Mark 2

This chapter belongs to the account of the Galilean ministry in the early part of the Gospel of Mark. It opens as Jesus, whose fame had spread through the healings of chapter 1, returns to Capernaum. The chapter's four episodes are commonly read as the opening of a cycle of controversy stories that extends through Mark 3:6.

Outline

• Verses 1–12 A house in Capernaum is so crowded that no one can get in, so four men carrying a paralytic break open the roof and let him down on his bed. When Jesus declares the man's sins forgiven, the scribes reason within themselves that this is blasphemy. To show that the Son of man has authority to forgive sins, Jesus raises the man up and sends him walking away.
• Verses 13–17 While teaching by the sea, Jesus calls Levi the son of Alphaeus, who is sitting at the receipt of custom. Jesus then eats with tax collectors and sinners in Levi's house, and to those who object he replies that it is the sick who need a physician.
• Verses 18–22 Asked why his disciples do not fast, Jesus answers with the parables of the bridegroom, the patch of new cloth, and the new wine and old bottles.
• Verses 23–28 When the disciples pluck ears of grain on the Sabbath, the Pharisees challenge them. Jesus cites David's eating of the shewbread and declares that the Sabbath was made for man and that the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.

Key Verses

• Mark 2:10 "that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins" — Here Jesus claims, as the Son of man, the authority to forgive sins, which was regarded as the prerogative of God alone.
• Mark 2:17 "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" — Jesus states the purpose of his coming.
• Mark 2:27–28 "The sabbath was made for man" — A passage frequently cited in discussions of the Sabbath. It is treated in detail in the article Mark 2:27–28.

Characters and Places

• Jesus
• The paralytic and the four men: the text does not give their names.
• Scribes: those who studied and taught the Law.
• Levi: the son of Alphaeus and a tax collector. In Matthew 9:9, which tells the same story, he appears as Matthew, and the two are commonly regarded as the same person.
• The Pharisees and the disciples of John: the disciples of John were the followers of John the Baptist.
• David and Abiathar: figures from Israel's past whom Jesus cites as examples. Abiathar was a priest in David's time.
• Capernaum and the seashore: Capernaum was a town on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and the center of Jesus' ministry.

Interpretive Notes

• "Their faith" (verse 5): The text mentions the faith of those who brought the sick man. Some preachers connect this with intercessory prayer, though the text does not explain the relationship in detail.
• Abiathar (verse 26): 1 Samuel 21 names the priest at that time as Ahimelech, while Matthew 12 and Luke 6 give no name. Various interpretations have been offered, including the view that the period is identified by the name of Abiathar, who later became high priest.
• Verses 27–28: Most Protestant churches emphasize that the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath and read the passage in connection with Lord's Day observance. The Seventh-day Adventist Church reads "for man" to mean that the Sabbath was given to all people. For details, see The Sabbath and the Lord's Day.

In the Korean Church

• The saying "new wine into new wineskins," drawn from verse 22 (KJV: "new wine must be put into new bottles"), is used as an idiom even outside the church. In churches it often serves as a sermon theme at the New Year or at ordination and installation services.
• The story of the four men who broke open the roof to bring their friend to Jesus is a frequent subject of Sunday school lessons and evangelistic preaching.