A Walk Through Mark Chapter 2

A walk Through Mark Chapter 2

Before we get started in the text tonight let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Last week we started in verse 14 with John the Baptist going to prison and Jesus preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. We talked about the difference between the gospel that saves us today, and the gospel of the coming kingdom that Jesus taught during His earthy ministry. Mark also explained how Jesus called His first 4 disciples, Peter, his brother Andrew, and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. How Jesus called them and they immediately left without hesitation and followed Him. We also talked about Jesus going to Peters house and healing his mother in law, going to a secluded place to pray to the Father and then healing a man with leprosy.

Mark has wasted no time describing the immense popularity of Jesus as He begins His earthly ministry. But now Jesus does something that many cannot understand: Rather than associating with only the elite of the culture, He instead chooses to hang around with the outcasts of His society. He even selects members of this group to be included among His closest companions.

Tonight we are going to began in chapter 2 and we’ll start by reading the first 12 verses. (Read the text.)

Jesus returns to Capernaum, and again, huge crowds assemble to hear Him speak. This time He is in a house, most likely Peter’s house, (the text doesn’t tell us exactly) and it’s filled with people. Most Palestinian homes had one to four rooms, and the crowd at this one fills the house and overflows outside.

The “word” Jesus preaches in verse 2, is the good news that the kingdom of God is near as Mark stated in chapter 1:15.

Mark 2:2 (NKJV)

2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.

Indeed, the kingdom (here on the earth) was arriving just as old testament prophesy had foretold through His incarnation and His earthly ministry. But we all know that didn’t happen because of Israel’s rejection of their Messiah.

While Jesus is speaking in the house, four men arrive carrying another man who is paralyzed. When they realize they can’t get anywhere close to Jesus, they improvise a plan to go through the roof. Many first-century homes had an outside staircase leading to a flat roof made of branches and sod. It would not be difficult to make an opening in the roof and lower their friend.Considering the unusual entrance of the man, Jesus’ first words to him are surprising (“Son your sins are forgiven you.”)

Mark 2:5 (NKJV)

5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

For one thing, Jesus surely knew the man had come for physical healing, and not spiritual forgiveness. For another, His words trigger a negative response from the teachers of the law among the crowd.

Jesus perceives the faith of the five men, and Mark frequently associates the presence of faith with the miracles Jesus performed. Even though Jesus used a passive voice in making His statement, His intent was not missed by the teachers of the law. The Jews believed that only God was capable of forgiving sin. Similar claims by anyone else was blasphemy and held a sentence of death for those found guilty as stated in Leviticus 24:16.

Leviticus 24:16 (NKJV)

16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

Jesus knows the thoughts of the religious leaders and jumps out in front of their objections by asking a question in verse 9.

Mark 2:9 (NKJV)

9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?

Clearly, the forgiveness of sin through spiritual healing requires much more authority than performing a physical healing. Yet His observers know it’s much easier to say that the man’s sins are forgiven because forgiveness can’t be verified, while physical healing can. But to Jesus, the granting of healing and forgiveness are equally the work of God. So He heals the man to show His authority to forgive sins. Mark writes that as the man stands up and carries His mat out, “everyone” is amazed, but he is probably referring to the general effect on the crowd. As we will soon see, the religious leaders are still resistant to the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus makes a very important connection here for the people watching this miracle in verses 8 thru 11.

Mark 2:8–11 (NKJV)

8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

In the book of Isaiah (chapters 29; 35; 61) God said when the Messiah arrived on earth that not only would God forgive sins and restore the broken hearted, but the Messiah would also bring healing to the lame. When Jesus pronounces the forgiveness of sin and then backs it up with a physical healing, He is fulfilling what the Scriptures said the Messiah would do in Isaiah 61:1.

Isaiah 61:1 (NKJV)

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

There is a critical observation at this point in Mark’s gospel. Verse 10 is the first place in Mark where Jesus calls himself “the Son of Man”. Jesus would use this term as His favorite description of Himself. The vagueness of the phrase “Son of Man” carried overtones of both humanity and deity as Daniel 7:13–14 says:

Daniel 7:13–14 (NKJV)

13 “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

By using it, Jesus forced people to make up their own minds about Him. If He had spoken publicly, calling Himself the Jewish Messiah (The Christ), it would have quickly created problems in the politically and religiously charged culture of the time.

In verses 13 thru 17, Mark tells us the story of the apostle Matthew being called as one of the 12 disciples. (Read the text)

Mark has already told us that Jesus had been calling disciples to follow Him back in chapter 1. Simon, Andrew, James, and John seemed decent choices, even though they were just simple fishermen and not among the prestigious Jewish crowd. But Jesus’ choice of Levi in this passage is even more startling. (Levi is identified in Matthew’s Gospel as “Matthew,” but the name change is not explained in scripture.)

As usual, Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd. He’s walking along and teaching them when He comes upon Matthew, a tax collector sitting in his booth. Matthew immediately responds to Jesus’ invitation to “Follow Me” in verse 14, and soon after that, Jesus is having dinner at his house. But Jesus’ willingness to associate with tax collectors and “sinners” in verses 15 and 16 creates instant jealousy and anger among the teachers of the law.

This is where Mark first introduces his readers to the Pharisees, a party of laymen who devoted themselves to keeping the law, especially its oral interpretation. And the scribes, referred to by Luke as lawyers, and,were the official interpreters of the Jewish law. The scribes and Pharisees were separate groups, though some Pharisees were also scribes.

Tax collectors were on the opposite end of the scale from the Pharisees. Roman tax collectors were despised because of their dishonesty, use of intimidation and force, and contact with Gentiles. The Jewish tax collectors appointed by King Herod weren’t liked much better. Those who live in our modern, Western society, may have difficulty comprehending just how scandalous it was for Jesus to associate with tax collectors and other social outcasts. In 1st century society, dinning together was one of the most intimate expressions of friendship. The Jewish leaders could not understand how Jesus could regard Himself as a religious person and still dine with such spiritual rebels. But Jesus defied many of the traditions of 1st century society.

The religious leaders do not question Jesus directly in verse 16 but questions His disciples instead. Even as they are looking down on His behavior, it seems they are still afraid to confront Him because of the power He displayed in both His teaching and the miracles He performed. But Jesus overhears their questions and responds directly to them. He clarifies that His purpose is not to affirm the good works of self-righteous people, but rather to bring healing and righteousness to those who realize their own insufficiencies. For Jesus to refuse to associate with sinners would have been as foolish as for a doctor not to associate with the sick.

Jesus showed love for all kinds of sinners. He took the initiative in seeking them out. He accepted them as friends, and chose to have close fellowship and relationships with them. His response to the outcasts of society provided a new and revolutionary example for both the religious Jews and for the social behavior of the day. And sadly enough, it might still be new and revolutionary in our own culture today. Why is it so hard for us to show love for all people? What gets in the way of showing that unconditional love? That love Jesus had for all humanity. How does the love that Jesus had for sinners give us hope that we can one day love all our neighbors as ourselves?

Lets pray together !

We’ll stop here tonight in our study of the gospel of Mark and pick up next week at chapter 2 verse 18 with the parable of the cloth and the wineskins.

As Kristi and Eloise are getting ready for us to sing our last hymn tonight, and as we’re asking ourselves the answer to that last question of how we can someday love all our neighbors as ourselves, and if you’ve never honored God by asking His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come into your heart and be your personal Lord and savior, this would be the perfect time to do just that. God has made that so easy for us. The Bible says that anyone, and I do mean anyone, who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED. It doesn’t matter what your past might look like. Remember the apostle Paul, before the Lord saved him on that road to Damascus, how he persecuted the church, and had the Lord’s people put in prison and even executed. And remember King David who commited adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered on the battlefield. Those two “Great men of God” commited terrible sins, and the Lord forgave them, and even chose them to do great things for Him. The Lord doesn’t care about our past, He just cares about our future. And He wants all people to spend that future with Him in eternity, in that place He calls heaven. Don’t wait another minute. If you have any doubt at all about your eternal security, or what’s going to happen to you when you die physically, I beg you to get it settled right now. Don’t wait another second. Settle it now. Get it taken care of right now, right here,--- right where you’re sitting.---Just quietly, as the rest of us are singing, with your heads bowed, and your heart’s toward God, just pray a little prayer like this..............Just pray......

Please, if you need to, just pray that little prayer as we sing.