Mar 2 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 2:1-3:6: 2:1–3:6 Five controversy stories (2:1-12 , 13-17 , 18-22 , 23-28 ; 3:1-6 ), grouped by their common theme, reveal Jesus’ great authority and the leaders’ hostility toward him. Summary for Mark 2:1-12: 2:1-12 This controversy story is also a miracle story, which links it to the previous collection (1:21-45 ). 2:1 back home: See Matt 4:13 . The crowd’s size shows Jesus’ popularity.

Summary for Mark 2:1-3:6: 2:1–3:6 ^a Five controversy stories (2:1-12 ^b, 13-17 ^c, 18-22 ^d, 23-28 ^e; 3:1-6 ^f), grouped by their common theme, reveal Jesus’ great authority and the leaders’ hostility toward him.
Summary for Mark 2:1-12: 2:1-12 ^g This controversy story is also a miracle story, which links it to the previous collection (1:21-45 ^h). 2:1 ⁱ back home: See Matt 4:13 ^j. The crowd’s size shows Jesus’ popularity.
2:4 ^k because of the crowd: See 2:1 ^l.

• The roof would have been flat, constructed of mud, thatch, and branches. They literally dug a hole to make an opening.
2:5 ^m Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic and the four men who brought him.

• your sins are forgiven: Those listening understood Jesus’ words as a claim to divine authority (2:6-10 ⁿ; Luke 7:48-49 ^o).
Summary for Mark 2:6-7: 2:6-7 ^p Only God can forgive sins, yet Jesus had authority to do so (2:10 ^q).
Summary for Mark 2:9-11: 2:9-11 ^r It is easier to say ... your sins are forgiven because this claim cannot be directly proved or disproved, while the claim to heal can be. Jesus showed his ability to heal in order to show his authority to forgive.
2:12 ^s We’ve never seen anything like this before! Mark consistently records Jesus creating amazement (1:22 ^t, 27 ^u; 4:41 ^v; 6:50-51 ^w).
Summary for Mark 2:13-17: 2:13-17 ^x This controversy centers on Jesus’ befriending disreputable sinners such as tax collectors and eating with them.
Summary for Mark 2:13-15: 2:13-15 ^y Levi was also called Matthew (cp. Matt 9:9-10 ^z). Certain people are known by two names in the New Testament (e.g., Simon=Peter; Saul=Paul; Judas son of James=Thaddaeus, see study note on Mark 3:18).

• This kind of tax collector (Greek telōnēs) collected sales taxes, customs, and road tolls, in contrast with those who collected the poll tax (12:14 ^aa). Local tax collectors like Levi were hated by other Jews because they often gouged the public (Luke 19:8 ^ab), and as agents of the Romans, they were regarded as traitors. Jesus invited Levi, a tax collector, to follow him, joining Peter, Andrew, James, and John (Mark 1:16-20 ^ac).
2:16 ^ad The teachers of religious law who were Pharisees understood Jesus’ act of eating with sinners as intentionally accepting them as friends (Luke 15:1-2 ^ae; 19:5 ^af, 7 ^ag; Acts 11:2-18 ^ah; Gal 2:11-12 ^ai). Jesus indicated that these tax collectors and sinners were invited to share in the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ ministry, even Gentiles were invited to share the Kingdom (Mark 5:1-20 ^aj; 7:24-30 ^ak; cp. Matt 8:5-13 ^al; Luke 7:1-10 ^am; John 4:43-54 ^an).
2:17 ^ao Jesus answered his opponents with a well-known proverb, comparing himself to a doctor and sinners to sick people. Salvation is for those who know they are sinners, not those who think they are righteous (Luke 16:15 ^ap; 18:9 ^aq; Rom 3:23 ^ar).
Summary for Mark 2:18-22: 2:18-22 ^as This controversy deals with fasting, which Jesus did not practice with his disciples. The Pharisees regularly fasted two days a week, on Mondays and Thursdays (Luke 18:12 ^at), and Jews often fasted when mourning or specially seeking the Lord’s favor (Lev 16:29-31 ^au; 1 Sam 31:13 ^av; 2 Sam 1:12 ^aw; 12:21-23 ^ax; Ezra 8:23 ^ay; Esth 4:3 ^az; Matt 6:16 ^ba).
Summary for Mark 2:19-20: 2:19-20 ^bb Jesus was like a groom at his wedding, so fasting was inappropriate. It was a time for celebration (Luke 15:23-25 ^bc, 32 ^bd). The disciples would fast when Jesus was taken away by death (see Acts 13:2-3 ^be; 14:23 ^bf).
Summary for Mark 2:21-22: 2:21-22 ^bg Old customs of the old covenant are incompatible with the new arrival of God’s Kingdom. Common experience shows that an unshrunken new patch sewn on old clothing will tear the old cloth as it shrinks. Similarly, brittle old wineskins will burst when new wine ferments in them. Jesus’ meaning was that the fasting of the old cannot mix with the feasting of the new.
Summary for Mark 2:23-28: 2:23-28 ^bh In this controversy, Jesus and his disciples are accused of breaking the Sabbath (Exod 20:8-11 ^bi). Picking grain by hand in another person’s field was lawful (Deut 23:25 ^bj). The charge was that by rubbing the chaff from the kernels, the disciples were working on the Sabbath, which was forbidden (Exod 34:21 ^bk).
Summary for Mark 2:25-26: 2:25-26 ^bl Jesus countered with reference to an incident in the life of King David (1 Sam 21 ^bm). When David and his followers ate the sacred loaves—the twelve loaves in the Tabernacle that only priests were allowed to eat—they broke the law (see Lev 24:5-9 ^bn). But deeper principles were at work (Mark 2:27-28 ^bo).
Summary for Mark 2:27-28: 2:27-28 ^bp Since Jesus is the Lord of humanity (1 Cor 15:25-28 ^bq; Eph 1:20-22 ^br; Phil 2:9-11 ^bs) and since the Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, he is Lord ... over the Sabbath. As with Jesus’ authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:7 ^bt), this was a claim to divine authority.