The Gospel of Mark/Chapter 2:1-17/Commentary

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 2:1-17 2:1 “And when He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard He was at home”: After a preaching tour in Galilee (Mark 1:39), Jesus comes back to the city of Capernaum. The news soon circulated that Jesus had returned and was at home. Jesus had made Capernaum His place of residence (Matthew 9:1 “He entered His own city”).

2:2 “And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, even near the door; and He was speaking the word of God to them”: Observe the detail that Mark gives. The house was completely full of people and even its courtyard and approaches were thronged with people. Here we have a packed house without any advertising. In this situation, Jesus was speaking the word of God to these people. Preaching came first, the exercise of the miracles were subordinated to the message. The design of the miracles was simply to fix the attention of the people upon the teacher as one sent by God (John 3:1).

At this point Luke informs us that in this crowd were Pharisees and doctors of the Law (Luke 5:17). “It was not merely the unlearned multitudes that thronged about Jesus. The scholars from near and far gathered to investigate His ministry” (Foster p. 426). The fact that they were sitting seems to suggest they had a front 1

row seat (in contrast to those standing outside). And what did Jesus do? He preached to them the word of God. These religious leaders had come from every village in Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. By this time Capernaum was the known headquarters of Jesus, and these leaders had doubtless gathered there to wait for some opportunity to see or hear Him. 2:3 “And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men”: Four men approached with a paralyzed man on a stretcher. This is obviously a severe case seeing that this man had to be carried, yet the house was packed with people, there was no easy access, how many people would have stopped right there and given up? We are not told how this man ended up paralyzed, whether he had suffered or stroke or something else. If we wonder why Jesus sternly told the man in the previous chapter to remain quiet about his healing (1:44-45), it is to avoid situations like the above. The house was packed with people, people were skeptics, mere curiosity seekers and the real people of faith were left outside!

2:4 “And being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying” : Most houses in Palestine had a stairway on the outside that led up to a living space on the flat roof of the house. The roof of this house was made of tiles, as is common in Palestine (Luke 5:19). These can be removed easily and later replaced without damage to the house. Faith will find a way, faith will not give up, and faith will make the effort. Imagine this scene.

Jesus is teaching and then all of a sudden stuff starts falling from the ceiling, bits of clay, dirt, etc, and then this paralyzed man slowly descends right in front of Jesus (Luke 5:19).

2:5 “And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ‘My son your sins are forgiven’”: Jesus realized that faith motivated his four friends to help their paralyzed friend. Jesus did not resent this bold intrusion into His Bible class; rather, He was always pleased when people demonstrated faith in Him. Nothing is said about the faith of the lame man, but seeing that Jesus first pronounces the forgiveness of his sins, it would seem logical that the lame man 2

was a contrite and believing man, for God doesn’t extend forgiveness to the proud.

The men brought this man to Jesus, apparently for healing, but Jesus first offers something far more important than physical healing. Jesus may have looked into the heart of the paralyzed man and realized that this man wanted to be right with God far more than the restoration of his body. Jesus knew that the declaration of forgiveness as an absolute fact would bring upon Him opposition. “Controversy was sure to result from such an assumption of divine prerogatives by Jesus.

Evidently Jesus did not share the fear of controversy which cause so many preachers today to support all sorts of false teachings rather than have circumstances arise which might bring poverty or persecution” (Foster p. 428).

Jesus did not give this assurance privately to this man for others needed to hear the same offer!

Observe that faith can be seen! There will always be obstacles when it comes to receiving salvation. This man faced an over-crowded house, others might face opposition from family members, or a job that demands that they work every Sunday. Faith will always find a way to Christ. Faith will not be discouraged or deterred. Our biggest need---even if we are paralyzed like this man, is not the restoration of our health, rather, it is the forgiveness of our sins.

2:6 “But there were some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts”: The first proof that Jesus offers of His divine nature is the ability to read their minds. Up to this point in time, the Pharisees hadn’t actually spoken the above complaint out loud, yet Jesus knew actually what they were thinking and revealed it to them. Consider that even thinking wrong thoughts is wrong. It is not enough that we just keep our wrong attitudes or ideas to ourselves.

2:7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?”: Their fundamental proposition was correct, that is, only God could forgive sins. Yet they failed to realize that Jesus might be God and therefore have the right to offer such forgiveness on the spot. Jesus is going to prove that He is far more than simply a man. Blasphemy would include arrogating or claiming any attribute, power, or authority that belongs exclusively 3

to God. When people today claim to heal people, but they don’t, such a claim is blasphemy. The same is true of people who make the false claim that God is speaking through them.

The term blasphemy means, “to vilify, rail at, speak evil of, defame, and speak impiously”. Blasphemy can happen directly, by calling God unjust or unholy, or when someone ridicules God, His nature, His word, or His church. It can happen indirectly, when people hold things equal with God, hence, placing oneself in the place of God, or assuming any of His prerogatives.

2:8 “Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?’”: Matthew adds, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?”

Observe that Jesus was immediately aware of what they were thinking, and He knew this in His spirit. This would infer that the spirit in Jesus was not a human spirit, for a human spirit cannot read a person’s thoughts, but a Divine spirit.

It wasn’t that the Pharisees and scribes were mistaken in their applications or conclusions, rather, their motives where impure. Their reasoning was actually evil, and not merely faulty or incorrect. Jesus’ question, therefore, challenges the motivations and purposes behind their rejection of His divine nature. The evil lay in adhering to their own prejudices concerning what they wanted to believe about God’s Messiah, rather than follow the clear evidence Jesus had so clearly demonstrated.

2:9 “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your pallet and walk?’”: Notice that Jesus argued very logically. It would be much easier to pronounce the forgiveness of the man’s sins for the reason that they would have no visible means of testing the truth of His claims to have such authority. But if He commanded the man to be healed, then that would prove that God was with Him and He did have the power to pronounce the remission of sins. “Though they have more than enough evidence to convince the honest heart, mercifully Jesus gives them more” (Fowler p. 141).

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2:10 “But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…He said to the paralytic----rise, take up your pallet and go home”: The word authority includes the concepts of power, permission, warrant, and the right to do or say something. Jesus did not argue against their objection that only God could forgive sin, rather, He proved that He had the right and power to forgive sin, because He was God. Only God can forgive sin, because every sin is ultimately a transgression against God’s law (Psalm 51:4). Once again, the healing was immediate, on the spot, and instant.

2:12 “And he arose and immediately took up the pallet and went out in the sight of all”: Well, that settles the issue! Once again, no gradual improvement, but immediate and total healing, as if the man had never been lame. The man isn’t even a little weak, he promptly picks up the bed on which he was carried and walks away. One fact is worth more than a thousand words. Jesus had the habit of staking everything He claimed on specific events. At this point Jesus’ claim to the right to exercise divine prerogatives stands or falls. If the paralyzed man can do what Jesus says, then His forgiveness is real.

2:12 “We have never seen anything like this”: Miracles were just as amazing to people in the First Century, as they would be to us. Luke notes that amazement had taken hold of them (5:26), they were filled with fear or awe (5:26), and some said, “we have seen strange things today”. “You would never believe the things we have seen today” (NEB). Matthew says that some in the crowd “glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (9:8). “What does this miracle prove about Jesus? It proves that Jesus has the right to speak with all the authority of God. It means that He can be relied upon to speak authoritatively the message of God. It means that we must accept Jesus’ word provided by this miracle and we do not need to ask for more miracles to back up everything else He may affirm” (Fowler p. 144).

Jesus Calls Matthew Mark 2:13-14 “And He went out again by the seashore; and all the multitude were coming to Him, and He was teaching them. And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, ‘Follow 5

Me!’ And he rose and followed Him”: The name Levi means “joined”, and the name Alphaeus (al FEE us), means “leader or chief”. James the less is also called the son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3). The name Matthew means “gift of God”.

Jesus found Matthew sitting in the tax office or the place of toll. “This customs office was at Capernaum, the landing-place for the many ships which traversed the lake or coasted from town to town; and this not only for those who had business in Capernaum, but for those who would there strike the great road of eastern commerce from Damascus to the harbors of the west” (Vincent p. 55).

Capernaum was located on a major highway from the interior of Asia, and from Damascus to the seaboard Mediterranean cities, to Jerusalem, and to Egypt.

Matthew was a tax-gatherer or a publican. The publicans were often dishonest, they often overcharged people and pocketed the surplus, and their methods were often inquisitorial. Every male over 14 years of age and every female over 12 (the aged were exempt), was required to pay the poll tax. Charges were made on all imports and exports. They examined goods and collected tolls on roads and bridges.

“The official position of the tax official in Jewish social life, regardless of the education, wealth, or power of the individual who exercised that office, was despicable beyond belief for those unaware of the peculiar religio-political situation that existed in Palestine during this period. Religiously, the Jews owned no king but God, and to Him alone should they bring proper tribute. (Though for convenience’ sake they acted otherwise more often than not, for example, John 19:15). Politically, they were a small political unit of the Roman Empire to which they owed tribute, custom, and duty. Although in a period previous to the Roman imperial era, the taxes were collected by wealthy men who purchased from the Greek kings the right to collect them, under the empire ‘direct taxes were not farmed out, but collected by regular imperial officers in the regular routine of official duty’. The customs or tolls levied upon exports and imports, and upon goods passing through the country, were sold to the highest bidders, who were called ‘publicans’ (ISBE p. 2920b). Even though publicans themselves were apparently not Roman officials, they possessed all the authority of Rome behind their exactions. As a Jew, the publican was viewed as a traitor to his nation and to 6

God, because of his willingness to collaborate in this way with a pagan, foreign conqueror. Worse still, the Roman system encouraged greed and graft by selling the right to collect taxes at auction, from which the publican repaid himself for his work and risk involved in collecting all he could. The tax collectors naturally enriched themselves at the expense of their own nation. The indefinite rate of taxation plus the exaggerated and arbitrary value placed upon goods by the publicans rendered their position indescribably odious to all other Jews” (Fowler p. 151).

Their Jewish brethren hated publicans, and they were viewed as traitors or renegades who sold their services to the foreign oppressor to make money at the expense of their own brethren. Edersheim notes that tax collectors were declared to be incapable of bearing testimony in a Jewish law court. It was viewed as wrong to receive any gifts from them or even to change money that came from their treasury. They were ranked with harlots, heathens, highwaymen and murderers. Indeed, the common view was that it was all right to make false returns, lie, or use almost any means in order to avoid paying taxes to the Roman government (Sketches of Jewish Social Life, p. 57). They are often bracketed with sinners in the Gospels (Matthew 9:10; 11:19; Mark 2:15; Luke 5:30; 7:34).

We tend to forget how much was riding on this decision. Some of the other apostles could have went back into the fishing business, but Matthew, once he left that tax job he could probably never get it back. “Tax collector jobs were greatly sought after as a sure way to get rich quickly” (Gaebelein p. 634). This involved leaving what was probably a very profitable business. The imperfect tense denotes that Matthew began at once to follow and kept it up. The challenge from Jesus was sudden and sharp, Matthew had to make a quick decision. There are some decisions that need no deliberation. In a sense this was the healing of a “social leper”, and would of course spark controversy.  Matthew may have already known Jesus, for considering Jesus’ connection with the city of Capernaum, His mighty works done there, His public teaching, and the fact that Matthew worked in Capernaum, it seems likely that Matthew had already heard Him preach.

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 Jesus gave the same call to people like the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21), and those mentioned in (Luke 9:57-62), but they failed to accept the call.

Notice that Matthew, a publican and man with a poor reputation, and hated by his fellow Jews, promptly accepted the call. Jesus could see in Matthew more than Matthew himself dared to dream.  Matthew realized that he wasn’t giving up anything of real value, rather, he was gaining everything. What he was “giving up” was greed, cruelty, and a guilty conscience. If Matthew had been less than honest as a publican, then he wasn’t the only publican with a guilty conscience (Luke 18:9-14).  “Matthew’s own will could have hindered all that followed this moment.

Jesus could offer the highest invitation of heaven, but He stood limited before the surprising reality that a man can say, No” (Fowler p. 152).  “Matthew could gratefully appreciate how much it cost Jesus to involve Himself with such as Matthew. But this publican had never witnessed a man sacrifice his reputation like this before. This customs agent could never have dared hope for such personal recognition, much less could he hope to be called to personal companionship with Jesus” (p. 152).  Our future isn’t written in stone! Matthew left a comfortable job, and the security of a good income for a life of adventure, peace, salvation, and joy.

God used him to write one of the most extensive accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. Wow! Are we limiting how God can use us?

2:15 “And it came about that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax gatherers and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him” Some see this feast that Matthew held as a kind of “farewell” dinner. Yet, it looks more like a feast in honor of Jesus, “a big reception for Him”, that is, Matthew wanted his associates to meet Jesus and listen to His teaching. Almost immediately, Matthew is trying to convert his friends! “This former lover of gain has begun to act like his Lord; he has become a lover of souls, immediately doing all he can to bring his fellow sinners under the influence of Jesus’ voice” (Fowler p.

155). Matthew did not repudiate his old friends, rather, he first tried to save them. He recognized that the best thing he could do for them was to bring them into contact with Jesus.

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2:16 “And when the scribes and Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax-gatherers, they began saying to His disciples, ‘Why is He eating and drinking with tax-gatherers and sinners?’”

Jesus knew that such activity would “offend” some, but He did it anyway because it was the will of God (Luke 19:10). The mistake the Pharisees made was assuming that all and any contact with a sinner was wrong, in addition, it appears that they didn’t even want such sinners to be given the opportunity to change. Or, such sinners were expected to repent without any help or exhortation. Their objection shows no love for the souls of these lost ones. Their argument might have been, “What kind of God does He think He represents, keeping company with scum like that? He is unable to discern their character perhaps, in which case He disqualifies Himself to be a proper rabbi” (Fowler p. 157).  We know that Jesus is not encouraging sinners to remain in their sins nor is He excusing their behavior. Jesus Himself would teach the need to withdraw from an unrepentant brother (Matthew 18:17).  Jesus is first giving sinners a chance to repent, secondly, these sinners are “following Him”, that is, wanting to change.  Carefully note that the writer Mark understands the true nature of his guests, they are “sinners”. When Jesus associated with sinners, He didn’t turn a blind eye to the fact that they were in rebellion to God. He associated with them, because He was trying to save them. Lenki rightly notes, “These publicans and sinners knew why they were invited, namely in order that Jesus might free them from their sins. It was He who had control of the entire situation and kept control of it, doing His necessary and blessed work upon them. This is an entirely different thing from being drawn into questionable company where we stood to the low level of those present and allow them to use us for their purposes” (pp. 363-364).

2:17 “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, ‘It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners’”

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I am impressed that Jesus was never at a loss for something to say, neither did He just ignore things. Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is aware of the fact that these men are sinners. Jesus did not say, “Well, these people are better than you are”, rather, He agreed with the Pharisees concerning the character of these men, “Yes, they are sinners”. Pharisees saw themselves as teachers of the blind and ignorant (Romans 2:19-20). Jesus is telling these Pharisees: We both agree that these men are sinners and need help. We both agree that it is our job to help such men out of their moral and spiritual blindness. So why are you complaining when I am acting upon such beliefs? In a sense, every Christian is a physician. It is our assignment to help people out of spiritual darkness (2 Timothy 2:24-26; 2:2). Do you see yourself as a physician, who has the cure for man’s sin? When someone tells you about their problems, do you say, “Hey, I can help them!”?

2:17 “I did not come to call the righteous”: Jesus is not downplaying the need to be righteous, in fact, when Jesus encountered righteous men, He loved them (John 1:47). Neither was Jesus saying that everyone is a depraved sinner, and no one is righteous. We all sin (Romans 3:23), but this is different from saying that everyone is currently sinning or in rebellion. So Jesus is not teaching that “righteous” people are of no value to God. Rather, the Pharisees viewed themselves as not needing any mercy or salvation.

In reality, Jesus was continually “calling” the Pharisees to repentance in the lessons that He presented to them (Matthew 23). The truth of the matter is that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and that there are none who are so righteous that they don’t need the gospel. Hence the language here might be a form of irony, “Surely people who are so righteous as you don’t need salvation”. And we could note that the only people who will respond to Jesus’ call are people who see themselves as sinners (Luke 18:14; Matthew 5:3).

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