Chapter Text
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
8And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
The Calling of Levi
13And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
14And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.
15And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him.
16And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
17When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
A Question About Fasting
18And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
19And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
21No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Lord of the Sabbath
23And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went , to pluck the ears of corn.
24And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread , which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Summary
Jesus heals a paralytic lowered through the roof by four friends, first forgiving his sins and then healing his body. He calls Levi the tax collector from his booth and eats with publicans and sinners. The Pharisees question this, and Jesus responds that He came to call sinners, not the righteous.
Jesus answers questions about fasting, teaching that new wine requires new wineskins. His disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath, and Jesus defends them by declaring that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.
Meaning
The healing of the paralytic demonstrates that Jesus' authority to forgive sins, which is invisible, is confirmed by His power to heal, which is visible. The friends' determination to reach Jesus, even tearing open a roof, illustrates the bold, obstacle-defying faith that Jesus honors.
The teaching about new wine and new wineskins signals that the kingdom Jesus brings cannot be contained within the old structures of Pharisaic religion. Something radically new is breaking in, requiring new forms to hold the new reality of grace.
Background
Palestinian houses typically had flat roofs made of packed earth and branches, accessible by an outside stairway. Digging through such a roof, while dramatic, was physically possible. The crowd's amazement at Jesus' authority to forgive sins reflects the Jewish understanding that only God can forgive.
Levi is generally identified with the apostle Matthew. Tax collectors served the Roman system and were considered traitors to their own people.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-5Faith of four lowers a paralytic
- vv. 6-12Authority to forgive sins displayed
- vv. 13-14The calling of Levi
- vv. 15-17Eating with publicans and sinners
- vv. 18-22New wine and old wineskins
- vv. 23-28Lord of the sabbath
Key Verses
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”— 2:5
Jesus responds to the friends' persistent faith by addressing the deeper need first—forgiveness of sins—setting up His claim to divine authority.
“They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”— 2:17
A defining statement of Christ's mission, framing His ministry as a divine physician who seeks the spiritually broken rather than the self-righteous.
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:”— 2:27
A landmark teaching on the purpose of the law, establishing that God's commandments serve human flourishing rather than functioning as ritual burdens.
“Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.”— 2:28
Jesus claims sovereign authority over the Sabbath itself, an unmistakable assertion of divine prerogative that the scribes would have recognized as a messianic and divine claim.
People & Places
People
- Jesus — The Son of man, teaching, healing, and claiming authority to forgive sins.
- The man sick of the palsy — A paralytic lowered through the roof by four friends and healed by Jesus.
- The scribes — Religious legal experts who silently accuse Jesus of blasphemy for forgiving sins.
- Levi (son of Alphaeus) — A tax collector called from his customs booth to follow Jesus, traditionally identified with Matthew.
- Publicans and sinners — Tax collectors and social outcasts who dine with Jesus and His disciples.
- Pharisees — Strict observers of the law who object to Jesus' table fellowship and Sabbath conduct.
- Disciples of John — Followers of John the Baptist who practice regular fasting and question Jesus' disciples.
- David — Israel's anointed king cited by Jesus as a precedent for need overriding ceremonial law.
- Abiathar — High priest referenced in connection with David's eating of the shewbread.
Places
- Capernaum — A fishing town on the Sea of Galilee that served as Jesus' base of ministry.
- The house — A Capernaum dwelling so crowded that the paralytic had to be lowered through the roof.
- The sea side — The shore of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus taught the multitudes.
- Levi's house — The home where Jesus dined with publicans and sinners after calling Levi.
- The corn fields — Grain fields through which Jesus and His disciples passed on the Sabbath.
- The house of God — The tabernacle sanctuary where David ate the consecrated shewbread.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Jesus' repeated self-designation as 'Son of man' (vv. 10, 28) draws directly from Daniel 7:13-14, where one like a son of man receives everlasting dominion from the Ancient of Days. By claiming authority to forgive sins and lordship over the sabbath, Jesus identifies Himself as that prophesied figure who exercises divine prerogatives. His bridegroom saying (vv. 19-20) also foreshadows His coming death, when the bridegroom would be 'taken away'—an early passion prediction veiled in wedding imagery.
Devotional
Faith often looks like four friends refusing to let obstacles keep their burdened companion from Jesus. Mark 2 invites us to bring others—and ourselves—to Christ with that same stubborn hope, trusting Him with the deepest wounds before the visible ones.
It also asks who sits at our table. Jesus scandalized the religious by eating with the wrong people, reminding us that grace moves toward the sick, not the polished. When rules begin to crowd out mercy, remember: the sabbath was made for man. Christ's lordship frees us to love people more than systems.
Literary Style
Fast-paced Synoptic narrative typical of Mark, marked by the evangelist's signature 'immediately' and vivid eyewitness detail. The chapter gathers four controversy stories (pronouncement narratives) culminating in punchy sayings, with parabolic imagery of cloth, wineskins, and bridegroom heightening the conflict.