Jesus: Infinite & limitless

What would make you happy, think about it for a while, not just happy for now, but forever? Don’t lower your expectations to better coffee at the back of church. Don’t lower your expectations to getting a first class degree, or getting the job you’ve dreamed about, or the holiday, or the relationship, or the cure. Be honest with yourself; those things won’t make you happy forever. What will? IS there anything you can think of that will delight you forever? The reality is, there is not a single person here, including myself, who can actually picture that one thing. None of us can actually imagine being satisfied by that one thing forever, in a way where we can’t imagine getting bored or wanting something else. True, some of us may have remembered our catechism:

What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.[The Westminster Catechism].

We know that is true, we believe it is true, and we are enjoying him NOW. But none of us can truly picture HOW God will delight us forever because none of us can truly picture God. Many of us here know and believe the completely true and biblical Sunday school answer – Jesus is God. When we picture God, we picture Jesus. But none of us can understand what it means for Jesus to be God because we are finite, limited beings, and God is infinite and limitless. Here is the one thing I hope we will see through this passage tonight: Jesus is more and better than we think. You may not call yourself a Christian, you may just be looking in, invited by a friend, asking who is Jesus and why is he so special – we are so thrilled you are here. He is more and better than you think; not just a teacher, not just a prophet, not just a god like other gods you’ve heard of. He is more and better than you think.

I know some of us here this evening are grieving. And probably asking questions like: Where is God in all this? How could God allow this? Can I even trust a God like this? For us, I hope we learn that Jesus is more and better than we think. And at least for this evening, be reassured that Jesus is big enough to take those questions. And in some cases, make us wise for the things our minds can know, and in the rest, help us trust him for the things that only he knows. And maybe there are some here this evening, who are Christian, you believe in Jesus but things have just got a bit stale – and the future looks a bit bleak. Life is hard. You’re weighed down with responsibilities. You’ve been let down and hurt. You feel trapped and no one understands you. And maybe you’re beginning to think “it’s alright for these other Christians with their perfect put together lives – but what about me?” The hope for you is that - Jesus is more and better than you think.

OK that’s a big cheque, so let’s take it to our passage in Mark’s Gospel and see if it will cash. Jesus is asked two questions in our passage – Why don’t your disciples don’t fast like others? (Mark 2.18). Why do they break Sabbath laws? (Mark 2.24).In both cases Jesus responds by teaching about himself, and he claims three Old Testament images or titles for himself:

1. The Bridegroom (Mark 2.19).
2. The Royal Son of David (Mark 2.25)
3. The Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2.27)

Each one says to his questioners – you don’t understand them because you don’t understand me. Let’s look at the first one:

1. The Bridegroom (Mark 2.19).

There’s no indication of a change of scene from Mark 2.17 to Mark 2.18. It’s possible that Jesus is still in Levi the Tax Collector’s house having a party and these people ask Jesus this question in response to his statement in Mark 2.17. That’s an interesting setting to ask a question about fasting to a religious teacher like Jesus at a dinner party. A bit like saying to a vicar having a glass of wine at dinner “I thought vicars didn’t drink…” Mark 2.18-20:

Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

Pharisees were a group of religious teachers, and they were quite literally heroes of their time. They were like the guardians of Jewish culture and religion. Israel was occupied by the Roman Empire. Before that it had been invaded and occupied by Alexander the Great’s empire. It was the Pharisees who held tenaciously on to religious practices like observing the Sabbath, Circumcision, Torah Reading, Food Laws and so on. When the big temptation in Israel would have been to blend in with occupying forces, the Pharisees had been the leaders of the cultural resistance and the defenders of the Torah. The sad thing was, they had become so embattled in the culture war and were so on guard against compromise, they had invented a whole host of other laws in addition to God’s law – such as extra rules on fasting and Sabbath and so on, which God did not require. Jesus’ response is the equivalent of saying you’ve forgotten what you are fighting for. He says – I am the bridegroom. Bridegroom was an Old Testament image for God coming to his people. And the Pharisees seemed to have forgotten that one of the images God chose to describe his relationship with his people was one of a husband on his wedding day.

I got married a few months ago – and I was so surprised at how much I enjoyed planning our wedding. I honestly thought I’d find planning a wedding a real faff, cos there are so many decisions that have to be made and so many people involved. But turns out I loved it! It’s basically throwing a big party for all the people you love, and the best thing is they all want to be there! All the decisions are about how we can have a great time with the people who love us! So one of the things we did was choose a menu for our reception. Guess what we didn’t serve? Fresh Air. We wanted a feast not a fast! And that’s what weddings were like in Jesus time too. And that’s the image God chose to describe himself – he is the bridegroom who brings joy. Isaiah 62.5:

…as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

And don’t miss the significance of what Jesus claims for himself. He is saying “I am the Bridegroom who brings joy! It is appropriate that my disciples eat while I am with them.” He is saying “I am more, and better than a religious teacher. I am God, come to his people”. It’s a similar exchange with the second and third images:

2. The Royal Son of David (Mark 2.25)

Here the question is on a Sabbath day (Mark 2.23-24):

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

We need to know that the Sabbath is part of The Ten Commandments, but it was not nearly as prescriptive as the Pharisees made it out to be. Again, in their determination to protect Jewish culture, they made extra laws determining what did and did not constitute work. The Sabbath law in the Torah did not explicitly prohibit plucking a few heads of grain for a snack. Instead, it gave a principle of work and rest. Again, Jesus doesn’t go into a debate over what does and does not constitute work. Instead, he appeals to an Old Testament precedent to do with King David (Mark 2.25-26):

…he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

It is hard to overstate what a big deal King David was to the Pharisees. He was God’s chosen King. From his bloodline will come the Saviour of Israel. Jesus is applying that precedent to himself. It’s as though he is saying “We all agree it was appropriate for David, as God’s chosen King, to interpret and uphold the law to feed his starving comrades. Do you see who is in front of you now? I am the descendent of David – the King – your King who has come to protect and provide for his people.” This is the first mention of David in Mark’s Gospel and like so many Old Testament categories, Jesus shows that the reality of the fulfilment far far exceeded the expectations of the promise. Jesus was not just a military king, or a political governor of a territory in the Middle East; he came to be the eternal king of an eternal kingdom. One which all people could belong. One which no other kingdom could threaten. Jesus makes the claim about himself (to be the true King, who protects and provides for his people) before he goes on to teach about the true principle of Sabbath. And in doing so, he makes another claim about himself:

3. The Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2.27)

Mark 2.27-28:

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

The David precedent assumed that King David had the responsibility and the right to interpret and uphold the law of God but not to claim ownership of the laws of God. David, as God’s King, was a custodian of the law. He could wisely apply it so that he let principles (such as preservation of life) govern its interpretation. But he couldn’t claim to be Lord of the Sabbath in the way Jesus is claiming here. Sabbath was a principle God instituted. It was a reality to communicate that human beings weren’t made for mere labour. We are not simply human resources. We were made, ultimately, to enjoy God and his gifts. The Jewish Sabbath (from the Old Testament) came at the end of the week – Saturday. Six days working ending in one day of rest, enjoyment. That is the principle. The Sabbath is made for man – not man for the Sabbath.
The Sabbath pointed forward to more than just a day off. It pointed towards the cosmic purpose God had for his creation – cosmic rest and satisfaction in him. You and I were made to be satisfied by the most delightful, exciting, beautiful, loving being in the universe – God himself. The Sabbath pointed forward to God. And here’s the extraordinary thing; Jesus claims for himself the title as Lord of the Sabbath – that is, the one who brings and fulfils true Sabbath expectations.

Those two little stories Jesus told in Mark 2.21-23 about new cloth on old garments and new wine into old wineskins. They are so fitting for describing his fulfillment of the promises. Nothing could adequately prepare our expectations for him. No bridegroom could supply as much joy as he could. No King could provide or protect his people as he could. No rest could communicate the deep restoration of all things he can accomplish. Jesus is more and better than we can possible imagine. So, for us today, can I urge us don’t try to fit Jesus into your life. Instead, allow him to give you a place in his perfect, eternal and limitless life. Don’t try to fit Jesus into your life, into the categories you have for him. Don’t try and fit Jesus into your expectations. Don’t try and fit Jesus into your diary. Let him exceed everything you expected or hoped for.

You may not be a Christian yet; you may have been invited by a Christian friend; you may be trying to work out what Christians believe. You may just be trying to connect with something outside yourself. I don’t know the reasons you are here, but I want to say we are thrilled that you are here. Can I urge you to see what Jesus is claiming about himself and to see the implications it has for your life. He loves you. He is God. He made you. He made you for himself. He came to bring your joy. He came to give you rest. And he came to die for you, to pay for your sins so that you could be forgiven, and he rose again to give you new life.

You may have more questions – please ask them while you’re here. Please speak to us about joining one of our discussion groups to ask those questions. But can I say, don’t put Jesus off because one day, the Bridegroom will come and you will have no share in his joy because you haven’t responded to him. One day the King will return and you will not be under his protection but amongst his enemies. One day, the true Sabbath Rest will come but having rejected it now, you won’t be able to enjoy it then. Honest questions will get honest answers. But there comes a point when you know enough to make a decision – will you allow Jesus to give you a place in his perfect, eternal and worldwide Kingdom.