Mark 2:5
And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
(a) Seeing their faith. Jesus saw the actions that accompanied the faith of those who carried the paralyzed man. The four men risked the ire of others by removing the roof of the house. They did this because they believed that Jesus could help their friend.
(b) Your sins are forgiven. Jesus forgave the paralyzed man to show us that God freely forgives us on account of grace and without any regard for our behavior (Eph. 1:7). Jesus died for us while we were sinners, and he forgave us while we were sinners (Col. 2:13). Before you repented, confessed, or did anything, the Lamb of God carried away all your sins – past, present, and future. See entry for Luke 23:34.
Mark 2:6
But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
Scribes; see entry for Matt. 5:20.
Mark 2:7
“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?”
(a) Blaspheming. The original verb blasphēmeō means “to malign” (e.g., Tit. 3:2), “to abuse” (e.g., Mark 15:29), “to speak evil of” (e.g., Rom. 14:16), or “to slander” (e.g., Rom. 3:8). It is speaking falsely of someone in a way that injures their good name.
(b) Forgive sins; see entry for Forgiveness.
Mark 2:9
“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?
Your sins are forgiven; see entry for Mark 2:5.
Mark 2:10
“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,
(a) The Son of Man; see entry for Matt. 8:20.
(b) Forgive sins; see entry for Forgiveness.
Mark 2:14
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.
Levi the son of Alphaeus was probably Matthew the tax collector (Matt. 9:9).
Mark 2:15
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.
Tax collectors and sinners. Tax collectors (like Levi) were revenue collectors for the hated Roman occupiers, while sinners were the irreligious and those considered unrighteous (Matt. 9:13). The word “sinner” in the Gospels, typically refers to someone who does not keep the law (John 7:49).
Mark 2:16
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?”
(a) The scribes of the Pharisees. Some of the scribes (experts in the law) belonged to the party of the Pharisees. See entry for Matt. 5:20.
(b) Tax collectors and sinners; see previous verse.
Mark 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.”
(a) The righteous refers to those who trust in their own righteousness (Luke 18:9). Self-righteous religious people, in other words.
(b) Sinners. If the original language did not lack punctuation marks, the word “sinners” would be in quotation marks. Religious people called them sinners; Jesus called them lost sheep (Matt. 10:6, 15:24).
Mark 2:23
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.
(a) The Sabbath was the day of rest mandated in the Law of Moses (Ex. 31:14, Lev. 23:3). The Sabbath day began at sunset on Friday and ended on sunset on Saturday.
(b) Picking the heads of grain. The Pharisees claimed the disciples were breaking the law (see next verse).
Mark 2:24
The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
(a) Pharisees; see entry for Matt. 3:7.
(b) What is not lawful. It was a violation of the Law to do any work on the Sabbath (Lev. 23:3).
Mark 2:28
“So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
(a) The Son of Man; see entry for Matt. 8:20.
(b) Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a signpost that points to Jesus.
The Sabbath day of rest, which was enshrined in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:10) and repeated elsewhere in the Law of Moses (Ex. 31:14, Lev. 23:3), reflected the seventh day when God rested from his work of creation (Gen. 2:2–3). By saying he was Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus was essentially saying “I am the Creator who rested and who helps you to rest.” It was an astounding claim that would have shocked the Pharisees. The original Sabbath law, that some still strive to keep, was a mere shadow (Heb. 10:1). The substance or reality is found in Christ (Col. 2:17).
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