Mark 2: 1-12 I will be considering today. This account is resonating with my spirit for there is so much that stands out in it. But, before I begin to discuss it, let’s read it together.

(All highlighted scriptures are a link that allows you to compare the following five bible versions: NIV – New International Version; NKJV – New King James Version; KJV – King James Version; ESV – English Standard Version; AMP – Amplified Bible )

Please read Mark 2:1-12

Now there is so much that stands out to me in this passage so without a doubt I will be returning here several times to address the various points that have captured my attention. But for now I want to focus on verse number 9.

Please read Mark 2:9

I would dare to venture out and say that the question is not so much what would be easier to say, but what would be easier for the listener to receive.

Why?

• Because the speaker speaks by faith

But in this account, we are talking about the healing of another. Let’s consider this account for a second.

We see that the focus of attention is placed on a man that was paralyzed. We know he couldn’t walk because he had to be carried, but what we do not know is the extent of his paralysis. Was it waist down? Was it neck down? Either way we know that this paralyzed man needed help. So we see in this story that this paralyzed man had a measure of faith.

• He had faith in his friends to carry him and not drop him
• and, because of his friends faith, he also had faith that Jesus had the ability to heal him.

How do I know?  He did not protest their taking him to Jesus. Now what we will be considering today is not so much the level of faith of the paralyzed man, but the faith of those surrounding him.

There is a lot going on in this story. There is so much to glean upon. For example, as much as I have read this story my focus previously was only on the fact that four men carried the paralyzed man. I totally missed the fact that there were more than four men that came with the paralyzed man. Let’s look at that:

Please read Mark 2:3

Notice that we are told that “some men came”, and that out of the group of “some”, four was carrying the paralyzed man. Now I want to stay here on this point for just one second. I can’t help but to notice that four men carried him. This signifies completion as it pertains to the earth. This makes me think of how Ezekiel, when asked by God if dead bones can live again, was told to speak to the North, the South, the East and the West prophesying what the LORD was going to do.

Please read Ezekiel 37

Take note of verse #9 where Ezekiel was told to prophesy to the four winds. Notice that what was dry and disconnected was brought back to life. Now let’s look at another verse…

Please read Deuteronomy 19:15

Now keep this verse in mind when we consider what Jesus said to the man that was paralyzed.  Let’s look at that…

Please read Mark 2:5

Now remember, according to Deuteronomy 19:15 we are told that “concerning ANY iniquity or ANY sin… by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” Notice that according to Mark 2:5, when Jesus saw “their” faith He forgave the paralyzed man’s sins. Are you catching this?

Earlier I noted that the man had a measure of faith. Yet, as I look a little closer at this account, and as I consider some events that I am now being reminded of in order to see and grasp the strength of faith that this paralyzed man had, what I am seeing is a comment made to Jesus by yet another man who was fighting for his son.

Initially I was just going to share with you the key points of this reference that I am about to share but as I read over the entire account there was no way that I could pass over this. You have to see it. It’s amazing. We are going to consider the healing of the demon possessed boy found in Mark chapter 9.

Please read Mark 9:14-29

I can barely contain myself as I do this Bible study. Everything is coming at me so quickly and it is just overwhelmingly awesome what I am seeing. First of all, this study is definitely about faith though I can’t say that when I started this study that I knew that this would be the topic. Okay, let’s take a look at Mark chapter 9 – the healing of the demon possessed boy – with Mark chapter 2 in mind which talks about the healing of the paralyzed man.  I want to encourage you to place a marker in Mark chapter 2 and Mark chapter 9 because we are going to be flipping between the two chapters and comparing them.

• In this account found in Mark chapter 9, we are again looking at the gathering of a large crowd just like in Mark chapter 2.
• In this account found in Mark chapter 9, we are again looking at the fact that scribes and/or teachers of the law were present. Now I took the liberty to look up the definition of the word scribe and this is what I found:

scribe

skrīb/

noun

plural noun: scribes

1. 1.

Historical

a person who copies out documents, esp. one employed to do this before printing was invented.

Synonyms:

clerk, secretary, copyist, transcriber, amanuensis; More

1. 2.

JUDAISM

an ancient Jewish record-keeper or, later, a professional theologian and jurist.

So considering the definition of scribe, it is safe to say that in both Mark chapter 2 and Mark chapter 9 scribes were present.

• In this account, found in Mark chapter 9, we are again looking at the fact that the scribes had something negative to say about the healing of another person
  • In Mark 9:14-16 we see that there was an argument taking place between the teachers of the law and the disciples of Jesus.
  • In Mark 2:6-8 we see that the teachers of the law, or scribes as they are called in varying Bible translations, were thinking negatively about what Jesus said to the paralyzed man.

Let me stop here for one second and say this:

• DON’T LET ANYONE TALK YOU OUT OF YOUR BLESSING.
• WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE BLESSED YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE AROUND YOU OR IN YOUR BUSINESS BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY FOR YOU.
• AND HERE’S ANOTHER THING, BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO LISTEN TO WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO RECEIVE A BLESSING BECAUSE THERE MIGHT JUST BE SOME PEOPLE IN YOUR PRESENCE THAT WILL TRY TO SNATCH YOUR BLESSING FROM YOU.

Catch this now: In both Mark chapter 2 and Mark chapter 9 the person that had the issue had to be spoken to twice, and it was after Jesus addressed and shut up the naysayers that the person with the issue received their healing.

Now let’s continue with this comparison, because there is so much valuable information found here in both of these chapters that it is too easy to get distracted by other key points that will need to be looked at later.

Again, comparing the two chapters, let’s now look at the health condition of both individuals. As I looked at this account of the demon possessed young man, the fact that it stated that he was “robbed of his speech” and “thrown to the ground” made me consider that he too was paralyzed like the man of Mark chapter 2 whose paralysis we really don’t know the extent of. So I began to question in my heart: Could it be said that this second man, the man of Mark chapter 9, was paralyzed too?  In order to get the answer to that question, I decided to look up the definition of paralysis, and this is what I found:

par·a·lyzed

ˈparəˌlīzd/

adjective

1. 1.

(of a person or part of the body) partly or wholly incapable of movement.

“he became partially paralyzed”

synonyms:

disabled, crippled, handicapped, incapacitated, paralytic, powerless,immobilized, useless;

So again, through the use of definitions, we can safely say that both men were paralyzed and in both instances, the paralysis had such a crippling effect that these paralyzed men needed the assistance of others to help them get to their healing. Also, again in both cases, it wasn’t the faith of the men who were paralyzed that was considered. Instead, it was the faith of those who carried the men.

While in Mark chapter 2 we are told that “some men” brought to Jesus the paralytic man who was carried by four, we are told in Mark chapter 9 that the demon possessed boy was brought to Jesus by his father. Now let’s take a closer look at these verses in Mark chapter 9.

• Did the father bring the young man to Jesus? Let’s look at this in Mark chapter 9…
  • In verse 17 the father said to Jesus I brought YOU my son, but the truth of the matter is that Jesus was not there because if He was there He would not have had to ask the question found in verse 16, “what are you arguing with them about?” Also, if Jesus was there already, the people would not have had to run to greet him as shown in verse 15. Are you catching this?
  • So who was the boy taken to if he was not taken to Jesus? Again, let’s look at Mark chapter 9 and this time verse 18.
    • In verse 18 the man tells Jesus, “I asked your disciples.” Stop right there.

I need to make yet another statement:

WHEN YOUR ACCESS HAS BEEN GRANTED, WHY GO THROUGH A MIDDLEMAN? Now I know I need to clarify this, but before I do, let’s take a little trip into the Old Testament to the book of Exodus. To set the stage for you of what we are getting ready to look at, Moses and the Israelites have just came out of bondage as slaves in Egypt. They have already crossed through the Red Sea on dry land and watched their enemies be forever destroyed before their eyes by their God. Now three months has passed by and they are at Mt Sinai and preparing to meet with their God. I encourage you to read all of Exodus chapters 19 and 20, but for the sake of time I will only pull out the key scriptures for this lesson.

We will start with Exodus 19:3-19

Please read Exodus 19:3-19

Ok let’s continue this story by turning to Exodus chapter 20, and again in your spare time you can read the entire chapters to see everything that occurred. Turning to Exodus chapter 20, we will begin reading at verse 18

Please read Exodus 20:18-21

Now let’s turn again, this time to Deuteronomy 18 and let’s see the Lord God Almighty’s response to the people’s fear of approaching HIM. We are going to read Deuteronomy chapter 18 starting at verse 16.

Please read Deuteronomy 18:16-22

So now here we see the installation of the middlemen and why the middle men were required. God wanted to speak to and be heard by HIS people. But the people were afraid because of how ALL POWERFUL God is, because of how MAGNIFICENT God is, because of how OMNISCIENT God is, I can go on and on and never be able to truly describe God no matter how hard I try.  We all know this.

But the point of the matter is that the people were afraid and because of their fear they required an intercessor – someone to go on their behalf. This attitude continued all the way down to Jesus day which is why the father of the young man said to Jesus in Mark chapter 9, “I brought YOU my son” and then he said, “I asked your disciples…” Amen.

Now, returning to the comparison of Mark chapter 9 with Mark chapter 2, and again dealing with this issue of FAITH, at the time that the father was talking to Jesus, the young man was not with him. He was still with the disciples. How do I know? Because verse 19 ends with Jesus saying “Bring the boy to me.” Do you see that in your bibles? And verse 20 begins with saying “so they brought him”, they being plural and denoting more than one person.

Now jumping back over to Mark chapter 2 looking again at the account of the paralyzed man, verse # 3 says that some men came bringing to Jesus a paralyzed man. Now stopping right here for just a second, these men that brought the paralyzed man to Jesus could have been relatives. It could have been his father, or his brothers, or his cousins, we don’t know. We just know that they had an interest in seeing this man get healed because they were with him.  In this same verse we are told that this paralyzed man was carried by four of them.

Who were these four that were so invested in this man that they took upon themselves the burden of carrying him? Could they have been disciples of Jesus? I mean think about it, they were so intent on getting this paralyzed man to Jesus that they were willing to “make an opening in the roof above where Jesus was by digging through it”. That could not have been easy. Think about it. They were not carrying a baby. They were carrying upon themselves the dead weight of a grown man. He had to have been heavy and then after getting to where Jesus was at and finding that they couldn’t just walk up to Jesus they had to summon up more energy to climb the roof of the house Jesus was in, dig a hole in the roof. Lift the heavy paralytic to the top of the roof and then lower him down from the roof to where Jesus was.

Seriously, that was not easy. To have put that much energy into getting this man to Jesus these four men had to have some really strong faith in Jesus ability to heal. But can I call them disciples? Again I turn to the dictionary for clarity and this is what I found:

dis·ci·ple  (dĭ-sī′pəl)

n.

1.

a. One who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another.

b. An active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy.

2. often Disciple One of the original followers of Jesus.

3. Disciple A member of the Disciples of Christ.

Can I call the four men who carried the paralytic to Jesus, climbed to the roof of a house where Jesus was and dug a hole in the roof, pulled the paralytic man up to the roof and then lowered him down before Jesus a disciple of Jesus? YES, because they definitely assisted in spreading the teachings of Jesus through the demonstration of their own faith.

Getting back to Mark chapter 9, because I have drifted far away from the original point of my turning to Mark chapter 9 and I want to begin to bring this all home now, the father made a comment that stood out to me and applied to Mark chapter 2. The father said to Jesus, again I don’t want to skip through and miss some key point so we will start reading again in Mark chapter 9 but this time starting at verse 21

Please read Mark 9:21-24

Here in these verses we learn that the young man had been in this condition for a long time. From childhood we are told.  In chapter 2 of Mark, we do not know how long the paralytic was in his condition.  Nevertheless, this is what stood out to me. The father said to Jesus, in verse 22, “IF you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”  Now looking at verse 23, can you see Jesus almost get offended? He says “IF YOU CAN?” Almost as if to say, “do you think I cant?” Then Jesus says “everything is possible for one who believes.

Right here let’s make sure that we are grasping that. Say out loud EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Say it again. EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. One more time say it again, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE. For whom?  For one who believes.

So what the father says next is what stood out to me and really touched me when I considered the account found in Mark 2. Verse 24 states that IMMEDIATELY the father exclaimed or shouted, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  In other words, there are many different levels of faith, and once we begin to understand this, and once we begin to grasp that faith is not a possession of all people as 2 Thessalonians 3:2 states, then Jude 1:20 and Romans 1:17 will begin to make sense to us because there we are told to build up in our most holy faith and that we need to continue to grow in our faith because as Romans 1:17 says

Please read Romans 1:17

I thought that I would be looking at the faith of the paralytic, but truth is I am looking at the importance of the faith of those who intercede in behalf of others.  Therefore, in truth, though I have done all of this research on Mark 2:1-12 and included in this research an examination of Mark 9:14-29, I really haven’t gotten past verse 5 of Mark chapter 2 and the fact that Jesus saw “their” faith and told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven.

I initially wanted to address the fact that it wasn’t the paralytic in Mark chapter 2 that had an issue with what Jesus said, but instead it was the scribes, those who were teachers of the law. I wanted to address the fact that these scribes had an issue because Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. But right now, all that I can focus on is how important it is for me, for us all who are disciples of Christ to truly believe in him, to strengthen our faith daily, to grow from faith to faith, because our faith has the ability to obtain healing for someone else.

I hear the LORD speaking so clearly to me telling me that it doesn’t matter what level of faith the paralytic man or woman has. It doesn’t matter what the cause of the paralysis is. It doesn’t matter if it is a mental (emotional) issue, a physical issue, or a spiritual issue. What matters is my faith and the lengths that I am willing to go to and through, in demonstration of my faith, to help the paralytic.

I receive that which I am learning in my Bible study for today that has taken an unexpected turn for me. I receive that I need to believe despite the circumstances and that when I find myself in a position where though I know that I have faith, a strong faith even, but I find that I still need a little bit more help, strength, faith in certain areas, then I receive that I too need to say the prayer as did the father of the son that was demon-possessed – the father whom said to Jesus,

Please read Mark 9:24

In my walk with the LORD JESUS CHRIST, I don’t want to be like those disciples in the account found in Mark chapter 9 of whom Jesus said,

Please read Mark 9:19

When you read through the Bible book of Mark starting at chapter One and you get to chapter Nine, you will find that Jesus felt some exasperation over this. This matter is serious when Jesus says “How long shall I put up with you?”

After the account was over and the boy was healed and returned to his father, after everyone was gone and it was just Jesus and his disciples left, they honestly wanted to know why they couldn’t heal this boy, and as I consider this, I am amazed that the boy’s father understood something that the disciples didn’t. The boy’s father understood the power of a humble prayer. The father said, “I have faith. Help me out where I need faith.” I believe, but help me where I doubt, help me in the areas where I show signs of being double-minded, help me in the areas where I have little to no faith at all, help me where I have become weakened.

Before I read of how the Bible writer Matthew described Jesus answer to the disciples, I want to say this one thing:

• DON’T LET PRIDE GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR ABILITY TO RECEIVE A BLESSING OR BE A BLESSING TO ANOTHER.

Turn your Bibles to Matthew 17. This will be the last scripture that I will consider as a part of this Bible study. Let’s begin reading at verse19

Please Read Matthew 17:19-21

The disciples wanted to know why they couldn’t heal this young man and look at what Jesus told them in verse #20. He said, “Because of your unbelief… for if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, the size of this asterisk (*), you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.

What mountains do I have in my life that needs to be moved? What mountains do you have in your life that needs to be moved? If there is something that we are still struggling with, then if we caught the message in today’s Bible study then we will walk away from this lesson knowing that we need to humble ourselves and pray to God to increase our faith, to help us with our unbelief.

GOD’S WORD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD

I pray that this has blessed you as much as it has blessed me.