were the religious leaders attempting to judge Jesus.  We should never attempt to judge other Christians because of who they may associate with in the world.  We cannot reach the lost without any interaction with them.  Verse seventeen continues, When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees who needed a physician, those who were well or those who were sick.  Then, He said that He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Now, the scribes and Pharisees might have considered themselves to be righteous, but they would have been so wrong.  No one can be made righteous except through faith in Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior and Lord.

Mark 2:6

 Mark 2:6 says, But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, When Jesus told the lame man that his sins were forgiven, He got the attention of certain scribes, some of the religious leaders of that day.  It is a good thing for Jesus to get the attention of religious leaders, or maybe it would be more accurate to say Christian leaders, but He got their attention for the wrong reasons.  We need to pray that our Christian leaders today have their attention focused on Jesus Christ.  Verse seven adds, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?  These religious leaders, who really weren't attuned to God's leadership but to their own status, reasoned in their hearts.  They didn't look to God for understanding of what Jesus was doing.  We need to always seek God's guidance when we have questions of faith, instead of trying to figure things out by our own ability.  The scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy or crediting the things of the world to God's action, or vice versa.  They said that Jesus did not have the power to forgive sins, since only God did.  They totally failed to recognize Who Jesus really was, even though as religious leaders they should have been looking for His coming.  We must first recognize Who Jesus is and should certainly never attempt to make Who He is conform to our understanding.  Verse eight continues, And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?  Jesus immediately knew what they were thinking and asked them why they thought this way.  Jesus knows our thoughts, and we will be held accountable for them as well as our actions.  Their first step should have been in understanding Who Jesus is, and that is our first step today.  If you have not come to understand Who Jesus is, and that is the only Savior that there is, then this is the first step that you must take.  Verse nine states, Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? When healing the lame man and being accused of blasphemy, Jesus asked a question of the scribes.  He asked whether it was easier to tell the man that his sins were forgiven, or to tell him simply to arise and take up his bed and walk.  Forgiving sins can only be done by God, so for Jesus to say He had the ability to forgive the man of his sins meant either He was God or He was indeed guilty of blasphemy.   Jesus also implied that He could have avoided that problem by simply dealing with the man`s physical condition and telling him to walk.  This would not have attributed the man's healing to Jesus Himself, but to His asking in faith to God.  Then, there would be physical evidence, whereas there was no physical evidence that the man`s sins were forgiven.  Even if he did rise up and walk, he could still have not been forgiven of his sins by God.  Verse ten adds, But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) Jesus said it was so that the scribes and everyone around Him would know that He had the power to forgive sins that He told the man that his sins were forgiven and for him to rise up and walk.  Jesus did not say that He had healed the man physically, but that He had forgiven his sins. Verse eleven adds, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. The man getting up and walking was proof of Jesus`s power to forgive sins, which proved that He was God, and not just another prophet.  Verse twelve concludes, And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. All the people around were amazed and glorified God saying that they had never seen anything like this before.  The man had to have faith that Jesus could forgive his sins in order for this to happen and for him to be healed.  Today, no matter what problems you may be facing in life, if you have not done so, the first step to finding answers to your problems is to put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and then He will help you through the other problems.