The Son of Man has authority to forgive sins (Mark 2a) note*

Mark 1:40-2:17
Key verse - 2:10,17

The next two studies will be about Jesus’ forgiveness of man’s sins. In today’s passage, there are three stories: Jesus’ healing of a leper, a paralyzed man, and his calling of Levi as one of his disciples. Jesus imparted his forgiveness to each of these three people and noted the ramifications of his forgiveness on each of their lives. We will learn how each of them received Jesus’ forgiving grace, what the effects were of that forgiveness in their lives, and lastly, what Jesus’ hope was in forgiving these people.

1.    Jesus heals a leper

A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged him on his knees,

“If you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40).

Leviticus 11-15 describes how God’s people were to deal with what man’s fall had incurred on humanity and their environment. After discussing how to deal with the fallen natures of animals (ch. 11) and women (12), ch. 13 describes the fallenness which has affected man’s body. Mainly, this pertained to skin diseases, the majority of which are called leprosy. Men were infected by the cursed ground and the first incidence of this is apparent on the skin.

Leprosy renders a man unable to use their sense of touch. It is incurable. The disease’s course is insidious and lasts throughout one’s life. In the beginning, it is hard to notice, except for the loss of one’s sense of touch. As it advances, the skin loses its integrity and the body eventually becomes mutilated and completely destroyed. It is not immediately fatal, but it can progress far enough to where one loses their life as well.

Once one is caught with this disease, he must move out of the community and live a solitary and quarantined life. They must show themselves to be unclean with unkempt hair and torn clothes. They were to also shout “unclean!” whenever he approached the general public. To the Rabbi, failure to do any of these things was considered one of the most reprehensible sins.

Given its physical characteristics, leprosy strangely resembles the characteristics of sin in men’s hearts, except that one is very visible and the other is not at all.

In this man, sin and its effects on his life were obvious to all. The weight of his sin was laid upon his heart and he could never unload that burden. Truly, he was living in misery, both inside and out. This man spoke one sentence to Jesus:

 “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” (Mark 1:40).

This speaks to the conditions under which this man was living and the unworthiness of his life. He did not see any value or worth in his life. Therefore, he could not demand or ask for Jesus’ favor. He simply expressed his belief that Jesus could heal him. Whether or not he was going to do it was totally up to Jesus’ compassion for him, for he was completely unworthy before him. As he listened to this man’s plea, Jesus was indignant (41a). His heart was disturbed and his mind was upset about what he said. Many conjectured as to what caused him to become indignant. It was this man’s failure to believe in his grace and mercy and in the fact that God’s grace and mercy are ready for delivery through him as the Christ. He had shown enough of his love and care for sinners, as it was recorded in the previous passage (Mark 1:29-33). As we noted in 1:1, the Messiah has come with the spirit:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, … He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1).

Yet this man did not know or failed to accept God’s grace which was being delivered through His Son. It was very troubling for Jesus that this grace had not been widely publicized or fully known by the people of the town, even after all of his work healing and caring for sinners.

This man’s understanding of who was worthy to receive God’s blessing was very similar to that of the teachers of the Law (2:16). Jesus’ primary focus was not on the righteous, but rather on those who are broken-hearted, captive, and living under darkness. In his indignation, Jesus showed his will, both overtly and positively, to not only denounce the man’s understanding but also show his love and grace in two positive ways. He reached out his hand and touched the man with leprosy, showing his love and compassion that could undo or overcome the law of Moses, and at the same time, he spoke his will to care and show his mercy to all.

“I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” (Mark 1:41).

In this way, Jesus removed any reservation that any sinner might have in coming to him for mercy or grace. Through his actions, Jesus opened wide the door for all sinners to come to him, regardless of how sinful they might have been.

[it was Jesus’ will to impart God’s grace to this man. Therefore, he said, I am willing; however, he actually called for God’s power to come upon him, and then this man was made clean. In this way, Jesus implicitly revealed that it was the Lord who showed him mercy through the call of His Son.]

Immediately, leprosy left the man, and he was cleansed. This was a powerful display of the Lord’s mercy through Jesus. Jesus then sent him away with a strong warning:

“See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” (Mark 1:44).

Jesus directed him to go to the priest so that his life within the community of God’s people could be restored. However, this man could not contain his joy in this new life and spread the news openly, wherever he went. The result was not so good, for so many came to see Jesus for healing. Healing was a part of his mission. All healings must be understood from God’s perspective as part of the Good News, or His salvation in Christ. Unexplained, miraculous works bear many false messages. In order to avoid such misapprehensions, what did Jesus do? He could no longer enter a town openly, but rather stayed outside in lonely places (45b).

2.    Jesus forgives a paralyzed man

Jesus left Capernaum (1:39) and traveled throughout Galilee. After some time, he returned home to Capernaum. Upon hearing this news, many people gathered to see and hear him, and there was no room left in the house. At this time, four men carried a paralytic to the roof of the house, and lowered him down on a mat through a hole they had dug, until he was lying in front of Jesus. Their creative and bold move for this one paralyzed friend was quite a surprise for everyone in the house. No one in the crowd, none of the four friends, not even the paralyzed man, said anything, but everyone knew why these four had done this: they wanted Jesus to heal this man. While everyone kept silent, Jesus saw their faith. Then he said to the paralyzed man,

“Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5).

Jesus’ words were very strange in three ways: first, it was obvious that the man was paralyzed and was brought there to be healed from his paralysis. Jesus did not say anything about his paralysis. Second, no one said anything about the man, and yet Jesus knew that he had sinned against the Lord; he did not originally come for forgiveness of his sins. Third, how could Jesus forgive this man’s sin? The whole crowd was surprised, puzzled, and even lost after hearing these shocking words.

However, some teachers of the Law were thinking to themselves:

“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).

What they were thinking was true; God gave the Law to Moses as a covenant of blessings and curses. He is the only One who has the authority to condemn or bless, according to the Law which He gave to His people. Even Moses, to whom God entrusted His law, was rebuked, because he did not honor the Lord enough, and was not allowed to enter the land of God’s blessing.

Was Jesus greater than Moses? Was there any other figure who forgave men’s sins? None! Then who was this Jesus who claimed to have such authority? In their minds, there was only one understanding of Jesus’ attitude; he was usurping God’s authority was a blasphemer. While these things were going through their hearts, Jesus disclosed what they were thinking, and asked them a surprising question:

 “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?” (Mark 2:8-9).

Obviously, these teachers of the Law thought that Jesus gave this word of forgiveness because it could never be disproven. Who could tell if one’s sins were forgiven or not? No one! Therefore, it was much easier than for him to say “Get up, take your mat, and walk” (Mark 2:11). However, Jesus said this for a particular reason:

“But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Mark 2:10).

Just as the teachers of the Law thought it is impossible to discern by our eyesight alone whether or not one’s sins have been forgiven. How could Jesus make this evident to us? First, he declared that this man’s sins were forgiven. He implied that his paralysis was a result of his sins, and that, if his sins were forgiven, then the paralysis, the punishment for his sins, would be gone, which would prove that his sins were forgiven.

How then can a man forgive the sins of other men? Jesus called himself the Son of Man. The primary meaning of this title was that Jesus was an ordinary human being, just as they were. He looked exactly like them, and ate the same kind of food as they ate. He needed air to breathe, and had a body that was weak and fragile, like theirs. By looking at him, no one could say that Jesus was not a man or the son of a human being.  Nevertheless, Jesus was not just any ordinary son of man. He was the Son of Man. Here, he was referring to Daniel 7:13-14.

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:5 NIV).

Daniel saw one like a son of man; that is, this one looked exactly like a human being. However, he was different because the Lord had given him authority, glory, and sovereign power over all nations. This was a prophecy about the Messiah, who would come and establish an everlasting kingdom.

Jesus was a son of Joseph the carpenter, and yet, he was not an ordinary son of man. He implicitly declared that, as the Son of Man, whom Daniel had seen in his vision, he was endowed with the authority to forgive men’s sins. Truly, no one, but God alone, can forgive sins, but Jesus was the Son of man on whom God had endowed the authority to forgive men’s sins on earth.

Having claimed such authority, Jesus told the paralyzed man to get up:

“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” (Mark 2:11).

In full view of them all, this man got up, took up his mat, and went home, just as Jesus had commanded him.

This was the first occurrence of such a cure. Had these people seen Jesus heal many sick people before? One night at Peter’s house, many people came for healing. These were different sicknesses from walk-in patients, including arthritis, headaches, diarrhea, heart diseases, kidney disease, or many other internal diseases; those who were crippled or paralyzed were not listed along with them. These conditions could be considered more difficult, for a drastic change in the locomotive system itself must take place. In this man, such an impossible thing became possible and he came on a mat, got up, and walked out with his own mat. This was a stark display of Jesus’ power of healing. His power was beyond what those present had ever thought or imagined.

How can a new thing come that was not there before? Only God and His power can do such things! This power was His alone and served to demonstrate His will to forgive man’s sins.

This was the good news which Jesus brought to them. He came to forgive sins and undo all of sin’s ill effects, which manifest themselves in the physical body. No matter what they were suffering under, even lameness, Jesus could restore them as good as new.

3.    Jesus calls Levi and joined him for dinner.

Jesus went outside and taught the people. So many had crowded around him and were following him. In the country towns, such a large crowd had never been seen before he arrived. Also, whoever led such a crowd drew the attention of many more people. All of the people from the nearby villages likely came out to see what was happening. As Jesus was leading this large crowd, there was a man, Levi, who was sitting in his chair at a tax-collecting booth.

The Roman Empire collected taxes from all of her colonies. The Jews were not exempt. The Roman governors farmed out the responsibility of collecting taxes to certain local people. Levi was one of those people tasked by Rome to collect taxes. Such people were hated by their own people, Israel, considered ceremonially unclean and could not enter the temple to offer any offerings or sacrifices. They were labeled as sinners and ostracized by their own people for such ungodliness. If lepers were quarantined by location, then the tax collectors were likewise socially quarantined, for no one wanted to associate with them.

Based on his response to Jesus, it is very unlikely that Levi did not know him or had not noticed the approaching of his group of followers. Why then was he sitting at the tax collector’s booth? Jesus’ eyes landed upon him, and yet he did not stand up or move as if his butt was glued to the chair.

The reason for this is obvious; the crowd around Jesus would not have welcomed him, and moreover, even if he wanted to see Jesus, he was not sure if he would accept such a sinner as he was, because he had lived on what he collected and received from the evil and hostile Roman Empire. He was unworthy both in the eyes of his people and before the Lord, according to his own eyes. He was like the leper who stood afar and said, ‘if you are willing, you can make me clean!’ Even though he had a yearning desire to come and join Jesus’ crowd and hear his word of life, he would not or could not do so, because he felt so unworthy.

However, Jesus’ gaze stayed upon him for a minute with a long and caring countenance. Finally, Jesus told him, “Follow me!” He knew Levi, who in turn knew Jesus’ welcoming love and compassion, hidden in the depths of his loving countenance. Jesus spoke more than a thousand words with his loving gaze upon him.

What did Levi do? He got up and followed Jesus, his mind and heart were frozen to the chair on which he was sitting, the chair that had supplied his living,  but had also caused him to commit so much ungodliness and offense to the Lord. He got up from that chair, left his job, and followed Jesus. This was a decisive moment in his life, turning from a life of working for the Romans to living his life for Christ.

For this reason, he invited Jesus and his disciples to his house, along with all of his tax collector friends. For the first time in a long time, he enjoyed his life with his many friends and with Jesus, the Rabbi, without any of the burdens of sin in his heart. He enjoyed the food and drinks. It was the highest moment of his life. Then, the teachers of the Law asked Jesus’ disciples a question:

“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2:16b).

The teachers of the Law were the leading authority of the Israelite nation regarding all spiritual matters, for they held the authority to interpret the Law. They believed, without a doubt, that the tax collectors were sinners and that Jesus, a godly Rabbi, should not associate with them, let alone eat with them! Their minds and knowledge were framed only by the Law. They failed to understand God’s hope and purpose in giving the Law of the Covenant. God put a tight rein on man’s sinfulness through the Law.

He did this so that they might not have hope in the sinfulness of their hearts, but in the Lord who forgives all sins by His grace. Man loves his own authority and righteousness; in order to keep that authority and righteousness, they pour out all of their efforts. In these efforts, they can never yield control or ever be able to take off the reins of the Law, for its demands can never be fully met, unless it is met completely, to the very letter of the law.

God speaks His grace through the Law of holiness, but stiff-necked men insist on their own righteousness according to the Law. They are not able to see the grace that Christ freely offered, as the Savior, the Messiah.

The teachers of the Law were a prime model of such stubbornness, misapprehension of the Law of Covenant, and rejection of God’s offer of His amazing grace through the Messiah.

Jesus gave them this answer:

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17).

Jesus came to call sinners! The leper knew that he was an unworthy sinner. The paralyzed man knew that he was a sinner and dared to expose his weaknesses and sins before a large crowd because he needed Jesus’ help. Levi was aware of his sinful life as well.

When Levi was called, he promptly followed Jesus, for he was badly in need of his forgiveness. The tolls of sin come to men in various forms, such as: debilitating diseases like leprosy, crippledness, and guilt. Likewise, the toll of man’s sinfulness comes upon him in every aspect of his being. All of these came upon human beings after the Fall. Only those who are keenly aware of God’s holiness can discern their sins and their effects on their lives.

Only those who yearn for His holiness truly desire God’s mercy and grace. Jesus came for these sinners; however, for the teachers of the law, his grace was of no use. They were already full of themselves and did not need anything from Jesus.

Jesus, the Messiah, came to call all of them into the kingdom of God, so that they may share in the joy of being with the Lord of holiness forever, without any guilt or blemish. Levi’s joy is a picture of what Jesus said:

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:20 NIV).

Jesus came to forgive all of our sins so that we may participate in the joy of God’s kingdom. This is the good news which the Messiah, the Son of God, brought to his people.

The central theme of this section (1:40-2:17) is the Messiah who came to forgive men’s sins. He did this as the Son of Man, just as Daniel prophesied. Jesus accomplished this through the spirit which was imparted to him through the title of Messiah:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, … He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (Isaiah 61:1).