CHAPTER 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.

When Jesus came to Capernaum,people saw Him there, and "noised," or spread the news that He was there. After Jesus left Nazareth, it seems He made His home in Capernaum.

Very soon, there was a crowd gathered in the front yard of the house!

One thing we need to remember about Jesus' ministry: He was constantly crowded with people. Jesus was very popular for His teachings, and He was very much sought after for His healing and miracles.

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.

These four men wanted badly to get their friend to Jesus! They literally tore the roof off the house in order to get this sick man in! Mark says here, they "uncovered the roof." Luke says, "..they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus." (Luke 5:19)

Some houses were built with a courtyard in the center. Most of the rooms in the house had doorways which opened into the courtyard. The roof of the house, over the rooms, was usually flat. But the courtyard was left open. Upon inclimate weather, the courtyard could be covered with an awning (tarp, or in some cases, small tile). And some houses had thatch roofs over the courtyard.

A sort of "balustrade" was built around the center courtyard. This helped to keep people from falling off the roof and into the courtyard. That's probably what Luke refers to. They had to remove the awning cover and let the man down (on ropes) through the balustrade.

Take a look at this drawing of a house here. When you have seen the drawing, clik the "back" button on the browser.

The men brought the paralytic to Jesus because they had "faith" that Jesus could heal him. Notice that Jesus SAW their faith, and then spoke to the paralytic. This is an important point for believers of today, so please allow me to use a few paragraphs and discuss it further.

Later, Jesus would say, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:16-17)

This "Comforter,...the Spirit of truth" is the Holy Spirit of God. He is ALWAYS with Jesus, for Jesus is "the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God Himself, and, therefore is, the "Spirit of truth." It is He Who convicts of sin, convinces of the Savior (Jesus) and eternal judgment, and calls people to a commitment to Christ. (See John 16:7-11).

And this Holy Spirit of God is ALWAYS with believers in Christ! Jesus said, "For He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you!" (John 14:17) We are never left without Him! (See John 14:18). And it is BY the presence of God's Spirit that we know the presence of Christ in our hearts.

Now, why is this important? Because, when Jesus sees OUR faith, He, by the Holy Spirit in us, SPEAKS to lost people as we testify through use of God's Word and our actions! Therefore, the effect of your witness to others does not depend upon how able you are. The effect is caused by God's indwelling Holy Spirit, Who speaks spiritually to others as we testify! You may be a stutterer, like Moses. You may consider yourself too young, like Jeremiah. You may consider yourself uneducated, like Amos. But GOD HIMSELF can use your testimony to bring others to a saving knowledge of Jesus! That's why this point is important to believers today!

The men brought the paralytic in faith. The paralytic, faced with the holiness and righteousness of Jesus, probably felt guilt due to his sin. Knowing that, Jesus made a statement to deal with the worst first: "thy sins be forgiven thee."

Now some of the Biblical scholars (scribes) took issue with Jesus' statement. They obviously did not believe that He was God incarnate. And their murmuring was indicative of them thinking He was only a man. A man has no authority to forgive sins of another against God. We can forgive sins against us personally, but we aren't given authority to forgive even that same sin against God.

Now, we must realize that it also takes authority from God to heal a person. I have a friend, Dr. Bill Ferguson, who is a surgeon. Before he operates, he always prays with his patients. And I'm always impressed about one particular part of his prayer. He says something to this effect every time, "God, please take my hands and use them according to your will, for I can do NOTHING aside from You." We can have a gift, a talent, and even acquire a skill for healing; but NO ACTUAL HEALING comes without the AUTHORITY of God!

The "scribes" took issue with what Jesus SAID, "thy sins be forgiven thee." Jesus countered that to say "Arise, and walk" would imply the same AUTHORITY! Again, let me point out: NO ACTUAL HEALING can take place without the authority of God!

Jesus HAS the authority of God! He can heal and He can forgive!. This is what Jesus was telling them when He stated in verse 6, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house."

The "multitudes" realized the importance of the statement. When the paralytic arose, took his bed and headed for home, they KNEW that Jesus had the AUTHORITY of God! And they KNEW that this authority was given for the benefit of mankind! "But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men."

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.

As Jesus walked along the sea shore, He taught those who willingly followed and listened to Him. He will teach us today if we are willing to follow and listen to Him!

There was a man named "Levi" (or Matthew) sitting in the place where taxes were collected. He was a Jew, but was allowing himself to be used by the Romans to collect taxes from his countrymen. Tax collector were despised by the Jews of that day. Thus, this man - Matthew - was an outcast to his own people. Matthew, to the normal Jew, was the lowest of the lowest in human society! But not so to Jesus!

Jesus spoke to him and said, "Follow me." Jesus, being a teaching rabbi, was actually inviting Matthew to become a disciple! And, even though Matthew was thought of as a rapscallion by the upper echelon of Jews, he recognized the importance of being a disciple of Jesus! It doesn't matter how low on the echelon of human society a person is! "Whosoever" may come to Jesus!

Let the record show that this man, Matthew, arose from his seat, left his job, and followed Jesus IMMEDIATELY!! THAT's how important it is to make the decision of following Jesus! Matthew realized that every breath of God is a gift. And one might not have that gift for another breath. Therefore, it is important to make the decision for Christ NOW!

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.

The pronoun his in verse 15 refers back to LEVI! Jesus went to Matthew's house for supper! Not only did Jesus go, but "many" disciples went with Him to Matthew's house.

And, not only were disciples there, but many "publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and His disciples." The scribes and Pharisees thought this was terrible! How could this man, claiming to be God, eat with "sinners?"

Jesus answered their question, though I doubt they really wanted Him to! Jesus said two things of importance here.

First, "I am not come to call the righteous." If a man thinks within himself that he is good, then he probably will not listen to Jesus. That's because Jesus will tell him he's not good, he's a LOST SINNER in need of a SAVIOR! So, Jesus did not come then (nor does He call now) for those who are convinced of their own goodness.

Neither did Jesus come to call the truly "righteous;" those who had genuinely called upon God, confessing sin and begging forgiveness. For they had already realized the need of a Savior, and had surrendered to the coming Christ.

Second, Jesus came to call "sinners to repentance." Matthew was the perfect example at that supper. He was, in the eyes of all Jews of that day, a VERY GREAT sinner! But he had surrendered to Jesus, and was following Him! This is the proof of genuine repentance.

How wonderful it is to know that Jesus came to call us from sin to Him! How wonderful it is to know that He is STILL calling today!

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.

The purpose of fasting is to "draw nigh unto God." Doing without food, causes the belly to growl. During fasting, each growl is supposed to be a reminder to pray and seek God's closeness.

Now, someone had noticed that John the Baptist's disciples, and even the disciples of the Pharisees, fasted OFTEN. And they wondered why Jesus' disciples didn't fast.

Jesus used Old Testament prophecy to tell them Who He was, and why His disciples didn't NEED fasting at the present time. (See Isaiah 6:1-5) Jesus IS the "Bridegroom!" He is the One to Whom the whole church is betrothed.

Later, Jesus said, "the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days." Make no mistake, there is need for fasting TODAY! While in this earthly tabernacle we groan and yearn to be closer to our Lord. Though we have the promise of His presence to be always with us, we ourselves draw away at times. And we need to utilize fasting as a means to "draw night unto God."

Another thing Jesus pointed out was that old religious forms could not hold the power and truth of the new covenant God was making with men through Jesus Christ.

New cloth shrinks when washed. Old cloth is weak. One doesn't put new cloth patches on an old cloth or it will tear from the shrinking pressure.

And new wine expands. Old wineskins are weak. One doesn't put new wine in an old wineskin or it will burst from the expanding pressure.

Consider the discussion above (vss 3-12) concerning God's Holy Spirit being constantly with believers. In the Old Testament one can note that God's Spirit "came upon" someone enabling them to special service. But with the New Covenant He is present ALWAYS! The difference is not that GOd's Holy Spirit is more available to the Christian than the Jewish people of old. For God's Spirit was ALWAYS available to them. But God's power THROUGH them was not as great as His power through Christians is today. The testimony of a Christian today is accompanied by power with the presence of God's Holy Spirit!

Thus, the New Covenant made through Christ could not be combined with the old religious form. The Old Covenant was filled with ritualistic and sacrificial practices which are not necessary now that the Savior has come. He has made the ULTIMATE sacrifice for sin, and the only sacrifice one can make that is acceptable to God today is the sacrifice of giving self totally over to the Lordship of Jesus. Once that is done, the power of witnessing or testifying to others is automatically accompanied by God's Holy Spirit.

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 to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Some people are so legalistically minded that they cannot fathom mercy and goodness. You might say they are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use (except for confusion).

The Pharisees knew the law, but used the law for their own benefit. According to Deuteronomy 23:25, if a person was passing through his neighbor's field, that person was allowed to pluck what he needed to eat, as long as he didn't harvest.

Now, there was also a statement in Exodus 20:10, that said one could not work on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, and other selfish people, used this Scripture to say that plucking and eating was work, and thus they could keep people from eating of their fields.

Jesus used an example of David's life to show that God's purposes are FOR man and not AGAINST man! When David was running from Saul, he went to Abiathat the high priest of that day. Abiathar gave David the "shewbread"! That "shewbread" was bread on the table in the holy place of the temple. It was dedicated to GOD! But God allowed the bread to be used for the benefit of man!

Therefore, Jesus said, "the sabbath was made for MAN, and NOT man for the sabbath." God realized that man needed a day of rest, and that day of rest would be best used by drawing near to God. This is what gives man peace and happiness - being near to God. The sabbath was never intended to be a ruler over man. It was intended to bring man closer to God.

The reason God prohibited work on the sabbath was to keep employers from oppressing employees. God wants ALL men to have the opportunity to draw closer to Him.

And, we must realize that the Jehovah of the Old Testament IS the Jesus of the New Testament. Therefore, He is LORD of the sabbath. He is the One Who first showed that mankind would be benefitted by having one full day to come closer to Him. All the principles of Christianity should be utilzed to glorify God and benefit mankind.

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.