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December 1927
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all-important thing, and these sticklers for religion actually wanted Him to break a law so they could accuse Him and murder Him. We still have among us some of the same kind of guardians of the law. They are no friends of law, but themselves its worst enemies. Jesus told the cripple to “stand forth" (v. 3) and to “stretch forth his hand” (v. 5). At the same time, it is recorded that the Master looked upon the critics “ztrith anger.” He was indignant with those who valued the sacredness of certain hours in the week, above the sacredness of human life—who put ceremony above service. “There is an anger,” says Beecher, “as majestic as the frown on Jehovah’s brow. It is the anger of truth and love.” (See Eph. 4:26.) The remarkable thing about the inci dent is that the man with the withered arm was asked to do the one thing he couldn’t do, yet immediately, “he stretched it out, and his hand was restored whole” (v. 5). The first move in his mind to obey the word of Jesus, won for him the power to obey. Had he said “can’t” he would have gone to his grave a cripple. Here lies a great lesson. Let us track it down. Christ seemingly asks us many times to do the impossible thing. We shall find that the desire and the en deavor to obey, will bring the strength. On the tombstone of a Christian wom an in England, this epitaph is found: “She hath done what she COULDN’T” (the impossible). Said Dr. Cortland Myers:. “You don’t test the resources of God until you attempt the impossible.” That should be a Christian distinction. Anyone can do the humanly possible, but Christians are required to overturn “mighty strongholds" in the power of the Spirit. The “weak shall confound the m ighty," yet “not by might nor power but by His Spirit, saith the Lord.’ The secret of victory is simply— “Stretch forth thy hand.” Act upon His Word. His commands are enablements. Take the first step. Trust Him without terms. Dare to speak, to work—not at the impulse of human nature—but at His bidding—and you shall accomplish wonders. “Ready to speak, ready to think, Ready with heart and brain; Ready to start when He sees fit, Ready to share the strain. Ready to go, ready to Wait, Ready a gap to fill, Ready for service, small or great, Ready to do His will.” —o— P ith and P oint Some people are still trying to make patchwork of the law and the Gospel (v. 21). Strait-laced formalists and religious stiffs cannot stand the pressure of the gospel without blowing up (v. 22). A quotation for every occasion (v. 25). That was our Lord’s method and still is the best way to meet religious cavillers. Jesus Christ fought for a common- sense interpretation of the Sabbath law (v. 27). $100 has been offered to anyone who will produce a command of Jesus to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Let us reciprocate by offering the generous brother $101 for a passage in which our Lord reaffirmed the Sabbath commandment. Besetting sin paralyzes the hand of use-
J anuary 22, 1928 Jesus and th e Law Text: Mk. 2:18-3:6
ing in an entirely new system. Christian ity is not Judaism with a new patch on it. The gospel was not to be run on the track of the Mosaic regulations of wor ship or the Jewish traditions. “No man putteth new wine into old wine-skins” (v. 22). The bottles would soon burst and spill the wine. Jesus had no idea of putting the new wine of His spiritual kingdom into the cracked bot tles of Judaism. Judaism was as dry as dust. Jesus couldn’t find the kind of bottles He needed among the long-faced Scribes and Pharisees. He made use of fishermen and tax-gatherers—men who had capacity to learn and who would stand conviction. Immediately the Pharisees sought to bind Jesus by their Sabbath traditions. His disciples plucked some corn on the Sabbath day. “Why do they do on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?" they asked of Jesus. It was not a charge of stealing, for according to law they were permitted to satisfy their hunger. It was the point of working on the Sab bath. They would have to rub out the grain, and this the scrupulous Pharisees interpreted as threshing. Our Lord met them with a quotation from their own Scriptures. How about David, who went into the holy place on the Sabbath, and appropriated food in tended only for the priests? (Vs. 25-26.) David overstepped on three scores, yet he was not rebuked. Our Master de spised narrowness. God never intended that ceremonial laws should stand in the way of the necessities of nature or of moral duties. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” Furthermore, de clared the Savior, “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath" (vs. 27-28). The Sabbath law was meant to be subordi nate to the good of man, not a mold into which man must be run. Sticklers for the Mosaic Sabbath law, and the Jewish ideas concerning it, will have to look elsewhere than to Jesus for a cham pion of their view. We heard of a sincere brother who saw people taking a walk to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine and a bit of innocent relaxation in a park opposite his home. It was the Lord’s day. He expressed wonder that the earth didn’t open its mouth and swallow them up. Was this not the very spirit of the Pharisees? Fur thermore, let us remember that in this Gospel age, we stand not in the position of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai. The risen Christ proved Himself “Lord of the Sabbath” by bringing “life and immortal ity to light" on the first day of the week, the same day on which in the beginning, God said “Let there be light.". The opening verses of Chapter 3 relate the interesting story qf the man with a withered hand. We may well take this as a parable of service, for the hand is the organ of ministry, “A good hand,” is an expression often used of one who does something skillfully. The religious sleuth-hounds were watching Jesus “zghether He would heal the man on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse Him” (3:2). That was the
TN view of certain notions concerning the Old Testament law, that have been spread abroad by some Bible teachers it is interesting to contemplate the words of our Lord as ex pressed in our Golden Text for this lesson: “I came not to de stroy the law.” Yet many people become i n d i g n a n t if a preacher selects a text from the Penta teuch or applies one of the command ments to the present-day believer. When we use the common expression: “The law has been abrogated,” it is well that we should thoroughly understand exactly what the New Testament does teach concerning the Christian’s relation to the commandments. Our Lord, as re corded in the Gospels, and the apostles in the church letters, make it perfectly clear that the law as given to Moses at Sinai is the expression of the will of God for all time-—except in particulars wherein Jesus Christ, by His teaching or by His death and resurrection, modified it. In Christ’s doctrine we find all of the ten commandments except the fourth, concerning the seventh day Sabbath. The law having to do with Israel after the flesh, their Sabbaths commemorating their deliverance, from bondage in Egypt (Deut. 5:13-15), their inheritance' in Canaan, their duties as Israelites, their relations with neighboring nations, their ordinances relating to forms of worship, their duties concerning the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the feasts— all were fulfilled and done away. For this we have the clearest of New Testa ment statements (Heb, 7:11, 18, 19; 3:6; 9:1*11; 10:1). On the other hand, we are not to get the impression that there is no law a Christian is-bound to obey. We are not “spiritual Bolsheviks.” While we cannot justify ourselves before God by the works of the. law, one who is saved by grace, has a far greater responsibility to do the will of God as expressed in His moral law. “We are dead to the law," says Paul (What for ?) “that we might live unto God” (Gal. 2:19). And again, in Rom. 8:2-4: “We are free from the law of sin and death (What for?) that the right eousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” Our lesson today finds the Pharisees, who were sticklers for the ceremonial ob servance, objecting that pur Lord’s dis ciples did not fast, as did John the Bap tist and his co-workers. “Can the Chil dren of the bridechamber fast,” answered Jesus, “while the Bridegroom is with them?” . There are occasions for fasting, but fastings run on a schedule are a per version of the Scripture idea. Two pointed parables were then given to show the attitude of the Master to the ceremonies of the old economy. “No man seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment” (v. 21). The unshrunken patch would soon tear away from the old cloth ahd make the hole worse. Jesus would have them understand that He was bring
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