Foundations: New Testament - MarkSample

As word about Jesus continued to spread, religious leaders came from Jerusalem to investigate him. Among the things they didn’t like about Him was His seeming disregard for their religious rules and rituals. Jesus didn’t follow all their rules, and He didn’t instruct His disciples to do so either. He used their questions and criticism as opportunities to correct their hypocritical nature. 

The Pharisees had misplaced motives for obeying God and His law. Their appearance on the outside mattered more to them than the state of their hearts. In other words, they cared more about looking religious than loving God. Furthermore, they made up their own religious rules and placed them at a level of greater importance than God’s law. This practice is seen most clearly in the ways they used obedience to their laws as an excuse to avoid helping people. 

Verses 24-37 describe Jesus’ ministry among people with whom the religious leaders would never have associated, including Gentiles (Greeks) and the demon-possessed. Mark repeatedly emphasized Jesus’ compassionate heart, here showing how different it was from the hearts of the religious leaders. At this point in Jesus’ ministry, His popularity had reached new heights, as had the religious leaders’ hatred for Him.