Mark 2:1-12, Introducing the “Son of Man”!

Mark 2:1–12 (KJV 1900)

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 were 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.

Introduction

Jesus heals a paralyzed man brought to Him by his friends

Lowered through the roof!

Chapter 2 introduces a couple of new ideas

A couple of new plot twist in the Gospel account

This is the 1st of 14 times Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” in Mark

the Son of Man The phrase, which may be literally rendered “human one” (compare Ezek 2:1), refers in Dan 7:13–14 to a Messiah figure who comes to Yahweh (called the Ancient of Days), with the clouds surrounding him, to be given dominion over all of the world.

Here appears for the first of fourteen times in Mark the term “Son of Man.” It is the most frequent Christological title in Mark, though “Son of God” is arguably more important (see the comments on 1:1). In the Gospels the term is always used by Jesus as a self-designation.6 In the Old Testament it usually means simply a man, a human being (Pss 8:4; 144:3; 145:12 [obscured in NIV]; Ezek 2:1, 3, 6, 8, etc.).

Jesus introduces us to a specific title that will become His favorite self-designation. He refers to Himself as “the Son of Man.” The title is found 81 times in the Gospels. Why did Jesus use this term so often, and what did He mean by it? Why did He not more often use the term “Christ” or “Messiah” or even “Son of God,” since that is truly who He is?

2nd plot twist is a series of challenges or objection made against Jesus by the pharisees

Mark 2:5–7 (KJV 1900)

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were 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?

Jesus is claiming to be God

The pharisees recognize and challenge His claim

Jesus in these verses is claiming to be both a human being

At the same time is also claiming to be God with the authority to forgive sins

Although the story here is an account of the paralyzed man being healed

It is not the main point

The main point being driven home here is that Jesus is both:

Fully man

Fully God

The Son of God became the Son of Man so that sons of men may become sons of God.

—C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis

Lets look at three factors in the passage that help illustrate this truth

Faith

Forgiveness

Pharisees

Faith of friends

Mark 2:3–4 (KJV 1900): 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.

Four men bring their friend to Jesus

What great lengths they go to bring him to Jesus

They could do nothing to help their friend

Could not heal his palsy

First we see that they truly believed Jesus could heal the man

Second they demonstrated their faith on the roof

The paralytic could do nothing to heal himself

The 4 friends were just as helpless

But what they had heard of Jesus

So the bring their friend to the one who is able

To the one who could heal

They bring their friend to be healed, made whole, restored

By Jesus the “Son of man”

Mark 2:5 (KJV 1900): 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

See how faith leads to the forgiveness of sin

Jesus declares Himself as God by this statement

He claims to have the authority to forgive sins

He also says that forgiveness is conditional

That one condition is faith

Faith in Jesus Christ, Son of Man, Son of God

Forgiveness of sins

Mark 2:9–11 (KJV 1900): 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.

The point of healing this man was to demonstrate Jesus’ power and authority

Although healing the paralyzed man was outwardly the biggest statement

It carried the most weight within the crowd because it could be proven true

The could see with their eyes that the man got up and walked

When in fact the most important statement was “your sins are forgiven”

I imagine an awkward silence right after Jesus says this

He is now saying I am God in the flesh

I am the messiah promised in the OT

So a decision must be made

Is He blasphemer mocking God

Is he liar, or lunatic?

Or is He actually God incarnate?

The Pharisees

Mark 2:6–8 (KJV 1900): 6 But there were 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?

The scribes were teachers of the Law

They had a head knowledge of the scriptures

They had a head knowledge of God

They had no relationship

They had know heart knowledge

Reason cannot say, “My sins are gone,” but faith knows that they are forgiven and forgotten.11

A. W. Tozer

The scribes were correct that only God can forgive sins

They accuse Jesus of speaking blasphemy

Because He claims to have the authority to forgive sins

They heard His claim

His truth

And they chose to reject it

“reasoning in their hearts”

Is intellectual reasoning in that culture

Nor emotional as we think of it today

They faced the same question you and I face

Is Jesus Christ or is He not the Son of God?

Conclusion

Mark 2:10–12 (KJV 1900): 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.

Jesus makes an incredible statement here

And them backs it up with another miracle

The “Son of Man” is a flesh and blood human being

To forgive sins is to be God Himself

Jesus is therefore saying that He is

100% God

100% man

What say you?

Is Jesus Lord,liar or lunatic?

There is no neutral position

No such thing as an agnostic

Do you reject or accept the truth of Jesus Christ?

Is He or is He not Lord?

Is He or is He nor YOUR Lord?