Mark 2

Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, meets with the disreputable Levi and his friends, and argues over the need to fast, and whether or not one can harvest food on Sabbath.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
*Codex Vaticanus (325-350; complete)
*Codex Sinaiticus (330-360; complete)
*Codex Bezae (~400; complete)
*Codex Alexandrinus (400-440; complete)
* Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450; complete)

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

Jesus returns to Capernaum after a period of absence in the open country (). Four men carrying a paralyzed man come to see Jesus, but they cannot get past the crowd. Mark is the only canonical gospel to specify that there were four persons carrying him. It is not stated who the men are, but it is implied that some of them have faith in Jesus. Since Mark has so far listed four disciples, some writers speculate that Mark might be indicating it is them doing the carrying, but there is no general agreement on this.Brown ''et al.'' 601

They then create a hole in the roof of the house ( gr, ἀπεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην, ''apestegasan tēn stegēn'', "they uncovered the roof") and lower the man in to see Jesus. Kilgallen suggests that because they "dug" through the roof this indicates that it is a poor house, with the roof made of leaves, bark, and dirt.Kilgallen 49 It might also have had wooden beams for more sturdy support. This was the ordinary type of house in Palestine at the time. Longman, Strauss and Taylor's Expanded Bible states "they dug a hole in the roof" and notes that "Palestinian roofs were generally flat and made of thatch and dried mud" and The Living Bible refers to a "clay roof". Tom Wright suggests that this is Jesus' own house.Wright, T. (2001), ''Mark for Everyone'', pages 16-17 Jesus is impressed by their effort, praising all the men's faith, and he tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven. Wright suggests that the forgiveness is granted in part for creating a hole in the roof, but also that the forgiveness Jesus granted "went deeper" than this. Some writers, including Jerome and Ambrose, exclude the paralytic himself from the commended faith but John Chrysostom includes him. Jesus calls the man "Son", a term of affection.Brown ''et al.'' 602

Some of the teachers of the law present (belonging to the sect of the Pharisees) are disturbed by this. "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (). Mark observes that Jesus "...knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts..." ().

He says to them "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ..." He says to the man "...get up, take your mat and go home."
8-11
.

According to Raymond E. Brown, it may have been easier to tell the man something than to demand he get up and walk. Jesus chooses to prove his ability to forgive sins, with a demonstration of the man's ability to walk. He forgives and heals by word alone, highlighting the power of his words. Mark says that "everyone" was amazed by this.

Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, ''ho huios tou anthrōpou'' (literally ''son of the human being''), which he does many times in Mark. This is taken in several ways in Mark, but is a term accepted by orthodox Christianity as referring to his Messiahship. The term comes is found in many sources, for example Daniel 7:31 and the Book of Enoch. In the Jewish apocalyptic tradition this title represents the judge during the final judgement. He was often viewed as angelic or as a heavenly being who comes as a flesh and blood person. Only Jesus mentions this title in the Gospels, often using it to speak about himself in the third person. It has also been seen as symbolic of God's plan for all people.Miller 17

Both in Luke and John Jesus rejects the notion that illness and misfortune are the result of sins.

The teachers say that only God can forgive one's sins; some see Exodus and Isaiah and as proof of this claim. Mark thus leaves it implied that Jesus is God and that faith in his power can lead to not just a cure of physical ills but to a forgiveness of a person's sins. Early Christians may have used this story to buttress their claims of Jesus' ability to forgive sins. Thus to the teachers Jesus' claim is blasphemy as they do not think Jesus is God, but to Mark's audience this confirms their belief in Jesus' divinity.

This is the first conflict between Jesus and other Jewish teachers in Mark. Mark might be starting his explanation of why these Jewish authorities later turned on Jesus.

This incident of the cure of a paralytic and his subsequent forgiveness of his sins is told in all the Synoptic Gospels, ( Luke and Matthew 9:1– 8). All the synoptics agree that the man was paralyzed and that the ''teachers of the law'' were incensed at Jesus because he said he could forgive the man's sins.

Calling of Levi

Jesus, while teaching a large crowd by the lake, finds Levi at the tax collector's booth and says "Follow me!" also calls him "Levi". Matthew's version of this story clearly lists him as "Matthew", the tax collector and apostle, in ,. Mark lists him as Levi the son of Alphaeus, although an Alphaeus is also listed as the name of the father of James. A few manuscripts refer to James and not Levi, but most think this is an attempt by a copyist at correction. J.E. Jacquier suggests that Levi was his name originally, and that it is probable that Mattija, "gift of Iaveh", was the name conferred upon the tax-gatherer by Jesus when He called him to the Apostolate. maybe a middle or nickname, and both fathers had the same name. Mark names Matthew but Levi as one of the Twelve Apostles in , so if one considers Mark alone it is not clear this Levi was an Apostle.

A tax collector could mean two things. He could have been an independent contractor with the Roman government, who paid a fee to Rome to obtain the right to extract taxes from the people in a certain area, with an added fee for the collector and his employees. He might have also been a toll collector for Herod Antipas, and Capernaum was an area with a high traffic of people and merchants. Either way, Levi would have been a very unpopular and even despised person.

Jesus and his disciples eat with Levi and his disreputable friends and the "teachers of the law who were Pharisees" () ask his disciples why. Some ancient authorities put the question as "why does he eat ''and drink''" with them. Teaching the law was a profession, and the Pharisees were a group of men who were considered pious. Whether they were at the dinner or were simply aware of it is unclear. The proper preparing and eating of food are very important in Judaism. It was even considered dangerous to eat with those who did not observe the same dining customs by some Jews like the Pharisees. See also the "Incident at Antioch" .

Jesus replies the famous "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew has him say "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice." between the two sentences in Mark's version. Luke says "... but sinners to repentance". Jesus compares himself to a doctor to show that, as a doctor fights disease by working with the sick, so Jesus must go to sinners in order to help them overcome their sins. Jesus said he was seeking repentance in .

The Oxyrhynchus Gospels 1224 5:1-2 also record this episode of "dining with sinners".

Jesus thus ends the debate with a statement with no rebuttal by his opponents. Many see this as Mark's way of telling the story to set up Jesus for his memorable words, which Mark uses in the next two incidents and others as well. Scholars have labeled this method of narration an apophthegm, chreia or pronouncement story.Miller 18 All three synoptics have this occur after the healing of the paralyzed man.

Most translations seem to indicate that this was at Levi's house, although the original texts state this was at "his" house, which could be Levi's or perhaps Jesus' house, maybe the one he where he was staying. Mark says many people followed Jesus. In contrast to the followers Jesus attracted, it is not clear how many actual disciples (students) he recruited, only calls it a "great crowd of ... disciples" and says many left.

Fasting and new wineskins

Some people asked why is it that the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees fast, but the disciples of Jesus do not (). People fasted for many reasons, such as mourning or penitence, but another reason was to prepare for the anticipated coming of the messiah and perhaps even to hasten the process.Kilgallen 58

Jesus answered, "Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?" Jesus is referred to as a bridegroom in several places in the New Testament, such as John , 2 Corinthians , the Epistle to the Ephesians and Revelation and . Jesus speaking of himself as the bridegroom carries messianic overtones. There is no purpose in fasting as the messiah, Jesus, is already here and his coming is like a wedding celebration, at which people do not fast.

Jesus then says the bridegroom will be "taken from them" and then his disciples will fast "on that day", or "on those days". All three synoptic gospels use the same phrase, απαρθη απ αυτων (''aparthē ap’ autōn''), which does not appear elsewhere in the New Testament. The words are taken as an allusion to Jesus' death. For those who do not believe Jesus had foreknowledge of his death this is taken as an interpolation of the early Church.

Marks' account follows this with "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." ()

What its exact meaning is in the original context is not totally clear to scholars today. It is easily interpreted to mean Jesus was proposing a new way of doing things. The new "unshrunk" patch for the cloth can not be melded to the old cloth as it will shrink and make the tear of the cloth worse. One can also not use "new" wine with "old" wineskins as the new wine will ferment and expand and break the old skins. Jesus thus seems to be concerned that the patch and the "new" wine ''as well'' as the "old" cloth and old wineskins be preserved.Brown ''et al.'' 603 This might be Jesus trying to convey that one must shed those old things that are incompatible with his new way.

Ignatius of Antioch, among others, interpreted it as Jesus saying he was the start of a new religion separate from John the Baptist and Second Temple Judaism. Some Christians have used it to propose new ways of being Christian or even entirely new forms of Christianity. As early as the second century, Marcion used it to justify his doctrine, later called Marcionism and deemed heretical.

The interpretation favored by John Calvin does not suffer from the inconsistencies and the disconnectedness of the interpretations listed above. In hi
Commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Calvin states that the old wineskins and the old garment represent Jesus' disciples, and the new wine and unshrunk cloth represent the practice of fasting twice a week. Fasting this way would be burdensome to the new disciples, and would be more than they could bear.

Plucking grain on Sabbath

One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees accused them of breaking Sabbath (). The command to observe Sabbath is found in Exodus , a "perpetual covenant ... orthe people of Israel" (NRSV

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