MARK 2:13 - 3:6 OPPOSITION It was quite unusual as far as the Jews were concerned, for one who is involved in religious matters, to show any interest in a publican. Those despised tax-gatherers for the Romans were known to be dishonest. They were considered to be consorting with the enemy and were looked upon with the same distain as criminals. When Jesus called Levi to follow Him and then He and His disciples went to Levi's house for a great feast, that caused great indignation on the part of those who considered themselves holy. The Pharisees (separated ones) believed that was moral carelessness on the part of the Lord Jesus Christ. They would have considered God was like them, not like Jesus. We need to keep in our minds that "God is no respecter of persons." He is not unaware of the kind of person He deals with and calls to Himself. There is a tendency on our part to consider one's reputation before we present them with the Gospel. Those who most often respond to the Gospel are those who have been neglected by men. They realize their need of God and helplessness in themselves.
Opposition at times arises because people have preconceived ideas as to who God is willing to save. We know He is willing to save "all who come unto God by Him." The Lord Jesus was not unaware of those with whom He was dealing, but He saw them as sick and in need of a Physician. He came to bring healing and life to those who are spiritually sick and diseased. The Physician was about His work, not following the man- inspired rules of the Pharisees who added their own laws to, "...and thy neighbor as thyself."
John's disciples fasted in view of a nation being called to face their sin and repent. Now some of those same men were feasting. This was because the One John had gone before, had come - the Bridegroom was here. It is a time to rejoice. We are sitting at a feast of eternally good things. The Lord opened a whole new area of faith and experience when He came. We sit at a feast of immeasurable blessings that are not bound by religious do's and don'ts. That is why we don't try to mix the old and new together. The new day of grace and the works of law-keeping do not go together. The charge of the lack of seriousness regarding the law made by the Pharisees was because they had not, nor were they willing to, come as ungodly sinners to Jesus like the publicans and sinners did.
The Pharisees had also self-imposed laws that went way beyond what God had given in the commandments. As far as they were concerned, picking a handful of grain and rubbing it between your hands to eat and satisfy your hunger, was both harvesting a crop and preparing a meal. They considered that to be a secular act was being done on the Sabbath day. The illustration Jesus gave of David (one of their heroes) eating the showbread exposed their hypocrisy. A cry for food is a sign of health. Health and holiness have the same meaning indicating a desire for food is a sacred thing. The day of rest was for man, not man for the day. It is possible to get spiritual things so mixed up that we are found in opposition to what God's intention is. And at that time the Lord again identifies Himself. Not now does He refer to Himself as the Son of Man who forgives sins, but is the Lord over the law that He Himself gave. The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath. The Pharisees could understand what He was saying but rejected it - and Him. We don't keep the Sabbath day but we do recognize our Lord Jesus Christ has authority over us regarding every action of every day. He died and rose that He might be our Lord.
By refusing to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the Pharisees and those who followed them had set themselves against the authority of the Lord. Opposition often follows the path of jealousy. They were jealous over His popularity, His power to do miracles and His authority. We do well when the ugly head of jealousy rises, to take stock of ourselves, lest we be found in opposition to the Lord and what He is doing through others. The antagonism against the Lord followed Him because He made it plain that there is no middle ground; no half-way to fulfill what God's intention is. The Lord challenged them with His question. They had to know in their hearts - there is no middle-ground. He kept His eyes on them with holy anger long enough for them to know they were exposed for what they really were. Right there they broke the law by plotting His death in unity with the political branch of the nation.
The healing of the man's withered arm didn't make the opposition to stop and rejoice or even go away. It rather intensified and unified. There is the need to be aware of the fact there is in any of us the tendency to oppose, either outwardly or inwardly, the success of others. Let us rather go to God in humility and thankfulness and with grace, rejoice over what God is doing through others.
It isn't always easy to rejoice over the success of others. But it can be a victory of ours when a multitude of sins it covers. When I rejoice at the blessing God gives when others laborers have success - And our tendency to be critical, is dealt with when our souls we do possess.
The Lord didn't stop His work because of critics who were against Him. He had a higher responsibility than to try and keep fellowship with them. All around were needy people who were in danger of being lost. His role, and ours too, is to reach those people regardless of the cost.
We may lose popularity and important people may criticize. A lot of that may come to us, because we don't value what they prize. There can't be a stop to the work we're called to because of what people say. Opportunities come to us, and we dare not linger nor delay.
It goes with the work of evangelizing that there are those who will oppose. We can't change their minds, that is God's work, He knows those He chose. Our responsibility is to preach the Word of God and be faithful. If by any efforts we make God uses it, we can certainly be grateful.
"I thank Thee Father, for the encouragement these incidents in the life and labors of the Lord Jesus give me. There are going to be people who oppose - I know that. There will be times of discouragement and I know that too. But in the way the Lord got joy out of those publicans and sinners who came to Him, so I get joy when we can see results of Gospel work going on today. I praise Thee in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."