Jesus Heals a Paralytic
1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son;
your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
1. What town is Jesus calling his own city?
At the beginning of his ministry in Galilee Jesus left Nazareth and came and dwelt in Capernaum (4:12, 13), and the latter was thence forward “his own city”.
13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali– 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles– Matt 4:13-15 (NIV)
2. Who was this paralytic?
Mark gives a fuller version: 1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Mark 2:1-12 (NIV)
3. Why were the teachers of the law so upset with Jesus?
Blasphemy: The act of claiming for oneself the attributes and rights of God. Was Jesus guilty of claiming illegally the attributes and rights of God? The scribes were right in charging blasphemy if he was not the Son of God. He doubtless made the remark for the purpose of forming this issue, and thereby preparing his hearers for the demonstration which followed.
4. Doesn’t only God have the authority to forgive sins?
Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name’s sake. Psalms 79:9 (NIV)
Jesus was establishing His credentials as the Son of God.
5. Since the forgiveness of sins brought this man healing, does that mean that all sickness and physical dysfunction is the result of sin?
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:1-4 (NIV)
Some illness is the result of sin and some has nothing to do with sin or the sin of the parents. The rabbis taught that all sick or crippled people were being punished for either their sin or the sins of their parents. Jesus shows later that this was not the case in all people.
The Calling of Matthew
6. What was Matthew’s reaction when Jesus called him?
He immediately left his job and followed Jesus. He put everything aside.
Matthew gives us some information, and Mark gives a little more detail; but Luke shares even more.
And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them Luke 5:29.
This dinner was given by Levi as a way of trying to win people to the Lord Jesus Christ. Levi had not been trained in a theological seminary. He was a tax gatherer and a rascal. When he came to the Lord Jesus, he did what he could. He was a rich publican — so he gave a dinner and invited all his rascal friends to it so that they could meet Jesus Christ. The scribes and Pharisees who were there had a difficult time keeping their mouths shut, and finally they came to Him.
7. Why did Jesus respond? , “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Pharisees were self-righteous and looked down on ”sinners” who were pretty much anybody who were not Pharisees. They were critical of Jesus for associating with these lowlifes. He maintained that because of their prideful attitude they had excluded themselves for His ministry.
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
14 Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while
he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
8. What is the big deal about fasting?
The disciples of John had been observing the Lord Jesus. After all, some of these men were originally disciples of John — we know that Andrew and Philip were. They had come and were following the Lord Jesus, and the other disciples of John said, “Look, here is something happening which is a little different from the way we do it, and we wonder why.”
John, as has been indicated previously, was an Old Testament prophet. He walked out of the Old Testament into the New Testament to make the announcement that the Messiah had come. Malachi had predicted that a messenger would come to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. John said, “All I’m doing is getting the highway ready for the Lord. He will be here in a few minutes.” And He did come as John had said. Now our Lord is going to enunciate a great principle and reveal the fact that the dispensation is going to be changed. Although for believers today fasting has real value, we have been given no commandment to fast. Fasting should be done with the idea that we are prostrating ourselves before God because we are in need of His mercy and of His help. This is the thought b hind fasting.
Our Lord is saying this: The old covenant, the old dispensation of law, was ending, and He had not come to project it or to continue under that dispensation. Actually, He had come to provide a new garment, and that new garment was the robe of righteousness which He gives to those who do nothing more than to trust Him.
The “bottles” were the wineskins of that day. They were fashioned of animal skin. You can see that when new wine would be put into a new wineskin, it would expand. But an old wineskin had reached the place of maximum expansion; when it was filled with new wine, it would naturally burst open and the wine would be lost.
Our Lord is saying this, “I haven’t come to sew patches on an old garment. I have come to present a new garment, something which is altogether new.” This was very radical. John summed it up in his Gospel when he said, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). JVM
The New Covenant was a whole new ball game and the transition from the Old would be difficult for some. No longer was it a covenant under written law. This New Covenant was a spiritual covenant and the new way of thinking. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.” Mark 14:24. Because of the blood of Jesus shed to pay the penalty for our sin, God the father is now able to view us as His children.
A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman
9. What contrast do we find in these two healings?
Luke in his Gospel tells us that when this ruler first came to Jesus it was to ask Him to heal his daughter: “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying…” (Luke 8:41-42). The little girl was sick unto death, and while her father waited to talk with Jesus, a servant came and told him that the little girl had died. As Jesus and His disciples arose to follow Jairus to his home, a large crowd gathered around Him. You cannot help but notice how striking this passage is. The little girl was twelve years old, and this woman had suffered with this issue of blood for twelve years. Here were twelve years of light going out of this child’s life, and twelve years of darkness were coming to an end and light was breaking into this woman’s life. Here is the contrast of light and darkness. In the previous verse note what the woman did — Jesus did not touch her, as He did in many other miracles, but she touched Him. It was not the method, however, that brought about her healing; it was her faith. JVM
Jesus Heals the Blind and Dumb
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region. 32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
10. Why would Jesus tell them to not tell anyone about these healings?
This is another remarkable case where the Lord charges these men not to tell anyone about what happened to them. He said the same thing to the leper. There are several reason for the Lord to ask this favor, but one is made clear in this passage. The publication of His miracles caused the crowds to press in upon Him and actually hindered Him at His work.
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
11. Who are the workers and what is the harvest?
We are the workers. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and makedisciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:18-20 (NIV)
The world population is over 6 billion, with 2.1 billion calling themselves Christians. Out of the 2.1 billion I think the number of saved, “born again” Christians is much smaller. The vast majority of the people in the world are in danger of eternal damnation. It is our responsibility to take the opportunities we get to spread the “good news” of Jesus Christ
- ESV………….ESV Study Bible Notes
- MSN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
- NIVSN…..NIV Study Notes.
- JVM ….J Vernon McGee,
- ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary
- BN …..Barnes Notes
- WBC…… Wycliffe Bible Commentary
- CN …… Constables Notes
- IC……….Ironside Commentary
- NET………Net Bible Study Notes.
- JFB…………..Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
- VWS……………..Vincent Word Studies
- CMM………….Commentary on Matthew and Mark
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