Rise and Follow: 30 Days in MarkSample

Today, we’ll read a series of stories where Jesus offends a group of Pharisees. These stories are the beginning of what will eventually become a plot to kill Jesus. The Pharisees were one of many Jewish groups in Jesus’ day. They were experts in the Torah and their traditions, and, like Jesus, they believed in resurrection. With their strict rules about purity, Sabbath, and food, they wanted God’s people to live holy lives so that God would finally fulfill his promises to Israel. They wanted God’s kingdom, but they didn’t recognize it when it arrived. Jesus welcomed sinners and healed on the Sabbath, which was not at all what they expected the coming king to do.

Pay attention to what it is about Jesus that the Pharisees object to and how he responds to those objections. What do you notice about their different priorities? Jesus cares about Torah observance, but he clearly has a different understanding of what faithfulness to God looks like. What can we learn about God’s kingdom through these stories?

Additional Resources

A key point of conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities are his activities on the Sabbath. For the Pharisees, the Sabbath is another set of rules to follow. For Jesus, it is a doorway into God’s life-giving, captive-freeing kingdom on earth. To learn more, check out the video we’ve included from the BibleProject on Sabbath.

Reflection Questions:

• How is God speaking to me through these verses?
• What does this set of verses teach me about God?
• What does this show me about the good news of Jesus?
• How can I apply what I read today?