What does Mark 2:3 mean?
Jesus is teaching in a crowded house in Capernaum when four men arrive, carrying a paralytic man on a bed. We aren't told where they're from, how the man was paralyzed, or what relation the men are to their injured friend. We just know that unlike the invalid at Bethesda (John 5:1–9) or the lame beggar at the gate of the temple (Acts 3:1–10), the people in his life are resolved to see him healed.We are meant to learn something from this example today. The men faced doorways so stuffed with people they couldn't get through, but our access to God is always open. Hebrews 4:16 promises that we can "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need." Paul started his letters with assurances that he regularly prayed for his friends. Praying together was one of the first tasks the early church adopted (Acts 2:42).
A clichéd expression used in Christian circles is that we "lift someone up" to God in prayer. Taken the wrong way, this suggests He's incapable of reaching down. Properly understood, the metaphor stands, since it's meant in the same sense as this story from the gospel of Mark. Like the four men bringing their paralytic friend to Jesus, we are to bring God our concerns and requests about others. We are not assured that Jesus will heal them, but we do know that He will work for good in the lives of those who follow Him (Romans 8:28).
Mark 2:1–12 records the first of five stories from the gospel of Mark which establish Jesus' claims to various spheres of authority. Jesus returns to Capernaum from His tour of Galilee, and the crowds regather. Here, Jesus declares that He has the power to forgive sins. A paralyzed man is brought into the crowded room through the roof. In response to the man's faith, Jesus declares his sins to be forgiven. When challenged by the scribes, Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by healing the man. This event is also recorded in Matthew 9:2–8 and Luke 5:17–26.
Mark chapter 2 follows the typical style of Mark's gospel with a rapid succession of stories. Jesus heals a man who cannot walk, but only after declaring the man's sins to have been forgiven. Jesus then calls Levi, one of the publically-reviled tax collectors, as a disciple and is seen eating with those the Pharisees view as ''sinners.'' Jesus then answers a challenge about fasting and defends His disciples when they violate the Pharisees' views on keeping the Sabbath. All of these events are met with some resistance from Jesus' critics. He responds in each case with a spiritual, reasonable defense.
