The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath
Mark 2:18-28 Mk2_18_28_PeterKim_2026
Key Verse: 2:28
“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
From the beginning of this gospel, Mark declares that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. In the previous passage, Jesus openly revealed His identity as the Messiah, demonostrating His divind authority to forgive sins on earth and declaring His redemptive mission for which he came into the world: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus’ ministry – proclaiming the word of God with power and authority, healing every kind of disease, driving out demons, and especially forgiving sins and welcoming all kinds of sinners – rose like a powerful new movement in the midst of a rigid and traditional Judaistic society.
Jesus’ gospel ministry stirred hearts and challenged religious estbalishment with its transfroming, life-givng power. Naturally, collisions were unavoidable. It began at a personal level, deep within one’s heart, where the truth of the gospel wrestled against the strongholds of sin – such as pride, prejudice, all desires of flesh, and worldly common sense. Then the power of Jesus’ gospel has transformed sinners, families, societies, nations and even the world into a holy nation. Such is the transforming power of the gospel of Christ.
We are living in the 21st century – the age of AI and rapid technological advancement. Yet we still desperately need the truth of the gospel in our hearts, in our campus, and in our nation for only this truth defeats the power of sin and death embeded in ideologies, “isms” and practices of the times. This gospel truth is not merely a doctrine; it is Jesus Himself. Through this Bible study, may we come to know more deeply who Jesus is—the Lord of the Sabbath. May the word of truth renew our minds and transform us into new wineskins, ready to receive and live out the gospel truth in our time. As our lives are renewed, may Rutgers campus also be stirred and restored as a Bible-believing campus for this nation and for this generation.
First, Jesus is our bridegroom (18-20).
In the previous passage, Jesus called a sinner, Tax collector, Levi. “Come, fellow me!” By calling him, Jesus healed his selfish heart, forgave all his sins, and invited him into a new life filled with new vision and hope as a disciple of Christ. Then, the crushing burden of guilt, shame, and fear fell away, and his heart overflowed with joy, thanksgiving, and praise for the amazing grace. He invited Jesus, his disciples, tax collectors and other sinners to his home and held a great feast to celebrate his new life. Sinners and tax collectors found hope in Jesus, and they gladly invited him and his disciples, so that joyful feasts seemed to take place day after day. Their feasts were like a banquet in the kingdom of God, not because of the abundance of food, but because the presence of Jesus filled the room with grace and joy.
Look at verse 18. “Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” Why did they ask the question? In Jewish society, fasting was the expression of self-denial in order to pray and seek God. In the Law, only one day of a year was set aside for fasting. It was the Day of Atonement, a national day of humiliation before God to seek atonement for their sin and to renew their spirit to live for the glory of God. Fasting was originally an expression of holy desire to draw near to God. However, over time, it came to be regarded as a sign of piety before others. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees fasted twice a week and were respected as devoted and spiritual leaders of Israel.
Then what about the disciples of Jesus? Since they began following Jesus, they often had no chance to eat, serving many needy people. When they were invited to someone’s house, they ate and drank as much as they could, since they did not know when they would have such a good meal again. So, when people saw how Jesus’ disciples enjoyed eating and drinking, they wondered how they could be spiritual leaders.
How did Jesus respond? Look at verses 19-20. “Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.” Here, Jesus compared himself to a bridegroom and his disciples to his guests at the wedding. Jewish weddings, like any weddings, were very joyful events and the celebration often lasted a week. It was unthinkably crazy to fast during such a festive time.
What was Jesus talking about? His answer was not only easy-to-understand, but it was filled with profound meaning. Jesus teaches that life with Him is like a joyful wedding feast. A wedding is a time for feasting, not fasting; for celebration, not mourning. The disciples had no reason to fast because Jesus, the Messiah, is the bridegroom; the source of Joy. Our Christian life is characterized by joy like that of a wedding feast. As long as we follow Jesus, we can be joyful always, regardless of our circumstances.
Why? Jesus is the Son of God who has authority to forgive sins. Jesus is the spiritual doctor who heals our sickness. Jesus is the Messiah who set us free from the power of sin and death. Jesus gives us the living hope of the kingdom of God through his death and resurrection. Through him, our bridegroom, we can come to God, worship God and serve God freely. Jesus brings us eternal feast instead of fast, joy instead of tears; salvation instead of condemnation; the glory of God instead of shame of sinners. How can we not rejoice in Jesus? The reason for our joy is quite simple, is the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Consider the Pharisees. No one becomes truly holy or joyul merely through religious practices. The life of faith is not about self-righteous performances, but about walking with Jesus and enjoying fellowship with Him. Do you know why M.Emmauel loves to sing “Halleluah”? It is because of Jesus. Why has M. Peter Lim been smiling so much these days? Not because of Caleb, but because of Jesus. Every day with Jesus is like celebrating new life! Do you want to feast with Jesus or fast with the Pharisees?
However, the time would come when Jesus would be taken from the disciples and that time came through his death on the cross. Then, they fasted. To Jesus’ disciples, nothing matters more than our relationship with Jesus. If our relationship with Jesus has gone distant – because of sin, love of money and the world, busyness, spiritual wearness, or anything else, we must restore our relationship with Jesus as a first priority. In such times, we need to fast. Fasting means repentance. It means grieving over our sins and seeking God’s mercy and grace with a broken and contrite heart. If we seek him in this way, we will find Jesus because God will not despise a broken spirit. (Ps51:17) Let’s celebrate new life with Jesus, accepting Jesus as our bridegroom and be joyful always.
Second, Jesus is the new wine (21-22).
The people in fact asked the question about fasting because they did not understand Jesus’ ministry. So, Jesus explained how his ministry was different from Judism. Look at verses 21-22. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
In these two analogies, unshrunk cloth and new wine represent Jesus and the gospel. The old garment and old wineskins represent Judaism. Jesus’ point was that Judaism could not contain the gospel because the gospel has life-giving power. In Jesus’ time, everyone knew that they did not use unshrunk cloth to patch old garments. If you do so, the new patch pulls away the old cloth, and makes the tear worse. The work of Jesus is not like patch-work. He did not come to merely put a patch in the old system. We cannot solve our sin problems by putting a “patch of moral” or “patch of religious practice.” It will only create greater conflict. Jesus did not come to just “Patch-up” our old life of sin. Rahter, Jesus comes to give us a brand new life. Through his death on the cross, he prepared a new robe for us. We must put off our old self and put on the new self in Christ. (Eph 4:22-24).
Today, wine is packaged in bottles. In Jesus’ time, people stored wine in sewn animal skins. New animalskins were very flexible and could stretch as new wine fermented and expanded. However, old sinks, having been used repeatedly, lost their flexibility and became dry and rigid. If you put new wine into old wineskins, the pressure would burst them, ruining both the wine and the skins.
In what respects is Jesus and the gospel like new wine? The gospel has the power to transform people from the inside out by renewing their minds. Philosophies, idelogiues, or “isms” may influence human thinking, but they cannot change the sinful nature of the human heart. They are powerless against the power of sin and death. But the gospel has power to cleanse our sins and to make us new creations. That is why Paul boldly declared that the gospel is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Ro 1:16). The gospel transformed powerless paralytic into a powerful servant of God. It changed the selfish tax collector into the most sacrificial kingdom worker. It converted pleasure-seeking idol worshipers like Samaritan women and men, into true worshipers of God. “If anyone is in Christ the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor 5:17) Wherever the gospel is preached, a spiritual revolution takes place—quietly, but very powerfully. Jesus is the new wine which gives us the joy of forgiveness, the joy of new life, and the joy of walking with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the new wine, the very soure of our eternal joy.
To receive this new wine, we must become like new wineskins – humble in heart and ready to listen to and accept the word of truth, and willing to surrender our own thoughts, desires, and plans so that we may be transformed to become more like Jesus. Jesus’ disciples were like new wineskins, ready to stretch and to expand according to Jesus’ new teaching. When Jesus invited Levi, the tax collector, the religious leaders criticized him. But, the disciples simply accepted him as a brother just as Jesus did. To serve God’s redemptive work, God chose the disciples, not the such pious and self-righteous religious leaders. When we become like old wineskind with pride, self-righteousness, stubbornness, and hardened heart, we will be useless to God.
How can we always be like new wineskins? Following Jesus day by day and learning humbly from him! Last Sunday after the worship service, our older men gathered in R107 to study the next lesson, while a younger group gathered in R108 to watch the Super Bowl. As we were studying the Bible, the young men were shouting with excitement as they enjoyed the game. I am not sure who was the old wineskine and who was the new wineskin. Being an old or new wineskins is not about age or experience. It is about the attitude of our hearts toward Jesus and the word of God. When we find ourselves becoming proud, critical, or self-righteous toward others; when we grow stubborn, bored, or numb toward the Scritpures, messages or testimonies; when we become ungrateful and complainning, we must humbly come before God, repenting of our hardened hearts and asking Him to create a new heart in us. We must put off our old self and put on the new self in order to become new wineskinds. Especially in serving campus missions, we must become new wineskins each day through the word of God. By reading the Bible daily, responding to the word of truth with sincere repentance and praying faithfully for one sheep, then we can become useful instruments in reaching out even one lost soul as a new wineskin. Let us follow Jesus day by day and learn from him!
Third, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (23-28).
After the religious leaders heard Jesus’ teaching, were they changed? Not at all. They became more stubborn and unwilling to learn anything from Jesus. Again they accused Jesus’ disciples. Look at verse 23-24. One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. They rub them to remove the husks and eat them. Then, suddenly the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” (24)
The disciples were hungry, so they took some grain and ate it. Why was this such a big deal? The Pharisees thought that the disciples broke the Sabbath law. They interpreted their picking heads of grain as harvesting and their rubbing the grain in their hands as threshing and winnowing. Therefore, they concluded that the disciples were working on the Sabbath. To the Jews, the Sabbath was not simply a day of rest. Keeping the Sabbath law was a sign of the covenant between God and the Israellites; the national identity as a chosen people. So, anyone who desecrated the Sabbath was to be put to death (Ex 31:13-14).
In order to keep this Sabbath, the religious leaders developled detailed instructions – eventually creating 1,261specific rules under 39 categories of acts of labor which were prohibited on the Sabbath. Did you cook this morning? Did you turn on or off any light? Did you sew two stitches? Did you write or erase more than 2 letters? Did you drive a car? Did you do the laundry? Then, you did unlawful things on the Sabbath and you are not worthy to come to this worship. Jewish people were tightly bound by these Sabbath regulations. Now, the religious leaders accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the law.
How did Jesus defend the disciples? Look at verse 25-26. “He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” While fleeting from Saul for his life, David was hungry and had no food. In such a time of crisis and great need, David went to God, the house of God, for help. There, the only bread available was the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for priests to eat. David and Abiathar the high preist knew the law, but David ate the bread and gave some to his companions.
From a legal perspective, David violated the levitical regulation. According to the law, he could have been cut off from Israel – or even face death, like Nadab and Abihu, who were consumed by fire because they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord. God did not do so! Instead, he protected him, provided for Him, and established him as a King and recognized him as a man after God’s own heart. Why? Because the law of God’s love and mercy stands above all ritual regulations and overrides them – just as the Consituation of America stands above all other laws. The pious Phrisees became legalistic, critical and judgmental for they lost the spirit of the law, which is love and mercy. God is love and He desires mery. That is the law of God’s mercy and love.
Jesus wanted them to understand the heart of God – love and mercy – and the true meanng of the Sabbath. Look at verse 27. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” After finishing the creation of heaven and earth, God rested on the seventh day. God did not rest because he was tired, but for our benefit. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy for our spiritual, mental and physical restoration. (Gen2:2-3) God did not make the Sabbath to control us, but for our well being. On Sabbath, God invites us to lay aside our ordinary work and come to him to worship him and to have fellowship with Him in spirit and truth, so that we may receive the very life of God and experience true rest for our souls.
Here actually Jesus rebuked the Pharisees that it was they themselves who broke the law of God’s love and mery for the sake of man-made regulations and their self-righteousness. In their hands, the law became no more than a tool to judge and condemn others. But, in Jesus’ hand, it became the word of life to heal, to restore, and save sinners. Jesus upheld the law of God by embracing the disciples with love. Because of his love, these disciples could grow as shepherds like Jesus. Indeed, love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Pe 4:8b). The law of love stands above all others. The law of God, the word of God is the word of life that gives life and saves life.
Then Jesus declared, “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (28). This means that Jesus is God who created the heavens and the earth. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”(Jn1:3) Jesus has sovereign authority over all things. Jesus is the Lord of our lives. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath for he gives true rest to anyone who comes to him by faith. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath for He opens a new and living way to God through his death and resurrection. So, To keep the Sabbath holy, we must first accept Jesus as Lord in our hearts. Then, through Jesus, we come to God, Worship God, and serve God with spirit and truth. Jesus is the Lord even of the Sabbath.
Life of faith is not a matter of engaging in many kinds of activities. It is to follow Jesus, love him, listen to him, and to have a relationship with him. Our life of faith should not be life-less, joy-less, spirit-less religious life. Our life of faith should be with Jessu be filled with joy, praise, worship, and life. We may follow Jesus, and learn from him as a new wineskins.