Conflict and the Centrality of Christ (Mark 2-3)

Has your sadness ever turned to anger? What was the situation? The abuse of a child, an innocent person suffering injustice, your own rights and privileges being stepped upon? Jesus’ grief turns to anger over the hardness of the Pharisees hearts when they lie in wait, seeking an excuse to accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. They find it in his willingness to heal a man on the Sabbath. In return they plot to kill Jesus...on the Sabbath. Surely, here is something to grieve and get angry about. Jesus’ conflicts with the Pharisees (the “bogeymen” of the Gospels) is something of a tired story for many of us: we’ve heard it all before. But when we see why the Pharisees were upset with Jesus and how Jesus interacts with them, the conflict comes a little closer to home. Are we reacting toward Jesus like the Pharisees or like the sinners with whom he enjoyed a meal?