Mar 2:1-12 (NASB) When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. (2) And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. (3) And they *came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. (4) 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. (5) And Jesus seeing their faith *said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (6) But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, (7) “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” (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? (9) “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? (10) “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–He *said to the paralytic, (11) “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” (12) And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
- Who is involved in these verses?
- Who demonstrated faith in the healing of the paralytic?
- What was the first blessing from Jesus to the paralytic?
- What was the conflict about between Jesus and scribes? (Lev 24:15-16) (Mark 14:61-64)
- Why do you think Jesus healed the paralytic as a demonstration of His authority?
- Who was glorifying God in the end? Does this include the scribes (teachers of the law)?
Mar 2:13-17 (NASB) And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them. (14) As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax booth, and He *said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. (15) And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. (16) When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” (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.” (Isa 1:18, Isa 55:7)
- Who is involved?
- What is this conflict?
- What is Jesus mission and why does it confuse the Pharisees?
Mar 2:18-22 (NASB) John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” (19) And Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom is with them, the attendants of the bridegroom cannot fast, can they? So long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.(Gen 29:20-22) (20) “But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. (21) “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. (22) “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
- Who is involved in this scene?
- What is the conflict?
- How does Jesus respond?
- Discuss the meaning behind unshrunk cloth and new wineskins.
Mar 2:23-28 (NASB) And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. (24) The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (25) And He *said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; (26) how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” (1Sa 21:3-6) (27) Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. (28) “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
- Who is involved in this passage?
- What is the conflict?
- How is the reference to David’s actions relevant to the conflict?
- Ultimately, what is Jesus’ final statement and how does that address the conflict?
References
Lev 24:15-16 “You shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone curses his God, then he will bear his sin. (16) ‘Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.
Mar 14:62-64 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” (63) Tearing his clothes, the high priest *said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? (64) “You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.
Isa 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Gen 29:20-22 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her. (21) Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is completed, that I may go in to her.” (22) Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast.
1Sa 21:3-6 NASB “Now therefore, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found.” (4) The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread on hand, but there is consecrated bread; if only the young men have kept themselves from women.” (5) David answered the priest and said to him, “Surely women have been kept from us as previously when I set out and the vessels of the young men were holy, though it was an ordinary journey; how much more then today will their vessels be holy?” (6) So the priest gave him consecrated bread; for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence which was removed from before the LORD, in order to put hot bread in its place when it was taken away.