Mark 2 - Do You Rest from Work, Or Work From Rest?
Mark 2 - Enduring Word Commentary
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
When Jesus does miracles (in the gospel of Mark he calls them "signs"), he is always pointing to the higher reality of God's kingdom, and God's power working through him. We often call this the "lower story" and the "upper story". When Jesus returned to his home ministry base in Capernaum, many came into the house where he was staying. Because the word of his healing had spread, four friends brought a paralyzed man into the house using a mat. They were very intent on getting this man into Jesus' presence, and the front door was blocked. So they drilled a hole in the roof and lowered him down.
When Jesus healed the man of his paralysis, he also did something else. He pronounced the man's sins were forgiven. Some people mistakenly assume he was paralyzed because of his sins, but I think this man was an ordinary, "garden variety" sinner like us. So why did he connect saying this with his healing?
Jesus was showing that though this man's was healed by the power of God, one day he would still die. But the healing of his soul by Jesus' announcing his forgiveness would last forever.
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Of course this rattled the Pharisees, because in essence Jesus was insuating that He had the power to forgive people of their sins. This is the first of many instances where they would say Jesus was a blasphemer, because he a mere human, "claimed to be God!" As I just said the main purpose of Jesus doing miracles was to show He was the one and only Son of God.
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus, who always knew what was going on in people's hearts, and he called them on it. Jesus wanted them to realize that if the physical healing was miraculous how much more authority did he have to forgive this man of his sins. This is one of the many times Jesus' words and actions elicited the response of, "We've never seen anything like this before!" (TPT)
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
We have seen Jesus had already called 4 fishermen, and in this passage he calls a "hated tax collector". We have come to know him as, "Matthew, the tax collector". He is also the writer of this gospel. We also see Matthew (aka Levi) instantly got up to follow Jesus.
The Jewish people rightly considered them traitors because they worked for the Roman government and had the force of Roman soldiers behind them to make people pay taxes. They were the most visible Jewish collaborators with Rome. - Guzik
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew's name was probably changed to Matthew, after he became an apostle. The name Matthew means "gift of Yahweh". Also, Matthew was his Greek name and Levi his Hebrew name.
Matthew was not embarrassed to have Jesus over to his house with a crowd which included tax collectors and other sinners. This in itself showed how Jesus was happy to go to places where sinners hung out. They were more receptive to him than the religious types. And speaking of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, they questioned why Jesus woudl hang out with such a "motley crew" (not the band LOL). Jesus had the perfect response for why he was hanging out with them.
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus used the metaphor of a doctor and someone who was sick. A doctor can't help someone who refuses to acknowledge they are sick and won't come to his/her office. It is the same thing with sinners. If they are not willing to admit they need the help that only the Great Physician Jesus can give, they will never get well. The Pharisees saw themselves as righteous, which implied they always obeyed the Law. But what they lacked was the humility of admitting that they could never fulfill the Law. That's why Jesus came to call the unrighteous, who were those who know that their own righteousness is woefully inadequate.
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
Another religious practice was a fasting. The idea is to deny something yourself of something you need like food, and as you abstain, you use that time to seek God in a deeper way. When you get hungry it is a sign to go to God in prayer. But for the Pharisees if was a badge of honor. They considered themselves as religiously superior because they fasted. They looked down on those who weren't as religous as they were.
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast. 21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
But if the goal of fasting was to draw near to God, Jesus as God was right in front of them. Jesus uses a metaphor he will use a lot. The metaphor of a wedding, which was a huge deal in his day where he lived. It was a huge social occasion, and to be invited was a great privilege. Therefore if the guests were not enjoying the bridegroom on the day of the wedding, it would have been a huge offense to him. Now the bridegroom whose bride would one day be the Church, was before them. It was time to enjoy him while they had him.
Jesus uses two other metaphors which were similar in nature. They had to with putting something old in something new. I like the TPT version,
21“And who would mend worn-out clothing with new fabric? When the new cloth shrinks, it will rip, making the tear worse than before. 22And who would pour new wine into an old wineskin? Eventually the wine will ferment and make the wineskin burst, losing everything—the wine will be spilled and the wineskin ruined. Instead, new wine is always poured into new wineskins.”
Jesus came to replace the Old Covenant, which could only be fulfilled to God by perfectly obeying the law and sacrifices required for forgiveness. But they were looking for a new covenant that Jesus came to fulfill. He fulfilled the Law, as he was completely righteous. And he gave his body as the once and for all sacrifice for our sin. To try and fulfill the law in your own power is like pouring the new wine into an old wineskin. It is a waste of time. The new wine (Jesus) would only be wasted.
When people try to justify themselves by being a good person and keeping the Law, they are in essence wasting the new wine Jesus came to give. They are wasting the grace that can save them.
Jesus’ point was made clear by these examples. You can’t fit His new life into the old forms. Jesus traded fasting for feasting; sackcloth and ashes for a robe of righteousness; a spirit of heaviness for a garment of praise; mourning for joy; and law for grace. - Guzik
Jesus came to introduce something new, not to patch up something old. This is what salvation is all about. In doing this, Jesus doesn’t destroy the old (the law), but He fulfills it, just as an acorn is fulfilled when it grows into an oak tree. There is a sense in which the acorn is gone, but its purpose is fulfilled in greatness.
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
This story is very similar to the last two. Th,Pharisees has made the Sabbath Day into a long list of regulaions. They added to the simple commandment God gave the Israelites.
At this time, Rabbis filled Judaism with elaborate rituals related to the Sabbath and the observance of other laws. Ancient Rabbis taught that on the Sabbath, a man could not carry something in his right hand or in his left hand, across his chest or on his shoulder. But you could carry something with the back of your hand, with your foot, with your elbow, or in your ear, your hair, or the hem of your shirt, or your shoe or your sandal. Or on the Sabbath, you were forbidden to tie a knot – except a woman could tie a knot in her girdle. So, if a bucket of water had to be raised from a well, you could not tie a rope to the bucket, but a woman could tie her girdle to the bucket. - Guzik
Jesus defends his allowing the disciples to pick grain to eat on the Sabbath because they were hungry. The Pharisees had missed the true intent of this Law God gave us. Jesus summarizes it by saying,
"The Sabbath was made for man, not man made for the Sabbath!" What does he mean?
Once again since Jesus was God, He was very well acquainted with the true purpose of the Sabbath. God had given Law to the Israelites in the desert so they could rest and better serve him. Once again the Pharisees missed the point of this spiritual discipline too.
God gave us the Sabbath to rest from our labor. We can't even count the number of people who never rest from work. They think if they don't work all the time, they will never have enough. Or, they just don't have life outside of work. Their whole identity is tied up in work, and we see the consequences of this on a person's health, their family, and their friends.
Jesus knew we needed a day off of work to enjoy recreation. (Recreation = re-create!). To take a break from work is also a sign of trust in God to provide for you and/or your family. Every day we trust God to give us our daily bread. Once a week we all need a day to rest in God's presence, which restores our soul and all of our relationships.
Questions for Consideration?
Have you stopped trying to justify yourself by being a good enough person to be accepted by God? Are you self-righteous, or have you tasted of the new wine of the new covenant Jesus came to bring?
When you engage in spiritual disciplines like fasting, what is your true motivation? To seek God in an intentional and deeper way? Or, to look religious to impress others?
Do you take a Sabbath day to rest from your labor? It doesn't necessarily have to be Sunday. It can be any day of the week where you stop working and spend time in the presence of God, family, and friends.
Also you can create mini-Sabbaths each day, like taking a walk in the park at lunch at work, meditating on God, reading from the bible, or quietly praying! Don't go a day without resting in God's love!
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