This document provides a summary and analysis of Mark 2:1-12, where Jesus heals a paralyzed man. It notes that Jesus first forgives the man's sins, angering teachers of the law who say only God can forgive sins. To prove he has authority to forgive, Jesus then heals the paralyzed man. The document examines the theological and historical context, including Jewish beliefs about sin and suffering. It emphasizes that Jesus met both the man's physical and spiritual needs, and that forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ is God's plan to redeem mankind.

1. Mark 2:1-12
Forgives
Jesus Heals A Paralytic
March 10, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
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The Glory of God!
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1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
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2. March Memory Verse
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
References
• NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing, 1985).
• ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2008).
• Walton & Kenner, NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids,
Zondervan, 2017).
• Sproul, R.C., St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary on Mark (Sanford, FL,
Reformation Trust, 2011).
Introduction to the Gospel According to Mark
• John Mark was the writer for Peter’s account of Jesus’ life recorded in the
‘Gospel According to Mark.’
• Gospel of Mark was written in Rome with Peter in 53-55 AD.
• John Mark was not a disciple or an eyewitness.
• This writing records more details of the events in Jesus’ life rather than the
actual words.
Key Themes in The Gospel of Mark
• Jesus is man and the Son of God (deity).
• Jesus is the Son of Man with all power and authority.
• Jesus as the Son of Man must suffer.
• Jesus is Lord.
• Jesus calls his followers to imitate him in humble service, self-denial and
suffering.
• Jesus teaches on the kingdom of God.
The Setting of Mark 2:1-12 is Capernaum.

3. Capernaum in Galilee
• A thriving fishing village on the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee.
• Hometown to Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew.
• Jesus moved his ministry from Nazareth 20 miles northeast to Capernaum.
• There was a local synagogue where Jesus taught and worshipped.
Capernaum in Jesus’ Time
Today: Capernaum and Ruins of Peter’s House
Introduction to Mark 2
• Jesus had called his first disciples – Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and
John.
• Jesus had taught in the synagogue in Capernaum and healed a man with
an unclean spirit.
• Jesus healed many people in the area and crowds followed him
everywhere.
• Jesus had to leave Capernaum for a while because of the crowds that
followed him.

4. Mark 2:1-2 NIV
1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard 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.
• No more than 50 people could have been crammed into the main room
of the house.
• Jesus was preaching and not healing at this particular meeting at Peter’s
house.
What was the word Jesus was preaching?
Mark 1:14-15 NIV
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good
news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
Summary of Jesus’ Message in Mark
• God’s rule over people’s hearts and lives is now being established.
• The coming of Christ brings the kingdom near to the people.
• People should repent and believe in the good news of Jesus as Messiah.
• The kingdom will ultimately include the restoration of all creation
(Revelation 21:1).
Mark 2:3-4 NIV
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.
The Paralytic and His Friends
• According to Matthew, Jesus had already healed other paralytics before
this incident.
• The scriptures do not tell us the origin of the paralysis, whether congenital
or accidental.
• The friends obviously loved him enough to seek healing for him.
• It does not appear that salvation was the primary goal of the friends, but
physical healing.
The Roof of Peter’s House
• A flat roof accessed from the outside that also functioned as we would use
an outside deck.
• The roof was multilayered with branches or sticks with packed clay (Luke
describes them as roofing tiles).
• It took some digging and force to create the large hole.
• Why didn’t Jesus, Peter or the crowd stop the destruction of the roof?

5. Lowering the Paralytic to Jesus
Mark 2:5 NIV
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are
forgiven.”
• The paralytic came for healing, and he was probably disappointed at that
moment when Jesus forgave him instead of healing him.
Jesus “saw their faith”
• Their trusting faith that Jesus could heal the paralytic was their incentive to
find a way to get him to Jesus.
• They did not wait until the sermon was over.
• Jesus could “see” their hearts of faith with His divine spiritual eyes even
without their actions.
• The friends may have seen other healings by Jesus, and even become
followers.
• Jesus could “see” the faith of the paralytic man.
• His faith had to involve faith in healing and faith for salvation, including a
repentant heart.
• We have no record of speech between Jesus and the paralytic prior to
Jesus’ declaration of forgiveness.
Why did Jesus address the paralytic as “son”?
• The paralytic was possibly a young man.
• It was a term of endearment showing Jesus’ compassion and love for the
man.
• It showed Jesus as an authoritative figure for the declaration he made
about forgiving sins.
• The paralytic was now a child of God, since Jesus “saw his faith.”

6. Mark 2:6-7 NIV
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?”
Blasphemy
• To blaspheme is to speak with contempt about God or to be defiantly
irreverent.
• Blasphemy is a verbal or written reproach of God's name, character, work,
or attributes.
• In Jewish theology even the Messiah could not forgive sins, and Jesus’
forgiveness of sin was a claim to deity and was blasphemy.
Blasphemy is a serious crime.
Leviticus 24:15-16 NIV
15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible;
16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire
assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they
blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.
What was the understanding at that time about forgiveness of sins?
Isaiah 43:22-23 NIV
22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
Forgiveness of sins before Jesus:
• Forgiveness was based on offering sacrifices and the intervention of the
High Priest for the people.
• The people did not have direct access to God to seek forgiveness.
• Forgiveness involved an action on the part of the sinner and restitution to
God.
• Jesus was teaching forgiveness based on faith in Him as Messiah (Savior)
and God’s Son.

7. Mark 2:8-9 NIV
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’?
• Jesus is the only one who has spoken in this story.
• Jesus asked them a simple question, but the answer is difficult.
The Question – “Which is easier …?
• On the surface, it appears easier to say, “your sins are forgiven” because
that is something invisible and impossible to disprove.
• Healing the paralytic would have a visible manifestation for all to see and
provide proof.
• Jesus may have been using this approach to show that the paralytic had
a physical and a spiritual need, and He could meet both needs.
The Jewish assumption that suffering could be traced to sin
John 9:1-3 NIV
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 works of God might be displayed in him.
• The healing of the paralytic man is a great display of the works of God.
Healing in the New Testament
• John the Baptist, who came before Jesus did, not perform healings.
• Only Jesus healed people initially in order to demonstrate his power from
God and his deity.
• Jesus gave this healing power to the disciples to demonstrate the
extension of God’s power to them.
Mark 2:10a NIV
10a But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins.…”
• The “Son of Man” is the title Jesus used most for himself.
• This title occurs more than 80 times in the New Testament.

8. What is Jesus saying to the teachers of the law (the Scribes)?
• When Jesus referred to himself as “the Son of Man”, he was not practicing
humility, but proclaiming deity.
• He was saying that he had descended from heaven, and that he is not
from this earth.
• He wanted to show His divine authority to forgive sin.
• By Jesus declaring forgiveness, He was saying that the sins had been
committed against Him as God.
Who is the Son of Man?
Daniel’s Dream of Jesus.
Daniel 7:13-14 NIV
13 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,
coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was
led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all
nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will
never be destroyed.
John describes the ‘Son of Man’ in Revelation.
Revelation 1:12-14 NIV
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. 13 And when I turned
I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like
a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden
sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as
snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a
furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand
he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged
sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand
on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living
One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys
of death and Hades.
What did forgiveness of sin mean for Jesus?
• Every sin of man must be punished by God.
• For Jesus to forgive the paralytic’s sins meant that He (Jesus) would have
to be punished by God for those sins.
• The death of Jesus was required for those sins.
• Jesus, willingly, went to the cross to die for our sins and pay the price for
us.

9. Mark 2:10b-12 NIV
10b 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!”
What was the greatest need of the paralytic that Jesus met, Healing or
Forgiveness?
The Symbolism of the Scene with the Paralytic
• We are created with a need for Jesus in own souls.
• We do crazy things searching to meet this need.
• We are crippled in our sins, until we meet Jesus.
• Jesus raises us from the crippling effects of sin to walk in newness of life.
• Jesus said to “go home”, and we are eventually going home to be with
Jesus.
What is man’s greatest need?
A Quote by Max Lucado.
“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If
our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But
since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”
We have forgiveness through faith in Jesus.
Ephesians 1:7-8 NIV
7 In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all
wisdom and understanding.
Romans 5:1 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ,

10. Song “I Then Shall Live” by David Phelps and Gloria Gaither
(Verse 1)
I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven.
I’ll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father.
I am His child and I am not afraid.
So, greatly pardoned, I’ll forgive my brother;
The law of love I gladly will obey.
God’s Plan for Forgiveness of Man.
Romans 3:23 NIV
23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Romans 5:8 NIV
8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 10:9-10 NIV
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with the heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and
are saved.
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/
Next Sunday
Mark 3:20-35
The Sin That Will Not Be Forgiven
March 17, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA