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