The Text: Mark 2:1-12
1When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. 3Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7“Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take 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 say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.” 12And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”A Few General Comments
Both in terms of Mark's telling of the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection and the working of the Church Year, this is a transitional text.
In chapter 1 of Mark's breathless, journalistic account, Jesus has performed many miracles, signs of Who He is as Messiah and enfleshed God. Throughout the chapter, He's hailed as the mighty miracle-worker who is bringing a new teaching from God.
Except for the disappointment likely to have been felt by Simon and companions when Jesus refused to back into Capernaum in order to heal more people or the disobedience displayed by the cleansed leper who told others what Jesus had done for him, Jesus hasn't until this section of Mark encountered any conflict. He has been in a period of His ministry known to every leader--whether of corporations, universities, countries, towns, villages, social service agencies, unions, and churches: the honeymoon phase.
In a way, our Bible lesson presents us with yet another account of a healing by Jesus, akin to several that have been given in Mark's first chapter. But a new element is introduced here, too, one that will become increasingly prominent in Mark's telling of Jesus' story: Jesus is in conflict with others, specifically here with the religious elite. These conflicts will grow until Jesus is largely abandoned, the whole known world, Jewish and Gentile, content to have Him dead.
So, in terms of Mark's narrative, we're moving away from the unadulterated adulation Jesus has so far enjoyed to the beginning indicators of His eventual rejection by the world, from healing stories (and exorcisms) to controversy stories. This bloc runs from Mark 2:1 through 3:6, with an additional such story at Mark 3:20-30.
In terms of the Church Year, on this second-to-last weekend of the Epiphany Season, this Bible lesson gives us a foretaste of Jesus' death on a cross, a major theme of the upcoming Lenten Season, the dramatic climax of which will be Good Friday when the death of Jesus is remembered in solemn commemorations. Lent this year will begin on March 1.
Verse-by-verse comments
v. 1: (1) At the end of the first chapter, because of the disobedience of the cleansed man (Mark 1:40-45), Jesus has been forced to spend time in the wilderness.
The Greek word in the New Testament is, eremos, which can mean country and desert, as well as wilderness. It's the same word used to describe the place to which Jesus went when He was tempted by the devil and where He spiritually refueled after His first foray into public ministry. It earlier described, too, the place from which John the Baptizer proclaimed his message of repentance. The term also conjures images of Genesis 2:4ff, the second of the Genesis creation accounts, which portrays God bringing life to a dead desert. One other connection the word suggests is to memories of the people of God, sprung by God from their slavery in Egypt, wandering in the desert wilderness in the Old Testament book of Exodus, on their way to the promised land.
Now though, Jesus returns to Capernaum, which Mark portrays as Jesus' home. Several commentators believe that Mark implies Jesus tried to slip into the city unnoticed, but to no avail. In light of Mark 1:45, this makes sense.
(2) The text says that in Capernaum, Jesus was at home. Did Jesus actually own a home in Capernaum? Both Matthew 4:13 and John 2:12 might lend themselves to supporting such an idea, although most scholars believe that this was Peter's place and Jesus used it as His home during His ministry. This would make sense in light of the fact that Peter, as a fisherman, was probably well-off, the owner of an ample home.
v. 2: (1) Surrounded by the crowds, Jesus teaches at his home, rather than at the synagogue.
(2) So far in Mark's Gospel, the only specific quotation from Jesus' teaching or preaching is Mark 1:15. I would surmise that this same simple, urgent message is "the word" that's mentioned here.
vv. 3-4: (1) According to The Interpeter's Bible:
A village roof in Palestine was made of saplings laid flat, with branches and twigs spread over them, and clay patted down over this and baked in the sun...Such a roof would have been easy to tear into in order to lower a paralyzed man on a mat into a house by way of ropes.
It was, according to the Broadman Bible Commentary, common for houses in that region to have external stairways that led to their roofs.
(2) The term paralytic, which transliterates the term used in the original Greek of Mark's book, paralytikos, doesn't necessarily exactly equate with how we would use the term today. According to Brian Stoffregen, "it could refer to any type of 'lameness' or 'weakness' as the phrase 'paralyzed knees' in Hebrews 12:12 seems to suggest. We can't know the exact infirmity of the man who was brought to Jesus, except that he was unable to walk."
(3) In these verses, apart from another attribute that Jesus will note in v. 5, the men who lower the lame man into the house also exhibit friendship, persistence, and one of the two essential ingredients of prayer, desperation. (The other is faith, with which we'll deal momentarily.)
v. 5: (1) Whose faith does Jesus observe? Some scholars believe that it was that of the four men who lowered the paralytic to Jesus. They undoubtedly were included in Jesus' observations. But why not include the paralytic in their number, too? Is it likely that the friends would have brought the paralytic to Jesus without his consent? Whoever the they of "their faith" may be, faith is shown to be a dynamic thing. One acts on faith. It isn't a sit-back and do-nothing attribute.
(2) Stoffregen points out that "whenever 'faith'...is mentioned in conjunction with miracles, it seems to imply perseverance---overcoming obstacles in order to get to Jesus."
(3) Stoffregen also says that the "next time 'pistis' [the Greek word for faith] is used, Jesus is criticizing his disciples for having no faith (4:40). Instead they were afraid..."
(4) The ancient Hebrews believed that before any physical healing could come to a person, first they needed forgiveness of their sins. This was rooted in their notion that illness was punishment from God for sin. There is simply no evidence to suggest that Jesus ever thought this, as can be seen from His willingness to heal all sorts of folks and to touch those society deemed untouchable (Mark 1:40-45).
So why is it that the first thing that Jesus tells the paralytic is that his sins are forgiven? Stoffregen says:
The fact that he is declared forgiven while he remains paralyzed indicates that his relationship with God is not dependent upon his health or illness. Jesus, by forgiving first, without any healing, is attacking the common belief that sin caused his paralysis...Jesus' words and actions undermine the common religious thinking of his day.I believe that we can go one step further and say that by pronouncing the man's forgiveness, a consequence that always flows from coming to Jesus Christ in submissive faith, Jesus has done much more for this man--and something of more enduring value--than He will do in providing him with physical healing.
It's interesting too, that any notion that Jesus is refuting the idea that the man's sin caused his condition by offering forgiveness before the man even thinks to ask for it.
vv. 6-7: (1) Scribes were the professional teachers of Scripture in first-century Judea. The Interpreter's Bible points out that their questioning has a strong foundation in the Old Testament. Leviticus 43:25, for example, says that only God can forgive sins. Leviticus 24:16 says that the penalty for blasphemy is death by stoning.
Blasphemy, by the way, is defined at Dictionary.com as:
1 a A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing concerning God or a sacred entity.If Jesus weren't God-in-the-flesh, He would be totally out of line to declare people forgiven. Of course, Jesus has specifically given the Church the responsibility for declaring forgiveness in His Name (Matthew 16:19).
b The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God.
2 An irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.
v. 8: Jesus' understanding of the thoughts of the scribes was intuited supernaturally.
vv. 9-10: I love The Interpreter's Bible's explanation of what Jesus says to the scribes:
It was obviously easier to utter idle words in the name of God than to enable a paralytic to walk...But in order to demonstrate His authority to forgive sins, Jesus then heals the paralytic.
This underscores the place of miracles in Jesus' ministry (and even the ministries of the modern Church). They are signs that point to Jesus' deity and to His ability to deal with our most basic issue as human beings, the condition of sin which alienates from God, the source of life, and from each other.
This is what Jesus means in verse 10, when He tells the scribes His reason for healing the paralytic, to demonstrate that "the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on the earth."
v. 11: (1) Here's the point at which "the rubber hits the road" for the paralytic. Jesus commands him to get up, take his mat, and go home. At that moment, the man had to decide if he had sufficient faith in Jesus to follow this command. While Jesus certainly knew how the man would respond, the man didn't. Until we dare to act consistently with the trust in God we profess, our faith is just yammering or an intellectual belief system.
(2) In last Sunday's text, Jesus effectually traded places with a leprous man. Stoffregen points out that after time in the wilderness during which He couldn't be "at home," Jesus was now making it possible for this healed paralytic to walk to his own home and there enjoy the simple blessings of daily domesticity. Jesus couldn't really enjoy these; He was always surrounded by crowds. Once again, it seems, Jesus is exchanging places with someone.
v. 12: The crowds, as happens with all miracle stories, are understandably amazed!
One final note: Stoffregen rightly points out that as we progress through his narrative, Mark is showing us how as Jesus progressed in His ministry. Jesus made progressively larger claims for His authority. Stoffregen writes:
There is an expanding arena of Jesus' authority: in his teaching; over unclean spirits; and now over sin and disease. Each time it produces some kind of amazement among the people--a reaction that will continue throughout Mark. Jesus continually surprises the people all the way until the empty tomb.I hope to present more reflections and ideas on the text later in the week.
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