For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:35).

We think of family as the closest and tightest unit of relationship. What then does it mean to be in the family of God. Other texts teach that we are in God's family by virtue of our salvation (cf John 1:12-13; Galatians 3:26). In our present text Jesus seems to provide a broader description of those in God's family. They are those who do the will of God. 

In Psalm 73, Asaph, the chief musician, wrestles with the issue of what is truly important in life and declares, "The nearness of God is my good" (Psalm 73:28).

He observed the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous and began to think that his pursuit of God's will was in vain. But when he entered the temple to worship, he was given a perspective that completely changed his attitude. The wicked lived only for this life and their final destination was destruction. On the other hand, the righteous were only passing through this life on their way to an eternity with God. Thus, he concluded that it was not temporal blessings that were truly good but his portion in God, even in the promises of God, that was the true good. 

In the same way, while there is blessing and benefit in our earthly relationships and family, it pales in comparison to our divine family in Christ. The former is temporary, but the latter is eternal. The former is flawed, but the latter is perfect. Our efforts to cling to and uphold our earthly relationships will end with this life, but when we do the will of God, the benefits will endure forever. 

Friends, I love to spend time teaching my daughter, Sophia. I love to do this because she is my daughter. I give no thought to my wife spending our money on anything she deems worthwhile because she is my wife. I don't do these things for my personal benefit, but simply because they are my family. Everything I have is theirs, and all that I desire for myself I also desire for them.

There ought to be this kind of kinship in the family of God. I find it is easier to pursue this with respect to our kinship with the Lord than with "strangers," who are also in the faith. For example, even the closest friends at my present church are somewhat strangers to me, for I see them only once or twice a week. The pastor is even more so, for I have not exchanged more than a simple greeting with him. Therefore, while there is a presumption of kindship in faith, there is very little shared with respect to our individual personalities and experiences. 

Jesus looked at those sitting around Him and said that they were His brothers and sisters and mother by virtue of their dedication to the will of God. Perhaps He was not suggesting emotional closeness so much as simple family ties, for even in a family there are different degrees of closeness. Jesus certainly could perceive greater kinship because He knew what was in people's hearts. For the rest of us, it seems to take greater time and effort to perceive this with others, even other Christians. 

Even so, let us practice this kind of kinship with the Lord. May we acknowledge that everything we have is His, and may all that we desire for ourselves we desire for Him.

With respect to other believers, may the Lord grant us discernment, perspective and providence as we learn to trust one another, share our lives with each other, and deeply love one another. We will certainly have this kinship in heaven, but may we begin to perceive and cultivate such Christian kinship in this life. 

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28).

Have you ever said something or wrote something and had someone else contradict you as to what you meant? It's very frustrating! On a whole different order of magnitude, who would be foolish enough to challenge God with respect to His interpretation of a law He had given to man. That's what the Pharisees were doing when they challenged Jesus regarding the Sabbath. 

Jesus does something masterful here. The Pharisees challenge him with respect to something his disciples are doing, namely, picking heads of grain to eat on the Sabbath, which was perfectly lawful to do under the Law of Moses but violated their tradition. Jesus responds by giving them an example of King David doing something fully unlawful, knowing that the Pharisees would give him a pass because he is such a venerated Old Testament figure. Would they impugn David because he violated the Law of Moses to feed his men? Of course not. 

But here is someone far greater than David. He is the Lord who gave the Law in the first place. Thus, he can correctly interpret the law and even change the law as he pleased. Here, he authoritatively declares the intent of the law: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." The Sabbath, therefore, was not an arbitrary ritual to put more burdens on people. No, it was given to benefit people. In saying this, Jesus was also indicting the Pharisees for taking what was meant to relieve people and making it a greater burden on them. Thus, the Pharisees were the ones that truly violated the command and intent of the Sabbath command. 

Then Jesus declares what the Pharisees probably perceived. He affirms his deity: "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." In other words, Jesus was saying that he had authority to give the intent and boundaries of the Law. Who has this authority? Only God. 

I have argued this before, and I affirm it again here, God is above the laws He gives to people. This dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees demonstrates this further. Jesus declares that He is Lord even over the Sabbath. In saying this about the Sabbath, it is tantamount to Him saying that He is Lord over the entire Law of Moses. Now, He does not here get rid of the Law, but He affirms His authority to declare its previously undisclosed intent and to define the boundaries of what is permitted and what is not. 

Friends, why is this relevant to you and me? It helps us not to minimize God in our thinking and preaching. We won't, for instance, so foolishly say that God would not kill or allow the killing of innocent people because He is bound by His law: "You shall not kill". He is not bound by this law. We are. He is above this law, and we cannot use the criteria of the laws He gives for man to judge His actions. In fact, we have no place to judge anything He does. God is good no matter what He does. His absolute authority justifies every action.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons (Mark 1:35-39).

In Mark's swiftly moving narrative, nothing is happenchance, and everything is according to God's design. In the passage above we get an early glimpse of this. Jesus went off by Himself to pray. And we learn from Luke's account that He did this often (Luke 5:16). Whether in the beginning or in His last dying moments, we find Jesus constantly in prayerful communion with the Father. 

In the passage above, Jesus was leading a vibrant ministry among throngs of people. He could have continued to stoke the flames of His success, but after a time of prayer, He chooses instead to move on from there, saying "That is why I have come." Jesus' primary purpose was not to attract great crowds or lead a revolution but to do God's will. In another passage he would say to His bewildered disciples, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work" (John 4:34).

Friends, could there be a lesson here for us? We are busy doing this and that, planning to grow in XYZ ways, gathering, consolidating, investing, etc. There is a psalm:

Unless the Lord builds the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
    for he grants sleep to those he loves (Psalm 127:1-2).

How do you order your year, your month, your day? Where do you focus your time, your energy, your resources? Are you directed by personal ambition and generally accepted practices or by the Spirit of God in keeping with the priorities and guidlines of His Word?

If there is a lesson for us today, it is to pray often and to order our will in line with God's will. This is how Jesus knew exactly what to do and how to live in such a way that He perflectly pleased the Father in everything He did. And this is why He could answer His detractors:

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does... By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me (John 5:19,30).

Can we say that this is also our motivation, not to please ourselves but God? If not, let us meditate on God's Word and pray until it is. 

Reading through Mark a passage on the hypocrisy of the Pharisee jumped out at me, Jesus was condemned by the pious Jews for healing a man on the Sabbath.

(Mark 3:1-5) "Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus."

Its interesting me the contrast in Israels failings. Throughout the Old Testament we see that the Jews failed to follow Gods commands, however here we see a different failing by the Pharisees. The Pharisees were known to add to the original text (scrolls) adding tradition on top of Gods Word as if were not sufficient. So unlike the history of disobedience we see the Pharisees trying to gain favor with God by being pious to a fault. God said the Sabbath was for rest - so Jewish tradition forbid them from even lifting a finger, really a hypocritical show of surface devotion. Christ makes the point that the Sabbath was not intended to keep them from doing good. Sabbath was for reflecting on Gods provision and goodness, but not meant to exclude them from showing compassion or mercy.

Another observation I take is Christ's applied common sense to interpreting Gods Word. Wow how refreshing. Sometimes, I feel like in our desire to dig deep into Gods word we can over analyze - wanting to cross reference every similar or related passage, different translations, etc. and then reconcile it into some complex multi dimensional answer that only Seminary students can understand. When maybe all that was needed was a healthy dose of common sense.

Someone asked, "In mark 2, could you say the teaching of the wineskin and old/new patches is akin to the 'empty your cup' story?"

My response... Regarding the cloths and wine skins, the context has to do with a question about fasting. Some were wondering why Jesus' disciples did not fast like the disciples of John and the Pharisees. Jesus answers that it is not appropriate for His disciples to fast while He is with them. One purpose of fasting may be to express longing for Christ's return. They could not, therefore, fast while He was still with them, but only when He would be taken away. Then Jesus illustrates with the inappropriateness of putting an old cloth on a new garment and the inappropriateness of putting new wine into old wineskins. The lesson seems to be that there is an appropriate time and purpose for fasting, just as there is an appropriate way to patch a garment or fill a wineskin.

I'm not sure how this relates to the "empty your cup" story, the main lesson of which has to do with humility and teachablity. Now, the "empty your cup" story may relate to the saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." :)

Mark 2:27 And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

(The story of David's unlawful deeds is capped by Jesus saying - sabbath for man, not man for sabbath. We are not here to serve laws, but here to serve for God. Laws direct a way, and guide us; in the beginning there was only one - then hundreds. In the end it will be like in the beginning, simple. What will be heart-felt will be right.