Mark 2

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¹And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. ✦ ²And 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. ✦ ³And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. ✦ ⁴And 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. ✦ ⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. ✦ ⁶But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, ✦ ⁷Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? ✦ ⁸And 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? ✦ ⁹Whether 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? ✦ ¹⁰But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) ✦ ¹¹I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. ✦ ¹²And 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. ✦ ¹³And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. ✦ ¹⁴And 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. ✦ ¹⁵And 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. ✦ ¹⁶And 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? ✦ ¹⁷When 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. ✦ ¹⁸And 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? ✦ ¹⁹And 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. ✦ ²⁰But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. ✦ ²¹No 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. ✦ ²²And 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. ✦ ²³And 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. ✦ ²⁴And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? ✦ ²⁵And 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? ✦ ²⁶How 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? ✦ ²⁷And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: ✦ ²⁸Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. ✦

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Where this chapter connects

Matt 9 ·18 Luke 5 ·15 Mark 1 ·9 John 9 ·6 Luke 6 ·6 Mark 2 ·6 Luke 15 ·5 John 5 ·5

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryFollowing the MessiahAppian Media · Free · evangelical
A free, beautifully shot 10-part series walking the lands of Jesus' life — Bethlehem, Galilee, Jerusalem, and more.
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
VideoMike Winger — BibleThinkerMike Winger · Free · reformed
Free verse-by-verse studies through whole books plus careful apologetics — "learn to think biblically about everything." (Reformed-leaning, non-denominational.)

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Mark 2YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Mark 2David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Mark 2Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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