Today in God’s Word

Today in God's Word—May 2023

East Tallassee Church of Christ

May 12, Mark 2

When Jesus said, “Your sins are forgiven,” the scribes wanted to know why he talked like that. Only God could say that. So they were cornered by their own logic when Jesus not only said it, but backed it up with a spectacular miracle. When Jesus did the thing only God could do, they weren’t ready to acknowledge the conclusion of their own argument.

When Jesus called a tax collector to be his disciple and then went to a party at his house with all his “sinner” friends, the scribes of the Pharisees demanded to know why Jesus would do such a thing. He used their inquiry to focus his mission. He came to call sinners. They could not imagine he was talking about them as well as the tax collectors with whom he was breaking bread at Matthew’s table.

When people asked why Jesus’ disciples weren’t fasting like John’s disciples and the followers of the Pharisee rabbis, Jesus explained that his message and mission could not be tacked onto or contained within the old forms. The wine of God’s kingdom required new wineskins. There would be time for fasting, but his kingdom was about joyfully being with him, not mournfully struggling without him.

When the Pharisees wanted to know why the disciples “broke” the Sabbath by plucking a snack as they walked through the grain field, Jesus used an example from the nation’s history to explain that the Sabbath ritual and regulation were created for the human family’s good, and not the other way around. To the Pharisees, their interpretation of the law was more important than the

people around them. Jesus demoted the Sabbath traditions from the high place they occupied in the minds of the devout by claiming that he was Lord of the Sabbath.

We understand about asking “why,” don’t we? We need understanding and clarification. We want the world around us to make sense, so we try to observe cause and effect. We try to make meaning and grasp the reason why both good and bad things take place. The irony of these “whys” people were asking about Jesus is that he was there in person, giving answers and showing credentials for those answers by the power he wielded. He more than once used their “whys” as springboards for important information about himself and the coming kingdom. The answers to the “whys” sometimes told his antagonists more than they were willing to accept at the time about Jesus.

But the healed paralytic who was able to take up his bed and walk away didn’t need to ask why about what Jesus said and did. He and his friends believed and were blessed. Do you think Levi and his friends, basking in the sunshine of Jesus’ acceptance, needed a big explanation about why Jesus was associating with them? As the enemies asked questions in protest and doubt, the followers were seeing the answers and embracing the truth with joy and faith.

From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament, Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.