Chapter Two of Mark's Gospel
[Mark 2]Healing paralysis and forgiveness of sins
Jesus is Teaching
Mark 2:1 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So 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.
Observations and Questions:
1. We learned from chapter one that Jesus saw his primary mission to be one of preaching, teaching, and announcing. Chapter two begins with Jesus returning to Capernaum after earlier leaving due to the crowds seeking healing from him.
2. The last part of Chapter 2: verse 2, says that Jesus returned "speaking the word to them." What is this "word" that he is speaking?
Mark does not tell us what Jesus was actually saying. We are left to figure out his message from the reaction he gets from those who hear him. As we will see, Jesus attracts those who seek him for healing and acceptance and those who seek to question him about his actions.
3. In Mark 2:3-5 (below)people respond to what Jesus is saying by bringing a paralyzed man to him and lowering the man down through a cut hole in the home where Jesus was staying. Does their response tell you anything about what Jesus might have been speaking?
Since illness and affliction were often seen as God's punishment, Jesus' message seems to have run counter to this belief. The words of Jesus created a sense of hope in those who brought the lame man to Jesus. The combination of Jesus's words and the lame man's friends response to his message, created a community of faith.
Response to Teaching and Jesus' Action
Mark 2:3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 And 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. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Observations and Questions:
4. What is Jesus' response to the actions of those who bring the paralytic to him for healing?
Jesus forgives the sins of the lame man in response to what he called the faith of his friends.
5. Why would Jesus assume that this man needed to be forgiven?
Jesus understood the popular conception that illness was linked to the sin of either the person afflicted or the sins of the person's family. In the lame man's community represented by those who brought him to Jesus, faith in response to Jesus'preaching and teaching, created a place where the lame man would be accepted and seen, not as a sinner afflicted by God, but a child of God who happened to be lame.
6. What is the relationship between the faith Jesus saw in the friends who brought the paralytic to him and his decision to pronounce absolution of the man's sins?
God's forgiveness for the individual is mediated through a community that seeks to imitate God's graciousness and forgiveness.
7. If God forgives you of sins you have committed, but the community in which you live does not believe God could or would forgive the likes of you, what is the purpose of offering forgiveness?
It is difficult for an individual to experience forgiveness in a community that is judgmental and lacking in mercy. God offers forgiveness because that is who God is. God makes himself known in order to show us the difference between himself and all other gods. In some 12 Step programs it is said that a person/community is as sick as their conception of God.
8. What sort of community seems best for receiving those whom God has forgiven?
The Questioning Community
Mark 2:6 Now 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?" 8 At 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? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat 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, stand up, take your mat and go to your home." 12 And 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!
Observations and Questions:
9. Scribes were educated people who helped maintain the standards of purity that helped define and separate the pure from the impure. Why do you think Mark says that the Scribes questioning takes place in their hearts? What does the heart represent? Do you remember the word "Splag-ch-na" that was part of a sermon I preached in February, 2006? Here is the information about this word that might help you better understand the importance of the heart in this discussion.
INNER PARTS OF A BLOOD SACRIFICE
Later, it became a generic term for the inner organs, including the womb. It also was seen as the seat for the impulsive passions, such as anger or anxious desire. It was never used in the pre-Christian Greek world to mean mercy or compassion as it came to mean in the later Jewish-Christian writings.
From this word "Splag-chin-izo-mai" meaning “Compassion” came into existence through the teachings of Jesus.
10. When Jesus asks the Scribes whether it is easier to heal or forgive, his question is aimed at their hearts and our hearts. Why do you think it is easier for God to heal us than to forgive us?
11. What prayer that we use almost every Sunday reminds you of the human heart?
12. Why does Jesus decide to heal the paralytic?
Jesus Teaches
Mark 2:13 Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.
Observations and Questions
13. So, again, we are not told what Jesus is teaching by Mark. We are simply told that a whole bunch of people have gathered around him. Why do you think Mark leaves out the teaching of Jesus?
Jesus Practices What He Teaches
Mark 2:14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples — for there were many who followed him.
Observtions and Questions
14. What is the relationship between the content of Jesus' teaching and his actions?
15. Are you able to grasp the status of Levi and the other tax collectors and sinners that Jesus calls and attracts to himself?
16. Why would such people be attracted to Jesus, much less decide to follow him?
The Questioning Community
Mark 2:16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
17. Do you find it interesting that the scribes and the Pharisees went to Jesus' followers to ask about this question, rather than coming directly to Jesus? Why do think they would do such a thing? What might be the motive behind questioning the disciples?
Jesus Responds to Questions
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
Observations and Questions:
18. What do you think of Jesus' answer to this questioning of his actions and teaching?
19. Do you think only those who are "sick" and in need of a physician are being called to the dinner table by Jesus?
20. If so, how shall we understand our own call to come to Jesus?
21. Why do you think people outside of the church often see Christians as "too good to be true?"
22. Why do Christians often get labeled hypocrites?
23. How might the scribes have reacted to having tax collectors and identified sinners come into their communities of worship and study?
24. Do you think tax collectors and sinners wanted to be included in the same community as the scribes?
Another Question About Food
Mark 2:18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19 Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
Observations and Questions
25. The people, noting the difference between Jesus' disciples and John's and the Pharisees disciples when it came to fasting, now come to Jesus to find out why his disciples are not following this ancient tradition of piety.
26. Jesus makes an interesting observation. Imagine having a wedding party and inviting people to come for a celebration only to find a few or more invitees refusing to eat the wonderful food and drink the exceptional wines being offered. When asked why they were not eating or drinking, they would say they were fasting. Would this seem like appropriate behavior for such a grand and wonderful celebration?
27. Jesus disciples are not asked to fast because while Jesus is with them, there is a marriage feast going on. This image of a wedding feast is used in the Old Testament to remind us of the eschatological feast that will take place at the end of time. How does Jesus' presence anticipate, create and make present, what has not yet come fully into being?
28. Look back at Jesus earliest preaching. What does he say?
Of Cloaks and Wine Skins: Old and New
Mark 2:21 "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
Observations and Questions:
29. Why do you suppose Jesus used this passage in the midst of talking about fasting and the eschatological marriage feast?
30. What do the old cloak and old wine skins represent?
31. What does the unshrunken cloth and the new wine represent?
Working on the Sabatth
Mark 2:23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
Observations and Questions
32. Do you remember when stores and other retail businesses were closed on Sundays?
33. What was the intention of the sabatth?
34. Why do you think Jesus' disciples simply began eating from the grainfields with no thought of the prohibition against working on the sabatth?
The Questioning Community
Mark 2:24 The Pharisees said 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 and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
Jesus is Teaching
Mark 2:1 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So 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.
Observations and Questions:
1. We learned from chapter one that Jesus saw his primary mission to be one of preaching, teaching, and announcing. Chapter two begins with Jesus returning to Capernaum after earlier leaving due to the crowds seeking healing from him.
2. The last part of Chapter 2: verse 2, says that Jesus returned "speaking the word to them." What is this "word" that he is speaking?
Mark does not tell us what Jesus was actually saying. We are left to figure out his message from the reaction he gets from those who hear him. As we will see, Jesus attracts those who seek him for healing and acceptance and those who seek to question him about his actions.
3. In Mark 2:3-5 (below)people respond to what Jesus is saying by bringing a paralyzed man to him and lowering the man down through a cut hole in the home where Jesus was staying. Does their response tell you anything about what Jesus might have been speaking?
Since illness and affliction were often seen as God's punishment, Jesus' message seems to have run counter to this belief. The words of Jesus created a sense of hope in those who brought the lame man to Jesus. The combination of Jesus's words and the lame man's friends response to his message, created a community of faith.
Response to Teaching and Jesus' Action
Mark 2:3 Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 And 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. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Observations and Questions:
4. What is Jesus' response to the actions of those who bring the paralytic to him for healing?
Jesus forgives the sins of the lame man in response to what he called the faith of his friends.
5. Why would Jesus assume that this man needed to be forgiven?
Jesus understood the popular conception that illness was linked to the sin of either the person afflicted or the sins of the person's family. In the lame man's community represented by those who brought him to Jesus, faith in response to Jesus'preaching and teaching, created a place where the lame man would be accepted and seen, not as a sinner afflicted by God, but a child of God who happened to be lame.
6. What is the relationship between the faith Jesus saw in the friends who brought the paralytic to him and his decision to pronounce absolution of the man's sins?
God's forgiveness for the individual is mediated through a community that seeks to imitate God's graciousness and forgiveness.
7. If God forgives you of sins you have committed, but the community in which you live does not believe God could or would forgive the likes of you, what is the purpose of offering forgiveness?
It is difficult for an individual to experience forgiveness in a community that is judgmental and lacking in mercy. God offers forgiveness because that is who God is. God makes himself known in order to show us the difference between himself and all other gods. In some 12 Step programs it is said that a person/community is as sick as their conception of God.
8. What sort of community seems best for receiving those whom God has forgiven?
The Questioning Community
Mark 2:6 Now 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?" 8 At 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? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat 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, stand up, take your mat and go to your home." 12 And 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!
Observations and Questions:
9. Scribes were educated people who helped maintain the standards of purity that helped define and separate the pure from the impure. Why do you think Mark says that the Scribes questioning takes place in their hearts? What does the heart represent? Do you remember the word "Splag-ch-na" that was part of a sermon I preached in February, 2006? Here is the information about this word that might help you better understand the importance of the heart in this discussion.
INNER PARTS OF A BLOOD SACRIFICE
Later, it became a generic term for the inner organs, including the womb. It also was seen as the seat for the impulsive passions, such as anger or anxious desire. It was never used in the pre-Christian Greek world to mean mercy or compassion as it came to mean in the later Jewish-Christian writings.
From this word "Splag-chin-izo-mai" meaning “Compassion” came into existence through the teachings of Jesus.
10. When Jesus asks the Scribes whether it is easier to heal or forgive, his question is aimed at their hearts and our hearts. Why do you think it is easier for God to heal us than to forgive us?
11. What prayer that we use almost every Sunday reminds you of the human heart?
12. Why does Jesus decide to heal the paralytic?
Jesus Teaches
Mark 2:13 Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.
Observations and Questions
13. So, again, we are not told what Jesus is teaching by Mark. We are simply told that a whole bunch of people have gathered around him. Why do you think Mark leaves out the teaching of Jesus?
Jesus Practices What He Teaches
Mark 2:14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.15 And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples — for there were many who followed him.
Observtions and Questions
14. What is the relationship between the content of Jesus' teaching and his actions?
15. Are you able to grasp the status of Levi and the other tax collectors and sinners that Jesus calls and attracts to himself?
16. Why would such people be attracted to Jesus, much less decide to follow him?
The Questioning Community
Mark 2:16 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
17. Do you find it interesting that the scribes and the Pharisees went to Jesus' followers to ask about this question, rather than coming directly to Jesus? Why do think they would do such a thing? What might be the motive behind questioning the disciples?
Jesus Responds to Questions
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
Observations and Questions:
18. What do you think of Jesus' answer to this questioning of his actions and teaching?
19. Do you think only those who are "sick" and in need of a physician are being called to the dinner table by Jesus?
20. If so, how shall we understand our own call to come to Jesus?
21. Why do you think people outside of the church often see Christians as "too good to be true?"
22. Why do Christians often get labeled hypocrites?
23. How might the scribes have reacted to having tax collectors and identified sinners come into their communities of worship and study?
24. Do you think tax collectors and sinners wanted to be included in the same community as the scribes?
Another Question About Food
Mark 2:18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 19 Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
Observations and Questions
25. The people, noting the difference between Jesus' disciples and John's and the Pharisees disciples when it came to fasting, now come to Jesus to find out why his disciples are not following this ancient tradition of piety.
26. Jesus makes an interesting observation. Imagine having a wedding party and inviting people to come for a celebration only to find a few or more invitees refusing to eat the wonderful food and drink the exceptional wines being offered. When asked why they were not eating or drinking, they would say they were fasting. Would this seem like appropriate behavior for such a grand and wonderful celebration?
27. Jesus disciples are not asked to fast because while Jesus is with them, there is a marriage feast going on. This image of a wedding feast is used in the Old Testament to remind us of the eschatological feast that will take place at the end of time. How does Jesus' presence anticipate, create and make present, what has not yet come fully into being?
28. Look back at Jesus earliest preaching. What does he say?
Of Cloaks and Wine Skins: Old and New
Mark 2:21 "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
Observations and Questions:
29. Why do you suppose Jesus used this passage in the midst of talking about fasting and the eschatological marriage feast?
30. What do the old cloak and old wine skins represent?
31. What does the unshrunken cloth and the new wine represent?
Working on the Sabatth
Mark 2:23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.
Observations and Questions
32. Do you remember when stores and other retail businesses were closed on Sundays?
33. What was the intention of the sabatth?
34. Why do you think Jesus' disciples simply began eating from the grainfields with no thought of the prohibition against working on the sabatth?
The Questioning Community
Mark 2:24 The Pharisees said 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 and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
posted by Father Bob+ at 4:04 PM
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