Religion Collides with the Gospel of Christ

Mark 2:1-3:6 is a single unit comprising five controversies between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders in Galilee in northern Israel. In our last study we saw the first of these five controversies surface by Jesus making public what the scribes had only been thinking. He revealed that they thought he was guilty of blasphemy because he declared the paralytic’s sins to be forgiven, and only God can forgive sins.

The next four collisions with Jewish religion will intensify to the point where we are told in Mark 3:6, “The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.”  

After Jesus had performed numerous miracles, the time had come for him to demonstrate to the people what His ministry was all about. After all, He had come to do much more than relieve the afflictions of the sick and the demonized. Those miracles were wonderful, but there was something greater for the people to experience - they could know personally and relationally the King and enter into his kingdom! They needed to understand the spiritual lessons that lay behind the physical miracles He was performing.

In this section, our Lord makes it clear that He came to bring to all who would trust Him three wonderful gifts: forgiveness (Mark 2:1-12), fulfillment (Mark 2:13-22), and freedom (Mark 2:23-3:6).

We saw in last week’s study how that:

The Son of Man Cancels the Sin-debt of the Unresponsive – Mark 2:1-12

We saw in Mark 2:1-12, the first collision King Jesus has with religion. When Jesus saw the palsied man lying on his mat, he immediately went to the heart of the man’s problem - sin. No, not all sickness is caused by sin (see John 9:1-3), but evidently this man’s condition was the result of his disobedience to God. Even before He healed the man’s body, Jesus spoke peace to the man’s heart and announced that his sins were forgiven!

Jesus affirmed His deity not only by forgiving the man’s sins and healing his body, but also by applying to Himself the title “Son of man.” This title is used fourteen times in Mark’s Gospel. It was definitely a messianic title taken from Daniel 7:13-14 and the Jews would have interpreted it that way. And for this reason, in their minds they thought that he was a blasphemer.

The Friend of Sinners Calls the Unlikely – Mark 2:14-17

“And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.” 

One pastor observed, “Jesus shook the taproot of Jewish theology when He proved that He had the power to forgive the sins of the paralytic man. Authority confronted authority. Every word and action of Jesus will now be scrutinized as the scribes try to build a counter case against this pretender to power who has put them on the defensive. Jesus does not shrink from the obvious threat. Instead, He proceeds to serve the people, this time with a ministry of hope to a hated man and a hopeless class.

Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector - a collaborator with Rome and a traitor to his people. Tax collectors in first-century Israel were viewed as traitors and thieves. They collected taxes for Rome - the occupying enemy - and often overcharged to enrich themselves. They were excluded from the synagogue and regarded as moral outcasts.

No rabbi would have chosen such a man. But Jesus does. He looks past Levi’s reputation and sees redemption. Jesus saw Matthew - not with contempt, but with compassion. Where others saw corruption, Jesus saw a future disciple. Where others saw a crook, Jesus saw a gospel writer.

Why would Levi leave everything and follow Jesus? Even more, why would Jesus invite such an outcast to do so? Levi saw something in Jesus that he wanted to join, and Jesus saw in Levi what he could become. Jesus saw a sinner in need of salvation, not a lowlife deserving condemnation. Jesus saw not the wicked life of a tax collector and extortionist but the changed life of a disciple, an evangelist, an apostle, and a Gospel writer. That's the scandal of grace! Jesus sees in us what no one else can see and turns us into what we were intended to be - mature image bearers who reflect His glory All this is made possible by scandalous grace and His choice to be the friend of sinners.

Jesus sees beyond our past. He calls the unlikely, the unworthy, and the unwanted. Grace reaches where religion refuses to go.

Wilber Chapman wrote this grand old hymn that stirs my soul in gratitude for grace: “Jesus! What a Friend for sinners! Jesus! Lover of my soul; Friends may fail me, foes assail me, He, my Savior, makes me whole. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a Friend! Saving, helping, keeping, loving, He is with me to the end.”

The words “Follow me” changed Matthew’s entire life. No argument, no defense - just immediate obedience: “He got up and followed him.”

Matthew’s first act as a follower/disciple of Jesus was to host a dinner party - and to invite everyone who needed Jesus most. Tax collectors and “sinners” filled the house, while the Pharisees looked on with disgust.

For the Pharisees, holiness meant separation from sinners. For Jesus, holiness meant compassion for sinners.
The Pharisees misunderstood God’s heart. They thought God wanted ritual performance - sacrifices, fasting, external purity. But Jesus in Matthew’s account (Mt. 9:13) quoted Hosea 6:6: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” God wants hearts full of compassion more than hands full of ritual. Jesus responds, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

A Pharisee is Unable to Distinguish between Sacrifice and Mercy ‑ Mark 2:16-17, “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

The Pharisee confuses separation with isolation, avoidance of sinners with accommodation of sinner's life‑style. They believe that religious sacrifices pay for God's blessings. They never understand that God acted first in mercy in providing the sacrifice so that they could respond in faith. Solution to sin is mercy, not sacrifice, life, not legalism, relationship, not religion. 

What are the Basic Differences Between Religion and the Gospel?

Religion says, “Stop doing bad, start doing good, keep on doing good, and eventually you will become good.”

The gospel says, “Stop trying to be good and recognize that there is none good, no not one, and then receive the Good-One, the God-one Jesus and goodness and mercy will flow out of and follow you all the days of your life.

Religion says. “attain” by your own deeds. The Gospel says “obtain” by what Jesus did.

Religion places the prime emphasis upon your doing something. The Gospel places the emphasis upon being Someone’s!

Religion claims man’s merit in the work he does; the Gospel calls on God’s mercy in the work that Christ did.

Religion says “try”; the Gospel says “trust.”

Religion says, “develop yourself” the Gospel says, “deny yourself.”

Religion says, “Do this and do that and you might make it.” The gospel says, “It is done! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, then you do your deeds out of love!”

Religion is good views on life; the gospel is good news about eternal life.

Religion is good advice to man; the gospel is a glorious announcement to mankind.

Religion leads to an outer reformation; the gospel leads to an inner transformation.

Religion whitewashes the truth; the Gospel washes white with the truth.

Religion often becomes a farce; the Gospel is always a force, it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

There are many religions for many cultures, but there is only one Gospel for all cultures for all time.

The Bridegroom of Joy Celebrates with the Undesirables – 2:18-22

Jesus Brings the Joy of the New Covenant. “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”

The Pharisees measured spirituality by ritual performance. Fasting was often a badge of devotion. Jesus’ disciples, however, were feasting instead of fasting.

The Law of Moses only prescribed one fast per year, on the Day of Atonement, although Jewish custom had added four yearly fasts. But the stricter Pharisees fasted every Monday and Thursday. You could tell they were fasting because they whitened their faces, put ashes on their heads, wore old clothes, and looked as sober as possible. They had the idea that you couldn’t be spiritual unless you looked and felt miserable. And they wanted to impress everyone else with how spiritual they really were. Jesus attacked this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:16-18) when He said, “And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

In this illustration in Mark 2:19, Jesus compares Himself to a bridegroom. When the groom is present, it’s time for joy, not mourning. The truth is that the old forms of religion - like old wineskins - cannot contain the joy of new life in Christ.

The new covenant Jesus brings cannot fit into the old religious systems of the Pharisees. The gospel is not an upgrade to Judaism - it’s a new creation. Grace cannot be contained within the rigid framework of self-righteous religion.

Our Lord would have us learn that Christianity is not a patched-up Judaism, that the new life which He had brought, could not be tacked on to the old law. The patch illustration gives the outward aspect of this truth, and the skins illustration, the inward aspect. Judaism and Christianity, the Law and the Gospel, legalism and freedom are incompatible. The new material of the Gospel must not be used to patch the old garment of the Law, neither must the new wine of Christianity be put into the decaying skins of Judaism. Whenever this is done, the result is the same. What Christ offers is something joyful (19), new (21), and expansive (22).

With these illustrations Jesus claims that He is offering something new and distinct from the old dispensation of the Law. As Messiah, He is ushering in the new day. While there is obvious continuity, in that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promises regarding Messiah, there is also a definite transition. Judaism had become encumbered with many manmade traditions. Jesus had to cut these away in order to offer the new wine of gospel joy.

While the first question the religious Jews asked had to do with the kind of company Jesus was keeping, their second question raised the issue of why Jesus was having such a good time with these people at the table. His conduct, to them, seemed inappropriate. John the Baptist was an austere man, somewhat of a recluse; but Jesus accepted invitations to meals, played with the children, and enjoyed social gatherings (Matt. 11:16-19). No doubt John’s disciples were a bit scandalized to see Jesus at a party, and the pious disciples of the Pharisees were quick to join them in their perplexity.

Jesus had already made it clear that He came to convert the sinners, not to compliment the self-righteous. Now He told them that he had come to bring gladness, not sadness. Thanks to the legalism imposed by the scribes and Pharisees, the Jewish religion had become a burdensome thing. The poor people were weighed down by rules and regulations that were impossible to obey (Mat_23:4). “Life is not supposed to be a funeral!” Jesus told them. “God wants life to be a wedding feast! I am the Bridegroom and these people are My wedding guests. Are not wedding guests supposed to have a good time?”

The Lord of the Sabbath Corrects Their Misunderstanding – 2:23-28

Mark 2:28, “So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” 

The plot thickens and controversy rages. Again, what starts out as a natural and innocent act by Jesus' disciples ends up escalating to a summit-level confrontation between the authority of Jesus and the authority of the Pharisees. Walking through the grainfields on the Sabbath day, the hungry disciples pick the ripened grain, shuck the skins, blow them to the wind and eat the kernels. Nothing is wrong with their act, except that they are working on the Sabbath day. Among the thousands of rules of the Pharisees are four which dictate against reaping, threshing, winnowing, and preparing a meal on the Sabbath day. Strictly interpreted, the disciples are lawbreakers. The Pharisees, who have taken to lurking behind every grain stalk, spring out with the question to Jesus, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" (Mrk_2:24).

As a result of the disciples plucking heads of grain on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accuse them of breaking the law. To them, the Sabbath was about restriction; to Jesus, it was about restoration.

Jesus recalls how David ate the consecrated bread when he and his men were hungry (1 Samuel 21). Human need outweighed ceremonial regulation. Jesus’ point: God’s law was never meant to crush man but to bless him.

Then Jesus drops the divine declaration: “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Only God could make that claim. Jesus asserts His divine authority—He is the One who defines true rest.

True Sabbath is not found in a day, but in a Person. Jesus is our rest (Matthew 11:28).

In these three scenes, we see who Jesus truly is:
1. The Friend of Sinners – calling Levi.
2. The Bridegroom of Joy – bringing new life.
3. The Lord of the Sabbath – granting rest.

Jesus didn’t come to reform religion but to reveal redemption. He invites the broken, the weary, and the outcast to find mercy and rest in Him.

 The Physician of the Sick Cures the Cripple in the Presence of the Uncompassionate – 3:1-6

In this encounter, Jesus gave the Pharisees a living illustration of scriptural Sabbath observance and His sovereign authority over both man and the Sabbath.

The scene in Mark 3:1–6 is both inspiring and tragic. Inspiring - because Jesus once again shows His divine compassion and authority. Tragic - because the religious leaders, instead of rejoicing in a man’s healing, harden their hearts against the Healer.

Here’s the reality, it is possible to be in the house of worship, to be in the presence of the Lord, and to hear the Word of God, and still have a heart that is spiritually crippled. This story asks each of us: Are we more like the man with the withered hand—or the men with the withered hearts?

“And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…”

This is one of the few times the Gospels explicitly describe Jesus as angry. His anger was not selfish—it was holy indignation at the callousness of religious people who preferred rules over mercy.

Jesus was grieved - He felt pain at their spiritual blindness. They would rather protect their traditions than see a man healed! The man, of course, knew little about this spiritual conflict. He simply obeyed our Lord’s command, stretched out his hand, and was healed.

So incensed were the Pharisees over what Jesus had done that they united with the Herodians and started making plans to arrest Jesus and destroy Him. The Herodians were not a religious party; they were a group of Jews who were sympathetic to King Herod and supported his rule. Most of the Jews despised Herod and obeyed his laws reluctantly; so it was surprising that the Pharisees, who were strict Jews, would join themselves with these disloyal politicians. But it was a common enemy - Jesus - that brought the two groups together.

In the synagogue that day, two kinds of healing were needed:

• One man’s hand was withered.
• Many men’s hearts were withered.

Only one left healed.

Today, Jesus still enters the gatherings of His people. He still looks upon us with compassion and says, “Stretch out your hand.” Whether it’s a withered conscience, a broken relationship, or a paralyzed faith - He can restore it.

But we must not be like those who watched without worshiping. Let us respond with humble faith, that the power of Christ might be seen in us.