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Verse

Mark 2:12

ESV And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"
NIV 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!"
NASB And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'
CSB Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
NLT And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, 'We’ve never seen anything like this before!'
KJV 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.
NKJV Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

What does Mark 2:12 mean?

Jesus' miracles, as with all of God's supernatural interventions, are each for a specific purpose. Some are to validate His message as having come from God. Some are to challenge the authority of the manmade laws the scribes had placed on the Jews. In John 5:1–17, Jesus heals a paralyzed man on the Sabbath and orders him to get up, take his mat, and walk. The incident in John 5 is a challenge to the dozens of laws the scribes have added regarding what Jews can and cannot do on the Sabbath. In this occasion in Mark 2, however, Jesus uses a miracle to validate His authority to forgive sins.

A hardened skeptic might argue that demons could leave a person when their work is done (Mark 1:23–26). They might claim that some skin conditions, even leprosy, could self-heal (Mark 1:40–42). Skeptics might dismiss a fever which breaks (Mark 1:30–31). If someone is particularly astute, they may be able to make a close guess of what someone else is thinking, leaving the skeptic room to doubt Jesus' omniscience (Mark 2:8). But even today, it is rare to watch someone so lame they must be carried suddenly stand up, pick up his cot, and walk out of the room. In other words, this is a miracle not easily—or even possibly—dismissed out-of-hand. The crowd understands this. Their worldview is shaken, and they rightfully praise God for it, "glorifying" God in their response (Luke 7:16). But still, the scribes and Pharisees aren't convinced.

This is a comfort here for those of us who try to be a witness for Christ but come up against faces as set as stone walls. If a person's heart is hardened and their perspective is prideful and rigid, there is nothing we can do or say that will move them. Jesus performs an amazing miracle right in front of the Jewish scholars who should recognize Him as Messiah, but they are unmoved. Instead, they continue to call Him a blasphemer (Mark 2:7), criticize His ministry (Mark 2:16, 18, 24), and seek to destroy Him (Mark 3:5–6), starting the long road to the crucifixion. Like Jesus, our job is to do the will of our Father (Matthew 12:50) and leave the results to Him (Mark 6:11).
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