Whereas in Chapter 1 we saw Jesus, the ultimate action hero, begin his battle against the enemy, Satan, in Chapter 2 He takes the war to a new front and begins battling the religious establishment in Israel, which was just as much an impediment to entering God’s kingdom as Satan. He does this by:
Proclaiming His authority over sin (“But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” 2:10 – our lesson 1 today)
Proclaiming that the old system of righteousness was not working (“I didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners” 2:17 – the law cannot create righteousness only point out sin – our lesson 2 today)
Proclaiming that a new order was coming (“new wine is for fresh wine skins” 2:22)
Proclaiming His authority over the Law and all that it contains (including the Sabbath – “the Son of Man is Lord even over the Sabbath” 2:28) – this is something He will demonstrate in chapter 3.
1 – 2
Jesus was gone on His tour through Galilee for some time. Eventually He returned to Capernaum and either went home to His house with His mother, Mary, or back to Peter’s house. As expected, the crowds gathered for an encore performance (though they had not received who He was yet – Matthew 11:23-24). Now instead of just healing, Jesus was speaking—this is really important. We can’t come to Jesus and just expect Him to be the provider of what we think we want or need. He isn’t a genie in a bottle that grants wishes. We need to also hear the word He speaks about the coming of God’s kingdom and His place as the central figure in that kingdom. By the way, Jesus here is “preaching” not “teaching or explaining.”
3 – 4
In our society we have the Americans with Disabilities Act. The disabled have the best parking spots, the best seats in the theater, and payments from the government to help them. We basically make all kinds of accommodations for the disabled to have access to things the non-disabled have. Such was not the case in Jesus’ day. The disabled were completely dependent on the kindness of others and had no built in support system. So it’s no wonder that when the friends or relatives of this man came to the house they got no welcome at all. No one made room for them. We know that some of the crowd consisted of religious leaders so that may have been at play as well. The leaders wouldn’t think of making room for the weak, and the others may not have wanted to give up their place next the VIPs!
That doesn’t deter them, however, so they climb up on the flat roof and begin taking it apart! This is a sort of Extreme Makeover Home Edition in reverse! The houses had outside stairways leading to the roof, which was a mixture of mortar, sand, ashes, and tar. Some had tiles underneath and they would have had to remove enough of them to attach ropes and lower this guy down. I can just imagine the fear of being totally helpless and being lowered by ropes. I can imagine the determination of the friends who will succeed in getting this guy to Jesus no matter what – and I can imagine the surprise and even perhaps irritation of those inside as little pieces of mortar begin falling on them and then the sun breaks through in the ceiling!
How determined are we to reach Jesus, even if it is fearful? How determined are we to introduce Christ to others? And are we irritated that others are crowding in and taking our attention away from the Master?
5
Jesus sees the faith of those who brought the guy. Interesting. You cannot make someone a Christian, but your faith is infectious. Jesus saw the determination of the friends and the man received the healing! Notice too that it was forgiveness Jesus gave the man. This is a powerful new level that Jesus is going to. Not only does He throw out demons and heal the sick but now forgives sins? Sin and healing often go hand in hand as all sickness is the result of the fall (not that this man’s specific sins had caused his illness). This is the long term solution that we all need. Getting a short term need fulfilled without the long term need of a restoration through forgiveness is meaningless.
I’m absolutely sure Jesus said this on purpose, knowing the audience. He is now moving towards the second great campaign, the battle with the religious establishment that was keeping people away from belief. And He is moving their understanding to the real need He has come to address, and that is the need for the healing from the sickness of sin through forgiveness.
6 – 7
Scribes were originally copyists of the Law of Moses. Because they knew the Scriptures so well, they became experts in it and were like a lawyer, as a legal expert on the Law. Luke 5 tells us that the boys in Jerusalem had dispatched these men to find out something with which to use against Jesus and His rising popularity and competition with them. They were correct in their assumption that only God can forgive sins, but they missed the connection that if 1) Jesus forgives sins and 2) only God can forgive sins, then 1 + 2 = 3 – Jesus IS God. Instead they assumed He was a blasphemer. This was the charge that they leveled too at His arrest.
8 – 12
You can just imagine the shock on the faces of the scribes as the Holy Spirit gives Him insight into their very thoughts! Anyone could say “you are forgiven.” Jesus proves it by then healing him, which no one could do. It’s possible that if Jesus had just healed they might have doubted His claim, but Jesus is putting them on notice. Remember now, Jesus’ ultimate goal is to let these men kill Him, so He carefully moves them in that direction by making them make a choice: worship Him or kill Him. Remember too that these men would have considered themselves near the top already in God’s kingdom and would never have thought they needed forgiveness. So next Jesus sets up a clash with the religious establishment over who gets to come into God’s kingdom.
13 – 14
Tax collectors were rejected by both Israelis and Romans. They collected various taxes for Rome, especially on traded goods, so their tax booths were down where the ships offloaded and the caravans arrived. They had a quota to get for Rome, but anything they could extract above that they could keep. Rome hated them because they were Jewish, and the Jews hated them because they worked for the enemy Rome, and because they were cheats, thieves, and rich!
So here comes Jesus and actually calls one of them to be His disciple. Levi, of course, is Matthew. As far as who was expected to be included in God’s kingdom, a tax collector would have not have been on the list for the Jews. The booth was an elevated platform, easily seen along the shore. Everyone knew Matthew so this was a very public statement Jesus was making – and He isn’t done yet! This wasn’t a surprise, though—I’m sure that Matthew had seen Jesus many times and perhaps even had listened in to His teaching.
By the way, Levi, as a tax collector, was ostracized by everyone (like the leper). But he was rich. Walking away from his booth, Levi was leaving behind the last bit of security he had in this age.
15 – 17
What is great here is that Levi is so taken with Jesus that not only does he leave everything to follow Him, but calls all his other tax collector friends together so they can hear the gospel too!
The scribes (many of them were Pharisees) made it their business as the righteousness police to tell people how to obey the Law and especially the traditions (extra rules added to the Law). They felt that eating with a tax collector or “sinner” meant they might become ceremonially unclean (their sins might rub off on them). They were so worried about the external appearance of righteousness that they ignored the internal existence of sin.
Jesus hears of their slam and says that He has come to those who are sick to heal them, not because He is also sick with sin. He uses the term “righteous” very ironically as the Pharisees thought they were righteous already, but they weren’t! Knowing you are sick and in need of healing is step one, then step two is to go to the doctor!
Conclusions
Matthew and the paralyzed man had something in common, they were both outcasts. Jesus reintegrated them into God’s family in two ways:
Forgiveness and calling. We are all sick and in need of healing, but it isn’t healing of our bodies but healing for our souls through the forgiveness of sin. Secondly Jesus doesn’t come along just to forgive but to call us to leave everything and throw our lot in with Him.
Do you know you are sick?
How sold out to Jesus are you? Are you willing to leave everything that brings you security behind for Him?
