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| Chapter 2 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And again He entered into Capernaum some days later, and it was reported that He was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not even about the door; and He preached the Word unto them. 3 And they came unto Him, bringing one sick with the palsy, who was borne by four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto Him because of the throng, they uncovered the roof where He was. And when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the one sick with the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the one sick with the palsy, "Son, thy sins are 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 it is easier to say to the sick with the palsy, ‘Thy sins are 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 said to the one sick with 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 all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw it in this fashion!" 13 ¶ And He went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them. 14 And as He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the custom booth, and said unto him, "Follow Me." And he arose and followed Him. 15 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat at Levi’s house, that many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with publicans and sinners, they said unto His disciples, "How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?" 17 When Jesus heard it, He said unto them, "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 18 ¶ And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast; and they came and said unto Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?" 19 And Jesus said unto them, "Can the attendants of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days." 21 "No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment, else the new piece that filled it up teareth away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 22 And no man putteth new wine into old wineskins, else the new wine doth burst the skins, and the wine is spilled and the skins will be marred. But new wine must be put into new wineskins." 23 And it came to pass that He went through the cornfield's on the Sabbath day; and His disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24 And the Pharisees said unto Him, "Behold, why do they do on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?" 25 And He said unto them, "Have ye never read what David did when he was in need and hungered, he and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave it also to those who were with him?" 27 And He said unto them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." |
The speed at which the news of this man with special powers spread is amazing. He entered Capernaum a few days later and went to a house, probably Peter’s, and immediately people knew he was there and entered the house until there was no room left. Jesus had not just come to make people well, He came with a message from the Father of Salvation, now he was about to reveal this message. v1-12 The Paralyzed Man. Matt 9:1-8; Luke 5:18-26. As Jesus was preaching the Word to those in the house a man, who was paralyzed, was brought for healing by his four friends. But the crowd stopped them getting to Jesus, they could have just gone home but they wanted their friend to be healed and had faith that Jesus could do it. The houses had flat roofs which often had access by stairs up the side of the building. The men climb onto the roof and start to make a hole in the material. Once the hole was big enough they lowered the man on his bed down to where Jesus was. v5 When Jesus looked at the man on the bed He knew the cause of the man’s illness, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Not all sickness is caused by wrong life, sin, but in this case it appears to be the problem. Jesus could read the minds of the scribes in the room, they were already checking out this new teacher Jesus. It was within their right, as they were responsible for the religious life of the Jews, but it seems that they had already made a decision before they had heard Him. Jesus looked into their hearts and knew that his words had already made them accuse Him of blaspheme, "only God could forgive sins, - this man is claiming He is God." v8 Jesus shows that He is God by reading their hearts and telling them their thoughts. See John 2:24,25. Jesus then gives them something to think about, "what is easier, to heal a man or to forgive his sins." Any one can claim that they can forgive sins, no one can prove it, so Jesus proves He has the power by healing the man. As the man walks away the people "were amazed and glorified God." What did the scribes think? They had proof that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Saviour with the power and authority to forgive sins - they could have received forgiveness for their own sins. v13-22 The call of Matthew Matt 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32. Jesus moves onto the sea shore where he calls Levi to follow Him, which he did with no delay, questions or arguments against this action. Levi was a tax collector for the Romans and King Herod, most of the tax collectors were dishonest, though we are not told that Levi was one of these. The tax man was a man who was hated by the Jewish population, working for the enemy but also cheating them. Not only did Jesus ask this man to follow Him but then went home to his home and had a meal with Levi and his ‘sinner’ friends, they were Jews who had no interest in following the Jewish law or anything religious, the people that Jesus came to reach. v16 The objectors soon appeared, "Why does he eat with the sinners" His disciples are asked. Jesus gave three responses to this question. v16-17 The Doctor: Jesus thinks of these people as sick and need the help of a doctor to become well, Jesus is the doctor, he comes, decides the cause of the problem and gives the necessary treatment. Not only that but He also pays the cost of this treatment, we have no bill to pay for accepting Him as our Saviour. There are three types of "patients" who do not respond to the doctor. (1) If the person does not know about Jesus. (2) The person knows about Jesus but refuses to accept the healing. (3) When a person will not accept they need to be made well. The Pharisees and scribes came into this group. see Luke 19:10. v18-20 The Bridegroom: The second part of the question was "Why was Jesus having a good time?" Jesus was happy to accept invitations to parties John 2:1-11; Matt 11:16-19. Jesus said that when the bridegroom appears everyone is happy, life should be a wedding feast not a funeral, "I am the Bridegroom John 3:29 these are my guests they should be happy until the Bridegroom departs." Marriage is two people committing themselves to each other, so too for a believer, this relationship is a commitment to the Saviour Jesus, a spiritual marriage. v20 Warns the disciples of His future departure, they would not have understood this at this time. v21-22 The Cloth and Wine containers: Matt 9:16; Luke 5:36-39. The Gospel is a new covenant between God and mankind, not a mixture with any other religion Acts 4:12. You do not use a new piece of cloth to repair a tear in old clothes. The new cloth would shrink differently when the coat gets wet or is washed and probably tear the coat again. In the days of Jesus, and in some places now, the wine was made and stored using containers made of animal skins. If you use a previously used old skin container, the skins have been made stiff and brittle by the previous wine, so as the wine ferments, it puts pressure on the skins sides and if they do not stretch, which new skins will do, the container bursts, losing the wine. The Mosaic Law was completed at Calvary when the perfect sacrifice was made by Jesus for the world. When a Christian puts their trust in Jesus they enter a new life, a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17, a creation of grave and glory. How sad people prefer to continue with the old traditional religious ways when they could live a triumphant life in Jesus. v23-3:12 The Sabbath Matt 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5. The Sabbath was given to the Jews after they left Egypt, a special day introduced by God for the Jews. Originally there had only been a few specific acts which must not be done on the Sabbath, A fire must not be made to cook a meal Exodus 35:3; collect the fuel for the fire Numbers 15:32ff. Carry anything Jeremiah 17:21ff. No business to take place Nehemiah 10:31; Nehemiah 13:15,19. However, the Jewish leaders, over the years, had added to the list of things which could not be done on the Sabbath. The Sabbath had changed from a "day of rest" to a "day of being slaved to religious symbols." v23-28 Lord of the Sabbath. Matt 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5. As Jesus and the disciples walked through a cornfield, the disciples were picking off some of the grain to eat. It was not illegal, according to Jewish rules, for an hungry person to do this as long as they did not fill a vessel or use an harvesting tool. But this was not what was the problem to the Pharisees, they said that picking the grain was "working on the Sabbath day!" In Matt 12:1-8 there are three answers given by Jesus but as Mark’s Gospel was aimed at the Roman readers he only records the answer which concerns the actions of David, most Romans would know about king David. The answer is very clear and logical, if an hungry king and his men were allowed to eat the holy bread from the tabernacle 1 Samuel 21:1-6 Leviticus 24:5-9 then what is wrong with the Lord of the Sabbath allowing this action. "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." The Pharisees thought a man made tradition was more important than the needs of the people of God. |
Easy English Translation
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