Mark Chapter 02
Memory verses for
this week: Luke 9:5 And whosoever will
not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust
from your feet for a testimony against them.
Introduction:
We continue with our study
of Mark Chapter 2 this week. In the last half of Chapter 1, Jesus
cast out demons there in Capernaum as he also healed many who had
sicknesses. Jesus taught in the synagogues all through Galilee, and
was always about helping the people with whatever the problem. We
closed with Jesus healing a man of leprosy. We begin Chapter 2 seeing
Christ heal a man with the palsy.
I. The Man with
Palsy is Healed
Mark 2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and
it was noised that he was in the house.
Mark 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch
that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the
door: and he preached the word unto them.
After Jesus traveled throughout all of Galilee, he returns
unto Capernaum. The news that He had returned spread through out the
city. If you remember at the close of last week’s lesson, Jesus had
healed the leper. Jesus had to withdraw into desert places because
the leper whom He had healed didn’t obey what Jesus had requested that
he do, but had gone out and told everyone. So then the crowds pushed
upon Him and our Lord couldn’t do His work.
As the crowd gathers, the press is great and there was no more room for
anyone to enter. They could not even make their way to the door
because of the number who had gathered. Jesus healed those who were
sick, but always remember that his main purpose was that he preached
the word of God to the people. Our focus as a church should ever be
to lift up the name of Christ to a lost and dying world.
Mark 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was borne of four.
Mark 2:4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press,
they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up,
they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
Four men, apparently
friends of the man who had the palsy, bring this man to Jesus. The
man could not come to Jesus by himself. This is the way of the
sinner… on his own he can not deal with his sin debt. No money or
works will remove our sins. Only Jesus can take away sin. The four
men can’t get through the door, but they don’t give up. They were
determined, and they climb up on top of the house and take part of the
roof off so that they can lower the bed down to the Lord. This should
be a lesson to all of us.. even when we think it is impossible to get
to Jesus, we can come to him if we keep on. If you pray and it seems
your prayers don’t get past the ceiling, you need to be serious with
the Lord and petition Him again and again. The Lord is moved by our
needs and hears our prayers.
1 John 5:14 And this
is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing
according to his will, he heareth us:
1 John 5:15 And if
we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the
petitions that we desired of him.
Mark 2:5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Jesus was moved by their faith. Our faith is something that
can be seen, and these men had a lot of it to bring the man to the
Lord. They knew where the power to be healed was, and it was in
Jesus. Jesus saw their faith, and first forgave the man of his
sins. We show our faith by our works it says over in James.
James 2:18 Yea, a
man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith
without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
Mark 2:6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and
reasoning in their hearts,
Mark 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive
sins but God only?
Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that
they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye
these things in your hearts?
Mark 2:9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy
sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and
walk?
The fact that Jesus forgave the man of his sins proved that
Jesus was God. Jesus not only could forgive, but He had the power to
know their thoughts. He knows our thoughts too. And Jesus knows if
we are strong in our beliefs or weak. The scribes had the belief that
a man could not be healed of an infirmity until all his sins had been
forgiven. Jesus questions them and asks, “Whether is it easier to
say to the sick of palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise,
and take up they bed, and walk?”
Mark 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on
earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
Mark 2:11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy
way into thine house.
Mark 2:12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went
forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and
glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
Jesus wanted them to know the truth, and he heals the man so
that they might know that He really was God with power to forgive
sins. It would easy to say ‘Thy sins be forgiven’ since you could
not really tell if it were true. But to make a lame man walk would
be a miracle. To say “Arise, and take up they bed, and go they way
into thine house.” would put Jesus on the spot. Either he would be
true or would be a liar. Forgiving sins was no harder for Christ
than to heal the man of the palsy. He was God.
II. The Call of Levi
Mark 2:13 And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the
multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
Mark 2:14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus
sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he
arose and followed him.
Notice that Jesus was always about teaching the people. God
has always wanted the best for his people, but so many will not
listen. One of my good friends, Bobby Garcia, was talking with me
last night. We agreed that the reason that so few people are coming
to Christ today is partially due to this false teaching that sin is
conditional based up the situation you are in. This New Age teaching
is nothing but a lie from Satan himself. Sin is sin, and it is based
upon what God’s Word says, not whether we determine in our minds if it
is sin or not. Until a person recognizes themselves as a sinner
and in need of a Savior, they will never be saved.
Jesus passes by Levi and tells him to ‘Follow me.’ Levi was
a tax collector, and a man that no doubt was not popular with the
people. Some things in society have not changed much after over
2,000 years, and I can honestly say that tax collectors are not well
viewed even today. The great thing about Levi is that he didn’t
procrastinate or question whether if be a good idea, but he arose
immediately and followed Him. Oh that we could see people make that
decisive decision to follow Christ today. We seem to be too
comfortable in our homes and jobs to consider the call of the Lord.
But one day, the most important decision you ever made will be whether
you accepted Jesus as your own personal Lord and Savior.
Mark 2:15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his
house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his
disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
Mark 2:16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with
publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he
eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are
whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
The Pharisees were always seeking a way to find fault with
Jesus. They see Christ eating with publicans and sinners, and
question why he is doing this. I don’t know about you, but I am so
thankful Jesus wants to have something to do with sinners. If he
didn’t, none of us would have a hope of eternal life. Jesus responds
to their question, and tells them that he has come to those who were
sick. He came to call sinners to repentance. Thank God that Christ
had compassion on the sinner. The Pharisees perceived themselves to
be righteous, but none of us are righteous without Christ.
Rom 3:21 But now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there
is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Rom 3:13 Their
throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their lips:
Rom 3:14 Whose mouth
is full of cursing and bitterness:
Rom 3:15 Their feet
are swift to shed blood:
Rom 3:16 Destruction
and misery are in their ways:
Rom 3:17 And the way
of peace have they not known:
Rom 3:18 There is no
fear of God before their eyes.
Mark 2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to
fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and
of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
Mark 2:19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they
have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
Mark 2:20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be
taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
The question is raised about why Jesus’ disciples did not
fast. John’s disciples fasted, the Pharisees were always fasting, so
they want to know why Christ’s disciples did not. Jesus tells them
that there would come a time when His disciples would truly fast.
They did not fast to bring on something, but because something was
taken away from them. Once Christ has been taken out, we look for
Christ’s return. And it honestly could be any day.
Mat 25:13 Watch
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of
man cometh.
1 Th 1:6 And ye
became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in
much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:
1 Th 1:7 So that ye
were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
1 Th 1:8 For from
you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so
that we need not to speak any thing.
1 Th 1:9 For they
themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and
how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
1 Th 1:10 And to
wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
III. Parable of the
Cloth and the Bottles
Mark 2:21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old
garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the
old, and the rent is made worse.
Mark 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the
new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the
bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
When Jesus taught about the sewing of a new cloth into an old
garment, he was making it clear that spiritual religion, true
Christianity, was not to be patched on to legalistic Judaism. We no
longer under the law, but are in a new dispensation called the
dispensation of grace or the church age. The second figure about the
old and new bottles was teaching that the Christian religion can not
be mixed with Judaism.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore
then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the
seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by
angels in the hand of a mediator.
Gal 3:20 Now a
mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21 Is the law
then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a
law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should
have been by the law.
Gal 3:22 But the
scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of
Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before
faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which
should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after
that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 5:16 This I say
then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the
flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh:
and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the
things that ye would.
Gal 5:18 But if ye
be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
J. Vernon McGee said this about putting the new wine into new
bottles.
The
Lord is giving two illustrations about this new life of love and
fellowship with Him. He is saying that He did not come to polish up
the Law. He didn’t come to add to the Mosaic system. He didn’t come to
add a refinement or a development to it. He came to do something new.
He didn’t come to patch up an old garment but to give us a new
garment.
Under the Law men worked, and their works were like an old
moth-eaten garment. Our Lord came to provide a new robe of
righteousness that comes down onto a sinner who will trust Christ.
This will enable him to stand before Almighty God. This is the
glorious, wonderful thing that He is saying here, friend. Our Lord
didn’t come to extend or project the Law of the Old Testament system
or of religion. He came to introduce something new. And that which is
new will be the fact that He will die for the sins of the world. New
wine goes into new wine skins. A new garment goes onto a new man. That
robe of righteousness comes down on one who through faith has become a
son of God. This is a tremendous thing!
[i]
IV. Jesus is the
Lord of the Sabbath
Mark 2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn
fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to
pluck the ears of corn.
It is important to realize that the disciples were not
stealing this corn. By the law, they had a scriptural right to pluck
the ears of corn. The “corn” is the Greek
sporima,
meaning sown fields of grain. It may have been barley, or it could
have been wheat. The disciples were plucking the grain and eating,
which the Pharisees interpreted as harvesting grain and threshing it
on the Sabbath. The Law permitted people to pull the grain.
[ii]
Deu 23:24 When thou
comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy
fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
Deu 23:25 When thou
comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck
the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy
neighbour's standing corn.
Mark 2:24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on
the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
Mark 2:25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David
did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with
him?
Mark 2:26 How he went into the house of God in the days of
Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the showbread, which is not
lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were
with him?
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the sabbath:
Mark 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
The Pharisees charged that the disciples were working on the
sabbath day, a law that should not have been broken. Jesus answered
their criticism by calling attention to what David did when he went
into the temple and ate of the showbread. The lesson we learn from
this is that the satisfying of human need is more vital than the
observance of religious ritualism. God’s laws were written that man
might live, not to die. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the
Sabbath. In other words, He was saying the rest of the Sabbath was
to help man. Good laws are created for the benefit of mankind. Jesus
tells them that He is Lord of the sabbath also. How should we
observe the Lord’s Day? One way is to be in God’s house and not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves as many do today. But the main
thing is that we should do those things that we know would be pleasing
to the Lord of the Sabbath.
W. A. Criswell said this about the Sabbath in the Believers
Study Bible.
These verses contain two controversies about the same
subject: the Sabbath and its proper use. The Pharisees, because of
their additions to the law and ritualistic human traditions, had
turned the Sabbath into something God never intended. Jesus confronts
their misuse and restores the Sabbath to its proper state. Jesus also
confronts the Pharisees concerning their insistence on the letter of
the law rather than the spirit of the law. God made the Sabbath so
that man could cease from his labor and find refreshment. The
Pharisees had turned the idea of refreshment into something very
restrictive, so restrictive that even sustaining life and doing good
were questioned. The concept of Sabbath comes from the early chapters
of Genesis when God ceased His creative activity, not because He was
exhausted but because His work was complete (cf. Gen. 2:1–3). Sabbath
rest, then, is the ceasing of normal pursuits to find refreshment in
the worship and service of God. The Pharisees insisted on total
inactivity and made the Sabbath a burden rather than a time of
refreshment. The Sabbath was a “sign” between God and the nation of
Israel (cf. Ex. 31:17) and is therefore a Jewish observance. Indeed it
is the only commandment of the Decalogue not reaffirmed in the New
Testament. Because of the resurrection, the Christian day of worship
is the Lord’s Day (Sunday, the first day of the week), rather than the
Jewish Sabbath (Saturday, the seventh day of the week).
[iii]
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Prov
4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day.
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Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Each act spreads, and many will be
blessed.
[i]J.
Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible
commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.
[ii]J.
Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible
commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.
[iii]W.A.
Criswell, Believer’s study
Bible [computer file], electronic ed. , Logos Library System,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1991 by the Criswell Center for
Biblical Studies.