Jesus Wants To Save Christians

Jesus Uncensored Series

Mark 3:1-6

May 7 and 8, 2011

Getting Started

1.  Based on your personal experience, have you ever had a time in your life where you felt like your interpretation of the Bible – something that was not explicitly clear in Scripture – got in the way of what you felt like God might be prompting you to do?  Has someone else tried to impose their interpretation on you?  How did it make you feel?  Share without condemning of vilifying the person who did this.

2.  God gave the commandment about the Sabbath to the Israelites without clearly outlining all of the possible interpretations of “work” (Exodus 20:8-10).  Why do you think he did it this way?

3.  Jesus emphatically defied the Pharisee’s interpretation of Sabbath Law, and even though he knew it would make them despise him even more, he chose to heal on the Sabbath.  What does Jesus’ attitude toward Sabbath law in Mark 3 and other gospel passages (Matthew 12 and Luke 6) say about God’s purpose for the Law?  Read Mark 12:28-34.  Does this help clarify Jesus’ attitude toward the Law?  If yes, then how?

Going Deeper

4.  God is at work restoring his fallen creation back into right relationship with him.  He partners with us to get that done.  Share any “God stories” you have where you got to partner with God.  If you don’t feel like you have any stories like this, then take a few minutes to pray for God to show you where he is at work around you and to remind you to ask each day for this awareness.

5.  David said that “We have to leave the results (of partnering with God) up to God.  We just need to obey in the moment.”  What do you think this looks like?  Why can this be hard to do?

6.  How does it make you feel to realize that God is angered and deeply distressed by our willful disobedience when he wants to partner with us and we choose to ignore the opportunity?  David based this on Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s inaction in Mark 3:5.  Do you agree with David’s interpretation?  Why or why not?

7.  Have you ever experienced someone loving the Law more than the Lawgiver?  What does this look like?  What should it look like, with the understanding that the Law is now alive in the person of Jesus Christ?