Side by side
Mark 2
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: A Crowded HouseVerses 1 to 2
The house was packed. People filled every room. They stood outside, too, and there was no more space, not even by the door.
This was in Capernaum, a fishing town by the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had been away, teaching in other towns. A few days later, he came back. People heard he was home, and they came in huge numbers.
Jesus was teaching them God's word.
Mark doesn't say whose house it was. Some readers think it was the home of Simon and Andrew, where Jesus had stayed before (1:29). Simon is the disciple later called Peter.
1A few days later Jesus went back to Capernaum. And when the people heard that He was home, 2they gathered in such large numbers that there was no more room, not even outside the door, as Jesus spoke the word to them.
Scene 2: Through the RoofVerses 3 to 4
Then four men came. They were carrying a man on a mat. The man was paralyzed. Paralyzed means he could not move parts of his body. He could not get up and walk.
The four men could not get through the crowd. The door was blocked. So they went up on the roof.
Houses there had flat roofs. Many roofs were made of mud and straw laid over branches or wooden beams (Smith's Bible Dictionary).
The men opened up the roof right above Jesus. They dug through it and made a hole. Then they lowered the man down on his mat, into the room where Jesus was.
3Then a paralytic was brought to Him, carried by four men. 4Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
Scene 3: "Your Sins Are Forgiven"Verse 5
Jesus saw what the four men had done. Mark says Jesus saw "their faith" (2:5).
Faith means trust. The men trusted that Jesus could help. They would not let a crowd stop them. Mark doesn't say whether the man on the mat had faith too. Many readers think "their" includes him.
Jesus spoke to the man on the mat. "Son, your sins are forgiven" (2:5).
"Son" is a warm, family word. It is how a parent talks to a child.
Jesus forgave the man before healing the man's body. This does not mean the man's sin caused his paralysis. Mark never says that. Every person needs forgiveness. Jesus gave it to this man first.
5When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Scene 4: The Scribes' QuestionVerses 6 to 7
Some scribes were sitting in the room. Scribes were teachers of Moses's law. They knew the Scriptures very well.
They did not say anything out loud. But they thought to themselves, "Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming" (2:7).
To blaspheme means to insult God. It can also mean claiming something that belongs only to God.
They also thought, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (2:7).
The scribes were right about this. Only God can forgive sins against God. Their Scriptures speak of God as the one who blots out sins, which means erasing them (Isaiah 43:25). Mark wants readers to notice this. So either Jesus was wrong, or Jesus was doing what only God can do.
6But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts, 7“Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Scene 5: "Which Is Easier?"Verses 8 to 10
Right away, Jesus knew what they were thinking.
He asked them, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?" (2:8). Here "hearts" means their inner thoughts.
Then he asked, "Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, pick up your mat, and walk'?" (2:9). "Paralytic" is an old word for a person who is paralyzed.
Anyone can say, "Your sins are forgiven." Nobody can see whether the forgiveness really happened. But everyone in the room could see if this man got up and walked.
Jesus said he would show them. "So that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." (2:10). "Son of Man" is a name Jesus used for himself.
8At once Jesus knew in His spirit that they were thinking this way within themselves. “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?” He asked. 9“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” He said to the paralytic,
Scene 6: Get Up and Go HomeVerses 11 to 12
Then Jesus spoke to the man on the mat.
"I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home" (2:11).
The man got up. Right away. He picked up his mat.
He walked out in front of them all. The crowd that had blocked the door watched him go.
Everyone was amazed. They praised God. They said, "We have never seen anything like this!" (2:12).
The scribes had wondered who could forgive sins except God. Mark does not answer them with words. He shows a man walking home. That walk shows that Jesus has God's authority to forgive.
11“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” 12And immediately the man got up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of them all. As a result, they were all astounded and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Between scenesVerses 13 to 28
This part isn't retold as its own scene.
13Once again Jesus went out beside the sea. All the people came to Him, and He taught them there. 14As He was walking along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Levi got up and followed Him. 15While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him. 16When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 18Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were often fasting. So people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t Your disciples fast like John’s disciples and those of the Pharisees?” 19Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while He is with them? As long as He is with them, they cannot fast. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 21No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, and a worse tear will result. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.” 23One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along. 24So the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave some to his companions as well.” 27Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
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