Mark 2:1-17

2:1-12 | As Jesus taught a sophisticated crowd gathered in Peter’s home, something amazing happened. The event shows the exemplary faith of four men and the miracle of Jesus’ power and pardon (Matt. 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26).

2:3-5 | Jesus healed the paralytic primarily because He was impressed by the faith of his friends. These four men were determined to bring their friend to Jesus no matter what, believer that He could help him. Jesus not only saw into their hearts but He saw into the heart of the paralyzed man and knew his need: forgiveness.

2:6-8 | The scribes (teachers of religious law) were interested in maintaining power, not in meeting the paralytic’s needs. Their unspoken – and mistaken – reasoning concluded: Jesus speaks blasphemies, so He must not be God. But they failed to acknowledge that if He can forgive sins, He must indeed be God as He claimed (Isa. 43:25; Dan. 9:9). That Jesus knew what was on the scribes’ hearts before they ever expressed it was another sign of His divinity.

2:9-12 | Jesus’ argument moved from the unseen to the seen. The forgiveness of sins is a divine act in the spiritual realm that cannot be observed. But healing a paralytic so that he walked away carrying his bed was tangible. No one can heal paralysis with a word, just as no one can forgive sin with a word – unless that person is God or acting in His authority.

2:12 | The people glorified God (Matt. 9:33; Luke 5:26; John 9:32) – proof that they recognized Jesus’ divine authority. Belief is a choice. The crowd chose to believe, even if the scribes would not.

2:14 | Levi (or Matthew, as he is named in Matthew 9:9) immediately responded to Jesus’ call to follow Him, much as Peter, Andrew, James, and John had – even though, unlike those fishermen, a job probably would not be waiting for him if things did not work out. Levi dropped everything to join Jesus, making an earthly sacrifice for an eternal gain.

2:15-16 | The people of that day hated tax collectors, considering them traitors because they worked for the Romans and often extorted money. Sinners describes Jews who did not keep the law (or, in some cases, a particular sect’s interpretation of the law). Not only did Jeus choose to eat with them at Levi’s house, but Mark’s language suggests that Jesus was actually the dinner host.

2:16-17 | Physically sick people generally know they are sick, but spiritually sick people – especially the religious often fail to see their illness. Jesus came to those who lacked, desperately wanted, and knew they could not gain a robust relationship with God on their own (Luke 19:10).