The Teachings of Jesus in Capernaum

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Exploring Mark Chapter 2

Chapter at a time. Unlike our former teachings where I will spend four weeks on one verse.

Now, our meat is more free-flowing due to the Gospel we are covering and that fact that most of it is unoriginal to Matthew and Luke. So we’re in chapter two. Let’s read.

Mr 2:1 ¶ And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
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,)
11 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.

Jesus Calls Levi and Teaches by the Seaside

13 ¶ And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them.
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?
17 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.

Discussions on Fasting and the Sabbath

18 ¶ And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also

Mark Chapter 2 – Yeshua's Authority and Teachings

Teaching through the TVAR without Preparation

January 31st, 2021

And again he entered into Capernaum after many days; and word spread that he was in the house. And immediately many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive him, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word to them.

And they come to him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was carried by four others. And when they could not come nigh to him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken up the roof, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Yeshua saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, Son, your sins be forgiven you.

But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but YHWH only? And immediately when Yeshua perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said to them, Why reason you these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he said to the sick of the palsy,) I say to you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified YHWH, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

And he went forth again by the seaside; and all the multitude resorted to him, and he taught them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. And it came to pass, that, as Yeshua sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Yeshua and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said to his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Yeshua heard this, he said to 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.

Fasting and New Teachings

And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say to him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples fast not? And Yeshua said to them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then will they fast in those days.

No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Yeshua and the Sabbath

And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said to them, Have you never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of YHWH in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? And he said to them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

The Teachings of Yeshua

Yeshua came to preach, reach, and teach the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel only with the Word of YHWH. (Matt. 15:24) To preach the Word of YHWH is to reveal what YHWH revealed and wanted the hearers to know. Yeshua is called the Word of YHWH made flesh (John 1:1:14), which means YHWH revealed Himself in and through Yeshua of Nazareth. CLA: (see Yeshua)

A subtle insight into the authenticity of the account is that houses' roofs were connected, flat, and removable in that day and time. They were used as paths between houses and over the city streets. (see Matt. 24:17) CLA (see Modern Healings)

Sin and Illness

Is sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. connected to illness? In some places, scripture suggests it is, and this is one of those places. When we think about it, there is a clear connection to disease and the fall, so in that way certainly. Yeshua had the power to forgive sin. Illness can be associated with sin in some cases, but not always. CLA: (All dead with Christ)

Their thinking was only YHWH can forgive sin, therefore Yeshua must have been YHWH in human flesh or He was guilty of blasphemy (which was one of the charges for which they had him put to deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. – see Mark 14:64).

Neither is more difficult to say, but the point was which one is easier to accomplish before their eyes – to tell someone that their sins are forgiven or to heal them and have them walk? Naturally, the latter is more difficult to actually see completed, and this was Yeshua’s point – if I can tell this man to walk (and he does), wouldn’t you naturally believe when I say that his sins are forgiven him that they are?

We note that Yeshua calls himself the Son of Man, but add that as such he has the power on earth to forgive sins. It is a perfect explanation of His constitution – a Man filled with the Spirit of God. CLA: (see Yeshua) THR: (see Yeshua)

In this healing, we see the manner in which God works – He commands (Arise), he instructs what we are to do with His command (take up your bed and go to your house), and those who are His respond immediately and before others, not in secret. Yeshua’s life and works were to the glory to YHWH. (see Philippians 2:11) CLA (see The Hierarchy)

Association with Sinners

As God with us, Yeshua was the master teacher as all that He taught withstands critical assault when taken contextually. MI: At meat is not in the better manuscripts. Yeshua had no issue associating with sinners or social castaways. CLA (see Christian Associations)

The religious men of Yeshua’s day were critical of his associating with sinners. MI (see, Mark 2:16) Yeshua makes His purpose clear – he came to save the outwardly sinful of the House of Israel. The implication is that the inwardly sinful (the religious men criticizing him for eating with sinners) would rarely receive Him and not that they were without sin. Central to Yeshua and his mission is to reach people who are of a humble broken heart, who recognize their sin and therefore a need for forgiveness which comes by looking to Him in faith.

Yeshua refers to himself as the Bridegroom leaving the inference that there was to be a bride. This was His church, apostolically led and governed until He returned for “her” as promised and before the “gates of hell could prevail against her.” In the days between the time Yeshua was taken up (approx. 30 CE) and returned for His bride as promised (70 CE), the children of the Bride would fast. THR: (see EschatologyStudy of “last things”—TGNN teaches all biblical eschatology was fulfilled in 70 A.D. More) CLA: (see Eschatology)

A new Covenant, a New Testament was being introduced to the world here. It would require new with new, not new with Old – that would never work (as proven by the example of the garment and wineskins). Yeshua was being questioned why his disciples were not fasting. In the coming New Kingdom, Yeshua is explaining that things would be very different than to what they were accustomed.

Verses 23-28 are another example of the way things would work and be seen in the New Kingdom age – in this case, relative to the Sabbath. CLA: (see Sabbath-Day Observance)

The establishment of the Sabbath was between God and the

Observance of the Sabbath

Nation of Israel. The punishment for breaking it could even be death (see Exodus 31:14). The true Sabbath begins at dusk Friday night and ends at sundown Saturday night. Any other day is not a true Sabbath day. Where the Jews, under the weight of the Law, looked forward to a day of rest at the end of the week, Yeshua becomes the rest all believers in Him enter into which is not assigned to a day but to a constant condition. In this Yeshua is truly Lord of The Sabbath and all who come to Him will find constant rest.

Customs and Yeshua's Teachings

In verses 15-28 Yeshua is confronted with several customs of the people in His day – first, eating with unclean sinners (15-17); fasting (18-20). His responses are to explain why He and His disciples were different in how they did things (21-22) and in their Sabbath-day activities (23-28).

A Better Way

In each of them, Yeshua explains how He has come to offer another way, a better way.