COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 21
“ Mark 2:10 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. ” (Mark 2:10-12)
THE MAN WITH PALSY, #3
INTRODUCTION
While Jesus is teaching, and the people are listening to His words, the stage has been set for another wonderful work of God. Because of Jesus’ reputation, four men have brought a palsied man to Jesus. Using determination and ingenuity, they have overcome the hindrances confronting them, and the impotent man is laying at the feet of Jesus. Jesus has already spoken directly to the man, telling him that his sins are forgiven. This is the first time of record when Jesus declared a person’s sins were forgiven. It has provoked many thoughts among the doctors of the Law. They have not been able to make any association of Jesus of Nazareth with the God of heaven, and thus remonstrate at His saying, reasoning that only God can forgive sin. Because their thoughts struck at the very foundation of Christ’s mission, He will answer their thoughts. No one is ever represented as questioning the reality of Christ’s miracles. His foes even admitted that He did “many miracles” (John 11:47), and they made no effort to discredit their validity. However, brushing aside His great works, these balked at the idea that He could forgive sin. How will the Master deal with their vain thoughts? He has already informed them that He was fully aware of their reasoning, having “perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned with themselves.” How will “the Wisdom of God” incarnate (1 Cor 1:24) deal with their groundless manner of thinking?
THAT YOU MAY KNOW
“ 2:10 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).”
THAT YOU MAY KNOW. In order for men to make progress toward the Lord, or properly perceive the Christ, there are things that must be “known.” Sin left a wake of ignorance, thereby alienating men from God (Eph 4:18). Among other things, Jesus came to dissipate that ignorance and induct an era of spiritual light. Isaiah was given to see this aspect of the Messiah and was moved to write, “by His knowledge shall My Righteous Servant justify many” (Isa 53:11). The “knowledge” of reference is Christ’s own understanding of the Father, taught effectually to men. By this means He acquaints men with the Father, showing Him and His ways to them (Matt 11:27). This refers to the “understanding” that He ministers to the people, that they might know God (1 John 5:20).
This is not academic knowledge, or a lifeless acquaintance with certain facts and verities. Rather, it is the awareness of things that are otherwise hidden from men. In this case, Jesus will bring the fact of His power within the range of their understanding. He will confirm an unseen reality by doing an impossible work before their very eyes. Those who are inclined to Him will find great comfort and hope in what He does. Those who are not so inclined will become even harder and more obstinate in their opposition to Him.
THE SON OF MAN HATH POWER ON EARTH. As used here, the word “power” does not mean “ability,” as used in Romans 1:16: “power of God unto salvation.” In Romans a different word is used that means strength, might, or the ability to do supernatural things. It includes the idea of capability and strength to neutralize all opposing forces, and cause a thing to happen in spite of hindrances. Jesus displayed this kind of “power” in His “mighty works” – works that were apparent to men’s eyes.
This, however, is not the kind of “power” that is intended here – even though it is apparent that Jesus surely had this kind of “power on earth” – as when He calmed the storm, stilled the sea, and cursed a fig tree. Here, the word “power” means authority, the liberty of doing what one pleases. It is authority over something, as compared to superior strength – and Jesus has both. This is the kind of “power” Jesus gave the disciples when He sent them out – “power against unclean spirits” (Matt 10:1). It was “authority.” NIV
When the people heard Jesus speak, they observed that He “taught them as one having authority” (Mk 1:22). They noted, “with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him” (Mk 1:27). The opponents of Christ challenged Him, “By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?” (Mark 11:28). In all of these instance, the word “authority” is identical with the word “power” in our text. Here Jesus is speaking of the “power” or “authority” that had been given to Him as a Man. Peter referred to this when He said the Father had “anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). When Jesus spoke, He was, in fact, speaking for God as His official and exclusive Representative. He had been given “power over all flesh,” or “authority over all mankind” NASB (John 17:2). He had the right to speak as He did, because He had been given the authority to do so. That is why His word “was with power.” It was invested with all of the power and authority of God the Father Himself. His word was not, as some represent it, a “creative force.” Rather, it was the very word of God whose word cannot be contested, neutralized, or made ineffective by men.
TO FORGIVE SINS. The words that struck the hearts of these men was that Jesus had authority to forgive sins “on earth.” Whether it was a woman taken in the act of adultery (John 8:11), a thief on a cross (Lk 23:43), a sinful woman who anointed his feet (Lk 7:48), or this palsied man, Jesus had the authority and right to forgive their sins. He could do it before He died, in prospect of His death. He could do it before the New Covenant was ratified, in prospect of its ratification. He was, in fact, “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim 3:16), and therefore could do what God Himself does. He was “God with us” (Matt 1:23), and therefore spoke as God alone can speak.
To “forgive sins” is to lay them aside, remit them, and cause them to no longer be associated with the one who committed them. It is to take away their record, and remove them from the sinner as far as the East is from the West (Psa 103:12). This forgiveness was based on the fact that He, as the Lamb of God, would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
TO THE SICK OF THE PALSY. Jesus does not linger long with His critics. He now focuses on the poor man before Him, and speaks before the multitude. He will say a word that will confirm whether or not He has the power to do what He has said. He will, by this word, cast down the imaginations of those who had reasoned erroneously.
THE TRI-FOLD COMMAND
“ 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”
Keep in mind the reason for this saying. It is not so the people will know He can work miracles. It is not so they will be convinced He can heal an impotent man. It is not in order to persuade them that He can change outward circumstances, and speak their infirmities away – although He could surely do all of that. Jesus is drawing attention to the reason for His incarnation: “He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). In this work, He will confirm His chief mission: to “take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). He will declare the greater weight, which was not bearing our sicknesses (Matt 8:17), but bearing our “sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet 2:24). This does not demean the miracle He will do, but rather sets it in the proper context. This will not only assure the multitude that He can forgive sin, but will confirm to the man before him that his sins were really forgiven.
ARISE. Other versions read, “Get up,” NIV and “stand up.” NRSV This word is not spoken to a sluggard, but to a paralytic – a disabled man who could not move his limbs. If this word is not accompanied with Divine authority, there is no possible way this man will be able to “get up.” Jesus is not awakening some form of latent strength that is already resident in him – an erroneous view that is gaining popularity. There is no strength in this man, either within or without. Jesus is calling upon him to do the impossible – to “stand up.” From the man’s point of view, only faith can take hold of this word.
TAKE UP THY BED. This is the bed upon which he is laying – the bed to which he has been confined, and which had taken hold of him. He has been conquered by this bed, and it, so to speak, is carrying him. This is precisely the same word Jesus spoke to another impotent man who had been in that condition for thirty-eight years: “Rise, take up thy bed,” with a slightly different word, “and walk” (John 5:8).
Peter said something similar to a man named “Aeneas,” who was also “sick of the palsy,” and had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed” (Acts 9:34). Here “make your bed” meant to “take care of your mat,” or “tidy up your mat.” NIB The idea is, “You can do this for yourself now.” IE This incident reminds me of something Jesus did when He rose from the dead. When entering into the empty tomb, it is said of Simon Peter, he “went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself” (John 20:7). Jesus had taken the thing that was about His head, and “folded it up by itself,” NIV confirming that He had taken charge of things.
In our text, “Take up thy bed” means to “pick up your bed.” He was not to leave it, cluttering the house of Simon. Nor, indeed, was he to cast it aside, having no further need for it – at least not like he did before. He was to take charge of what had formerly had charge over him, carrying it in the presence of the people.
GO THY WAY INTO THINE HOUSE. While carrying his former place of confinement, he was to go to his own house, from which he had been carried away on this mat. The leper Jesus healed was to show himself to the priest for a testimony (Mk 1:44). When he cast a legion of demons out of the possessed man of Gadera, he told him, “Return to thine own house, and show how great things God hath done unto thee” (Lk 8:30). Now this former paralytic is told to return, with his bed in hand, to his own house. Thus, through one who had experienced the power and authority of the Lord, He was becoming better more fully known. People were becoming acquainted with the Savior through those in whom He had worked.
APPLICATION. The Lord’s words to this man conveyed the very nature of true spiritual life – when the things that formerly dominated us are now controlled by us through the power of the Lord. Thus “the flesh,” which once ruled us, is “crucified, together with its affections and lusts” (Gal 5:24). That is like taking up your bed and going home to glory. Our various “members,” or human capacities of expression, though once yielded “unto sin” (Rom 6:13a), which were “servants to uncleanness and iniquity” (Rom 6:19a), are now yielded “as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Rom 6:13b). Now those very same “members” are yielded “servants to righteousness unto holiness” (Rom 6:19b).
When the voice of Jesus penetrated the thick darkness in which we remained, and the domain of death that held us fast, we were “quickened” (Eph 2:1), and rose “from the dead” (Rom 6:4). Now, our “mortal bodies,” that once dictated our whole course of life, are quickened “by His Holy Spirit that dwells” in us (Rom 8:11). Instead of our bodies carrying us, we carry them, keeping under them, and bringing them into subjection (1 Cor 9:27). This is the very essence of “newness of life” – when people gain the dominance over the beds of iniquity and self-will to which they were formerly confined.
AN IMMEDIATE RESPONSE AND IT IMPACT ON OTHERS
“ 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.”
IMMEDIATELY HE ROSE. This is the manner of the kingdom – “immediately.”
It is seen in the record of creation: “and it was so” (Gen 1:7,9,11,15,24,30). It is seen in the response of James and John to Jesus’ call: “immediately” (Mk 4:22). It is seen in the response of Simon and Andrew: “staightway” (Matt 4:20). It is seen in the response of Matthew to the call of Jesus: “And he rose, and followed Him” (Matt 9:9).
Repeatedly we read of “immediate” responses in the record of Jesus’ great miracles. Healing the leper (Matt 8:3); healing two blind men (Matt 20:34); healing Peter’s mother-in-law (Mk 1:31); healing a dumb man (Lk 1:64); healing the woman with an issue of blood (Lk8:44); healing the woman with the bowed back (Lk 13:13); healing the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:9). In all of these, the response was “immediate.”
And what are we to learn from this circumstance – the reality of immediate responses? This is a confirmation of Christ’s authority and absolute supremacy. His Word demolishes all opposition, for it is like a sword that proceeds from His mouth (Rev 19:15). It is still true, “For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psa 33:9). Nothing can countermand the word of the Lord! All the starry hosts of the heavens were made “by the breath of His mouth” (Psa 33:6). It is written that “He commanded, and they were created” (Psa 148:5). This will also be the means of removing and destroying the most wicked of all opponents among men – “that Wicked,” or “Lawless one.” It is written of his demise, “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming” (2 Thess 2:8). Just as surely as the wind “ceased” when Jesus said, “Peace, be still,” so the seeming success of all spiritual tyrants, including the devil himself and all of his hosts, will come to a grinding halt when the Lord simply says, “STOP!”
TOOK UP HIS BED. In keeping with the nature of the Kingdom, and in confirmation that Jesus had power on earth to forgive sins, this former paralytic picked up his bed. Although he had been paralyzed, he needed no time to gain strength, or to stretch his muscles to ensure that he could carry his bed. The word of the Lord was “with power.” It was like an eagle’s wing on which came strength, ability, and everything that was required to do precisely and thoroughly what Jesus told him to do, when he told him to do it.
WENT FORTH BEFORE THEM ALL. It is not God’s manner to work in corners and do things privately. Well did Paul testify to Festus concerning the raising of Jesus and the flood of light that followed, “this thing was not done in a corner” (Acts 26:26).
Remember, the people had crowded into the house so that “there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door” (Mk 2:2). The people had seen the man lowered to the feet of Jesus. They heard what Jesus said to him about his sins being forgiven. They heard the Lord upbraid the doctors of the law who reasoned that Jesus could really not forgive sin. They heard Jesus say to the man on the bed, “Stand up, take your mat and go to your home” NRSV How fitting, therefore, that they, with their own eyes, should witness this man do what Jesus commanded. His action also confirmed that he had believed the word of Jesus, for only faith takes hold of such a saying.
It ought to be noted that now is a time when those who hear the Word of the Lord should also respond instantly as a testimony to an evil and adulterous generation. Such words include, “Sin not” (1 Cor 15:34), “Be ye holy” (1 Pet 1:15), “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thess 5:19), “Be not weary in well doing” (2 Thess 3:13), “Be strong” (1 Cor 16:13), “Lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim 6:12), “Mortify your members that are upon the earth” (Col 3:5), “abstain from fleshly lusts” (1 Pet 2:11), and “be ye separate” (2 Cor 6:17). These words are accompanied with no less power than Christ’s word to the impotent man. Do you believe this?
THEY WERE ALL AMAZED. To be “amazed” is to be astonished, dumbfounded, stunned, flabbergasted and astounded. It is when “flesh” is silenced, and nothing can be added to the circumstance by the words of men. Here, something had happened that was beyond the circumference of all human wisdom and power. Thus the flesh was silenced.
THEY GLORIFIED GOD SAYING. What a way to glorify God: “We never saw it on this fashion!”or “We have never seen anything like this.” NASB In other words, only God could have done this! In my judgment, one of the condemning things about contemporary religion is its normality. It generally presents nothing more than cunning men can do, and rises no higher than the domain of flesh and blood. Let it be clear, God does not receive glory from mediocrity, or from things that anyone other than Himself can do.