Year 8, Day 149: Mark 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Mark 2 is all about expectations.  We can look at this idea from multiple angles.  First, Notice that Jesus does not come to meet human expectations.  We could also say that Jesus came to live up to the expectations of the Father, not the human beings around Him.  Furthermore, the religious leaders are willing to judge Jesus on their expectations.  This is where the clash occurs.  The religious leaders have their perspective limited by their expectations; Jesus has no desire to meet their expectations.

For example, Jesus falls into judgment from the religious leaders because He eats with sinners.  They want Jesus to judge the sinners, not invite them to dinner!  They want a righteous Messiah who will come to dominate over the world, not save it.  On the other hand, Jesus doesn’t want to dominate this world, He wants to save this world so that we can live eternally with God.  We can clearly see the conflict in expectations in this issue.

In the same light, look at the healing of the paralytic man.  Jesus forgives the man’s sins, which doesn’t meet the expectations of the religious leaders.  They don’t believe that anyone can forgive sins!  Jesus’ mercy upon a sinner puts Him at odds against the religious leaders because their expectations don’t match those of Jesus.

To be honest, every time I read this passage I come close to falling in the same trap as the religious leaders.  Don’t get me wrong, I have no trouble with Jesus forgiving sins.  My trouble is that Jesus heals the man and forgives his sins based on the faith of other people around him.  Part of me screams, “How can Jesus forgive sins of one person based on the faithfulness of another?”  To put it another way, how can the righteousness of one person bring about the forgiveness of another.  Can you see where my expectations put me at odds with God?  Do I really want to find fault with the Son of God because He doesn’t meet my expectations?  Furthermore, am I not saved based on the righteousness of Jesus?  If that’s true, how dare I take issue with Jesus forgiving the sins of the paralytic man based on the faithfulness of the man’s friends!

Before leaving this chapter, I do want to make one point.  Don’t overlook the verses here that talk about how popular Jesus has become.  Many are following Him.  They are following Him because of what He represents.  They are following Him because they don’t mind the change in the status quo.  They are following Him because of what He represents and what He can do.  For now, they are happy that His actions aren’t living up to the expectations of the religious leaders.

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