Mark 2
Share
CHAPTER 2
Jesus Heals a Paralytic (2:1-12)
(Matthew 9:1-8: Luke 5:17-26)
1-4 After preaching in the countryside for several days, Jesus came back to the home of Peter and Andrew (Mark 1:29). While He was teaching there, four men brought a paralyzed man. They carried him up the outer stairs to the flat roof, and removing some of the tiles (Luke 5:19), they lowered the patient on his bed into the room where Jesus was.
5 Then Jesus said a surprising thing to the paralyzed man: “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Why did Jesus say that? Because He knew that the man’s main problem was not his paralysis but his sin. His main problem wasn’t physical, it was spiritual. It is possible that the man’s paralysis had come because of his sin.15 If this was so, then before Jesus could cure the man’s body He first had to cure his soul.
All men become ill; all fall into sin. Sin is always a greater problem than physical illness. Jesus can cure both a man’s body and his soul. Here He first forgave the man’s sins. That was the big job. Then, to give proof that the man’s sins were indeed forgiven, Jesus healed his body also (verse 10).
To heal a man’s bodily illness without cleansing his soul or spirit from sin is like applying a bandage to a thorn wound without removing the thorn. Jesus came into the world mainly to cleanse and save men from sin. In addition, in order to demonstrate His compassion and power, Jesus also healed men’s bodies. God’s desire is that man might be fully healed in body, soul, and spirit.
6-7 In these verses we see the beginning of opposition to Jesus. No matter how good or merciful a man’s work is, there are always some who will find fault with it. Some teachers of the law (see Mark 1:22) heard Jesus forgive the sins of the paralyzed man. In their eyes Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, because they knew that only God had the authority to forgive sins. In their opinion, Jesus was taking for Himself authority that belonged only to God. In doing this He was insulting God; He was taking God’s honor as His own. He was boastfully saying: “I can do what God does!”
The teachers of the law were correct in one way: it is true that only God can forgive sins. But what they didn’t realize was that Jesus Himself was God!
8-12 Jesus knew the thoughts of these teachers of the law. He saw that they doubted He had the authority to forgive sins. They thought: “Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven.’ That’s easy to say. But to heal someone is not easy.” Therefore, Jesus said in effect, “All right, to prove that I have the authority to forgive sins, I will heal this man. I will do what is more difficult in your eyes, so that you will know I am not speaking empty words.” Thereupon He told the paralyzed man to take up his mat and walk. And immediately, by the power of Jesus’ word, the man was cured and walked out.
Therefore, let us understand that this miracle was not only an act of mercy; it was also a sign for us that Jesus did indeed have the full nature and authority of God. It was a sign that the kingdom of God had indeed come among men.
Here in verse 10, Jesus calls Himself the Son of Man. This was the name Jesus usually gave Himself. It means that even though He was fully God (see Colossians 2:9 and comment), He was also fully human, having been born of a woman, Mary (see Philippians 2:5-8 and comment). This is why Jesus called Himself the Son of Man (see Daniel 7:13-14; John 1:51 and comment).
The Calling of Levi (2:13-17)
(Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32)
13-14 Levi is the same man as the Matthew mentioned in Matthew 9:9.16 Although a Jew, he was a tax collector in the government of King Herod, the ruler of Galilee.17 The tax collectors were hated and despised by everyone, because they levied more tax than was legal and kept the excess for themselves. Thus they became rich. That Jesus should choose such an evildoer as a tax collector to be one of His disciples was an amazing thing (see Luke 19:2-7 and comment).
Yet we see here the grace and wisdom of Jesus: grace to call such a sinner, and the wisdom to call a man who could speak both Greek and Aramaic.18 And what did Levi do when he was called? He immediately left his riches and followed Jesus. He gave up everything but his pen and writing paper. Later this same Levi—that is, Matthew—would write the first Gospel in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew.
Notice here that Levi didn’t choose Jesus; Jesus first chose him. In the same way, Christ first chooses us; only then do we rise and follow Him (John 15:16).
15 To celebrate the new joy and freedom and salvation that he had received from Jesus, Levi gave a feast at his house, and invited his old friends and colleagues to meet Jesus. He wanted them to have the opportunity to find salvation also. The blessings of Christ are to be shared, not kept for ourselves. If we do not share our new life with others, it will quickly dry up.
16-17 Some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees19 disapproved of Jesus eating with such sinners as tax collectors. Again we see how quick men are to speak evil of acts that are good. But Jesus answered: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (verse 17). The righteous are those, like the Pharisees, who consider themselves righteous. In their mind, they have no need of a savior. They do not listen to Jesus. Only those who acknowledge that they are sinners can hear Jesus’ call. And only those who repent can be spiritually healed.
Jesus is not only a doctor of man’s body; He is the doctor of man’s soul. And the chief sickness of the soul is sin. There is no other doctor besides Jesus who can heal the soul from sin.
According to Matthew 9:13, Jesus reminded the Pharisees of what God had said through the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6). The Pharisees thought they could please God by carrying out proper sacrifices and by obeying the Jewish law, but Jesus says that it is mercy that God is pleased with. Instead of avoiding and condemning sinners, as the Pharisees did, Jesus reached out and called them and forgave them and loved them.
Jesus Questioned About Fasting (2:18-22)
(Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39)
18-19 According to the Jewish law, the Jews only had to fast once a year, on the Day of ATONEMENT (Leviticus 23:27-29). But the Pharisees used to observe many other fasts in order to appear righteous in men’s eyes. On one such fast day, the Pharisees and John the Baptist’s disciples were fasting, but Jesus and His disciples were not. Some Jews attempted to accuse Jesus’ disciples of not following Jewish traditions. But Jesus said, “Why should my disciples fast? While I am here it is like a wedding feast. No one fasts while the bridegroom is present; that is a time for eating and rejoicing.”
For John the Baptist’s disciples, however, it was suitable to fast, because John had been thrown into prison (Mark 1:14). But it was not suitable for Jesus’ disciples to fast, because He was still present with them. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven … a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).
20 Then Jesus said that one day the bridegroom will be taken from them. He meant that one day He would be killed. Then would be the time for His disciples to mourn and fast.
21 To make Jesus’ disciples follow the old Jewish traditions20 was as unsuitable as sewing a patch of new material on old clothing. The new material will shrink and tear away from the old material and the hole will become bigger. The new spiritual life of a Christian does not mix easily with the old traditions of the world.
22 In the same way, new wine must not be poured into old, hard wineskins.21 The new wine will expand and burst the old skins, and both wine and skin will be lost. New wine needs new wineskins that will stretch. Similarly, for new spiritual life new behavior is needed. Fasting was done by the Jews mainly in times of sorrow and or out of fear of judgment. But Christ has brought joy and salvation; therefore, fasting because of sorrow or fear is no longer suitable.
Nevertheless, Jesus does not teach that we should never fast (Matthew 6:16-18). It is good to fast during special times of prayer, especially when important decisions need to be made (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23). Jesus fasted forty days while He was being tempted (Matthew 4:2). Christians fast not because of any law or desire to appear righteous, but because they desire through fasting to better worship God and to more clearly understand His will. But let us not think that by fasting we will be reckoned more righteous than those who do not fast. Righteousness comes from the heart, not from following outward customs.
Luke in his Gospel adds another saying to this section: And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, “The old is better” (Luke 5:39). The Pharisees and other Jews who rejected Christ liked the old wine of the Jewish religion. They did not want to try the new wine of the Christian life.
But anyone who actually tastes the new wine of Christ will not want to turn back to the old.
Lord of the Sabbath (2:23-28)
(Matthew 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5)
23-24 According to Jewish law, it was legal to pluck a neighbor’s harvest by hand (Deuteronomy 23:25), but it was not lawful to do so on the Sabbath. The Pharisees called it “reaping,” which was forbidden on the Sabbath (Exodus 34:21). According to the Jews, no work of any kind could be done on the Sabbath,22 and the Jews considered “picking” heads of grain to be a kind of work. Therefore, they accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath law because, being hungry, they were picking grain.
25-27 But Jesus reminded the Jews of their own King DAVID, who also disobeyed one of the Jewish laws. He was hungry and so ate some special bread that only the priests were allowed to eat23 (1 Samuel 21:1-6). Jesus’ meaning was this: God made the Sabbath law for man’s benefit, not to add a burden (Exodus 20:8-11; 23:12). If a man was hungry, he had a right to eat on the Sabbath. Therefore, the disciples had a right to pick grain on the Sabbath to satisfy their hunger. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (verse 27). The Sabbath was meant by God to be a day of rest and joy, not of hunger! The rules of the Pharisees were too strict. They had turned the Sabbath into a day of oppression (see John 5:10 and comment).
28 The Son of Man—that is, Jesus (verse 10)—has final authority over the Sabbath. He can decide what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath. Jesus taught that works of necessity (such as satisfying hunger) and works of mercy (Mark 3:1-5) are legal on the Sabbath.
According to Matthew 12:5-7, on this same occasion Jesus also gave the example of the priests who had to work at their priestly duties in the temple on the Sabbath. They, like King David, also “broke” the Sabbath law, but they were not considered guilty. But now someone greater than King David had come, that is, Christ. Not only that, but “one greater than the temple is here,” said Jesus (Matthew12:6). When Jesus came, all of the temple rules and sacrifices became unnecessary. Jesus was the true temple. The Jews thought that God’s presence was in the temple, but in fact, God’s presence was fully in Jesus. If priests serving in the temple could “break” the Sabbath law, then surely these disciples serving Christ could break it too, because Christ was greater than the temple.
Then in Matthew 12:7, Jesus again reminds the Pharisees of God’s words: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13). In God’s sight, it is more important to show mercy on the Sabbath than to follow all the customs and sacrifices of the Jews. If the Jews had remembered these words of God, they would not have accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath law.