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Mark’s Account

Mark’s Account

When the professor said to me, “Look, Mark was the earliest gospel and nowhere in Mark did Jesus claim to be God or even give a hint of it.” I said, “Nowhere, in the gospel of Mark?” He said, “That’s right.” I said, “Then let’s go to Mark 2.” Now this was in front of his entire class. I said, “Then let’s go to Mark 2 verses 3-7.”

The Word of God says this: “And they came bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men and being unable to get to Him because of the crowd they removed the roof above him, and when they had dug an opening they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, ‘My Son, your sins are forgiven.’ But there some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

The professor interrupted me. He said, “Well, just a minute. I can forgive sin. Somebody in my class here can sin against me and I can forgive them. My wife can sin against me and I can forgive them. Does that make me God?” I said “Well, no.” He said, “Then what’s your point?” I said, “This is the point as it is quoted here. ‘Why does that man speak that way? He is blaspheming.’”

Now they are quoting from the Old Testament, where it says God, and God alone can forgive sin. In other words what it is saying is this: when you sin against someone else, they can forgive you. Or if somebody sins against you, you can forgive them. But that is not what it is talking about here. Here was a man who had sinned against God. Against God, Yaweh, and Jesus said to him, “I forgive you.”

He said that’s blasphemy because it says in the Old Testament that no one can forgive since except God alone. Jesus said, “That’s right, I forgive you.”

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When the professor said to me, “Look, Mark was the earliest gospel and nowhere in Mark did Jesus claim to be God or even give a hint of it.” I asked, “Nowhere, in the gospel of Mark?” He said, “That’s right.” I said, “Then let us go to Mark 2.” Now this was in front of his entire class. I said, “Then let us go to Mark 2 verses 3-7.”

The Word of God says this: “And they came bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men and being unable to get to Him because of the crowd they removed the roof above him, and when they had dug an opening they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, ‘My Son, your sins are forgiven.’ But there some of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
The professor interrupted me. He said, “Well, just a minute. I can forgive sin. Somebody in my class here can sin against me; and I can forgive them. My wife can sin against me; and I can forgive her. Does that make me God?” I said, “Well, no.” He said, “Then what is your point?” I said, “This is the point as it is quoted here. ‘Why does that man speak that way? He is blaspheming.’”

Now they are quoting from the Old Testament, where it says God, and God alone can forgive sin. In other words what it is saying is this: when you sin against someone else, they can forgive you. Or if somebody sins against you, you can forgive them. But that is not what it is talking about here. Here was a man who had sinned against God. Against God, Yahweh, and Jesus said to him, “I forgive you.”
He said that is blasphemy because it says in the Old Testament that no one can forgive since except God alone. Jesus said, “That’s right, I forgive you.”

SUMMARY: The professor said, “Look, Mark is the earliest Gospel and nowhere in Mark did Jesus claim to be God.” Josh goes to mark 2:3-7. Scripture tells the story of Jesus healing and forgiving the paralytic. He says, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Some scribes said that Jesus was blaspheming. The professor said that he could say, “I forgive, does that make me God?” “No. Yes, you and I can forgive one another.” In this passage the Jews are asking, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Josh points out that the man had sinned against God yet Jesus said to him,
“I forgive you.” This is more evidence of Jesus knowing He is God and his followers knowing that Jesus is God.

QUESTIONS:
1. What did the professor say about Mark’s recording of Jesus claiming to be God?
2. In Mark 2:3-7 what shows us that Jesus knew He was God?
3. Did the professor think that he could forgive like God forgives?
4. How is Jesus’ forgiveness different from us forgiving one another?
5. Was Jesus blaspheming when He said, “Your sins are forgiven”?
6. Why do the Jews accuse Jesus of blaspheming?

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