Mark 2

1 After a while, Yeshua returned to K'far-Nachum. The word spread that he was back,

2 and so many people gathered around the house that there was no longer any room, not even in front of the door. While he was preaching the message to them,

3 four men came to him carrying a paralyzed man.

4 They could not get near Yeshua because of the crowd, so they stripped the roof over the place where he was, made an opening, and lowered the stretcher with the paralytic lying on it.

5 Seeing their trust, Yeshua said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

6 Some Torah-teachers sitting there thought to themselves,

7 "How can this fellow say such a thing? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God?"

8 But immediately Yeshua, perceiving in his spirit what they were thinking, said to them, "Why are you thinking these things?

9 Which is easier to say to the paralyzed man? `Your sins are forgiven'? or `Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk'?

10 But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He then said to the paralytic,

11 "I say to you: get up, pick up your stretcher and go home!"

12 In front of everyone the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and left. They were all utterly amazed and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

13 Yeshua went out again by the lake. All the crowd came to him, and he began teaching them.

14 As he passed on from there, he saw Levi Ben-Halfai sitting in his tax-collection booth and said to him, "Follow me!" And he got up and followed him.

15 As Yeshua was in Levi's house eating, many tax-collectors and sinners were sitting with Yeshua and his talmidim, for there were many of them among his followers.

16 When the Torah-teachers and the P'rushim saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his talmidim, "Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?"

17 But, hearing the question, Yeshua answered them, "The ones who need a doctor aren't the healthy but the sick. I didn't come to call the `righteous' but sinners!"

18 Also Yochanan's talmidim and the P'rushim were fasting; and they came and asked Yeshua, "Why is it that Yochanan's talmidim and the talmidim of the P'rushim fast, but your talmidim don't fast?"

19 Yeshua answered them, "Can wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, fasting is out of the question.

20 But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; and when that day comes, they will fast.

21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old coat; if he does, the new patch tears away from the old cloth and leaves a worse hole.

22 And no one puts new wine in old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is for freshly prepared wineskins."

23 One Shabbat Yeshua was passing through some wheat fields; and as they went along, his talmidim began picking heads of grain.

24 The P'rushim said to him, "Look! Why are they violating Shabbat?"

25 He said to them, "Haven't you ever read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food?

26 He entered the House of God when Evyatar was cohen gadol and ate the Bread of the Presence," -- which is forbidden for anyone to eat but the cohanim -- "and even gave some to his companions."

27 Then he said to them, "Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat;

28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat."

Mark 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

Christ heals one sick of the palsy. (1-12) Levi's call, and the entertainment given to Jesus. (13-17) Why Christ's disciples did not fast. (18-22) He justifies his disciples for plucking corn on the sabbath. (23-28)

Verses 1-12 It was this man's misery that he needed to be so carried, and shows the suffering state of human life; it was kind of those who so carried him, and teaches the compassion that should be in men, toward their fellow-creatures in distress. True faith and strong faith may work in various ways; but it shall be accepted and approved by Jesus Christ. Sin is the cause of all our pains and sicknesses. The way to remove the effect, is to take away the cause. Pardon of sin strikes at the root of all diseases. Christ proved his power to forgive sin, by showing his power to cure the man sick of the palsy. And his curing diseases was a figure of his pardoning sin, for sin is the disease of the soul; when it is pardoned, it is healed. When we see what Christ does in healing souls, we must own that we never saw the like. Most men think themselves whole; they feel no need of a physician, therefore despise or neglect Christ and his gospel. But the convinced, humbled sinner, who despairs of all help, excepting from the Saviour, will show his faith by applying to him without delay.

Verses 13-17 Matthew was not a good character, or else, being a Jew, he would never have been a publican, that is, a tax-gatherer for the Romans. However, Christ called this publican to follow him. With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. A faithful, fair-dealing publican was rare. And because the Jews had a particular hatred to an office which proved that they were subject to the Romans, they gave these tax-gatherers an ill name. But such as these our blessed Lord did not hesitate to converse with, when he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh. And it is no new thing for that which is both well done and well designed, to be slandered, and turned to the reproach of the wisest and best of men. Christ would not withdraw, though the Pharisees were offended. If the world had been righteous, there had been no occasion for his coming, either to preach repentance, or to purchase forgiveness. We must not keep company with ungodly men out of love to their vain conversation; but we are to show love to their souls, remembering that our good Physician had the power of healing in himself, and was in no danger of taking the disease; but it is not so with us. In trying to do good to others, let us be careful we do not get harm to ourselves.

Verses 18-22 Strict professors are apt to blame all that do not fully come up to their own views. Christ did not escape slanders; we should be willing to bear them, as well as careful not to deserve them; but should attend to every part of our duty in its proper order and season.

Verses 23-28 The sabbath is a sacred and Divine institution; a privilege and benefit, not a task and drudgery. God never designed it to be a burden to us, therefore we must not make it so to ourselves. The sabbath was instituted for the good of mankind, as living in society, having many wants and troubles, preparing for a state of happiness or misery. Man was not made for the sabbath, as if his keeping it could be of service to God, nor was he commanded to keep it outward observances to his real hurt. Every observance respecting it, is to be interpreted by the rule of mercy.