Mark 2:1-12

1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.

² Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.

³ Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.

⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,

⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?

⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?

¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,

¹¹ “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

¹² Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Also found in Matthew 9:1-8 and Luke 5:17-26.

again (v.1) — pointing back to his leaving in Mark 1:35.

after some days (v.1) — Probably not referring to the amount of time Jesus had been gone (which may have been months) but to the amount of time He was back in the house before people found out. He had returned quietly.

the house (v.1) — The home of Peter and Andrew.

Immediately (v.2) — Not in the best texts.

No longer room (v.2) — The Greek indicates that the size of the crowd was phenomenal. Not only was there no room for more people in the house, but there was no room for more people in the area outside the door.

preached (v.2) — The Greek word isn’t the word for a formal, authoritative speech, but instead refers to conversational social intercourse. The tense indicates a continuous action.

Then they came to Him (v.3) — Mark uses the present tense here of a past event. It is called the historical present, presenting in graphic language a past event with the vividness of a present reality. One can see them coming. — Wuest, page 45.

bringing (v.3) = carrying a burden

paralytic (v.3) = From words meaning “to loose” and “alongside.” The man was suffering from the relaxing of nerves on one side.

carried by four men (v.3) — The way Mark says this may indicate that there were several men with the paralytic, four of whom were carrying him.

Houses, at that time in that area, had flat roofs accessed by outside staircases.

Then [the four men carrying the paralytic] uncovered and broke up the roof, by which strong phrases Mark means that they first lifted the tiles which lay in a bead of mortar or mud, broke through this, and then tore up the poles and light rafters by which all this covering was supported. Then they lowered the sick man upon his pallet, in front of the Master as he taught.

It was an unceremonious act. However carefully performed, the audience below must have been not only disturbed but inconvenienced … But Jesus never in any circumstances rebuked for intrusion any suppliant. And now He discerned the central spiritual impulse of these men, which was not obtrusiveness nor disrespect. They believed that neither din while He preached, nor rubbish falling among His audience, nor the strange interruption of a patient and a litter intruded upon His discourse, could weigh as much with Jesus as the appeal on a sick man’s face. And this was faith. — Chadwick, page 48.

let down the bed (v.4) — The bed was a thickly padded mattress or quilt. It probably had ropes attached to each corner.

lying (v.4) = prostrate. The man was a dead weight on the mattress.

Their faith (v.5) — “Their” refers to the men who carried the sick man and dug up the roof and let him down into the room. Their actions were the visible evidence of their faith. It is possible that the paralytic had faith to be healed, but the faith referred to here was that evidence by the strenuous actions of the men. What a repair bill Peter must have had when it came to replacing the torn-up roof. — Wuest, page 47.

Son (v.5) = an adult child — a term of kindness.

forgiven (v.5) — The uses of aphiemi start from the etymological sense “throw.” [To] give an illustration of its use in the papyri, “let the pot drop.” From this primitive physical meaning may be derived the common meaning “leave, let go.” Another instance of its use in koine Greek is in the words “waived the extra fifty percent,” which usage is seen in Matthew 18:27, and which ideal leads to the general idea of forgiveness. Still another instance of its use is found in the Rosetta stone, in the words “total remission” of certain taxes. [Another way to say it is] “to sent from one’s self, to send away, to let go or give up a debt, to remit, forgive.” Our word “forgive” does not, as commonly used, give an adequate picture of this Greek word. by that we mean that any feeling of animosity we may have had, has changed to one of renewed friendliness and affection. We do not hold the wrong done to us against the person anymore. But so far as the act itself is concerned, we cannot do anything about it. It has been done, and it cannot be removed from the one who committed the wrong. But this word aphiemi includes within its content of meaning, the act of dealing with the act of wrong doing in such a way that the sinner who appropriates the Lord Jesus as Savior, has his sins put way, and in two ways. First, they are put away on a judicial basis by the out-poured blood of Christ. he paid the penalty the broken law required, and thus satisfied divine justice. Second, on the basis of that, God removes the guilt of that sin from the believing sinner and bestows a positive righteousness, Jesus Christ Himself, in whom this person stands justified forever. — Wuest, pages 47-48.

scribes sitting there (v.6) — They must have arrived early to beat the crowds and get a good seat. They were there to find complaints and cause trouble.

reasoning in their hearts (v.6) = bringing together different reasons, revolving in one’s mind, deliberating. What they thought was in their hearts, but their feelings were evident, and the Lord knew.

blasphemies (v.7) = injurious speech or slander

It was, they held, blasphemy for Jesus to assume this divine prerogative. Their logic was correct. The only flaw in it was the possibility that Jesus held a peculiar relation to God which justified His claim. So the two forces clash here as now on the deity of Jesus Christ. — Wuest, pages48-49.

perceived (v.8) — Jesus immediately was fully aware of what the scribes were thinking.

in His spirit (v.8) = in His rational spirit, the power by which a human feels, thinks, wills, and decides.

take up (v.9) = pick up and carry. The words were spoken like a military command that was to be obeyed at once.

walk (v.9) = Tense is “start walking and keep on walking.” The cure was permanent.

know (v.10) = absolute positive knowledge beyond a shadow of doubt.

power (v.10) — Not dunamis, from which we get dynamite, power that overcomes resistance, but exousia, delegated authority.

The Son of Man on earth has the delegated authority, as the Son of God, from God the Father, to forgive sins. It is the answer to the reasoning of the scribes, “Who can forgive sins but God only?” By their question, the scribes have given just another demonstration of the deity of the Messiah, for His miracle proved that His claims were true. — Wuest, page 50.

Go to your house (v.11) — The Lord did not want the healed man to stick around, probably for the same reason He did not want the leper in Mark 1:44, to broadcast his healing. It would make the leaders jealous and hinder His ministry.

amazed (v.12) — The crowd was taken so far from what they were used to that their entire attention was taken up by the miracle and they were almost beside themselves.