Mark 2:13-3:6

“How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself became life and walked in our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. It is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality of the world, or it is a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful playacting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between.” - N.T. Wright

Discussion questions:

  1. Jesus declares, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). The Bible tells us that all of us are sick (i.e., sinners), but that we naturally fail to recognize our sickness. (In other words, we think we are righteous even when we are not.) What are some of the reasons why we fail to see/recognize our sickness?

  2. We must guard against reading a passage like this and thinking, “I’m so glad I’m not like those Pharisees.” If we do that, we are just like them. The Pharisees were guilty of self-righteousness - believing that they were superior to others and justified before God by their own works. Utilizing these diagnostic questions, what are some ways you are prone toward self-righteousness today?

    1. Do you tend to live by a list of dos and don’ts?

    2. Is it difficult for you to respect those whose standards aren’t as high as yours?

    3. Do you assume that practicing spiritual disciplines should result in God’s blessing?

    4. Has it been a long time since you identified a sin and repented of it?

    5. Do you get angry when difficulties and suffering come into your life?

    6. Do you seldom think of the cross?

  3. A subtler form of Pharisaism is persistent guilt - a constant, nagging belief that you should measure up but aren’t. Utilizing these diagnostic questions, what are some ways you are prone toward persistent guilt today?

    1. Are you painfully preoccupied with a particular habitual sin?

    2. Are you discouraged or depressed by your failure to measure up?

    3. Do you frequently experience anxiety that something is about to go wrong?

    4. Is there something in your past that you just can’t seem to get over?

    5. Do your difficult circumstances seem like God’s judgment for your sin?

    6. Do you seldom think of the cross?

      4. How does the good news of the gospel shatter our tendency toward self-righteousness? Our tendency toward persistent guilt?