Chapter # 2 Paragraph # 1 Study # 2
May 28, 2019
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(076)
1901 ASV
2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room [
for them], no, not even about the door: and he spake the word unto them.
3 And they come, bringing unto him a man sick of the palsy, borne of four.
4 And when they could not
come nigh unto him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the
bed whereon the sick of the palsy lay.
5 And Jesus seeing their faith saith unto the sick of the palsy,
Son, thy sins are forgiven.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak? he blasphemeth: who can forgive sins but one, [
even] God?
8 And straightway Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, saith unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven; or to say, Arise, and take up thy
bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy),
11 I say unto thee, Arise, take up thy
bed, and go unto thy house.
12 And he arose, and straightway 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.
- I. "...And He Was Speaking (imperfect indicative) to Them The Word".
- A. Mark deliberately did not tell us which elements of "The Word" Jesus was "speaking".
- 1. Mark is deliberately "vague".
- 2. Mark uses the verb "laleo", which has "sound" issues, but not "content" issues (the Authorized Version has "preached", not only in this text but in nine other texts out of 271 where the word is found in the New Testament).
- B. However, Mark's use of "The Word" as his descriptive terms to describe what Jesus "spoke" is focused.
- 1. "The Word" was first used by Mark in 1:45 as his description of the leper's disobedience.
- a. Associated with "The Word" in this text is the word translated in the Authorized Version as "to blaze abroad". Etymologically, this term means to "say thoroughly" as indicating a "telling of all of the details". It is only used here in all of the New Testament and Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon has only a very brief record of its use in the Greek language. Thus, Mark deliberately calls attention to the leper's level of disobedience.
- b. The Authorized Version translation is "the matter". Mark uses the term 23 times (the entire New Testament has it in 316 places), but the Authorized Version translators only use "the matter" this once in Mark. Out of 316 texts, only 6 have "the matter" in the Authorized Version (this text and five in Acts).
- c. The context argues that "the word" that the former leper "detailed" for his hearers was his "testimony" of what had occurred. It was, however, a "word" to which Jesus had given "birth" as a crucial reality: I can and I am willing (omnipotence in harmony with compassion). Given its place in Mark's narrative in the bigger picture, this is a major "T"heological issue.
- 1) The "problem" that has developed over time is that "compassion" is regularly associated with "healing" as a "compassionate" act.
- 2) The reality is that "compassion" is first related to "the forgiveness of sins" as a biblical constant, and only secondarily related to "healing" as a matter of "setting".
- a. The Old Covenant was focused upon the "outer man" and physical well-being was a major issue ("...the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases ... upon thee..."; Deuteronomy 7:15).
- b. But the New Covenant is focused upon the "inner man" and physical well-being is often ignored because of its insignificance (Paul's denied desire for physical restoration resulted in his "glorying" in his infirmities so that the power of Christ might rest upon him; 2 Corinthians 12:9).
- c. The ignoring of a physical infirmity for a greater purpose is not a lack of compassion.
- d. We draw, then, the conclusion that "speaking The Word" to them was a matter of teaching and clarifying so that the "theology of the synagogues" was confronted and rejected.
- 2. Mark does not return to this term ("The Word") until 4:14, et. al., where Jesus makes "the ministry" a matter of making "The Word" available as in "broadcasting seed all over the ground" without regard for the type of "soil" upon which it lands.
- C. Because of the rest of the narrative, it cannot be disputed that Jesus was making His audience aware of the clear distinctions between His "teaching" (with "authority") and that of the scribes in the synagogue.
- 1. The crowd had been "synagogued" by the desire to hear and witness Jesus' words/activities.
- 2. There were "scribes" present.
- 3. Jesus deliberately went to the primary issue of all theology/"T"heology as it relates to God and men whom He has created: How to have a conflict-free relationship in that realm of experience.
- 4. Jesus' "doctrine" was blunt and simple: "Repent, and God will forgive you".
- a. This message absolutely must be understood in the terms of "repentance" that John introduced as the fulfillment of Isaiah 40 (and not in terms of modern day, oft repeated, nonsense).
- b. Properly understood (including the issues involved in "forgiveness"), this is the message in its most concise terms; all else is explanation.
- II. "And They Are Coming, Bearing To Him...".
- A. There is an unidentified "they" presented by the verb, which is present tense, indicative mood. This indicates "graphic intensity" in the narrative (in contrast, the verb "He was speaking to them The Word" is an imperfect mood verb that is typical of narrative in the past tense). The point: Mark is emphasizing the narrative at this point, shifting the point of view from Jesus' "speech" to the phenomenon of the men carrying another to Jesus.
- B. The attending participle is "bearing", hearkening back to 1:32 where the people of Capernaum are seen as "bearing" all who were ill to Jesus after the sun had set.
- 1. This is a reminder: healing is an aspect of Jesus' "authority" as evidenced by His ability to restore health in a fallen world. This is also an integral aspect of the Old Covenant wherein the focus on the outer man is dominant in promise and focus, and marks Jesus as the prophesied One Who was to come and be made known by this ability.
- 2. In this case, "bearing" is necessitated by what the Authorized Version calls "palsy". This term is used in nine texts of the New Testament, seven of which are directly connected to this particular event. The Logos Library System says that it refers to someone who cannot walk (paralysed). Interestingly, Matthew 8:6 is one of the two times this record is not the point of reference and it is associated with what the Authorized Version calls "grievous torment". This may well be an indication that the person is unable to walk because of severe nerve pain.
- C. A second attending participle is "being lifted by four".
- 1. This explains how they were able to lower him through the roof (having the aid of a litter or "bed"; 2:4, 9, and 11).
- 2. This also, however, indicates that there was something about his paralysis that seemed best to be handled by carrying his bed rather than simply carrying him (perhaps he was especially heavy, or in significant pain/distress that made "man-handling" him difficult for him).
- 3. That he was "lifted" by "four" may also be significant in that "four" is the original number of "disciples" called along the sea shore to signify "all disciples" and in that "four" is used by Mark in only one other place (13:27) and there it also signifies "all winds" (as those factors that caused a great dispersion that is to be reversed). In other words, these "four" are involved in an action that is "universally" significant; not the bearing of a paralytic, but an action that results in the key "doctrine" of all "relationship": the Son of Man "forgiving sins upon the earth".