Mark 2
Mark 2 | |
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← Mark 1 Mark 3 → | |
Book | Gospel of Mark |
Category | Gospel |
Christian Bible part | New Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 2 |
Gospel of Mark |
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Mark 2 is the second chapter of the
Text
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 28 verses.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the complete text of this chapter are:
- Codex Vaticanus (325-350)
- Codex Sinaiticus (330-360)
- Codex Bezae (~400)
- Codex Alexandrinus (400-440)
- Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450)
Critical scholarship
Several writers treat Mark 2:1-3:6 as a single unit for analytical purposes. Joseph Mali refers to these verses as containing the "Galilean Conflict Stories", whilst noting that there is no scholarly consensus in this field. He notes "Markan Public Debates" and "controversy dialogues" as other terms which have been used to cover these verses.[1]: 9 The Jerusalem Bible refers to the "Five Disputes" set out in these verses.[2] Vincent Taylor suggests that this passage may have existed "as a connected whole" before the gospel was compiled.[1]: 11 Johannes Weiss sees its function as establishing "why Jesus' opponents hated [him] and pursued him to death".[1]: 10
Jesus heals a paralyzed man
Jesus returns to
They then create a hole in the roof of the house (
Some of the teachers of the law present (belonging to the sect of the Pharisees) are disturbed by this. "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (2:7). Mark observes that Jesus "...knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts..." (2:8).
He says to them "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven', or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the
According to Raymond E. Brown, it may have been easier to tell the man something than to demand he get up and walk. Jesus chooses to prove his ability to forgive sins, with a demonstration of the man's ability to walk. He forgives and heals by word alone, highlighting the power of his words.[11] Mark says that "everyone" was amazed by this.
Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, ho huios tou anthrōpou (literally son of the
In both Luke 13:1–5 and John 9:2–3 Jesus rejects the notion that illness and misfortune are the result of sins.
The teachers say that only God can forgive one's sins; some[
This is the first conflict between Jesus and other Jewish teachers in Mark. Mark might be starting his explanation of why these Jewish authorities later turned on Jesus.[12]
This incident of the cure of a paralytic and his subsequent forgiveness of his sins is told in all the Synoptic Gospels, (Luke 5:17–26 and Matthew 9:1–8). All the synoptics agree that the man was paralyzed and that the teachers of the law were incensed at Jesus because he said he could forgive the man's sins.
Calling of Levi
Jesus, while teaching a large crowd by the lake, finds Levi at the tax collector's booth and says "Follow me!" Luke 5:27–29 also calls him "Levi". Matthew's version of this story clearly lists him as
A tax collector could mean two things. He could have been an
Jesus and his disciples eat "at his house" (Greek: ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ, en tē oikia autou) with Levi and his disreputable friends and the "teachers of the law who were Pharisees" (2:16) ask his disciples why. Some ancient authorities put the question as "why does he eat and drink" with them.[16] The house is generally understood to have been Levi's,[11][17] but the text is not certain, and Nicoll refers to a suggestion that "Jesus, not Matthew, was the real host at the social gathering":[18] the "call" to sinners can be read as an "invitation", just as a host might invite guests to a meal.[19]
Teaching the law was a profession, and the Pharisees were a group of men who were considered pious. Whether they were at the dinner or were simply aware of it is unclear. The proper preparing and eating of food are very important in Judaism. It was even considered dangerous to eat with those who did not observe the same dining customs by some Jews like the Pharisees.[12] See also the "Incident at Antioch"[20] Gal 2:11–21.
Jesus replies the famous "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the
The Oxyrhynchus Gospels 1224 5:1-2 also record this episode of "dining with sinners".
Jesus thus ends the debate with a statement with no rebuttal by his opponents. Many see this as Mark's way of telling the story to set up Jesus for his memorable words, which Mark uses in the next two incidents and others as well. Scholars have labeled this method of narration an
All three synoptics have this occur after the healing of the paralyzed man.Mark says many people followed Jesus. In contrast to the followers Jesus attracted, it is not clear how many actual disciples (students) he recruited, only Luke 6:17 calls it a "great crowd of ... disciples", and John 6:66 says that many left.
Fasting and new wineskins
Some people asked why is it that the disciples of
Jesus answered their question, saying "Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?" He is referred to as a bridegroom in several places in the New Testament, such as in John 3:29, 2 Corinthians 11:2, the Epistle to the Ephesians 5:32 and Revelation 19:7 and 21:2. Jesus speaking of himself as the bridegroom carries messianic overtones. There is no purpose in fasting as the messiah, Jesus, is already here and his coming is like a wedding celebration, at which people do not fast.[25]
Jesus then says the bridegroom will be "taken from them" and then his disciples will fast "on that day",
Marks' account follows this with "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." (2:21–21)
What its exact meaning is in the original context is not totally clear to scholars today.[11] It is easily interpreted to mean Jesus was proposing a new way of doing things. The new "unshrunk" patch for the cloth can not be melded to the old cloth as it will shrink and make the tear of the cloth worse. One can also not use "new" wine with "old" wineskins as the new wine will ferment and expand and break the old skins. Jesus thus seems to be concerned that the patch and the "new" wine as well as the "old" cloth and old wineskins be preserved.[30] This might be Jesus trying to convey that one must shed those old things that are incompatible with his new way.[31]
The interpretation favored by John Calvin does not suffer from the inconsistencies and the disconnectedness of the interpretations listed above. In his Commentary on Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Calvin states that the old wineskins and the old garment represent Jesus' disciples, and the new wine and unshrunk cloth represent the practice of fasting twice a week. Fasting this way would be burdensome to the new disciples, and would be more than they could bear.
Plucking grain on Sabbath
One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees accused them of
Jesus points out to them a story about
Jesus then says "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (2:27–28) Thus human needs take precedence over strict observance of the
Most
There were debates within
These stories are almost entirely the same in Luke 5-6, and in Matthew except for the story of the Sabbath, which occurs in Matthew at Chapter 12. They do not occur in John except for perhaps the paralyzed man.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia: New Testament: Misunderstood Passages:
Misunderstanding of the term "be-ḥad le-shabba tinyana" (on the first of the second week after Passover), preserved only in Luke vi. 1, caused the confusion of the law concerning the new produce of the year (Lev. xxiii. 11-14) with Sabbath law (see Jew. Encyc. vii. 168, s.v. Jesus). In the one case Jesus, referring to David, defended his disciples, who in their hunger plucked the new corn in the field and ate it without waiting for the offering upon the altar; in the other case he himself disregarded Sabbath law in view of the "pikkuaḥ nefesh" (peril of life), a case in which the Rabbis admitted the suspension of the law, upon the principle, "The Sabbath is given over to you ["the son of man"], and not you to the Sabbath" (see Mek., Wayaḳhel, 1; Chwolson, "Das Letzte Passahmahl," 1892, pp. 59-67, 91-92).
The
laws of Moses and the Sabbath.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Mali, J. M. (2009), The Christian Gospel and its Jewish Roots: A Redaction-Critical Study of Mark 2:21-22 in Context, accessed 17 September 2023
- ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), "Introduction to the Synoptic Gospels", p. 7 in the New Testament section
- E. H. Plumptre, Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on Mark 2, accessed 4 June 2017
- ^ a b c Brown et al. 601
- ^ Kilgallen 49
- ^ Miller 16
- ^ Expanded Bible, Mark 2:4
- ^ The Living Bible, Mark 2:4
- ^ a b Wright, T. (2001), Mark for Everyone, pages 16-17
- ^ Pulpit Commentary on Mark 2, accessed 11 November 2017
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Brown et al. 602
- ^ a b c Miller 17
- ^ Kilgallen 53
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Kilgallen 55
- ^ Footnote v at Mark 2:16 in the New Revised Standard Version
- ^ See for example Mark 2:15 in the New King James Version, which inserts the word Levi's
- ^ Nicoll, W. R., Expositor's Greek Testament on Mark 2, accessed 28 February 2023
- ^ a b c Meyer, H. A. W. (1880), Meyer's NT Commentary on Mark 2, translated from the German sixth edition, accessed 28 February 2023
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. See section titled: "THE INCIDENT AT ANTIOCH" .
- ^ Mark 2:17: New International Version
- ^ a b Miller 18
- ^ Smith, M. H., Pronouncement Story, Synoptic Gospels Primer, accessed 14 June 2021
- ^ The word "often" is inserted in the New Century Version, Mark 2:18: NCV, cf. "accustomed to fast" in the New American Bible Revised Edition, Mark 2:18: NABRE
- ^ a b Kilgallen 58
- ^ Mark 2:20, in the Revised Standard Version and the New International Version, reflecting Westcott and Hort's critical edition
- ^ Mark 2:20 in the Geneva Bible and the King James Version, reflecting the Textus Receptus
- ^ Online Parallel Bible Project (Bible Hub), Nestle Greek New Testament 1904 - Transliterated, accessed 15 June 2021
- ^ Maclear, G.F. (1893), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Mark 2, accessed 18 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Brown et al. 603
- ^ Kilgallen 59
- ^ Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Magnesians
- ISBN 0-8006-0743-0, pp.264-269, Sabbath, handwashing, and food
- ^ Kilgallen 61
- ^ Sanders Jesus and Judaism, 1985, pages 264-269 on Sabbath, handwashing and food
Sources
- ISBN 0-385-24767-2
- Brown, Raymond E. et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary Prentice Hall 1990 ISBN 0-13-614934-0
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- E. P. Sanders, accessed 11 October 2005
- Jewish Encyclopedia on Jesus, accessed 8 September 2006
- Kilgallen, John J. A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark Paulist Press 1989 ISBN 0-8091-3059-9
- Marcionism, accessed 11 October 2005
- Miller, Robert J. Editor The Complete Gospels Polebridge Press 1994 ISBN 0-06-065587-9
- Sanders, E.P. Jesus and Judaism Fortress Press 1985 ISBN 0-8006-0743-0
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Jesus: Attitude Toward the Law
- Mark 2 King James Bible - Wikisource
- English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
- Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)
Preceded by Mark 1 |
Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Mark |
Succeeded by Mark 3 |