Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Mark
Chapter 2: The Son of Man Hath Power to Forgive Sins
Mark 2 gathers a series of clashes that reveal who Jesus is and why He came. When four friends lower a paralyzed man through the roof, Jesus first forgives his sins, and when the scribes think, 'who can forgive sins but God only?', He heals the man to prove that 'the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.' He calls Levi the tax collector and eats with 'publicans and sinners,' declaring, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' He answers the question about fasting by pointing to Himself as the bridegroom, and teaches with the pictures of new cloth and new wine that His gospel cannot be patched onto the old forms. And He claims lordship over the sabbath itself: 'the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.' The chapter shows the friend of sinners who forgives sins as God, and calls the sick, not the self-righteous, to Himself.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Mark chapter 2. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus forgives and heals the paralytic, calls Levi, eats with sinners, and declares Himself Lord of the sabbath. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Thy Sins Be Forgiven
Jesus forgives sins, a thing only God can do, and heals to prove it.
Follow Me
He calls Levi the tax collector and eats with publicans and sinners.
I Came to Call Sinners
He came not for the self-righteous but for the sick who know their need.
Lord of the Sabbath
New wine needs new bottles, and the Son of man is Lord of the sabbath.
Who Can Forgive Sins but God Only? (Mark 2:1-12)
Four friends bring a paralyzed man through the roof, and Jesus forgives his sins before He heals his body, claiming the authority of God.
The Son of Man Hath Power on Earth to Forgive Sins
"And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And 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. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And 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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And 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? Whether 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? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And 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."
Word Study
"power," Greek exousia (ἐξουσία). The word means authority, the rightful power to act. The scribes reasoned rightly on one point: "who can forgive sins but God only?" Forgiveness of sins is God's own prerogative, for sin is against God. So when Jesus says, "the Son of man hath exousia on earth to forgive sins," He is claiming an authority that belongs to God alone. He proves the invisible forgiveness by the visible healing: since the man's legs obey His word, His word of pardon must be true as well. The healing is the receipt for the forgiveness, and both declare that Jesus is God in flesh.
Explanation
Four friends tear open a roof to lower a paralytic to Jesus, and Mark highlights their faith before the healing -- "when Jesus saw their faith." But Jesus addresses the deeper paralysis first: "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." The scribes rightly reason that "none can forgive sins but God only," and Jesus, rather than denying the premise, proves His divine authority by healing the body -- the easier-to-verify sign of the harder-to-see pardon. The man walks out carrying the bed that carried him, a living proof that the One among them wields the prerogative of God to forgive.
Gospel Focus
This first clash cuts to the deepest question of the Gospel: who is Jesus? Four friends, in vivid, determined faith, tear open a roof to lower their paralyzed friend before Him, and "when Jesus saw their faith", their faith, note, the faith of the friends, He speaks to the man's greatest need first: "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." The man came for his legs; Jesus begins with his soul, for sin is the deeper paralysis. At once the scribes bristle in their hearts, "Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?" And here is the point on which everything turns: their theology was correct. Only God can forgive sins. If Jesus is merely a man, His words are blasphemy. But Jesus, reading their very thoughts, another divine act, sets up a test. Anyone can say "thy sins be forgiven," for no one can see whether it happened; but to say "Arise... and walk," and have it happen, is proof visible to all. "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins," He heals the man instantly. The healing is undeniable evidence that the forgiveness was real, and that the One who spoke it wields the authority of God. The scribes were right that only God forgives sins; they were wrong to miss that God was standing before them. This is the heart of the good news: the Jesus who forgives sins is God come in flesh, and the forgiveness He offers is as certain as the healing the crowd saw with their own eyes. Whatever your deepest paralysis, bring it to Him; the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins.
I Came Not to Call the Righteous, but Sinners (Mark 2:13-17)
Jesus calls a despised tax collector and feasts with sinners, revealing Himself as the physician who came for the sick.
They That Are Sick Need the Physician
"And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. And 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. And 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. And 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? When 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."
Word Study
"physician," Greek iatros (ἰατρός). A physician goes where the sickness is; his very work is to be among the ill. Jesus takes up the objection that He "eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners" and turns it into a picture of His whole mission: "They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick." He is the great iatros, the healer of souls, and the sin-sick are exactly the people He came to save. The self-righteous, who think themselves "whole," feel no need of Him; the sinner who knows he is sick runs to the doctor. Only those who know they are sick will seek the cure.
Explanation
Jesus calls Levi the tax collector -- a collaborator despised by his own people -- straight from his booth, and then dines with "many publicans and sinners." To the scandalized scribes He gives His mission statement: "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." The table full of outcasts is exactly where the Great Physician means to be. Grace goes not to those who imagine themselves well but to those who know they are sick, and Levi rises from his money to follow.
Gospel Focus
Jesus does the unthinkable: He calls a tax collector. "Levi the son of Alphaeus", Matthew, the writer of the first Gospel, sat "at the receipt of custom," a job that made him a traitor and extortioner in the eyes of his people. To such a man Jesus says, "Follow me," and "he arose and followed him." Then Jesus goes further, sitting down to eat in Levi's house with "many publicans and sinners." In that culture, to share a table was to share fellowship, and the scribes and Pharisees are scandalized: "How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?" Jesus' answer is one of the clearest statements of why He came: "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." He is not endorsing their sin; He is seeking their salvation, as a doctor enters the sickroom to heal, not to catch the disease. The tragedy of the Pharisees is not that they were too sinful for Jesus but that they thought themselves too righteous to need Him. There is no one Jesus cannot reach except the one who will not admit he is sick. This is the wideness and the wonder of grace: the Friend of sinners came for the very people religion had written off, and He calls them still. If you know yourself a sinner, you are exactly the one He came to call. Do not clean yourself up first, come to the Physician as you are; He receives sinners, and eats with them, and makes them whole.
The Son of Man Is Lord Also of the Sabbath (Mark 2:18-28)
Jesus answers the question of fasting by pointing to Himself as the bridegroom, and claims lordship over the sabbath.
New Wine Must Be Put Into New Bottles
"And 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? And 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. But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. No 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. And 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. And 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. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And 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? How 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? And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
Word Study
"Lord," Greek kurios (κύριος). The word means master, owner, one with sovereign authority. To claim to be "Lord also of the sabbath" is a staggering claim, for the sabbath was God's own institution, given by the LORD at creation and in the law. Only the One who made the sabbath can be its Lord. When Jesus calls Himself "Lord also of the sabbath," He is again declaring His deity: the sabbath belongs to Him because He is the LORD who ordained it. He is not breaking God's law but reclaiming its true meaning, for He gave it, and He knows what it is for.
Explanation
Questioned about fasting, Jesus answers that the wedding is in progress -- "can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?" -- for His presence is cause for joy, not mourning. New wine needs new wineskins: the gospel cannot be poured into the old forms of mere ritual. When the Pharisees fault His disciples for plucking grain on the Sabbath, He cites David and then claims the title outright: "the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." The Sabbath was made for man's good, and its Maker stands among them as its Lord.
Gospel Focus
Two more clashes close the chapter, and both point to the newness Jesus brings. First, the question of fasting. Why do His disciples not fast like John's and the Pharisees'? Jesus answers with joy: "Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?" He is the bridegroom, and His presence is cause for feasting, not mourning; the days for fasting would come "when the bridegroom shall be taken away", a first hint of the cross. Then two vivid pictures: no one sews "new cloth on an old garment," and no one puts "new wine into old bottles," or the old will burst and both be ruined. The gospel Jesus brings is not a patch on the old religion of the Pharisees; it is new wine that needs new wineskins, a new covenant, new hearts, a new birth. You cannot simply add Christ to a life of self- righteousness; He makes all things new. Finally, when the Pharisees accuse His disciples of breaking the sabbath by plucking grain, Jesus corrects their whole understanding: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." God gave the sabbath as a gift for man's good, rest and refreshment, not as a crushing burden of rules. And then the crowning claim: "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." He who made the sabbath is its Lord and knows its purpose. Here again Mark shows us the deity of Christ woven through ordinary disputes: the One who forgives sins as God, who came as the Physician of souls, is the Lord of the sabbath, God in flesh, bringing the new wine of the gospel. Do not try to patch Him onto the old life; come to Him for the new heart only He can give.
Chapter 2 in Review
Mark 2 is a chapter of clashes that reveal the glory of Christ. He forgives the paralytic's sins, and when the scribes object, "who can forgive sins but God only?", He heals the man to prove that "the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." He calls Levi the tax collector and feasts with "publicans and sinners," declaring, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He answers the question of fasting by naming Himself the bridegroom, and teaches with new cloth and new wine that His gospel cannot be patched onto the old religion. And He claims lordship over God's own day: "the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
For the Apostolic reader the thread through every scene is the deity and grace of Jesus. He forgives sins as only God can, reads hearts as only God can, and rules the sabbath as only its Maker can, quietly, repeatedly declaring Himself God come in flesh. And that same divine Lord is the Friend of sinners, the Physician who came for the sick, not the self-satisfied. The one barrier to His grace is the pride that will not admit its need; the one door to it is the honest confession, "I am sick, I am a sinner." He brings not a patch on the old life but new wine that needs a new heart. So the chapter presses its question upon us: do you know yourself sick enough to seek the Physician, and will you receive the new wine of the gospel, or try to sew it onto the old garment of your own righteousness? The Son of man has power to forgive your sins. Come to Him.
- Only God can forgive sins, and Jesus forgives them, proving His deity (2:7, 10).
- He heals the visible to confirm the invisible forgiveness (2:10-11).
- Jesus is the Physician who came for the sin-sick, not the self-righteous (2:17).
- The gospel is new wine that needs new wineskins, not a patch on the old (2:22).
- The sabbath was made for man's good, a gift, not a crushing burden (2:27).
- The Son of man is Lord of the sabbath, for He is the LORD who made it (2:28).
Questions for Reflection
- Have you brought your deepest paralysis, your sin, to the One who can forgive it?
- Do you know yourself sick enough to seek the Physician, or too "whole" to need Him?
- Are you trying to patch Christ onto the old life, or receiving the new wine of the gospel?
- Do you honor Jesus as Lord, even of your rest and your religion?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. God alone forgives sins: Isaiah 43:25; Psalm 103:3; Micah 7:18. Christ the Friend of sinners: Luke 15:1-2; 1 Timothy 1:15. David and the shewbread: 1 Samuel 21:1-6. The sabbath given at creation and in the law: Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11. The new covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34; 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The healing of the paralytic and the forgiveness of sins: Mark 2:1-12; Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26.
- The call of Levi and eating with sinners: Mark 2:13-17; Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32.
- The question of fasting and the Lord of the sabbath: Mark 2:18-28; Matthew 9:14-17; 12:1-8; Luke 5:33-6:5; 1 Samuel 21:1-6.