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Home , Mark 2

Phone Call Class Notes FOR THE LESSON ON SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2019 (3/8/2019)

MARK 2 NOTES* (based on NASB) “Forgives” Mark 2:1-12 (BACKGROUND TEXT: :21 – 3:6)

INTRODUCTION: • Background for the of Mark: o Mark, the second and shortest of the in our Bible, is also believed to be the first written. ▪ Although the text does not name the author, church tradition indicates it was . ▪ Mark was a cousin to Barnabas (Col. 4:10) who started with Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, but he returned home early (Acts 13:13). ▪ Later Barnabas wished to take Mark again, but Paul did not want Mark to go, so Paul and Barnabas went in different directions and Barnabas took Mark with him. (Acts 15:36-41) ▪ In Paul’s later years, Mark proved to be valuable to Paul in ministry. (2 Tim. 4:11) ▪ The church father Papias recorded that Mark travelled with Peter and took notes of his preaching, and from these notes put together the . ▪ Scholars of later years have concluded that Mark was writing from Rome to mostly Gentile Christians during a time of persecution. o The gospel of Mark is written in a more street level, conversational style of the . ▪ Although the gospel is shorter with fewer incidents, many of the accounts written are longer than in Matthew and Luke. ▪ Mark reveals many descriptive details in the narrative, and demonstrates ’ emotions, but has much less of His parables and teachings. ▪ In Mark, Jesus is portrayed as the Suffering Servant. • General Outline of the Gospel of Mark: o The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry (Mark 1) o Jesus’ Ministry in (Mark 2-6) o Jesus’ Ministry outside of Galilee (-9) o Jesus’ Ministry on the Road to () o Jesus in Jerusalem, His Final Week (-15) o Jesus’ Resurrection () • Background for today’s Lesson: o Last week, we learned about how Jesus appeared to as he was preaching. Jesus was baptized, and after being tempted, preached the gospel and called His first disciples. o In today’s lesson, we learn about the following: Four men were bringing a paralyzed man on a pallet and lowered him through the roof so that they could get him to Jesus for healing. Jesus not only healed the man, but he proved he had the authority to forgive .

Preliminary Verses in the Background Text • 1:21-28 – When a demonized man entered the synagogue, Jesus casts the demon out and everyone is amazed. • 1:29-34 – On the afternoon of the Sabbath, when Jesus was in Peter’s home, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a raging fever, and after sunset, the whole town brought people to Jesus for healing. • 1:35-39 – Jesus rises early the next morning and goes outside the town to pray. The disciples search for Him, and when they find Him, He tells them that He must go to other villages to minister as well. • 1:40-45 – Jesus heals a leper and warns him to tell no one, but the man spreads the word to a point that Jesus was not able to enter inside of towns because of His notoriety.

FAITH EXPRESSED (Mark 2:1-5)

Verse 1: • When He had come back to – In the latter part of chapter 1, Mark records that Jesus was leaving for a ministry tour of the Galilean area. In chapter 2 He has returned home from His tour. • It was heard that He was at home. – Jesus had established Capernaum as a type of home headquarters, probably at Peter’s house. Verse 2: • Many were gathered together – It was customary in that time for people to freely move in and out of each other’s homes during the daytime hours. When they heard that Jesus was in Peter’s house, a large crowd came to see Him. • No longer room, not even near the door – a massive crowd so that no one could go in or out. It was believed only about 50 people could have squeezed into the house. • He was speaking the word to them – Jesus’ preaching was labeled by the disciples as the “word” meaning the “Word of God.” Verse 3: • Bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. – This paralyzed man was on a bedroll type of pallet and the four men were carrying the man each by holding a corner of the pallet, or to ropes tied to its corners, or underneath it. Verse 4: • They removed the roof about him – The roof, like the entire house, was made of dried adobe mud thatch bricks. Therefore, getting through the roof would have been a simple matter. They could go up to the flat roof by means of an outside staircase. • When they had dug an opening. – The Greek word literally means “dug” because they dug through the mud thatch in a similar way that one would dig through the earth on the ground. • They let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying – They literally lowered the man on his pallet by means of ropes through the hole they had dug through the roof. Verse 5: • Jesus, seeing their – The verse implies that it was the faith of the four men who carried the man that wrought the miracle, not the faith of the man on the pallet. Sometimes we can exercise faith on behalf of others, and sometimes others can exercise faith on behalf of us. • “Son, your sins are forgiven.” – This was a surprising statement to the people who were there. They were expecting Jesus to tell the man he was healed. They would not have expected anyone to say he was granting forgiveness of sins, because only God can do that. But this was precisely the point that Jesus was making! It may be that the paralyzed man was fearful he could not be healed because he was trapped in the guilt of , so Jesus dealt with that first. Either way, forgiveness was the man’s deepest need.

AUTHORITY QUESTIONED (Mark 2:6-7)

Verse 6: • Some of the scribes were sitting there – Scribes were Jewish men who were educated and trained in copying Scriptures. Because they copied Scripture, they were able to teach it, according to custom. No doubt they were present out of curiosity to learn about Jesus. Verse 7: • He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone? – In the beliefs of first century , even the could not forgive sins; it could only be done by God. Jesus’ statement indicated he was claiming to be God, and this was blasphemous to the .

POWER PROCLAIMED (Mark 2:8-11)

Verse 8: • Jesus, aware in His spirit – Jesus miraculously knew exactly what they were thinking, although it comes as no surprise, considering the proud disposition of the Jewish leaders and how little credibility they would have afforded Jesus. Verse 9: • Which is easier, to say to the paralytic – Jesus was offering two choices for statements to make. However, the purpose of offering the statements was to prove that He truly was the Son of God. Both statements are equally impossible for men and equally possible for God. • Your sins are forgiven – Optional statement #1. This statement was easy to say, because no one could see if the man’s sins had been forgiven. No one knew if Jesus would actually have the power to do this. • Get up and pick up your pallet and walk – Optional statement #2. This was the harder statement to make because everyone could see it, if the man actually stood and walked. Everyone could see if Jesus had the power to do this. Verse 10: • But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins – If Jesus had blasphemed (as the scribes believed he did) God would never grant him the ability to heal the paralytic. But if the man was healed, then everyone could believe that Jesus’ first statement, to grant forgiveness, was also authentic. Verse 11: • I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home. – If the paralyzed man were able to not only rise but pick up his bedding and carry it to his home, everyone would be able to see that there was no mistake about it, the man was fully and completely healed, miraculously.

AUTHORITY DEMONSTRATED (Mark 2:12)

Verse 12: • And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet – the healing was instantaneous. • Went out in the sight of everyone – The purpose was for everyone to see the power of God and give Him glory.

Following Verses in the Background Text • 2:13-17 – Jesus calls Levi the tax collector to become a . Later he provides a dinner for Jesus and invites all his tax collector friends, for which Jesus is criticized. • 2:18-22 – Jesus is questioned about . • 2:23-28 – Jesus explains that He is after his disciples are criticized for plucking grain on the Sabbath day. • 3:1-6 – Jesus heals a man with a withered arm on the Sabbath and the and Herodians begin plotting to kill Jesus.

* The following study were used to obtain information for these notes:

The NIV Study Bible, Revised. Kenneth L. Barker, editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008. HCSB Study Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2010. NIV Zondervan Study Bible, D. A. Carson, editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.