Mark
2:1-17
Lesson 66
2:1-17
Lesson 66
Mark: 2:1-17
Jesus heals and hostility grows 1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. 13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. 15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. |
Margin notes:
"Again he entered into Capernaum." (2:1) - Means, Jesus returned to Capernaum. Remember, Jesus left Capernaum to avoid the large crowds (Mark 1:45). It was noised that he was in the house." (2:1) - "It was reported that Jesus was in the house." "And straightway many were gathered." (2:2) - "And immediately many people gathered." People had come from all over to see Jesus (Luke 5:17). "One sick of the palsy, which was borne of four." (2:3) - "A paralyzed man was carried by four." "They could not come nigh unto him for the press." (2:4) - "They couldn't get near Jesus because of the press of the crowd." "They uncovered the roof." (2:4) - Many homes had outside staircases that led to flat roofs made with wooden cross beams and covered with brush and a mixture of clay. People could sit comfortably above the noise of the house to relax and catch a cool breeze. It would have been relatively easy for the four men to carry their paralyzed friend up the outside stairs and then make an opening in the roof to lower him down to Jesus. "Blasphemies." (2:7) - Blasphemy means to slander, insult (through words, thoughts, and actions), or speak irreverently of God, His authority, or grandeur. Blasphemy isn't just a one-time mistake made in a time of spiritual uncertainty, it's an ongoing attitude of rebellion against God. Jews considered blasphemy the worst possible sin, punishable by death (Leviticus 24:16). The New Testament calls blasphemy the unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10). Unforgiveable because the sinner will never ask for forgiveness. The ultimate blasphemy is to claim to be God, which the Pharisees falsely accused Jesus of when he forgave sins (2:5). "Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves." (2:8) - Jesus read their minds. "Arise, and take up thy bed." (2:11) - This was not the only time Jesus healed the lame (John 5:8). "Went forth before them all." (2:12) - Means, "Went out as they all watched." "We never saw it on this fashion." (2:12) - "We never saw anything like this before." This was not the only time Jesus did something never before seen (Matthew 9:32-33). "The multitude resorted unto him." (2:13) - "The crowd gathered around him." "Levi." (2:14) - Usually called Matthew (meaning gift of God). Matthew was born a Jew in Galilee, and as we see in this verse, he was the son of Alphaeus and worked as a tax collector in Capernaum (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27) when Jesus called him. Immediately after answering Jesus' call, Matthew "held a great banquet at his house" (Matthew 9:10; Mark 2:15; Luke 5:29) and then became the Messiah's traveling companion and record keeper. Although the Bible doesn't say so, biblical scholars credit Matthew as the author of "The Gospel According to Matthew." Matthew is last named in Acts 1:13 as one of the twelve in the upper room after Jesus' ascension. It is uncertain whether Matthew died of natural causes or was killed for his Christian faith. "Sitting at the receipt of custom." (2:14) - "Sitting at the tax office." "As Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also." (2:15) - "As Jesus sat at dinner in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Him." |