Jesus Heals a Paralytic
This controversy story is also a miracle story,...
This controversy story is also a miracle story, which links it to the previous collection (1:21–45).
Five controversy stories (2:1–12, 13–17, 18–22, 23–28; 3:1–6),...
Five controversy stories (2:1–12, 13–17, 18–22, 23–28; 3:1–6), grouped by their common theme, reveal Jesus’ great authority and the leaders’ hostility toward him.
1A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home, 2they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.
3Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men. 4Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
5When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Only God can forgive sins, yet Jesus had...
Only God can forgive sins, yet Jesus had authority to do so (2:10).
6But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts, 7“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked.
It is easier to say... your sins are...
It is easier to say . . . your sins are forgiven because this claim cannot be directly proved or disproved, while the claim to heal can be. Jesus showed his ability to heal in order to show his authority to forgive.
9“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic, 11“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
12And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus Calls Levi
(Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32)
Levi was also called Matthew (cp. Matt 9:9–10)....
- Levi was also called Matthew (cp. Matt 9:9–10). Certain people are known by two names in the New Testament (e.g., Simon=Peter; Saul=Paul; Judas son of James=Thaddaeus, see study note on Mark 3:18).
- This kind of tax collector (Greek telōnēs) collected sales taxes, customs, and road tolls, in contrast with those who collected the poll tax (12:14). Local tax collectors like Levi were hated by other Jews because they often gouged the public (Luke 19:8), and as agents of the Romans, they were regarded as traitors. Jesus invited Levi, a tax collector, to follow him, joining Peter, Andrew, James, and John (Mark 1:16–20).
This controversy centers on Jesus’ befriending disreputable sinners...
This controversy centers on Jesus’ befriending disreputable sinners such as tax collectors and eating with them.
13Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there.
14As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.
15While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. 16When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat† with tax collectors and sinners?”
17On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Questions about Fasting
(Matthew 9:14–15; Luke 5:33–35)
This controversy deals with fasting, which Jesus did...
This controversy deals with fasting, which Jesus did not practice with his disciples. The Pharisees regularly fasted two days a week, on Mondays and Thursdays (Luke 18:12), and Jews often fasted when mourning or specially seeking the Lord’s favor (Lev 16:29–31; 1 Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12; 12:21–23; Ezra 8:23; Esth 4:3; Matt 6:16).
18Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?”
Jesus was like a groom at his wedding,...
Jesus was like a groom at his wedding, so fasting was inappropriate. It was a time for celebration (Luke 15:23–25, 32). The disciples would fast when Jesus was taken away by death (see Acts 13:2–3; 14:23).
19Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
The Patches and the Wineskins
(Matthew 9:16–17; Luke 5:36–39)
Old customs of the old covenant are incompatible...
Old customs of the old covenant are incompatible with the new arrival of God’s Kingdom. Common experience shows that an unshrunken new patch sewn on old clothing will tear the old cloth as it shrinks. Similarly, brittle old wineskins will burst when new wine ferments in them. Jesus’ meaning was that the fasting of the old cannot mix with the feasting of the new.
21No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result.
22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.Ӡ
The Lord of the Sabbath
(1 Samuel 21:1–7; Matthew 12:1–8; Luke 6:1–5)
In this controversy, Jesus and his disciples are...
In this controversy, Jesus and his disciples are accused of breaking the Sabbath (Exod 20:8–11). Picking grain by hand in another person’s field was lawful (Deut 23:25). The charge was that by rubbing the chaff from the kernels, the disciples were working on the Sabbath, which was forbidden (Exod 34:21).
23One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. 24So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
Jesus countered with reference to an incident in...
Jesus countered with reference to an incident in the life of King David (1 Sam 21). When David and his followers ate the sacred loaves—the twelve loaves in the Tabernacle that only priests were allowed to eat—they broke the law (see Lev 24:5–9). But deeper principles were at work (Mark 2:27–28).
25Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread,† which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.”
Since Jesus is the Lord of humanity (1...
Since Jesus is the Lord of humanity (1 Cor 15:25–28; Eph 1:20–22; Phil 2:9–11) and since the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, he is Lord . . . over the Sabbath. As with Jesus’ authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:7), this was a claim to divine authority.
27Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”