Mark chapter 2

vs 1

Which one would assume they would have heard had he just been a normal man, since news travels in smaller communities. But probably it travelled a little faster and with more energy given his preaching and miracles.

vs 2

Anyone who's ever preached to a church that has about 11 people sitting in it has I'm sure wondered what it would be like to have people crowding around, unable to fit in the door, to hear you speak. That sort of thirst for words happens, but not to your average preacher.

vs 3

No wheelchairs, so he would have had a pretty sedentary life as a rule.

vs 4

Which, apart from the destruction of property, is pretty awesome. These guys are definitely going the extra mile.

vs 5

This has got to be one of the most popular stories of Jesus' miracles, because of this very line. Jesus doesn't heal the guy, he forgives his sins. Now see, if your sin is not against someone, they can't really forgive you. It would be like if you hit your wife, and I forgave you. Doesn't work. So by implication, Jesus is suggesting that either this guy has sinned against him, or that he is God (against whom all sin is targetted, really).

vs 6

Perhaps one of them said something, or whispered it to another. Or perhaps everyone was thinking it, because it's a pretty ballsy thing to say.

vs 7

Asking questions (even in your mind) about why someone is blaspheming is far more powerful in a time when you could be killed for blasphemy. By the way, blasphemy is actually really well defined by the Macquarie Dictionary:

1. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.
2. Judaism
a. (in Talmudic law) cursing and reviling the `ineffable name' of the Lord.
b. (in later Hebrew history) the violation of religious law by pronouncing one of the four-letter symbols for God rather than using one of the substitute words.
3. Theology the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
4. irreverent behaviour towards anything held sacred.

Seeing as Jesus did not mention any of the names of God (and honestly, in my opinion definitions 2a and 2b are not biblical), I think we can safely say that the religious leaders meant definition 3.

vs 8

Imagine the shock you would get if someone said that to you. Even if it is fairly obvious what you're thinking, most people aren't confident enough to call you on it like that.

vs 9

Now, the answer to that question is triple-edged, and I think Jesus meant it both ways. For a human, it is impossible to say either. For God, it is easy to say both. For a person pretending to be God, it is easier to say "Your sins are forgiven" than "Get up and walk", since the result is visible in one and not the other (arguably - perhaps measurable is a better term).

vs 10

Obviously Jesus is claiming my middle position - for God, both are possible, and easy.

vs 11

The thing is, of course, that miracles were not unheard of. A miracle doesn't mean that the person performing it is Jesus. So this is still a very big call.

vs 12

And when I say miracles were not unheard of, that still means that they are always surprising, and it would seem always pretty rare too.

vs 13

Going to the lake is probably like going to a factory - lots of people involved in various works during the day.

vs 14

Ahhh, Levi. I think we call him Matthew. Tax collectors get lined up with sinners and prostitutes, so when you think of Jesus calling Levi to be a disciple, think about if he'd been a prostitute.

vs 15

When no-one will hang out with you because of your profession, you really only get to hang out with other people people don't hang out with (imagine if you worked in an abattoir and the president had his strings pulled by PETA - you'd only really hang out with people who didn't call you a murderer and splash paint on you).

vs 16

Remember that Judaism has a big thing about righteous people remaining ceremonially clean, or else they can't go to temple and be in the presence of God. Although probably they're also bigoted.

vs 17

One of my favourite ideas. Of course, everyone is sick. But there are people who think they're fine. Many mentally ill people don't go and seek medical help, for example (although even if they did in Australia, mental health is hideously underfunded). It doesn't make them not in need of help, but it does mean that doctors can't help them if they don't come and ask.

vs 18

Seems a fair enough question. Fasting, after all, is a pretty righteous thing to do.

vs 19

That is, you can't fast in the middle of a feast, when you've got something to celebrate. It's not cool.

vs 20

This is the first, somewhat veiled, passage referring to the fact that Jesus isn't going to hang around. I can just picture the disciples puzzling over this.

vs 21

While I'm sure this is true, I don't think Jesus is teaching them about tailoring.

vs 22

Again, no doubt this is true. What do these two illustrations mean? That Jesus is offering something new - God has never incarnated and walked around with people before (debatable regarding Genesis 2). As such, you have to treat it a different way. The normal rules for living don't adequately cover this.

vs 23

They were hungry, not bored.

vs 24

If you're as pedantic as the Pharisees, I pity you. This is one of the things that Jesus sought to free his people from. I see this sort of thing in Christian society every day. There's a difference between rules and rules lawyer.

vs 25

This is quite a backhand to the face. It would be like going up to your preacher after he finishes his sermon and saying, "Have you ever actually read the Bible?"

vs 26

Why? Because they were with David, and they were hungry. They did what was not lawful because David made the laws. He had a special position.

vs 27

Beware what you think about this. Rest is part of the Sabbath - and that rest is dedicated to God. So it is quite an important concept. But here Jesus is saying that the Sabbath actually exists to be a help to people in their devotion to God, not a hindrance.

vs 28

And of course, Jesus, as God, is in charge of everything, and he could have rewritten the laws right there if he wanted to. But there was no reason to, because he wasn't rebelling against God's law, he was rebelling against the Pharisee's rules lawyering.