TEXT [Commentary]

B. Controversy Leading to Rejection (2:1–3:12)

1. The first controversy: Jesus as Son of Man heals a paralytic and forgives sin (2:1-12; cf. Matt 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26)

1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man[*] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

NOTES

2:1 Jesus returned to Capernaum. The return suggests two things: (1) that Jesus’ initial tour through Galilee was completed, and (2) that Capernaum was the headquarters for his ministry.

2:2 visitors. According to Mark, there was a large audience for this event; the NLT translates “many” as “visitors.” In 2:4, they are called a crowd. In 2:6, it is also noted that scribes (NLT, “teachers of religious law”) are present. Matthew notes scribes (Matt 9:3) and crowds (Matt 9:8), and Luke specifies that the crowds included scribes and Pharisees (Luke 5:17, 21). The point is that Jesus’ activities were now beginning to draw a variety of people to see what Jesus was doing and saying.

preaching God’s word. Lit., “speaking the word,” an idiom for preaching God’s message. In Mark “the word” often refers to something Jesus teaches (2:2; 4:14-20, 33; 8:32; Guelich 1989:84). The expression also creates a link back to 1:45 with its use of “word.”

2:3 paralyzed man. This is the only event involving a paralytic in Mark and Luke. Matthew reports the healing of paralysis two other times as well (Matt 4:24; 8:6). Acts also has two such events (Acts 8:7; 9:33).

2:4 dug a hole through the roof. The literal phrase here is “unroofed the roof.” They created an opening so they could lower the mat on which the man lay. The mat could have been like many wood and cloth pallets one sees today in the Middle East. The house would have been a flat-roofed home with a staircase up the back.

2:5 their faith. Mark likes to use both the noun and the verb for faith (1:15; 4:40; 5:34-36; 9:19, 23-24, 42; 10:52; 11:22-24). The inner conviction and trust of the paralytic and his friends in Jesus’ power is evident in the effort they made to get to Jesus. Mark commends their faith as it was manifest in their action. In Mark, faith is expressed concretely as it overcomes obstacles placed in its way (Guelich 1989:85).

your sins are forgiven. This remark got Jesus into trouble with the theologians. In spite of the fact that it is expressed as a divine passive that attributes forgiveness to God (see Lev 4:26, 31; 2 Sam 12:13; or Qumran’s Prayer of Nabonidus [4Q242]).

2:6 teachers of religious law. The Gr. refers to “the scribes,” whose fundamental task was to copy the sacred text, not just to render judgment about it. The great amount of time they spent with the sacred texts helped to qualify them for making judgments about the law.

2:7 blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins! Something about the way Jesus expressed this forgiveness made it clear to them that he was claiming to be more than a healer or prophet. In their view, Jesus was not honoring God, but slandering him by making such claims. Blasphemy is dishonoring or slandering someone, usually through arrogant or disrespectful speech against them (BDAG 178). In Jewish culture it could also spill over into disrespectful acts (Bock 1998:30-112). Jesus traded charges of blasphemy with the teachers of religious law later (3:22); he was convicted of blasphemy at his examination (14:63-64), and the people blasphemed Jesus while he was on the cross (15:29-30).

2:8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking. Jesus had insight into the minds of those who were criticizing him. Such a perception might reflect his unique role as Son of Man, but could also reflect revelatory insight that God can give to others. The Gr. has, “and Jesus perceiving in his spirit.” The NLT renders the sense of the remark well.

2:9 Jesus’ question presents a dilemma. It appears to be easier to offer forgiveness, for this cannot immediately be seen and evaluated, whereas telling the man to walk requires that he do so. So in one sense it is easier to speak of forgiveness than to give healing. However, to really be able to forgive sin is hard because one must have the authority to actually do it. The question sets up a connection that Jesus makes in 2:10. Jesus did not back off from the dispute; he wished to engage them on this controversial point and affirm his authority to do these things.

2:10 I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. Although some argue that these verses are Mark’s narrative commentary, it is better to see this verse as part of the scene in which Jesus affirms his authority. Healing can be seen, but forgiveness cannot be seen. Jesus said that his healing of the paralytic would make evident the truth of his claims about forgiveness. If God worked through him in healing, then these claims would be vindicated. The Gr. reads, “that you might know that the Son of Man has authority.” The NLT rendering, “I will prove” emphasizes the vindication that the healing represents.

2:12 We’ve never seen anything like this. The crowd’s reaction indicates that something unusual had taken place. In effect, their reaction was, “What’s going on here?” This scene has an open ending that invites the reader to contemplate what is being described.

COMMENTARY [Text]

This first of five controversy scenes indicates that one of the issues over which Jesus and the religious authorities battled was his claim to forgive sin. The scribes wondered how Jesus could know that God was willing to forgive the sins of the paralytic. Many ancient Jews connected sin and sickness, as indicated in Jewish texts such as b. Nedarim 41a, which says “No one gets up from his sick bed until all his sins are forgiven” (Hooker 1991:85). But no one could forgive these sins except God, as the Midrash Psalms 17:3 reads, “No one can forgive transgressions but you [God]” (Marcus 2000:217). So Jesus assumed a divine prerogative here, or at least knowledge of divine preferences (Exod 34:6-7; Isa 43:25; 44:22).

Furthermore, Jesus affirmed his authority as the Son of Man, and the scribes viewed this as blasphemy. At this point in Mark, the source of this title for Jesus is not clear. Later in the Gospel, the title will be associated with Daniel 7:13-14, where a person is described who rides the clouds, approaches the Ancient of Days (God) in heaven, and receives authority to judge. Its use in Judaism in 1 Enoch 39–71 and 4 Ezra 13 also points to a figure with such authority (Garland 1996:95-96). “Son of Man” is Jesus’ favorite way of referring to himself; in Mark, the title appears fourteen times. It will be important to trace what the Son of Man does in Mark. Forgiving sins is one of his abilities. In 2:10, Jesus emphasizes his authority by referring to himself in this way. In other contexts, Jesus used the term to foretell his suffering or the authority he would have on his return.

The conflict presented in Mark 2 and the judgment that circulated around this first controversy would remain the same when Jesus was examined by the Sanhedrin (Mark 14). He claimed authority as the Son of Man, and they claimed that this was blasphemy (Bock 1998:188). However, the problem for the leaders was that Jesus gave signs that backed up his claims; his healings validated those claims that were otherwise unobservable. This is a passage in which word and deed work together to make a theological point. The form of the account is a mixture of a pronouncement (2:10) and a miracle story, another illustration of word and deed explaining each other.