Sep 13, 2015
In our previous study of Mark 2:1-3:6 we discovered that Jesus said and did some outrageous things. Jesus claimed authority to forgive sins and then validated His claim by healing a paralyzed man (2:1-12). What makes His claim outrageous is that only God has authority to forgive sins so without question Jesus was claiming to be deity.
He recruited to His team and enjoyed table fellowship with a
Jewish tax collector, the lowest of the low in Jewish society
(2:13-17). He disregarded conventional rules of piety (2:18-22) and
He claimed authority over the Law of Moses and its Sabbath law
(2:23-3:6). These things were radical then and they’re radical now
because if they were true about Jesus then, then they’re true about
Jesus now.
How did the people at that time respond to Jesus’ claims and
actions? The peoples response is exactly what John Mark is showing
us in Mark 3:7-35. First, he reports the response of the crowd who
poured into Capernaum from all over Israel.