Mark 2 Main Topics: Faith, Characteristics of Jesus, Sabbath I. Faith Acted Out.

v1-2) There was a time for Jesus to be in Capernaum and there was a time when He had to leave Capernaum. Just because He had to leave Capernaum once did not mean that Jesus was unable to go back there again. There is a time for every purpose under heaven(Ecclesiastes 3:1). Jesus shunned huge popularity. He tried to return quietly, but people spread about the news that He returned. In spite of this, Jesus stayed and preached the word to the people. V3-5) Jesus considered what the four friends of the paralyzed man did to be faith. In their minds, they thought that Jesus could heal their friend. Once they saw that there was no way of getting to Jesus the conventional way, they decided to bring the paralyzed man to Jesus through the roof. Perhaps the friends of the man thought that once their friend was in Jesus' presence that there would be hope for his healing. This tells me something about faith. Faith is expectant(See Psalm 62:5). It expects miracles from God. Such expectancy is here demonstrated by bringing a paralyzed man to Jesus. Had the men thought that Jesus was unable to perform the healing, they would not have gone through the trouble of breaking the roof and letting their friend down. The forgiveness of sins is a miracle. Salvation is a miracle as well. Faith must come before the forgiveness or salvation, for it is by grace through faith that we are saved(Ephesians 2:8). What is beautiful is that even in believing, we can express that we sort of have doubts about our belief, and this will be enough for a miracle to be performed in our behalf(Mark 9:24-25). v6-7) If God alone is able to forgive sins, and if Jesus Himself forgave sin, then Jesus must be God. Claiming to be able to forgive sin is blasphemy unless you are God. V8-11) Through the miracle that Jesus did for the paralyzed man, He let people know that He also has the power to forgive sins. The same one who forgave the sin of this man is the same one who made the man physically whole. By helping this man see the literal healing of His sickness, Jesus inspired the man to believe in His power to heal spiritual sickness. V12) God is capable of doing things that we have never seen before. According to Ephesians 3:20, God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. II. Jesus- Friend of religious and non-religious people alike. V13) Jesus gave something to the multitude when they came to Him. He also gave to people by going about and looking for people that He could help(See Matthew 4:23). v14-17) Jesus did not mingle with the church group only. He also mingled with those who were considered to be publicans and sinners. He had meals with them. This was not a sin. Jesus did not do this just to have a good time. As verse 17 specifies, His purpose was to lead these sinners to repentance. If our motive is the spiritual healing and conversion of such people, we can mingle with those who have not yet fully given their lives to God.

 Observation. In the gospel of Mark, the first problem that the scribes had with Jesus was with His ability to forgive sin. The second problem that they had with Jesus was with the kind of people with which He mingled. The scribes alienated themselves from those who needed them. The scribes also had an issue with the conduct of Jesus' disciples. They did not discern that His disciples were not yet prepared for that level of spirituality. They focused on the form of the work, and not on the spiritual character of the law(Mark 2:7, 16, 18). v19-22) The scribes and Pharisees old way of thinking and perceiving religious things could not mingle together with Christ's new methods. Therefore, He taught His ways to those who were new in that they were not completely loyal or biased to the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. III. Sabbath Controversies V23-24) The Pharisees had a problem with the way that Jesus' disciples acted on the Sabbath. They did not approve of them picking corn on the Sabbath so that they could eat. The Pharisees find something that they believed needed correcting while Jesus did not say anything about it. This tells me that man is capable of mistaking blameless behavior for sinful behavior. V25-26) Jesus replied to the accusation of the Pharisees in a certain way. He did not outright condemn and rebuke them. Instead, Jesus told a story in an inquisitive manner. The key phrase in what Jesus said is when he had need which indicates that common sense shows that necessity(not desire or want) is above the letter of the law. The circumstance in which David was in altered the condition of the specific Levitical law. So it is with the Sabbath. If there is absolutely no food available on the Sabbath Day, God is able to provide food for you. You can pick something out of the garden and eat it. V27-28) Jesus made the Sabbath day for man. He did not make it as a rigid rule for man to follow which would be a huge inconvenience for him. The Sabbath was made for a blessing (or as a gift you can say) for man. God's main purpose for the Sabbath was so that man and beast would be able to rest and be refreshed(See Exodus 23:12, Deuteronomy 5:14). This, I imagine, would give men and beasts to recharge and reboot for another week of useful labor. Jesus is the Lord of the sabbath. Therefore, the Sabbath belongs to Him. The Sabbath is His day, and not man's. If the Sabbath day is the Lord's day, then no other day than the Sabbath day can be the Lord's day.