Transformed, Not Patched, to Rest in Christ

Mark 2:18-28

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

18 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?"

19 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. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 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. 22 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."

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

25 But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26 how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"

27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

Fasting changed when the kingdom of God, the presence of the Messiah, and the good news of salvation arrived.  All these things now brought joy over the “affliction of the soul” that characterizes the OT description of the religious duty of fasting.  This release from the soul’s turmoil under the condemnation of sin’s penalty made such fasting no longer necessary and so the disciples of Jesus were not withholding food and drink as the Pharisees and even the followers of John the Baptist were doing at the time.  Jesus therefore answered the question of the religious concerning why they did not fast by telling them their joy in the Bridegroom’s presence made it impossible to be sad and under enough hopeless affliction to need to lament and afflict themselves further.  They were in His comforting company until they took Him away to the cross to be murmured there, and then they would have temporary sadness to be turned again to even more joy (John 16:19-20) after the resurrection.  He compared this to mending an old piece of clothing with a brand-new piece of cloth.  This would not last long because the new material is stronger and would pull the old apart once more, making the patched hole larger than before.  He also used the illustration of similarly using an old wineskin for newly fermenting wine which would expand in the inflexible old container and rust it open under the pressure.  He emphasized that new wine needs a new container to hold it, likely insinuating the new birth (John 3:3) as necessary to hold new actions and not old rituals that no longer fit the joy of the transformative gospel of hope in newness of spirit (Romans 6:4, 7:6) and not in old containers of the letter of the Law’s patching.  

Likewise, Jesus was afterwards walking through a planted field on the Sabbath and His disciples began to take nourishment by eating the grain contrary to the letter of the Law (Exodus 20:10; 31:15) as the religious Pharisees quickly accused them of violating.  The Lord of the Sabbath quickly answered back that the anointed one of God, King David, ate from the showbread meant for the priests alone (Exodus 29:32-33) and gave some to his followers as well.  Not only did this example open the door to indicate the anointed Messiah who was the Branch of David according to the flesh was rightfully a priest and consecrated to take food on the Sabbath, but also as Lord of all Sabbaths He was entitled to feed all who followed Him on that day as much as any other.  Later we see that all who follow Christ are also priests to our God, not just those according to the lineage of Aaron appointed for the temple.  We worship from individual temples (1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Peter 2:5) now and corporately as the Body of Christ and so are not ruled by the Sabbath because we have our rest in Christ now (Hebrews 4:4, 9-10) who is Lord over all things.  Truly the Sabbath was made for us to rest in Him and His works and not in earning God’s favor by rules of rest according to the letter of the written Law as a check for holiness.  Therefore Jesus told those relying on earning righteousness by their religious obligations and works, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” and  “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”  We serve in new vessels of grace and not patched ones of the Law’s rules apart from the intent and meaning fulfilled in Christ (Matthew 5:18, Luke 24:44).  He has fulfilled the Law and is now our Sabbath rest according to the scriptures.  We rest in Him and in His righteousness alone, no longer needing to afflict our souls in the old way of fasting.  When we fast now it is voluntary to focus our attentions on the Lord and His will and not mandatory to earn grace.  It is for such freedom that we have been set free (Galatians 5:1) as new creations and containers of grace, set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2) to rest in Him.  We have truly been transformed and not just patched with works to find rest in Christ and His work by faith as John 6:29 reminds.