{"id":36726,"date":"2025-07-23T22:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T05:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=36726"},"modified":"2025-07-16T14:09:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T21:09:34","slug":"mark-2_13-22-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark-2_13-22-2\/","title":{"rendered":"I Think You Need a New Container"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 2:13-22 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 2:13-22.\u00a0With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 2:13-14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 13-14:\u00a0 Levi, who is also known as Matthew, made his living as a tax collector.\u00a0 Many Jews looked down on Jewish tax collectors since they were known for taking money from their own people, giving it to the Roman government and in some cases pocketing some of that money for themselves.\u00a0 So the word \u201ctax collector\u201d became a derogatory synonym for someone who was a cheat, who couldn\u2019t be trusted and who had sold out to the enemy.<\/p>\n

Yet Jesus didn\u2019t let Levi\u2019s occupation or a stereotype stop him from calling Levi.\u00a0 In today\u2019s culture that is so quick to cancel people out, Levi would be written off as someone you can\u2019t trust.\u00a0 But\u00a0Jesus saw potential in people whom others had written off<\/strong>.\u00a0 Not only would Levi become one of Jesus\u2019 disciples, but God would apparently use Levi and his skills to write the Gospel of Matthew, one of the most important books in the Bible.<\/p>\n

When we say yes to Jesus, we\u2019re saying yes to a new life and a new purpose.\u00a0 So regardless of what others say about you, like Levi, have the courage to answer when Jesus calls.<\/p>\n

Mark 2:15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verse 15:\u00a0 Levi hosts a party for Jesus at his house, and guess who he invites to the party? Other tax collectors and \u201csinners\u201d.\u00a0 The reason the NIV translation puts \u201csinners\u201d in quotes is because those \u201csinners\u201d were not any more sinful than you and me.\u00a0 All of us are sinners and it takes a skewed perspective to think that only certain people are \u201csinners\u201d, when in fact all of us have sinned and fallen short of God\u2019s glory (Romans 3:23).<\/p>\n

Notice that Levi invited those in his circle of influence to meet Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Usually the people you are best positioned to reach with the gospel are those that you already have a relationship with.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Who are people in your circle of influence who don\u2019t yet know Jesus?\u00a0 Here\u2019s believing that God has put you in their lives so that you can introduce them to Jesus in some way.<\/p>\n

Mark 2:16-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-17:\u00a0 Jesus gives a powerful response when the Pharisees ask him why he eats with \u201ctax collectors and sinners\u201d.\u00a0 Jesus is saying that it is \u201cthe sick\u201d \u2013 i.e. those who acknowledge that they have a problem and need a doctor \u2013 who will call upon a doctor, not those who think they are healthy.\u00a0 Similarly, it is \u201csinners\u201d \u2013 i.e. those who\u00a0realize<\/em>\u00a0they are sinners who need God – who will call on Jesus for help, not those who think they are righteous.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t think you have a sin problem, you won\u2019t go to Jesus for help.\u00a0 But those who recognize their need for the Saviour will call on Him.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus comes to those who are humble and hungry for God, not those who are pridefully full of themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 2:18-20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. 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?”
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-20:\u00a0\u00a0Before Jesus started his public ministry, two major religious movements in Israel were led by John the Baptist on one hand and the Pharisees on the other.\u00a0 These two movements offered different approaches to God, but one thing they had in common was that John\u2019s disciples and the Pharisees both fasted.\u00a0 John the Baptist\u2019s disciples fasted probably at least once a year on the day of atonement pursuant to Leviticus 16.\u00a0 The Pharisees fasted twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.<\/p>\n

Then Jesus comes onto the scene and his disciples do not fast.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus defends his disciples, saying that while the bridegroom (i.e. Jesus) is still with his guests, that is not the time to be fasting but to be feasting and celebrating, but a time will come when Jesus will be taken from them, and it is at that time that they will fast.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 One lesson is this:\u00a0\u00a0there is a time to fast and a time to feast.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Fasting, which is the intentional decision to abstain from food, is a powerful spiritual discipline that can draw us closer to God when done with the right attitude.\u00a0 Feasting, which is the intentional decision to celebrate the blessings, is also a powerful spiritual discipline that can draw us closer to God when done with the right attitude.\u00a0 May you have wisdom to know what God wants you to do on each day and in each season.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 2:21-22 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 21-22:\u00a0\u00a0John\u2019s disciples and the Pharisees were trying to fit something new that they hadn\u2019t seen before into their old preconceived notions of what spirituality should look like.\u00a0 To use Jesus\u2019 words, they were trying to put new wine into old wineskins.<\/p>\n

People today do the same thing.\u00a0 They have a preconceived idea about what faith and religion are and they try to fit Jesus into it.\u00a0 For example,\u00a0some people, upon hearing a little bit about Jesus, will say \u201cAll religions are the same.<\/strong>\u00a0 All religions are really just about trying to do good, trying to be a better person.\u201d But\u00a0Jesus didn\u2019t come just to tack on his version of the truth to the mosaic<\/strong>\u00a0of other philosophies and religions that talk about God and the afterlife.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t come just to change, reform or improve Judaism.\u00a0 He came to bring a whole new way of thinking, relating, and living for God.\u00a0 He came to bring you a whole new container.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0And to prove that his container is something that would work, Jesus would perform miracle after miracle, the greatest of which was his resurrection from the grave.<\/p>\n

So when Jesus says, \u201cdon\u2019t try to put new wine into old wineskins\u201d, Jesus is effectively saying, \u201cDon\u2019t try to fit me in your old container of what you think faith should look like.\u00a0 I won\u2019t fit.\u00a0\u00a0I won\u2019t be contained by it.\u00a0\u00a0I won\u2019t be type-casted.\u00a0 If you really want to understand me, you need to get a new container.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try to fit Jesus into your own preconceived mould.\u00a0 He won\u2019t fit.\u00a0 Jesus came to bring a brand new way of living, thinking and relating that requires its own container.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, thank You that when others passed me by, You saw me, called me, and chose me to be with You.\u00a0 Thank You for giving me a purpose.\u00a0 Thank You for bringing us a whole new way of living, thinking and relating.\u00a0 May I not box You in or try to put You in a box that can\u2019t fit You.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 2:13-22.\u00a0With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 2:13-14 (NIV)
\n13\u00a0\u00a0Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
\n14\u00a0\u00a0As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 13-14:\u00a0 Levi, who is also known as Matthew, made his living as a tax collector.\u00a0 Many Jews looked down on Jewish tax collectors since they were known for taking money from their own people, giving it to the Roman government and in some cases pocketing some of that money for themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36726"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36729,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36726\/revisions\/36729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}