Sunday School Lesson

1. Mark 2:1-12
Forgives
Jesus Heals A Paralytic
March 10, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
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3. The Glory of God!
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4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it
all for the glory of God.
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5. March Memory Verse
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

6. References
•NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan Publishing,
1985).
•ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL, Crossway, 2008).
•Walton & Kenner, NKJV Cultural Backgrounds Study
Bible (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2017).
•Sproul, R.C., St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary on
Mark (Sanford, FL, Reformation Trust, 2011).

7. Introduction to the Gospel According to Mark
•John Mark was the writer for Peter’s account of Jesus’
life recorded in the ‘Gospel According to Mark.’
•Gospel of Mark was written in Rome with Peter in 53-
55 AD.
•John Mark was not a disciple or an eyewitness.
•This writing records more details of the events in
Jesus’ life rather than the actual words.

8. Key Themes in The Gospel of Mark
•Jesus is man and the Son of God (deity).
•Jesus is the Son of Man with all power and authority.
•Jesus as the Son of Man must suffer.
•Jesus is Lord.
•Jesus calls his followers to imitate him in humble
service, self-denial and suffering.
•Jesus teaches on the kingdom of God.

9. The Setting of Mark 2:1-12 is Capernaum.

10. Capernaum in Galilee
•A thriving fishing village on the northwest corner of
the Sea of Galilee.
•Hometown to Peter, Andrew, James, John and
Matthew.
•Jesus moved his ministry from Nazareth 20 miles
northeast to Capernaum.
•There was a local synagogue where Jesus taught and
worshipped.

11. Capernaum in Jesus’ Time

12. Today: Capernaum and Ruins of Peter’s House

13. Introduction to Mark 2
•Jesus had called his first disciples – Simon (Peter),
Andrew, James and John.
•Jesus had taught in the synagogue in Capernaum and
healed a man with an unclean spirit.
•Jesus healed many people in the area and crowds
followed him everywhere.
•Jesus had to leave Capernaum for a while because of
the crowds that followed him.

14. Mark 2:1-2 NIV
1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered
Capernaum, the people heard he had come home. 2 So
many gathered that there was no room left, not even
outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
•No more than 50 people could have been crammed
into the main room of the house.
•Jesus was preaching and not healing at this particular
meeting at Peter’s house.

15. What was the word Jesus was preaching?
Mark 1:14-15 NIV
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee,
proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has
come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent
and believe the good news!”

16. Summary of Jesus’ Message in Mark
•God’s rule over people’s hearts and lives is now being
established.
•The coming of Christ brings the kingdom near to the
people.
•People should repent and believe in the good news of
Jesus as Messiah.
•The kingdom will ultimately include the restoration of
all creation (Revelation 21:1).

17. Mark 2:3-4 NIV
3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried
by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus
because of the crowd, they made an opening in the
roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered
the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.

18. The Paralytic and His Friends
•According to Matthew, Jesus had already healed other
paralytics before this incident.
•The scriptures do not tell us the origin of the paralysis,
whether congenital or accidental.
•The friends obviously loved him enough to seek
healing for him.
•It does not appear that salvation was the primary goal
of the friends, but physical healing.

19. The Roof of Peter’s House
•A flat roof accessed from the outside that also
functioned as we would use an outside deck.
•The roof was multilayered with branches or sticks with
packed clay (Luke describes them as roofing tiles).
•It took some digging and force to create the large
hole.
•Why didn’t Jesus, Peter or the crowd stop the
destruction of the roof?

20. Lowering the Paralytic to Jesus

21. Mark 2:5 NIV
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
•The paralytic came for healing, and he was probably
disappointed at that moment when Jesus forgave him
instead of healing him.

22. Jesus “saw their faith”
•Their trusting faith that Jesus could heal the paralytic
was their incentive to find a way to get him to Jesus.
•They did not wait until the sermon was over.
•Jesus could “see” their hearts of faith with His divine
spiritual eyes even without their actions.
•The friends may have seen other healings by Jesus,
and even become followers.

23. Jesus “saw their faith”
•Jesus could “see” the faith of the paralytic man.
•His faith had to involve faith in healing and faith for
salvation, including a repentant heart.
•We have no record of speech between Jesus and the
paralytic prior to Jesus’ declaration of forgiveness.

24. Why did Jesus address the paralytic as “son”?
•The paralytic was possibly a young man.
•It was a term of endearment showing Jesus’
compassion and love for the man.
•It showed Jesus as an authoritative figure for the
declaration he made about forgiving sins.
•The paralytic was now a child of God, since Jesus “saw
his faith.”

25. Mark 2:6-7 NIV
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there,
thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like
that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God
alone?”

26. Blasphemy
•To blaspheme is to speak with contempt about God or
to be defiantly irreverent.
•Blasphemy is a verbal or written reproach of God's
name, character, work, or attributes.
•In Jewish theology even the Messiah could not forgive
sins, and Jesus’ forgiveness of sin was a claim to deity
and was blasphemy.

27. Blasphemy is a serious crime.
Leviticus 24:15-16 NIV
15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God
will be held responsible; 16 anyone who blasphemes the
name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire
assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or
native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are
to be put to death.

28. What was the understanding at that time
about forgiveness of sins?
Isaiah 43:22-23 NIV
22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands for incense.

29. What was the understanding at that time
about forgiveness of sins?
Isaiah 43:24-25 NIV
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.

30. Forgiveness of sins before Jesus:
•Forgiveness was based on offering sacrifices and the
intervention of the High Priest for the people.
•The people did not have direct access to God to seek
forgiveness.
•Forgiveness involved an action on the part of the
sinner and restitution to God.
•Jesus was teaching forgiveness based on faith in Him
as Messiah (Savior) and God’s Son.

31. Mark 2:8-9 NIV
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was
what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to
them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is
easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?
•Jesus is the only one who has spoken in this story.
•Jesus asked them a simple question, but the answer is
difficult.

32. The Question – “Which is easier …?
•On the surface, it appears easier to say, “your sins are
forgiven” because that is something invisible and
impossible to disprove.
•Healing the paralytic would have a visible
manifestation for all to see and provide proof.
•Jesus may have been using this approach to show that
the paralytic had a physical and a spiritual need, and
He could meet both needs.

33. The Jewish assumption that suffering could be
traced to sin
John 9:1-3 NIV
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His
disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but
this happened so that the works of God might be displayed
in him.
• The healing of the paralytic man is a great display of works
of God.

34. Healing in the New Testament
•John the Baptist, who came before Jesus did, not
perform healings.
•Only Jesus healed people initially in order to
demonstrate his power from God and his deity.
•Jesus gave this healing power to the disciples to
demonstrate the extension of God’s power to them.

35. Mark 2:10a NIV
10a But that you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins.…”
•The “Son of Man” is the title Jesus used most for
himself.
•This title occurs more than 80 times in the New
Testament.

36. What is Jesus saying to the teachers of the law
(the Scribes)?
•When Jesus referred to himself as “the Son of Man”,
he was not practicing humility, but proclaiming deity.
•He was saying that he had descended from heaven,
and that he is not from this earth.
•He wanted to show His divine authority to forgive sin.
•By Jesus declaring forgiveness, He was saying that the
sins had been committed against Him as God.

37. Who is the Son of Man?
Daniel’s Dream of Jesus.
Daniel 7:13-14 NIV
13 In my vision at night I looked, and there before me
was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of
heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was
led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory
and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every
language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is
one that will never be destroyed.

38. John describes the ‘Son of Man’ in Revelation.
Revelation 1:12-14 NIV
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to
me. 13 And when I turned I saw seven golden
lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone
like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to
his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The
hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow,
and his eyes were like blazing fire.

39. John describes the ‘Son of Man’ in Revelation.
Revelation 1:15-16 NIV
15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his
voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his
right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his
mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was
like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

40. John describes the ‘Son of Man’ in Revelation.
Revelation 1:17-18 NIV
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not
be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living
One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and
ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

41. What did forgiveness of sin mean for Jesus?
•Every sin of man must be punished by God.
•For Jesus to forgive the paralytic’s sins meant that He
(Jesus) would have to be punished by God for those
sins.
•The death of Jesus was required for those sins.
•Jesus, willingly, went to the cross to die for our sins
and pay the price for us.

42. Mark 2:10b-12 NIV
10b He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take
your mat, and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and
walked out in full view of them all. This amazed
everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have
never seen anything like this!”

43. What was the greatest need of the paralytic
that Jesus met, Healing or Forgiveness?

44. The Symbolism of the Scene with the Paralytic
•We are created with a need for Jesus in own souls.
•We do crazy things searching to meet this need.
•We are crippled in our sins, until we meet Jesus.
•Jesus raises us from the crippling effects of sin to walk
in newness of life.
•Jesus said to “go home”, and we are eventually going
home to be with Jesus.

45. What is man’s greatest need?
A Quote by Max Lucado.
“If our greatest need had been information, God would
have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been
technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our
greatest need had been money, God would have sent
us an economist. But since our greatest need was
forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.”

46. We have forgiveness through faith in Jesus.
Ephesians 1:7-8 NIV
7 In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom
and understanding.
Romans 5:1 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

47. Song “I Then Shall Live” by David Phelps and
Gloria Gaither
(Verse 1)
I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven.
I’ll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my Father.
I am His child and I am not afraid.
So, greatly pardoned, I’ll forgive my brother;
The law of love I gladly will obey.

48. God’s Plan for Forgiveness of Man.
Romans 3:23 NIV
23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 NIV
8 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

49. God’s Plan for Forgiveness of Man.
Romans 10:9-10 NIV
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with the heart that
you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth
that you confess and are saved.

50. Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at
601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/

51. Next Sunday
Mark 3:20-35
The Sin That Will Not Be Forgiven
March 17, 2019
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA