WORD OF LIFE BIBLE STUDY GUIDE  

  The Bible in Your life and Your Life in the Bible  




  THE GOSPEL OF MARK  



"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? " (Isaiah 58:6) "

  MARK 2:18-22 TEXT  




18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”









  MARK 2:18-22 QUESTIONS  





Please note.
By reading the meditation associated with this text you will find many answers to the questions. However, the most important thing to do is to remain on the text, meditate on it until you can formulate your own answers. When interacting with the text we are interacting with the ultimate author of the text, the Holy Spirit.

If you wish to discuss these questions and interact with others then please join our online Bible group. If you wish to discuss these on a one-to-one basis then please contact us.



  Fasting and New Wine in Old Wineskins  




      Verse 18   


  1. Does this episode seem to be connected or disconnected from the previous one in Levi's house? Why or why not?

  2. How do the people view Jesus and his disciples in this verse?

  3. Why do you think that the question asked was important for the people?

  4. Why do you think the people were observing Jesus and his disciples and comparing them to the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees?

  5. Do you see Jesus as a conformist or non-conformist? If you consider him a conformist, what does he conform to? If you consider him an non-conformist, what does he not conform to?

  6. What do you think of this independant conduct? Do you think people could see it as being objectionable?

  7. With what spirit do you think the people ask Jesus this question? Do you think the question is a simple request for information or does it have more subtle overtones?

  8. Do you think the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees are in the right and Jesus and his disciples are doing wrong? Why do you think the people might think this?

  9. Who is apparently giving the good example?

  10. What do you think this teaches us?

  11. Does John the Baptist have much in common with the Pharisees? Did they often frequent each other? Were they friends?

  12. What were the reasons for fasting according to the Scriptures? Give three reasons why people fasted in the Old Testament and give an example for each reason. See Leviticus 16:29-34, 23.27-28; Ezra 8:23; Judges 20:26-28; 1 Samuel 31:11-13; 2 Samuel 1:12; 2 Chronicles 20:3-4; 1 Samuel 7:6; 1 Kings 21:27-29; 1 Kings 21:27-29; Isaiah 58:3-7; Isaiah 58:3-7; Psalm 35:13.

  13. For what reasons do you think John's disciples and the Pharisees fasted? Do you think they fasted for the same reasons? See Luke 1:6; Matthew 6:16-18.




    14.   Verse 19   

  14. Did Jesus give the people a straight answer? Do you remember any other verses in which Jesus uses a similar method? See for example Matthew 13:13.

  15. Can you think of any other verses of Scripture in which Jesus answers with another question?

  16. Do you think the people understood the answer?

  17. Why do you think Jesus answers with a question?

  18. Why do you think Jesus annswers his own question?

  19. Who is the bridegroom?

  20. Who are the wedding guests?

  21. Is this a wedding scene? What do we make of the words of Jesus? See Hosea 2:19, 20.

  22. Do you normally fast at a wedding? What characterizes the atmosphere of a wedding reception?

  23. What do you make of Jesus' reason for not fasting?

  24. Do you think Jesus was out of line with Scripture because he and his disciples were not fasting?

  25. Why do you think Jesus used this imagery of a wedding?

  26. Nothing is said of the bride. Who is the bride? Why is absent?

  27. Can you think of a parable where the same imagery of bridegroom and wedding is used? See Matthew 25:1-13.



    28.   Verse 20  

  28. What do the words "the bridegroom is taken away from them" refer to?

  29. Why would they fast in that day. What is one reason for fasting in the Old Testament relevant to this?

  30. Is Jesus against fasting? Can you give examples of fasting in the life of Jesus?

  31. Can you think of other moments of fasting after Jesus had been taken from them, after the resurrection? See Acts 13:, 3.




    32.   Verses 21, 22  

  32. What do you think Jesus wanted to teach us with the unshrunk cloth and the new wine?

  33. What are wineskins and why would they burst if new wine is put in them?

  34. What do the old garment and the old wineskins represent?

  35. What is wine sometimes associated with in Scripture? Read Acts 2:11-13 in conjunction with Acts 2:4 and Ephesians 5:18.

  36. We understand that Jesus is referring to something new. What do you think this might be? See Ezekiel 37:14, Joel 2:28-32 and Acts 2:17-21.

  37. Do you think this changes something in our relation to God and the law? How?

  38. How did the Pharisees typically relate to the law and to religion in general and in this episode in particular, to fasting?

  39. Read Romans 7:4-25. This gives us a typical example of how a Pharisees related to the law and to his faith. These verses describe the struggle of Paul who was a Pharisees (Philippians 3:5). Can we identify with him? How? Why?

  40. Now read Romans 8:2. How are we set free from this stressful struggle? What is the difference? Read Galatians 2:20 and 1 Corinthians 6:19.

  41. Does this new situation influence the way we live our Christian life? When and how does this change take place in us?

  42. The Pharisees were a group of conservative Jews who adhered strictly to laws and customs.Their approach was a legalisic one. Paul discovered a better way, a supremely relational way. Have we discovered this way? Do we live this?

  43. When do we become new wineskins able to contain the new wine? See 2 Corinthians 5:17

  44. How do we live our baptism? How do we live the Eucharist? Is the reality expressed by the words "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" central to our spiritual life? How do I allow the indwelling Christ within to live in us and act through us? How do we relate to the Christ within.


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Mark 2:18-22 Meditation






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