Bible Study on Mark - Part 5, Mark 2:1-17

As Mark, Chapter 2 begins, we hear of the first of five conflicts Jesus has with Jewish religious leaders in Galilee. These stories of conflict go on through Mark 3:6, and they involve Pharisees and scribes, who were around and watching Jesus closely.

There were three main religious and political groups during the time that Jesus was among the Jews. One of those groups was the Pharisees. (We will talk about the other groups as we meet them, a little later in Mark.) The word “Pharisee” means “separated." The Pharisees believed that by keeping the Law, people could of themselves earn God’s favor. They stressed not only keeping God’s Law from the Old Testament, but also the “oral law” handed down by some Jews from generation to generation. These laws especially involved ritual washings, tithing, fasting, and rules about properly keeping the Sabbath day, etc. Many of these rules cannot be found in the Scriptures, but only in Jewish traditions. Pharisees also tried hard to avoid contact with non-Pharisees.

Some of the Pharisees were also scribes. Scribes were people who copied records and book by hand before there were printing presses and copiers. After the Babylonian exile, which we heard about in Daniel, scribes especially made copies of the Old Testament Scriptures for future generations of Jews and, in the process, often became experts in the Law and interpretations of it and ideas of how it could be applied to the daily lives of people.

Jesus came “home” to Capernaum, probably to the house of Peter, where he had been in Chapter 1, “after some days” (which could mean weeks or even some months) after he had preached all over Galilee (Mark 1:45-2:1). People in Capernaum had not forgotten what Jesus had done in the synagogue there, speaking with great authority and casting an unclean spirit out of a man (Mark 1:21-28). The home was soon packed with people, so that no one else could get inside; and again Jesus was preaching the Word of God to them, His primary task at this time (v. 2).

Then four men showed up carrying a paralyzed man on a mat of some kind. They seemed sure that Jesus could cure the man, but they couldn’t get close to Jesus. They didn’t give up. They were determined to get this man to Jesus, no matter what. They even took a part of the roof apart and lowered the man into the room where Jesus was (v.3-4). (If only more of us had such determination to get people to Jesus!)

“Jesus saw their faith” (their confidence in Jesus, that He would help), and He intended to teach them (and us) what was the most important help He could give. They were hoping for a physical healing, but Jesus first said to the the paralyzed man, “Son, (literally, child) your sins are forgiven” (v.5). The word “child” suggested that this gift was to be received by simple, child-like faith and trust in Jesus.

Jesus knew that the biggest problem this man had (and that we all have) is sin and evil in our hearts which separates us from God and which we cannot overcome on our own. That man needed God’s forgiveness and help (and so do we). First and foremost, Jesus offered that forgiveness to that man. Think about it. If this man had only been healed physically, he would have been better off for this life, but that wouldn’t solve his broken relationship with God, and his eternal future would still have been in danger. But if the man had been only healed spiritually, with the love and forgiveness of Jesus, he still would have had his physical problem for some years, but he would have strength and help from God and His love to deal with his problems, and he would have certainty of an eternal future of peace and joy and perfect healing in heaven.

So, Jesus said to the man first, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” That is the best news we can hear in this life, too. We all have sin and weaknesses and failures in our own lives - some from the past that still trouble and come back to haunt us - and current problems and weaknesses and temptations to sin that we struggle with still. Even believers have these struggles. How good it is to know that we do not have to carry these sins and problems by ourselves. Jesus came to forgive all our sins and give us new life and hope as we trust Him and His Word of promise with child-like faith.

We hear, though, in Mark 2:6-7 that some of the scribes, Jewish religious leaders, were also sitting in that house, probably to keep an eye on Jesus, and they were really upset with Him, questioning in their hearts. “Why is this man speaking like this?”

Remember, the view of most Jewish religious leaders of that time was that God only accepts people who are really good and especially those who keep the laws the Jewish leaders required, whether those laws were in the Old Testament Jewish Scriptures or not. They must have wondered, "How does this man Jesus know if this paralyzed man was good or not?" Besides that, many Jews thought that if someone had a serious physical problem like paralysis, that person probably had done something really wrong and was being punished for it - and certainly shouldn’t be offered forgiveness.

Finally, these scribes were thinking in their hearts, “This Jesus is actually blaspheming (speaking against God), because only God can forgive sins.” That was the Old Testament message. See words of David and another psalmist in Psalm 25:18, Psalm 32:5, and Psalm 130:3-4, and what God Himself says in Isaiah 43:25: “I, I am He, Who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Was Jesus, in offering forgiveness, claiming to be God, also? If so, that would be blasphemy in their view.

(From what I have read, most Jews did not think that even the promised Messiah, the Christ, would be able to forgive sins. He would be only a great man, who had more of a political job, in their view. To put it into contemporary terms, the Messiah’s job was to make the nation of Israel great again - like it was in the days of David and Solomon - and to overthrow the hated Roman oppressors.)

Mark 2:8 tells us, though, that Jesus knew exactly what the scribes were thinking, because He was God - God the Son Who became man to forgive sins and make people right with God. Because He was the Son of God, He knew what was in peoples’ hearts. (See also John 2:23-25 and related passages like Jeremiah 17:7-10.)

And so, Jesus asks the scribes a question in Mark 2:9. “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk?'" In a certain sense, it would be easier to say the words, “Your sins are forgiven” - because how could you really tell if the man was forgiven or not? On the other hand, if one said, “Get up and walk,” the paralyzed man would either do it or not. The evidence would be there.

Jesus did not even wait for an answer. As the Son of Man (an Old Testament term for the Son of God, as we have heard earlier), He could both forgive sins and heal the man. So, Jesus said, (v. 10-12), “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins... I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”  We then hear that in response, the man "rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all.”

It was a miracle, as clear as could be. Jesus simply said, “I say to you” and it happened immediately. People crowded all around the man had to move so that the man, now healed, could get up and leave the house, carrying the mat he had been carried in on not long before. Jesus healed the paralyzed man because He cared about people and helped them, including this man; but he also healed the man to prove by this miracle that He really could give the greatest of gifts, the forgiveness of sins, to this man, to us, and to the whole world. He said, “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” and He clearly had that authority, too.

As verse 12 concludes, the people clearly see that this is a miracle of God and they praise God. They aren’t yet necessarily admitting that Jesus was God, but they are amazed at Him. They did know, “We never saw anything like this.”

In verse 13 of Mark 2, though, we hear that Jesus did not bask in the glory of this miracle. He left the house and went out to the Sea of Galilee, and the whole crowd of people followed Him. Then we simply hear: “He was teaching them.” He never stopped, He never gave up His primary work, sharing the Word of God with people. He was also gathering more people to be His disciples and in Mark 2:14, a rather surprising person, Levi, a tax collector.

The land of Israel, often called Palestine at that time, had become a province of the Roman Empire in 67 BC. The Romans were good at many things, including gathering taxes to support their growing empire. An important trade route from east to west ran from Damascus, Syria, south to Capernaum and around the Sea of Galilee and on to the Mediterranean Sea and south to Egypt and beyond. As we have toll roads, where people have to stop and pay a toll every so often, the Romans had set up tax booths along this road, since many caravans of traders passed this way. They had to stop and pay a tax for every animal they brought along the road; and the tax collectors could look through their goods and charge them an extra tax, too.

People hated this process and hated the tax collectors who worked for and cooperated with the Roman oppressors to collect these taxes. Tax collectors (in some translations of the Bible they are called “publicans”) also had a reputation of being dishonest and cheats, charging more than they should have and keeping some of the money for themselves. For this reason, many text collectors were banned from being part of Jewish synagogues. They were considered notorious sinners.

Jesus had now called one of these tax collectors to be one of His disciples. Levi (or as he was called later, Matthew) may have met Jesus and heard Him preach before. Or maybe, just by the powerful Word and authority of Jesus saying “Follow Me,” Matthew just got up and left his work and followed Jesus. (The name “Matthew” means “gift of God, gift of Yahweh” and Mathew certainly became that, in his work and as the author of the Gospel of Matthew later on.)

In verse 15, Matthew invited Jesus and His other disciples to his home, along with some of his friends. Since the tax collectors were “outcasts” of their society, their friends were also likely “outcasts,” despised and rejected by the “better” people of the society. They were called “sinners” -  people of bad reputation. But, Jesus still went and talked and even ate with them. (People did literally recline as they ate at more formal dinners in those days. To eat with someone also suggested a close connection with and caring for the people they were having a fellowship meal with.) Still today, there are saying like: “You are known by the company you keep”- who your friends are - and this was a bad group, in the eyes of most respectable Jewish people.

We hear the reaction, then, of the scribes, who were also often Pharisees (separatists) when they saw what Jesus had done. They do not ask Jesus, but ask His disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (v.16) Remember again that scribes and Pharisees thought they were better than others and separated themselves from bad people. They even had the idea that if they just bumped into one of these people, they would be spiritually unclean and would have to go through a cleansing ritual. Remember also that many of these practices of the scribes and Pharisees were not clear Biblical ideas, but their own humanly made rules to make themselves seem better than others. All this, they thought, made them more acceptable and favorable to God. What they did was what everyone, including Jesus, ought to be doing, in their view.

The answer of Jesus was simple. He was not approving of sin and of behavior that was actually wrong. But Jesus was like a physician - a doctor. There would be something wrong with a doctor who refused to see anyone who was sick. Doctors are certainly to do what we call today “wellness visits” - to help people stay healthy; but most of what doctors do is to help sick people deal with their illnesses and problems and help them get better, if possible. We really need a doctor when we are sick in some way.

In a spiritual sense, then, Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” If people were truly righteous (without sin and always did the right things), they would need no forgiveness and no Savior. They would have no need for what Jesus especially came to bring. In reality, though, everyone is a sinner and needs Jesus and His forgiving love, as we will see, again and again, as we read on in Mark’s Gospel.

That is why Jesus calls a person like Levi (Matthew) to be His disciple and associates with him and his friends, even with all their faults. He came for sinners.

That is why Jesus kept on talking with the scribes and Pharisees, who really thought they were so good and looked down on everyone else, and challenged and criticized Jesus. They too needed to recognize their own sins and their need for Jesus. He came for sinners.

That is also why Jesus kept going from town to town and kept sharing with everyone He could His primary message:

• REPENT: Realize that you, too, sin, and have spiritual needs.
• BELIEVE  IN THE GOOD NEWS: Believe in Jesus (Mark 1:1,15). He can help and forgive, for He came for every person, every sinner.

That is also why Mark’s Gospel was preserved and copied and is still available for us to read today. It is the same message for us, too. “None is righteous, no, not one.” (See Psalm 14:1-3, also quoted in Romans 3:9-12). But Jesus came to rescue us sinners and bring us to trust in Him. He came to call sinners.

Next week, we will see three more examples of conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day and how He points to a new way of hope, as He brings in the New Testament, the “new covenant” with people.