The Old and the New

1-31-21Sermon Notes“The Old and the New”
Remember this song?
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
It's good enough for me.
It was good for Paul and Silas…
It was good for the Hebrew children…
It is a real toe-tapper! But is it true? Is that old time religion really good enough? What people usually mean when they say, “Give me that old time religion,” is “Don’t come in here and try to change things!” Jesus faced that time and time again with the Pharisees and other religious leaders.
But was Jesus trying to do away with the old? It may sound funny, but the answer to that question is, “Yes and no.” On one hand, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matt. 5: 17) So – old time religion…right? But in almost the next breath, Jesus went into a string of teachings that went, “You have heard is said…but I say to you…” He did that a total of five times in the Sermon on the Mount. He wasn’t doing away with old time religion. He was saying, “This deserves a second thought.” Maybe we need old and new.
We see a mixture of old and new in this week’s gospel story from Mark.
21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. (Mark 1: 21-28 NRSV)
The people were “astounded” and “amazed!” “What is this? A new teaching – with authority!” they proclaimed. Was it totally new? Or was it just the “old” teaching come to life in Jesus? Worship us this Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 via livestream as we look at the old and the new. Who knows? Maybe we will come away astounded and amazed too!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Sam