Mark 2:10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”I love the end of this s...  Read More

Mark 2:8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? I love how Jesus knows what they are thinking and how he gets a little aggressive with them. That in itself must have been a little bit of a surprise. Whether this was div...  Read More

Mark 2:7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”And there it is. The criticism, the anger, and the righteous indignation. These men were not used to someone saying the things that Jesus was saying. And truthfully, Jesus was saying things that no normal person would dare to say. He is taking the prerogative of God and wielding it as if it was his right. Which of course, w...  Read More

Mark 2 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves,Jesus honored their faith and hope. He seemed impressed by the lengths they were willing to go to ensure their friend's healing. But a weird thing happened; rather than healing the man, Jesus said his “sins are for...  Read More

Mark 2:3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus.Yep, you know this story. Four men arrived carrying their friend. The fact that they are carrying their friend shows you how much they love him. They are willing t...  Read More

Mark 2:1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them,Jesus was clearly getting famous at this point. This is a particular situation is especially interesting when it comes to going bac...  Read More