Mark Chapter 2 shows Jesus’ authority in several different scenes.

He has authority to forgive sins.

He has authority to call sinners.

He has authority to explain the proper time for fasting.

He has authority over the Sabbath.

The chapter is full of questions and objections. The scribes question Jesus in their hearts. The scribes of the Pharisees question why He eats with tax collectors and sinners. Others question why His disciples do not fast. The Pharisees question why His disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath.

But Mark is not merely showing that people disagreed with Jesus.

He is showing who Jesus is.

Jesus is not just a teacher with opinions. He is the Son of Man with authority on earth.

The Paralytic Lowered Through the Roof

Mark begins by saying that Jesus returned to Capernaum, and it was reported that He was “at home” or “in the house.”

This may have been a house where Jesus was staying. Some have wondered if it was Peter’s house, since Jesus had been there earlier in Mark. But Mark does not clearly say whose house it was, so we should not build too much on that.

What Mark does say is clear: the house was crowded. So many people gathered that there was no more room, not even at the door.

And Jesus was preaching the word to them.

Then four men came, carrying a paralytic. They could not get near Jesus because of the crowd, so they removed part of the roof above Him. After making an opening, they lowered the bed on which the paralytic lay.

The text does not mention ropes, though something like that may have been used. Mark’s focus is not on the mechanics of lowering the man, but on the faith and determination involved.

They wanted to bring this man to Jesus.

The crowd blocked the way.

So they opened the roof.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic:

“Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Some translations may use “child,” but that does not necessarily mean the paralytic was a young child. It is probably a tender way of addressing him. Jesus speaks to him with compassion and authority.

But what Jesus says is surprising.

The man is paralyzed.

Jesus first speaks forgiveness.

This does not mean the man’s paralysis did not matter. Jesus will heal him. But Jesus addresses the deepest need first. Physical suffering is real, but sin is a deeper problem. A body that cannot walk needs healing. A sinner before God needs forgiveness.

From a Reformed perspective, this matters. Jesus does not come merely to improve people’s circumstances. He comes to deal with guilt, sin, and separation from God.

The paralytic is brought for healing.

Jesus gives forgiveness first.

“Who Can Forgive Sins but God Alone?”

Some of the scribes are sitting there, questioning in their hearts.

They think:

“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Their question is serious. If Jesus were only a man claiming divine authority for Himself, that would be blasphemy. Only God can finally forgive sins.

But Jesus immediately knows what they are thinking.

Mark says Jesus perceives in His spirit that they are questioning this way within themselves. He asks:

“Why do you question these things in your hearts?”

That alone reveals something about Jesus. He knows what is happening inside them. He does not only see the paralytic on the mat. He sees the hidden reasoning of the scribes.

Then Jesus asks:

“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?”

At first, this can be confusing. Both sentences are easy to say out loud. The mouth can say either one.

That is probably part of the point.

In one sense, “Your sins are forgiven” is easier to say because no one can immediately see whether forgiveness has happened. But if someone says, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” the result is visible. Either the man gets up, or he does not.

So Jesus gives the visible healing to confirm the invisible authority.

He says:

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”

Then He tells the paralytic to rise, take up his bed, and go home.

The man gets up immediately.

The healing proves that Jesus’ word has power. But the healing points beyond itself. It confirms the greater claim: the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

The crowd is amazed and glorifies God, saying:

“We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

After this, Jesus goes out beside the sea. The crowd comes to Him again, and He teaches them.

Then Jesus sees Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth.

Jesus says:

“Follow me.”

Levi rises and follows Him.

Mark tells it very simply.

Jesus calls.

Levi follows.

Levi was a tax collector. Tax collectors were often despised because they worked in the taxation system and were associated with greed, compromise, and betrayal.

But Jesus calls him.

This is grace. Jesus does not wait for Levi to become socially respectable. He calls him while he is sitting at the tax booth.

The call of Christ interrupts a life and redirects it.

Eating With Tax Collectors and Sinners

Later, Jesus reclines at table in Levi’s house. Many tax collectors and sinners are reclining with Jesus and His disciples, because Mark says there were many who followed Him.

The scribes of the Pharisees see this and ask His disciples:

“Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

They ask the disciples, not Jesus directly. Maybe they are criticizing Jesus through His disciples. Maybe they expect the disciples to answer for their teacher. Mark does not explain their reason.

But Jesus hears and answers:

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus does not mean that some people are truly righteous and therefore do not need Him. In the broader teaching of Scripture, all people are sinners before God.

But Jesus is making the issue plain: He came to call sinners.

The tax collectors and sinners were the very people the religious leaders thought Jesus should avoid. But Jesus does not keep His distance from sinners in order to protect His reputation. He comes near to call them.

The scribes of the Pharisees see the table and object.

Jesus sees sinners in need of mercy.

He is the physician who has come for the sick. He is the Savior who calls sinners to Himself.

The Question About Fasting

Next, people come and ask Jesus why John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but His disciples do not fast.

They ask about the disciples because disciples were expected to reflect the teaching and practice of their master. If Jesus’ disciples are not fasting, that says something about Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus answers with the image of a wedding:

“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”

A wedding is not the time for fasting. It is the time for joy.

Jesus is saying that His presence changes the moment. The bridegroom is with them. Therefore, His disciples are not acting as though He is absent.

But Jesus also says:

“The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.”

This points forward to His death. The phrase “taken away” is serious.

So Jesus is not saying fasting is wrong forever. He is saying there is a proper time for fasting and a proper time for feasting.

When the bridegroom is present, His people rejoice.

When He is taken away, they will fast.

This does not mean God’s law is meaningless. It means that Jesus Himself determines the meaning and timing of these practices. Religious practices must be understood in relation to Him.

New Cloth and New Wine

Then Jesus gives two short pictures.

No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new patch pulls away from the old garment, and the tear becomes worse.

And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine bursts the skins, and both the wine and the skins are destroyed.

These images can feel strange at first.

If we had an old cloak, we might think, “Of course I would patch it with new cloth.” But Jesus specifically speaks of unshrunk cloth. A new patch would later shrink and pull against the old fabric, making the tear worse.

With wineskins, new wine would continue to ferment and expand. Old wineskins could become dry and less flexible. If new wine expanded inside an old brittle skin, the skin could burst.

The point is not merely about sewing or storage. Jesus is saying that His coming cannot simply be treated as a small patch on the old way of doing things.

He is not merely adding a little improvement to existing religious life.

The bridegroom has come.

The kingdom has come near.

Something new is happening in Him.

From a Reformed lens, this does not mean the Old Testament was bad. It means the Old Testament was pointing forward to Christ. The old covenant signs, shadows, and practices find their fulfillment in Him.

Jesus is not against what God had promised before.

Jesus is the fulfillment of what God had promised before.

Grainfields on the Sabbath

The chapter ends with Jesus and His disciples passing through grainfields on the Sabbath.

As they make their way, the disciples pluck heads of grain.

The phrase “make their way” does not necessarily mean they are making a new symbolic path. It may simply mean they are walking through the grainfields. Mark’s focus is on the disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees say to Jesus:

“Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

They believe the disciples are breaking the Sabbath.

Jesus answers from Scripture. He reminds them of David, when David was in need and hungry. David entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which was lawful only for the priests, and also gave it to those who were with him.

Jesus’ point is not that God’s law does not matter.

His point is that the Pharisees are not reading the Sabbath rightly. They are missing mercy, need, and the authority of God’s anointed king.

David and his companions were hungry.

Jesus’ disciples are hungry.

If David was not condemned in that moment of need, then the Pharisees should be careful before condemning the disciples of the greater Son of David.

Jesus is not merely defending a snack in a field.

He is revealing His authority.

The Sabbath Was Made for Man

Then Jesus says:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

This does not mean man is greater than God’s command. It means the Sabbath was given by God for human good.

The Sabbath was not designed to crush people. It was given for rest, worship, refreshment, and dependence on God.

Man was not created to serve the Sabbath as though the Sabbath were the master.

The Sabbath was made as a gift for man.

The Pharisees had turned the Sabbath into a burden and a weapon of accusation. Jesus restores the right order.

Then He says:

“So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

That is the climax of the chapter.

Jesus has authority to forgive sins.

Jesus has authority to call sinners.

Jesus has authority to explain fasting.

Jesus has authority over the Sabbath.

He is not under the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Sabbath.

He is Lord of it.

The Message of Mark Chapter 2

Mark Chapter 2 is about authority.

Jesus forgives the paralytic, and the scribes question Him in their hearts.

Jesus calls Levi, and the scribes of the Pharisees object to His table fellowship.

Jesus’ disciples do not fast, and people question Him.

Jesus’ disciples pluck grain, and the Pharisees challenge Him about the Sabbath.

Each scene raises the same basic question:

Who has authority?

Jesus answers by His words and His actions.

The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

The physician has authority to call sinners.

The bridegroom has authority to define the moment.

The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

This chapter also shows the grace of Christ.

He forgives sin.

He heals the paralytic.

He calls Levi.

He eats with tax collectors and sinners.

He defends His disciples.

He gives the Sabbath back as a gift rather than a crushing burden.

The religious leaders see problems and violations.

Jesus reveals mercy, fulfillment, and divine authority.

And that is the good news.

Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

He came for the guilty.

He came for those who cannot rise unless He speaks.

And when He speaks, sins are forgiven, sinners are called, burdens are lifted, and the Lord of the Sabbath gives true rest.