Mark Reading Plan – W2D3
Week 2 | Day 3 | Mark 2:18-22
Check out all the previous readings here.
Pray
As you come to the reading today, write down all the things that are troubling you, giving them to God. Then ask God to open your eyes and your ears to his Word.
Bible Reading (read these verses three times slowly)
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Reflection & Questions
Fasting was one of the traditions of the religious leaders that they believed earned their righteousness before God. And they made a big show about their fasting, looking gloomy and hungry. All the religious people did it, so others wondered why Jesus’ disciples didn’t follow these traditions. But how could Jesus’ disciples be gloomy when they are seeing the sick healed, the possessed freed and the paralyzed walk? It’s time to celebrate!
So often, we will try to earn our way to God’s graces: “I went to church, God”, “I got baptized, God”, or fill in the blank: “I _______, God”. But earning and grace don’t mix. It’s like trying to sew a new patch on old clothing. In fact, it will rob you of all the joy of following Jesus, leaving you exhausted and torn. When we deeply accept the fact that Jesus’ grace and forgiveness is free, there comes true joy and freedom in following Him.
- Are you trying to earn God’s grace or are you receiving it freely?
- How joyful are you in following God? If you don’t have joy in following God, do you think that might have to do with trying to earn God’s favor?
Pray
Talk to God about what you’ve read today and how you need to respond.
Worship Song
You can celebrate the freedom God has given us by grace through this song today.
Bible Reading
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Reflection & Questions
Do you know what fasting is? Fasting was one of the traditions of the religious leaders, and they thought that God would love them more for doing it. And they made a big show about their fasting, looking sad and hungry. All the religious people did it, so people wondered why Jesus’ disciples didn’t do it too. But how could Jesus’ disciples be all sad when they are seeing things like sick people being healed, and paralyzed people walking? It’s time for them to celebrate!
Sometimes, we can try to earn our way to make God love us more. Maybe it’s doing things like telling God “I went to church! Love me more now!” or “I read my Bible God! Be proud of me!”. But if we really think about it, do you think that God loves us any more or any less based on what we do? Of course not! Remember, Jesus loves ALL of us equally, no matter what! You can never work so hard that Jesus loves you more – He already loves you to the max! We do all of those types of things so that WE can learn about Jesus more, and so that WE can learn to love Him better, not the other way around!
- Did you know that Jesus’ love for us is totally free? How does that make you feel?
- We know that Jesus loves us, but what are some ways that we can learn to love Jesus even more? Are you doing those things regularly?
Prayer
Thank God for loving us no matter what, and pray about how you can learn to love Him even more!
Bible Reading
Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Devo Focus
Mark 2:19-20 “Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.”
Question
Is there something that you really enjoy?
Maybe it’s the cookies grandma cooks every time you visit her. Maybe it’s cheer for your favorite sports team, or rooting against their most bitter rival. Maybe it’s just getting alone time with you and a book, or maybe it’s being surrounded by a crowd of people ready to have some fun.
There are all things in our life that we really look forward to, and when they happen, we take an extra pause and realize just how much we enjoy it.
For Jesus and his disciples they were getting some real quality time with Jesus. The Disciples of John and the Pharisees were fasting to be close to God. Which is a good thing, because fasting is when we remove something in our life that we enjoy so that we can enjoy more time being with God. WHich is why the disciples of John and th pharisees were confused that Jesus and his disciples weren’t fast. What gives, don’t they want to grow closer to God. That’s when Jesus helps them realize what’s going on, they are growing close to God by being with Jesus. So why take a break and fast when Jesus is right there?
Sometimes we forget that we can enjoy Jesus in our everyday lives. Sometimes we fall into the trap believing we can only experience being with Jesus and enjoying him when we are at church, or during really powerful moments of worship, or even more awesome, at Hume Lake with a thousand campers! The truth is we don’t need those things, to enjoy spending time with Jesus, you can have and enjoy Jesus now, while reading his book to you, the Bible.
How about you?
- Do you sometimes fall to the trap that you can only experience Jesus at Church or at camp?
- Who is someone that is very different from you that you need to treat better?
- How can you take little moments today to enjoy Jesus?
- The next time you find yourself inline for something, instead using your phone, or messing around with your friends, talk to God.
