Hello again, and welcome back to Kid's Babel Stories. Today's story is called, Why Didn't Jesus Follow Their Rules? This is part 9 in our Gospel of Mark series and comes from Mark 2, Verses 18-28. Before we begin today's story, just a quick reminder that families, your input really helps shape what happens here on the podcast. Some of the changes that will be coming in the future are directly influenced by listeners like you. So if you are a paying or free member on the Family Library on Patreon, there is an important survey waiting for you. The survey link is also in the show notes, sent to your email, and posted on the Family Library on Patreon so you can easily access it. Thanks for your feedback and for helping shape the future of what we do. Okay, now last week we heard about Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors. Let's see what he's up to in today's episode. Let's jump right in. Jesus was moving from place to place, teaching, healing, and showing people who he really is. Some people were amazed, but others were not so sure. He was ruffling some feathers. Why? Because Jesus did not act the way they expected. Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Listeners, say out loud what you think fasting is. Not eating for a long period. Thanks for sharing. We need to think about this because it's not a word you hear every day, and I just want to make sure you knew it. Fasting means choosing not to eat for a longer time in order to pray, seek God, or humble yourself before Him. Well, some people came and asked Jesus, How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not? Now remember, sometimes in the Bible, people fasted when they were sad over sin. Sometimes they fasted when they were asking God for help. In fact, in the Old Testament, God had given His people one special fast day each year. That was the day of atonement. And there were other moments in Scripture when people fasted too. Do you remember when Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days? Did He fast then? Yes. Yeah, He did. So the problem here was not that fasting was wrong. The problem was that the Pharisees had started making too much of their own extra practices. You may remember from last week that the Pharisees were very serious about rules. Yes, in fact, we fast twice a week. So they were asking, If these serious religious people are fasting and those serious religious people are fasting, then why aren't your disciples fasting too? But Jesus knew something that they did not understand. The real issue was this. What has God actually commanded? And what have people added on top of God's law? Jesus answered them with a beautiful picture. How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? They cannot. So long as they have Him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them and on that day they will fast. Um, what's a bridegroom? A bridegroom is the groom at a wang, the man who is about to be married. And weddings, are they joyful celebrations? Yes. Yeah, they are full of gladness and feasting, dancing and rejoicing. Jesus is comparing Himself to the bridegroom. That means His presence is a reason for joy. Jesus, the promised Savior, had come. The one they'd waited for was standing among them. This was not the moment for sad faces and empty stomachs, as though nothing wonderful was happening. This was a time for rejoicing. But then Jesus was hinting to them that a day was coming when He would be taken away, when He would suffer and die. That day would be full of sorrow. Then fasting would make sense. But not now, not while the bridegroom was with them. Then Jesus continued and gave two more little pictures. No one sows a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins. And both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No. They pour new wine into new wineskins. Now, that might sound a bit strange at first. A new patch on old cloth and new wine in old wineskins would both go badly. If someone put a fresh piece of cloth onto an old torn garment, it would pull away and make the tear worse. And in Bible times, wine was often kept in animal skins, so if new wine was pulled into an old, stiff wineskin, it would burst open. So Jesus was showing that he did not come just to patch up the old religious system. No. He would transform it. He came to bring something new, better. Let's continue. One Sabbath, Jesus was going through the grain fields. The sun may have been warm overhead. The stalks of grain sweet gently as they walked. And as they went along, the disciples began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, Look, why are they doing something unlawful on the Sabbath? He answered, Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abithar, the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the concentrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat, and he also gave some to his companions. Then he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath. Well that is it for our story today, but before we go, let's think about what we just heard. Listeners, remember the creation story. God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day, what did he do? That is where we first learn about the pattern of the Sabbath. And later, God included the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments as a day of rest for his people. So does God's law still matter? Yeah. Parents, if you are in the family library parent tier, you'll get a letter going a little further on this topic, so check that out. All right, so the Sabbath was something God really did command. It was a good gift from God, a day to stop from ordinary work, worship him, and remember that we belong to him. But the Pharisees had added many extra rules around God's law. In fact, they had made long lists of things people were not allowed to do on the Sabbath. 39 things, and one of those extra rules was about picking grain. So when Jesus' disciples picked a few heads of grain as they walked, the Pharisees were upset. But kids, here's the question. Had they actually broken God's law? No. They had broken the Pharisees' extra rules, and that is a very important difference. Sometimes, people can take something good that God says and pile extra burdens onto it until it becomes heavy and harsh. But God's law is good. So listeners, why were the Pharisees so upset with Jesus? They didn't like how he was doing it differently. Yeah, because Jesus was not following their system. A pastor named Tim Keller said it like this, Some religions say, I obey, therefore I'm accepted. But the gospel says, I'm accepted in Jesus, therefore I obey. Maybe this will help. Imagine a child who thinks, I'd better be perfect today or my parents will never want me. That child would obey out of fear. But imagine a child who knows, I am loved, I belong in this family, and my parents care for me. That child can obey from a place of safety and love, and that is much closer to how the gospel works. If you trust in Jesus, you do not obey to make him love you. You obey because in him, you are already so loved. Now, this does not mean God's law does not matter. It does matter. And again, his law is good, wise, and holy. But we do not obey so that God will finally love us. Because of Jesus, everyone who trusts in him, follows him, is accepted by God. And because we are accepted in Christ, now we obey out of love, not out of fear. Now let's quiet our minds. We're going to say a short prayer, and after that, stick around to see who our special listener shoutouts are this week. Alright, let's pray. Dear Jesus, thank you for coming for sinners like us. Thank you that we do not have to save ourselves or earn your love by being perfect. In fact, we can't, it's impossible. So thank you that by your grace, all who trust in you can be forgiven, welcomed, and brought near to God. Lord, help us put our trust in you every day, even when life is hard. When we are afraid, confused, tired, or discouraged, help us remember that you are good, faithful, and near. Please, help us obey you, not out of fear, but out of love. Help our obedience be a thankful response to you, Jesus. And Lord, sometimes our love for you feels small or distracted. Please help it to grow and teach us to love you more by talking to you in prayer and thinking about you throughout the day. By noticing your beauty in the world you made. And thank you for being patient with us as we grow. Amen. All right, now I want to give a great big thank you to the following families who are helping make an impact in the lives of children. This week, I received an email from a mom who said her son has listened every night for the past three years. And it started out as simple stories, but now it's become so meaningful. He's understanding the stories, interacting with them, and listening and looking forward to them. That's just one example of someone you are impacting today. For those of you who support financially through one-time donations or joining the family library on Patreon, you are bringing this to families every single day. So thanks to Hudson, I love that name by the way. Thank you Hudson. And thanks to Brinley who said that she loves these stories and listens to them every day on their way to school or to the store. I heard that you're learning and retaining so much of the Bible. Way to go. And thank you Henry, Juniper, Sonny, and Bonnie who said that they too love listening. I love hearing that and I enjoy getting your feedback, so thank you guys. If you would like to join these families, just check the link in today's show notes. Thanks again everybody for listening and as always, bye for now.
