Lord of the Sabbath
JASON MARTIN / General Adult
Jesus in the Gospels / Mark 2; Mark 3:1–19; John 5
The Paralytic
Jesus has recently demonstrated His authority over sickness, disease, and demons
1. What gets in between us and Jesus? vs 1-4
a. For them, it was the crowd and the roof
b. are we: too busy - scared - embarrassed - other people - your past
2. Are we this kind of friend? vs 5
a. they didn’t need the physical healing but they put in considerable effort
i. we can’t heal or forgive sins, but we can carry people to Jesus
3. Jesus knows what’s in hearts vs 8 - John 2:25
4. Authority to forgive sins vs 7-12
a. Only God can forgive sins
b. Jesus addresses the man’s actual eternal need before what seemed like the obvious need
i. We define other people’s problems by what we can see
1. finances, sickness, marriage, loneliness, addiction, job problems
a. our greatest need is reconciliation with God
5. They glorified God - the man walked away
a. the pharisees experienced God’s blessings and remained unconverted
b. What can Jesus do for me? Vs. Who is Jesus?
Eating with sinners
Calling of Levi Mark 2:13-14
1. Jesus didn’t support them in their sin vs 15-17
a. He called them sick and in need of a physician
b. We should also speak truth in love
Fasting
1. vs 18 - The pharisees just questioned the disciples about Jesus’ behavior, now they’re questioning Jesus about the disciples’ behavior
2. vs 19 - There is only one required day of fasting in Scripture
a. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29)
b. Fasting is still seen as a good thing overall in Scripture, but it a private matter between us and God
c. this isn’t fasting vs not fasting - it’s the timing isn’t right
3. vs 19 - Jesus refers to Himself as the ‘Bridegroom’
a. OT bridegroom = (Isa 54:5, Jer 2:2, Hosea 2:19-20, Ezekiel 16)
b. they celebrated while He’s here
c. they fast when He’s ‘taken away’
4. Old and New Mark 2:21-22
a. Neither are bad, they just don’t mix
b. Jesus isn’t a patch to fix Judaism
c. The danger isn’t only rejecting the new wine, but also trying to put it into the old wineskins - there’s a different way of doing things now
5. The systems and traditions weren’t ready to hold what Jesus was bringing
a. forgiving sins and eating with sinners
b. fasting traditions
c. Sabbath traditions Mark 2:23-28
d. Jer 31:31 - a new Covenant
6. But people get stuck on that old wine. Sometimes people want that system
a. Luke 5:39 “39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ””
Lord of the Sabbath
Jesus points them back to David to question the purpose of the Sabbath
rest, worship, blessing, dependance on God, no ordinary labor
The pharisees turn the gift into a master
Their interpretation of God’s law is disconnected from it’s purpose
Jesus has Authority over
sinners
religious practices like fasting
Sabbath
Don’t let the gift become the master;
Scripture - checklist
prayer - performance
fasting - spirituality badge
church - external showing
worship - judging others’ worship
The things God gives are good, but cannot be more important than God that gave them
Jesus didn’t come as another part of our religious system - He came to be Lord
We are to orient our life around Him
Exported from Logos Bible Study, 7:21 AM September 9, 2026.