Mark 2
v.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?”
There are thoughts Jesus may question us about: why do you think such things?
v.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!“
v.14
As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
Jesus sees the individual among the masses. v 7.
v.17
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus responds to the silent criticisms against him and to the vocal accusations of his disciples. He is the defender of both God’s glory and his disciples. There’s something about how verse 8 and verse 17.
This defines the forgiveness of the paralytic as well (2:5, 10) and shows that salvation is a major theme of this section. The first half of Jesus’s pronouncement was a common proverb, stating that doctors exist for those who need them, the ill. Jesus applies this to the sphere of spiritual healing, (those who know they are) sinners rather than (those who think themselves to be) righteous. The “call” is a call to God’s salvation and to discipleship. The self-righteous are not open to the kingdom reality, so Jesus is spending his time with those who are open and will accept his healing presence. Like the Baptist (1:4), Jesus came to preach repentance (1:15) and forgiveness (2:5, 10; cf. 1:38), and he will go where people are open to the gospel.
v.19-20
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
There is a time to ask and a time to receive. Lord, make us aware of the times we are living in.
jj see Spurgeon on Exodus 14 15 Exodus14 v 15.
v.22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Christianity teaches differently: that God will change our hearts to want to do what He wants us to do (Philippians 2:13). This is how we love God (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). To try to fit Jesus’ teachings of love and freedom into the Pharisaical legalism (or even its modern-day equivalences) would have resulted in a burst tradition and pieces of love and freedom spilled out all over the floor.
v.25-26
He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
This occurred in 1 Samuel 21:1–6, as David, future king and messianic forerunner, was fleeing from Saul.5 He and his men ate the sacred loaves reserved for the priests (Exod. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–9). The priest freely gave him the bread, and God never judged David, so Jesus uses this as an example of the law being set aside due to the need of David, who as future king and forebear of the Messiah had the authority to demand the holy bread. If this is true, even more may an oral tradition be set aside for the Messiah himself, the Son of God.
v.27
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
In short, Jesus makes it clear that the Law has a greater purpose than to be followed with blind, careless literalism. There is a meaning behind God’s law, and some of God’s purposes are higher than others. Caring for the needs of the needy, for instance, is more important than ceremonial rituals.
God’s rest, the Sabbath, was meant to benefit and strengthen God’s people. The ordaining of the Sabbath was never intended for the purpose of people keeping Sabbath regulations and precepts. It was a gift from God and so was to serve humankind, not to become the master over humankind. For us, it is meant to be a day of rest and worship, not a source of rules.
v.28
So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
He is the final interpreter of Torah (one of the emphases of the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5–7]) and offers a Sabbath-like rest for the soul (Matt. 11:28–30). What Christ has brought is “greater than the temple” (Matt. 12:6 [in the same story as here in Mark]), and if Christ supersedes the temple, he also has authority over the Sabbath observance. This is an apex of Mark’s Christology and shows that, for Mark, there is a divine authority that rests on Jesus.