Mark 2:18-end

Mark's second chapter ends with questioning of Jesus by the religious authorities and a questioning of His practices. Jesus looks like a Rabbi on the outside with a grouping of disciples or pupils anxious to learn from their master. This fits with the methods of Pharissees and so confusion arises when Jesus is not doing the same things that other religious teachers are doing. He is not performing the ritual fasting of his 'colleagues' like John the Baptist. These fasts usually took place before a great Jewish festival. So why is he and his disciples not fasting?

Jesus tells his enquirers that he and his disciples are feasting all the time. Now is a time of celebration. The Messiah is with his people. While Jesus does not use that word he does allude to it.

The metaphore of the bridegroom is a metaphore for God himself. In the Old Testament the image of Israel as the bride of God appears consistently. What Jesus is saying is that God is among his people. It is a period of celebration not a time for fasting. Jesus is clearly locking himself into the whole picture of Jewish expectation.

In the cornfield on the Sabbath. Jesus is with his disciples. They are hungry or just looking for a snack. They pull the top of the corn then rub it between their palms to remove the chaff. Now they can eat the corn. They are spotted (or spied upon) by some Pharisees who criticise their behaviour. They are not criticised for stealing they are accused of working on the Sabbath. The rubbing of the grain was interpreted as thrashing and thrashing on the Sabbath was work. Jesus takes them back into Jewish history. King David and his men were hungry and there was no food readily available.

They enter the house of God and take bread reserved only for the priest. The rules became of secondary importance compared to the necessity of the moment. The disciples had broken the law, so had David and his men. Jesus tells his accusers that the things of God must serve the people of God. The Sabbath was made for humans and not the other way around.

Looking at the passage there is an atmosphere of misunderstanding rather than menace. People are confused about Jesus and his ways. They're trying to make sense of it all. He calls himself 'Son of Man' a messiah reference. The Son of Man is Lord of the Harvest. God is in charge. The Pharisees would not dispute this but they fail to recognise who Jesus is.