THE SON OF MAN HAS THE POWER TO FORGIVE SINS (2:1-12). The idea of the authority of Jesus continues. Having been revealed as the drencher in the Holy Spirit, God's beloved and Spirit anointed Son, the proclaimer of the Kingly Rule of God, the authoritative teacher, the exorcist of evil spirits by a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he entered again into Capernaum after some days the news went round about him that (literally ‘ he was heard that --') he was in the house, and many were gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even about the door. And he spoke the word to them.' After a perio... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they come, bringing to him a man sick of paralysis, carried by four men. And when they could not come near to him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was, and when they had broken it up they let down the mattress on which the paralysed man lay.' When the four men saw that th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralysed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven”.' Jesus was clearly moved by the faith and persistence of these five men (including the paralytic). He ‘saw their faith'. But then He did the unexpected, He said to the man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.' This was i... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But there were certain of the scribes sitting their and reasoning in their hearts. “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but one, even God?”.' In the crowd gathered around the house were some Scribes (teachers and interpreters of the Law). As important people t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, says to them, “Why do you reason these things in your hearts? Which is easier? To say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven', or to say, ‘Arise take up your bed and walk'?' Jesus gathered what they were thi... [ Continue Reading ]
“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” he says to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise. Take up your bed and go to your house.” ' This is a central verse of the passage for it contains the essential message that this account is all about. The sudden switch... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he arose, and immediately took up the mattress and went out in front of them all, with the result that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, “We have never seen anything like this”.' This was Jesus' vindication. The man was immediately healed in front of everyone and demonstrated it by... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he went out again by the sea side, and the whole crowd were resorting to him and he was teaching them.' Once again Mark draws our attention to Jesus' popularity with the ordinary people. His growing outward success is one of his themes. And he does not fail to draw our attention to the fact th... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN HAS COME TO MAKE MEN WHOLE (2:13-17). The second great statement of this chapter is about the Great Physician, and is introduced by the call of Levi (Matthew). But we are not, of course, just to concentrate on the statement alone for the context is important, and indeed leads u... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And as he passed by he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the place where tolls were collected, and he says to him, “Follow me.” And he arose and followed him.' This is a simple sentence and yet it contains a multitude of significance. Levi was a man who served the hated ruler Herod Antipas... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it happened that he was sitting eating food in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they followed him.' As a result Levi invited Jesus and his followers to his home. Among these followers were many tax collectors and sinne... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the Scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners”.' The sight of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners offended the Scribes. They were still following Him about... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when Jesus heard it, he says to them, “Those who are whole do not need a medical doctor, only those who are ill. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners”.' When Jesus heard the criticism He went right to the heart of the matter. He told them that He had come to reach sinners wherever... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they come and say to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, and yet your disciples do not fast?”.' The incident begins with this question about fasting. With the stricter Jews fasting was a regular practise. Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HEAVENLY BRIDEGROOM HAS COME TO CALL HIS BRIDE AND PROVIDE NEW TRUTH (2:18-22). In this passage Jesus defends His disciples right not to fast. John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, seemingly at a season when fasting was expected of pious men. His point is that fasting indicates mourni... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Jesus said to them, “Can the sons of the bridechamber fast while the Bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the Bridegroom with them they cannot fast”.' His first point is that fasting is reserved for times of mourning and unhappiness, mourning over failure and unhappiness about sin. Bu... [ Continue Reading ]
“But the days will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” These words confirm that we are to see in the picture of the Bridegroom something significant concerning Jesus. For the Bridegroom Who was now here, would one day be snatched away (the ve... [ Continue Reading ]
‘No man sews a piece of undressed cloth on an old piece of clothing, otherwise that which should fill it up (or ‘the patch' - to pleroma) takes away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.' Jesus then emphasises the changed state of affairs by two illustrations. In context He is ar... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And no man puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the wine will burst the skins, and the wine perishes, and the skins. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins.' The double illustration enforces the lesson. Old wineskins (for containing wine) have become dried out and frail as a result of the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And it happened that he was going on the Sabbath day through the cornfields, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.' What the disciples were doing in plucking the corn would have been seen as within their rights on any other day of the week, as long as they did not use a... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SON OF MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH (2:23-28). In this incident we are provided with an example of how the Pharisees sought to cling to the old, while Jesus was introducing the new. The Pharisees believed that there were certain things that epitomised Israel's covenant with God, and that it would... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why do they on the Sabbath day what is not lawful?” They were probably quite genuinely upset. There is no one more vulnerable than the sincere person who has established a set of regulations as being right and then sees them being flouted. They just could not... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and was hungry, he and those who were with him? How, in the passage headed ‘Abiathar the High Priest', he entered into the house of God, and ate the shewbread which it is not lawful to eat, except for the priests, and gave al... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he said, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.' Jesus was not saying by this that because the Sabbath was made for man he could do whatever he liked on it. What He was pointing out was that the Sabbath with its strict rules had been intended for man's benefit. For slaves a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.' That is, has the right to shape and mould the Sabbath Law just as the Rabbis had, and as David had cultic Law, and had the right to, as it were, go above the Rabbis' heads because of His position of extreme authority. This was an essential part... [ Continue Reading ]