Mark 2

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:1-12

1. The healing and forgiveness of a paralytic 2:1-12 (cf. Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26)". . . as Rabbinism stood confessedly powerless in face of the living death of leprosy, so it had no word of forgiveness to speak to the conscience burdened with sin, nor yet word of welcome to the sinner. But this was the inmost meaning of the two events which the Gospel-history places next to the healing of the leper: the forgiveness of sins in the case of the paralytic, and the welcome to the chief of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:3-4

"In order to understand the action these verses describe, it is necessary to visualize the layout of a typical Palestinian peasant’s house. It was usually a small, one-room structure with a flat roof. Access to the roof was by means of an outside stairway. The roof itself was usually made of wooden beams with thatch and compacted earth in order to shed the rain. Sometimes tiles were laid between the beams and the thatch and earth placed over them." [Note: Wessel, p. 632.] Another possibility is... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:5

The pains they took proved their faith in Jesus’ ability and willingness to heal. Jesus responded by dealing with their friend’s need better than they had expected. Sin is the root of all sickness, not that there is always a close correspondence between sinfulness and sickness. Jesus authoritatively forgave the man’s sins as only God could do and so dealt with the ultimate cause of sickness."We must admire several characteristics of these men, qualities that ought to mark us as ’fishers of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:6-7

Jesus’ claim to possess divine authority upset the teachers of the law who were present. The fact that they were sitting in that crowded house shows the respect the Jews gave them. No Old Testament prophet ever claimed personal authority to forgive sins, though Nathan had announced God’s forgiveness to David (2 Samuel 12:13). The Jews believed even the Messiah could not forgive sins because the Old Testament never attributed that power to Him. Only God could do that (cf. Exodus 34:6-9; Psalms... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:8-9

Only God can heal and forgive sins. These actions are equally impossible to men. However a person cannot verify his claim to forgive sins, but his claim to be able to heal paralysis is verifiable. The scribes therefore assumed that the claim to heal paralysis was the greater one. Jesus frequently used the rabbinic device of asking counter questions, especially when dealing with opponents (cf. Mark 3:4; Mark 11:30; Mark 12:37). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:10-11

Jesus chose to do what they considered harder to show that He could also do what they considered easier."He did the miracle which they could see that they might know that he had done the other one that they could not see." [Note: A. M. Hunter, The Gospel According to Saint Mark, p. 38.] This is Mark’s first use of the title "Son of Man." He used it 14 times (cf. Mark 2:28; Mark 8:31; Mark 8:38; Mark 9:9; Mark 9:12; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:33; Mark 10:45; Mark 13:26; Mark 14:21 [twice], 41, 62).... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:12

The man responded to all three commands immediately and obediently.Jesus’ healing was complete and instantaneous. Everyone in the house witnessed the miracle including the religious leaders. They were amazed (Gr. existasthai, lit. "out of their minds," cf. Mark 3:21; Mark 5:42; Mark 6:51). They had witnessed something that neither they nor anyone else had ever seen. No one had ever given evidence of forgiving the sins of someone else. This was a strong testimony to Jesus’ deity. However from... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:13

"Again" (Gr. palin) identifies this incident as a different occasion (cf. Mark 1:16). Jesus had been in Capernaum, which was very close to the Sea of Galilee, but now He returned to the water’s edge where He could teach the large crowds that followed Him (cf. Mark 1:45; Mark 2:13; Mark 3:7; Mark 3:13; Mark 4:1; Mark 5:21; et al.)."This action becomes meaningful when it is seen as part of a recurring pattern in Mark’s Gospel. After a demonstration of the saving power of God, Jesus withdraws from... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:13-17

2. The call of Levi and his feast 2:13-17 (cf. Matthew 9:13; Luke 5:27-32)The call of Levi as one of Jesus’ disciples was the setting for the second instance of opposition from the religious leaders that Mark recorded in this section. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:14

"Levi" was this man’s given name whereas Matthew ("gift of God," also Nathanael and Theodore) was a nickname. Matthew used the latter name for himself in his Gospel (Matthew 9:9; cf. Mark 3:18), but Mark and Luke spoke of him by his given name.". . . in Galilee it was common to have two names-one the strictly Jewish, the other the Galilean. (Talmudic tractate Gittin 34 b)" [Note: Edersheim, 1:514.] "It was not uncommon for a man to receive or assume a new name upon entering a new career."... read more

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:1-12

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:3-4

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:5

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:6-7

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:8-9

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:10-11

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:12

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:13

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:13-17

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 2:14

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