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Scripture Reading: Mark 2:18-28; 3:1-6
The Gospel of Mark is not a book of doctrine. As a biography, this Gospel was written according to the facts of history. The record of this Gospel, therefore, is according to historical sequence.
We have seen that the five incidents recorded in 2:1—3:6 form a group. These five incidents are the forgiving of the sins of the sick (Mark 2:1-12), feasting with sinners (Mark 2:13-17), causing His followers to be merry without fasting (Mark 2:18-22), caring for His followers’ hunger rather than for religion’s regulation (Mark 2:23-28), and caring for the relief of the suffering one rather than for the ritual of religion (Mark 3:1-6). Each of these incidents can be summarized by a particular word. The word to summarize the first incident is forgiveness. In Mark 2:1-12 we have a case of the forgiveness of sins by the Son of Man, who was the forgiving God incarnated in the form of a Slave. In 2:5 the Lord Jesus said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven!” When the scribes heard this they reasoned in their hearts, “He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except one — God?” (v. 7). Eventually, the Lord said, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins — He says to the paralytic, To you I say, Rise, pick up your bed and go to your house” (vv. 10-11). The Son of Man, even though He was in the form of a Slave, had the authority to forgive sins. Here we have a strong indication that the forgiving God was present in the form of this Man, a man who was a Slave. Therefore, the first incident in this series of five incidents concerns forgiveness.
The word to describe the second incident is enjoyment. In this incident, recorded in 2:13-17, the Slave-Savior as a Physician was feasting with sinners. Therefore, here we have the enjoyment of feasting with the Savior. Those who feasted with Him enjoyed the goodness of the Slave-Savior, who is the embodiment of God. Therefore, what they actually experienced was the enjoyment of God Himself. For this reason, the word “enjoyment” is a summary of this incident.
We may use a very simple word to describe the third incident — joy. Therefore, in the first three incidents we have forgiveness, enjoyment, and joy.
According to 2:18-22, certain basic factors must exist in order for us to be joyful. Without these factors, we cannot have joy. The first basic factor is the Bridegroom: “Jesus said to them, Can the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast” (v. 19). A bridegroom is the most pleasant person. Hence, in chapter two of Mark the basic factor of our joy is the Savior as the Bridegroom.
Two other factors of joy are the new cloth (v. 21) and the new wine (v. 22). The new cloth is for making a garment to cover us and beautify us. Unshrunk cloth is cloth that has not yet been treated or worked upon. This new cloth is for making a new garment. This new garment, which is actually Christ Himself, covers us and beautifies us. The new wine satisfies us and makes us joyful. Outwardly, we have the new cloth; inwardly, we have the new wine. Furthermore, we are with the Bridegroom. Now we have these basic factors for us to be joyful.
No philosopher could utter a word like what is spoken by the Lord Jesus in 2:18-22. In His wisdom the Lord uses ordinary things like cloth and wine to illustrate wonderful points. The Lord speaks of a bridegroom, new cloth, and new wine to show us how we may be joyful. We can be joyful because we are with the Bridegroom, because we have a new covering to beautify us, and because we have new wine to fill us, satisfy us, and cause us to be beside ourselves with joy. Therefore, in the third incident we have joy.
The fourth incident, recorded in 2:23-28, is that of the Lord’s caring for His followers’ hunger rather than for religion’s regulation. Mark 2:23 and 24 say, “And it came about that He passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way, picking the ears of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, Look! Why are they doing on the Sabbath what is not lawful?” Here we see that the Slave-Savior cared for the hunger of His followers rather than for the regulation of religion. As those who follow the Savior we are not hungering. Instead, we are filled and satisfied. Because we are satisfied, we can testify, “We don’t care to keep the regulations of religion and remain hungry. Religious regulations always leave us hungry. But as those who follow the Slave-Savior, we are not hungry any longer. Every day of the week, including the Sabbath, He gives us something to eat. Now we are satisfied. We don’t care if others condemn us according to their religious regulations. Others may care for religious regulations, but we care to be satisfied in the Lord.” This case, therefore, may be summarized by the word satisfaction.
The word that best summarizes the fifth incident, that of the Slave-Savior’s caring for the relief of the suffering one rather than for the ritual of religion (3:1-6), is the word freedom. In this incident we see that on the Sabbath the Savior restored a man’s withered hand. Here we see that He did not care for the ritual of religion; He cared for the relief of the suffering one. He wanted to release that one, to liberate him. Thus, in this incident we have the matter of freedom.
Let us review the five words used to describe these five incidents: forgiveness, enjoyment, joy, satisfaction, and freedom. What a marvelous sequence we have here! Imagine how different it would be if forgiveness came last instead of first. According to the historical sequence recorded in Mark, first we have forgiveness and then enjoyment, joy, satisfaction, and freedom. The forgiveness of our sins by the Lord always issues in enjoyment, joy, satisfaction, and freedom. We can testify of this from our experience.
These incidents were not arranged by Mark in order to present a doctrine. On the contrary, these incidents are presented according to historical fact and sequence. In other words, they happened in the order in which Mark put them. These five events took place under the Lord’s sovereignty according to the actual sequence of the enjoyment of His salvation. The first item in this sequence is the forgiveness of sins. We can testify from our experience of the Lord’s salvation that when we have the forgiveness of sins we also have enjoyment and joy. This joy is followed by satisfaction and freedom. How wonderful!
As we consider the sequence of these five incidents in the Gospel of Mark, we realize once again that the Bible truly is the Word of God. Apart from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, no human being could compose such a writing as we have in the Gospel of Mark. I do not believe that Mark was highly educated or had a thorough knowledge of Greek. To be sure, the Greek in the Gospel of Mark is not as high as that in the Gospel of Luke or in the Epistles of Paul. But even though the language in the Gospel of Mark may not be especially polished, the five incidents in this section are arranged in a marvelous sequence, a sequence that corresponds fully with our experience of the Lord’s salvation. According to this sequence, we have forgiveness, enjoyment, joy, satisfaction, and freedom.
As we consider Mark’s record, we need to worship the Lord that this indeed is part of His holy Word. This is not merely a composition written by a person with limited education. No, it is the breath of the sovereign God. All the Scripture, including the Gospel of Mark, is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). This means that the narration in Mark 2:1—3:6 is God-breathed. As a reminder of the sequence here, I recommend that you write in the words forgiveness, enjoyment, joy, satisfaction, and freedom next to these sections in your Bible.
Let us now go on to consider 2:18-22 in more detail. After the Lord told the scribes that He had come as a Physician to care for the sick, two groups of disciples — the disciples of John and of the Pharisees — came to Him: “And the disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting. And they come and say to Him, Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (2:18). Both groups of disciples practiced fasting. This indicates that if we are in religion, we need to fast. Those in religion are empty and hungry; they do not have anything to satisfy them. To be a disciple in any kind of religion is to have trouble, hunger, thirst, weariness, and anxiety. In pointing this out I am not criticizing anything; rather, I am simply speaking the truth. Those in religion certainly have reason to fast. Religion requires and demands. It tells us that we cannot do this and that we cannot do that. However, religion does not enable us to fulfill its requirements. Because those in a religion cannot fulfill the requirements of their religion, they need to fast. Therefore, both the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting.
In contrast to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, who were fasting, the Lord’s disciples were full of joy. How could they fast when the Bridegroom, the most important factor of their joy, was with them? In 2:19 the Lord said to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, “Can the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.” Here the Lord refers to His disciples as sons of the bridechamber. For them to fast when the Bridegroom is with them would be a shame to Him.
Suppose you are the best man at a wedding. While the wedding is taking place, you, the bridegroom’s best man, are fasting. That would be an insult to the bridegroom. No bridegroom wants to see his best man fasting during his wedding. Instead, he wants to see him joyful, properly dressed in good clothing, and enjoying the food provided. This is an illustration of the Lord’s word in 2:19. Here the Lord seems to be saying to the disciples of John and the Pharisees, “Why do you ask Me why My disciples are not fasting? I am the Bridegroom, and they are all the sons of the bridechamber, a corporate best man. Matthew the tax collector is one of the sons of the bridechamber. They cannot fast when I am with them.”
Are you a disciple of John or of the Pharisees, or are you one of the sons of the bridechamber, part of the corporate “best man” of the Lord Jesus? We all should testify strongly that we are part of the Lord’s corporate best man. All those who have had their sins forgiven by the Lord Jesus have become sons of the bridechamber. In the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark we see that even those who were tax collectors and sinners became sons of the bridechamber.
In 2:1-12 we see the forgiving God as a real Man in the form of a Slave. Deity was in humanity, and humanity contained deity. This One, the forgiving God as a real Man, is a wonderful Person. In Him we see the beauty of human virtue and the glory of the divine attributes, for in Him we see both humanity and divinity in one complete Person. The incident recorded in 2:1-12 portrays this Person, the One who is the true God and a real Man. What a lovely portrait of the Lord in His human virtue and with His divine attribute!
In the second incident (2:13-17) we see the same One as a Physician taking care of those who are sick. His “patients” are portrayed here as feasting with Him. Verse 15 says, “And it came about that He reclined at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining at the table with Jesus and His disciples, for there were many, and they followed Him.” As they were reclining at the table with the Lord, they had a marvelous enjoyment with Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that the Lord ate with sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “He is eating with tax collectors and sinners!” (v. 16). When the Lord heard this, He said to the scribes, “Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v. 17). Here the Lord seems to be saying to the scribes, “I am the great Physician taking care of My patients. They have been healed, and now they are happy enjoying a feast with Me.”
As we have pointed out, following the incident of the Lord’s feasting with tax collectors and sinners, the disciples of John, the new-time religionists, and the disciples of the Pharisees, the old-time religionists, asked the Lord why His disciples did not fast. It seems that they wanted the Lord’s disciples to join them in fasting. It was necessary for them to fast because, as far as they were concerned, the Messiah and the kingdom had not yet come. Since they were still waiting for the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom, they were fasting.
The Lord answered the disciples of John and the Pharisees not in a direct way but by using certain figures of speech. In His answer the Lord referred to Himself as the Bridegroom, and He also spoke of new cloth and new wine. The Lord seemed to be saying, “Why should My disciples fast when they have everything they need to make them joyful? They have Me as the Bridegroom, and they have Me as their righteousness, their new cloth, and also as their life, their new wine. I am everything they need. I am God and Man; I am the Physician and the Bridegroom, the most pleasant person. It is ridiculous for My disciples to fast when they have Me. I am the garment that covers them and beautifies them, and My life is the real wine that fills them, stirs them, and satisfies them. Instead of fasting, they should be full of joy. You ask them to fast. But I tell you it is impossible for them to fast, because the Bridegroom is here with them, the new cloth is upon them, and the new wine is within them.” How wise and how wonderful is the Lord’s answer, His word concerning the Bridegroom, the cloth, and wine!
Perhaps we should have a gospel meeting and tell the people that Jesus Christ today is the Bridegroom, that He as our righteousness is the cloth to cover our nakedness and to beautify us, and that His divine life is the wine for us to drink for our satisfaction. This is the real gospel — a living Person with righteousness and life. Hallelujah, we have the Bridegroom, and we have Him as righteousness outwardly and as our life inwardly!
In 2:21 the Lord speaks of unshrunk cloth. The Greek word rendered “unshrunk” also means new, raw, unwrought. The Greek word is agnaphos, formed with a-, which means not, and gnapto, which means to card or comb wool; hence, to dress or full the cloth. Thus, the word means uncarded, unfulled, unfinished, unshrunk, untreated. This unshrunk cloth signifies Christ, from His incarnation to His crucifixion, as a piece of new cloth, untreated, unfinished. The new garment in Luke 5:36 signifies Christ, after being treated in His crucifixion, as a new robe. In Mark 2:21 the Greek word for new is kainos. First Christ was the unshrunk cloth for making a new garment, and then through His death and resurrection He was made a new garment to cover us as our righteousness before God so that we may be justified by God and acceptable to Him (Luke 15:22; Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9).
The old garment here signifies man’s good behavior, good deeds, and religious practices by his natural life, the life of the old creation. If a patch made of unshrunk cloth is sewn on an old garment, it will take away from it, the new from the old, and the tear will become worse. To imitate what the Lord Jesus did in His human life on earth can be compared to putting a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Some try to imitate the human deeds of the Lord Jesus in order to improve their behavior, instead of believing in the crucified Jesus as their Redeemer and the resurrected Christ as their righteousness so that they may be justified by God and acceptable to Him. We should take the crucified and resurrected Christ as our new garment to cover us as our righteousness before God. We should not try to improve our behavior by imitating the Lord’s human deeds.
In 2:22 the Lord Jesus goes on to say, “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins, and the wine and the wineskins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins.” The Greek word for new in this verse is neos, which means new in time, recent, young. The new wine here signifies Christ as the new life, full of vigor, stirring us to excitement. The Slave-Savior is not only the Bridegroom for our enjoyment; He is also our new garment to equip and qualify us outwardly for attending the wedding and also the new life to excite us inwardly for the enjoyment of Him as our Bridegroom. To enjoy Him as the Bridegroom, we need Him as the new garment outwardly and as the new wine inwardly.
The old wineskins in 2:22 signify religious practices, such as the fasting held by the Pharisees of the old religion and the disciples of John of the new religion. All religions are old wineskins. New wine put into old wineskins bursts the wineskins by its fermenting power. To put new wine into old wineskins is to put Christ as the exciting life into any kind of religion. Instead of trying to put Christ into different religious rituals and formalities, we should put the new wine into fresh wineskins.
The Greek word for fresh here is kainos, which means new in nature, quality, or form; unaccustomed, unused; hence, fresh. The fresh wineskins signify the church life as the container of the new wine, which is Christ Himself as the exciting life. As those who believe in the Lord, we are regenerated persons constituting the Body of Christ to be the church (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 1:22-23). This Body of Christ as His fullness is also called “the Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12), the corporate Christ. The individual Christ is the new wine, the exciting life inwardly, and the corporate Christ is the fresh wineskin, the container to hold the new wine outwardly. What we have today is not fasting or other religious practices; instead, we have the church life with Christ as our content. We have Him, the living Person, as our Physician, Bridegroom, unshrunk cloth, and new wine. He is our full enjoyment so that we may be the fresh wineskin, His Body, the church, to contain Him.
