THE
BEGINNING OF CONFLICT
Bible
Background • MARK 2:1-3:6
Printed
Text • MARK 2:3-12,
14-17
Devotional
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LESSON OVERVIEW |
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LESSON
AIM
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KEEP
IN MIND
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FOCAL
VERSES
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IN
FOCUS
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THE
PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TIMES
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BACKGROUND
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AT-A-GLANCE
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IN
DEPTH
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SEARCH
THE SCRIPTURES
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DISCUSS
THE MEANING
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LESSON
IN OUR SOCIETY
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MAKE
IT HAPPEN
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FOLLOW
THE SPIRIT
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REMEMBER
YOUR THOUGHTS
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MORE
LIGHT ON THE TEXT
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DAILY
BIBLE READINGS
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LESSON
AIM
By
the end of the lesson, students will understand that Jesus has the power
to heal and forgive sins, and that His main purpose was to make sinners
whole. Students will be motivated to reach out and help a needy person
during the week.
KEEP
IN MIND
"When
Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They
that are whole have no need of the physician, but they
that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance'"
(Mark 2:17).
FOCAL
VERSES
Mark
2:3
And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne
of four.
4
And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered
the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the
bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5
When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy
sins be forgiven thee.
6
But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their
hearts,
7
Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God
only?
8
And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned
within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your
hearts?
9
Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven
thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive
sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
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I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine
house.
12
And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all;
insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never
saw it on this fashion.
2:14
And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus
sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he
arose and followed him.
15
And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans
and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were
many, and they followed him.
16
And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners,
they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth
and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
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When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them,
They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick:
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
IN
FOCUS
He
was beaten by a mob, jailed over twenty times, bombed at home and church,
and sued for three and a half-million dollars. This man is the Reverend
Fred Shuttlesworth, a gallant leader of
the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950's and 60's. He worked with Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama, and for forty years fought for
desegregation and equality. Despite the opposition Shuttlesworth
faced, he did not retreat from the battle to see justice prevail and stood
steadfast on his faith in God. During a sermon at John Wesley United Methodist
Church in Ohio he made this statement: "I've faced death eight times (during
the civil rights movement), but God has never let me die" (The Cincinnati
Enquirer, October 1999).
In
today's lesson we will discover the conflict that Jesus encountered with
the scribes and Pharisees because of His stand for righteousness. Jesus
confronted these religious accusers by clearly articulating His mission
and purpose: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance"
(Mark 2:17). What is your response when others question your work for God?
Do you know your mission and purpose as a child of God?
THE
PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TIMES
Religious
Sects.
The following religious sects existed in Palestine during Jesus' time:
Pharisees.
This sect, which means "the separated ones," numbered around 6,000. They
were the most influential and pledged themselves to obey every aspect of
tradition and often added rules to assure not breaking the Law in any minute
fashion. Thus the Pharisees added rules and regulations which became a
burden to the Jews, and Jesus often rebuked them for their self-righteousness
and hypocrisy (Matthew 15:1-9). Not all Pharisees were hypocrites, however;
some were sincere in their reverence for God and the Law.
Sadducees.
Not as large as the Pharisees, some scholars believe this group (also called Zadokites)
originated from the sons of Zadok. Zadok
was a priest during the reign of King David (1 Kings 1:32-33). Unlike the
Pharisees, they did not believe in the resurrection of the body after death.
Although the Sadducees also exhibited a self-righteous demeanor, they were
not quite sticklers for the law as the Pharisees were, and they also strongly
opposed Jesus.
The Essenes.
With only a few thousand in this sect, they opposed the Greek influence
on the Jewish religion. They believed in self-denial, temperance, and strict
adherence, in some ways more so than the Pharisees, to the law. They had
their own purification rites and did not worship in the temple. The group
is not mentioned in the New Testament.
The
Zealots.
This sect solidly opposed Rome, even resorting to violence. They were against
paying taxes and the Roman pagan beliefs. Simon, one of the disciples,
was a Zealot (Luke 6:15).
Scribes.
Often called lawyers and doctors of the law (Matthew 22:35), they were
not considered a sect or a party, nor were they priests. Their expertise
in the law was their occupation, so they received payment for their teachings.
The scribes, who often served as judges, strongly opposed Jesus and His
teachings.
BACKGROUND
The
news of Jesus, the worker of miracles, spread throughout Capernaum. This
was an exciting time, for the community had never experienced a healer
and teacher like Jesus. No wonder Mark 1:32-33 speaks of the townspeople
bringing all the sick and demon-possessed to Jesus. And in Jesus' great
compassion He healed every one of them, but He too needed a time of restful
healing. So the next morning He departed to be alone with the Father.
The
Scriptures do not tell the length of Jesus' solitude, but His time was
shortened by the disciples' appearance. Jesus did not appear to be irritated
by the disciples presence, but informed them that He must preach in other
places: "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim
the message there also; for that is what I came out to do" (Mark 1:38,
New Revised Standard Version NRSV). Of a certainty there were more people
in need of healing in Capernaum, but Jesus knew His mission was to spread
the Gospel to everyone, so He traveled to other towns.
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AT-A-GLANCE |
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1.
The Faith of Friends (Mark 2:3-5)
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2.
The Threatening Thoughts (vv. 6-12)
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3.
The Call to a Collector (v. 14)
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4.
The Supper with Sinners (vv. 15-17)
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IN
DEPTH
1.
The Faith of Friends (Mark 2:3-5)
Luke
does not provide any great detail about the four friends who brought their
paralyzed man to Jesus, but we can sum up their character in two words:
persistent and resourceful. In fact, their ingenuity was a by-product of
their persistence. They observed the crowd gathered and saw no way of getting
near the door to see Jesus.
The
oriental house structures in those days were one or two stories, built
in the form of a rectangle or square. They had one door that opened into
an open space called the porch. Often the porch contained a stairway that
led to the roof. So these friends saw the roof as a means to reach Jesus.
The
four friends tore up the roof of this house, which apparently belonged
to Simon Peter. What were these men thinking? They were destroying another
man's property. What did others think of this act? Alexander Maclaren
in his Expositions of Holy Scripture states it eloquently:
"No
doubt, their act was inconvenient; for, however light the roofing, some
of the rubbish must have come down on the heads of some of the notabilities
below. . . But here was a sick man, and there was his Healer; and it was
their business to get the two together somehow. It was worth risking a
good deal to accomplish. The rabbis sitting there might frown at the rude
intrusiveness; Peter might object to the damage to his roof; some of the
listeners might dislike the interruption to His teaching; but Jesus read
the action of the bearers and the consent of the motionless figure on the
couch as the indication of their faith, and His love and power responded
to the call."
The
four friends help us realize that we cannot be too concerned about what
others think when we bring someone to Christ. Jesus was impressed with
their faith, and that's all that really matters. The Master saw the man's
physical need but looked beyond that to bring spiritual healing: "Son,
thy sins be forgiven thee."
2.
The Threatening Thoughts (vv. 6-12)
The
teachers of the law said nothing but were outraged as they pondered Jesus
forgiving the sins of another. That was God's right and authority, they
reasoned. "How dare he talk against God like this?" (v. 7, Today's English,
TEV)). Responding to the scribes' thoughts, Jesus declares His authority
as One who is able not only to heal but also to forgive sins. The Savior's
desire is for us to be whole in body, soul, and spirit. The man, once a
paralytic, now had his physical strength and activity restored as well
as the weight of sin lifted off him.
3.
The Call to a Collector (v. 14)
The
Jews despised the publicans (tax collectors) who were charged with the
task of collecting revenue for the Roman government, for they were extortioners
and used any opportunity they could to overcharge the Jews. Publicans were
considered the basest of people and considered defiled because of their
conformity to Roman heathenism. What made matters worse was that many of
the Jews were themselves collectors. Such was the case for Levi (Matthew),
who sat at the tollgate and collected for Herod Antipas.
As he sat, no doubt many passed by and looked at him with disgust, but
Mark says that Jesus saw Levi, not like the other villagers. Jesus
saw who Levi could become, and the Master acted upon this perception by
inviting Levi to follow Him.
Levi's
whole life changed as a result of accepting Jesus' call. He changed from
sitting in the seat of sinners (the tax collector's booth) to walking in
God's will and worshiping the Saviour. He
changed from fraudulently taking from society to freely giving to others
the message of deliverance.
4.
The Supper with Sinners (vv. 15-17)
Jesus
not only called Levi, He went to his home for dinner. Joining someone for
a meal during Jesus' time was in some respects different from the way we
gather for meals today. We may nonchalantly dine with people we do not
like for our own selfish gain, or we speak disparagingly about our hosts
when the meal is over. Conversely, a meal with someone in biblical times
usually meant that the two parties were bound by mutual covenant. Thus,
the meal at Levi's house meant that he and Jesus were in covenant. Since
word about Jesus had spread throughout Galilee, other tax collectors and
sinners were there, too, out of curiosity. They wanted to get a glimpse
of Jesus and hear His teachings firsthand.
The
sight of Jesus, a "religious man," eating with outcasts and transgressors
appalled the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus again makes clear His mission
and purpose to these self-righteous leaders. "I have not come to call the
respectable people, but the outcasts" (v. 17, TEV). This statement provides
the clarion call that Jesus' ministry is to the lowly and the lost.
SEARCH
THE SCRIPTURES
1.
Why did the scribes accuse Jesus of blasphemy? (Mark 2:7)
2.
What was Levi's occupation? (v. 14)
3.
What was the purpose of Jesus' ministry? (v. 17)
DISCUSS
THE MEANING
1.
Is there a connection between sickness and unforgiveness?
Can unforgiveness lead to sickness?
2.
How can conflict weaken or strengthen our faith?
3.
What might cause a person to feel unwelcome in church? What might Christian
leaders do to welcome people in the church?
LESSON
IN OUR SOCIETY
In
today's lesson we see Jesus healing and forgiving sins, calling tax collectors
to join Him in ministry, and eating with sinners. These actions bothered
the religious leaders, but we again see our purposed-minded Healer. He
was equipped during the biblical days, and He is equipping today. Likewise,
whatever God has called you to do, He has already readied you for the job.
"You are equipped with everything you need to fulfil your purpose," states
Miles Munroe (In Pursuit of Purpose). He has called us as Christians
to minister to the outcasts and people whom others do not want to touch.
Despite the conflicts that you might encounter, even among other Christians
and religious leaders, keep your faith in Jesus and be persistent like
the four friends in today's lesson.
MAKE
IT HAPPEN
This
week ask God for a discerning spirit that you might reach out and touch
someone that you normally overlook. God might lead you to buy lunch for
a homeless person, speak words of encouragement to a store clerk, or pray
with someone who is discouraged. Don't look for something elaborate to
do; simply follow the Spirit's leading as you meet people in your routine,
daily activities. You will be blessed, and so will the other person.
FOLLOW
THE SPIRIT
What
God wants me to do:
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REMEMBER
YOUR THOUGHTS
Special
insights you have learned:
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—Precepts
2002-2003