New Testament 1
Mark 2: 1 to 3: 6
Lecture 15
Introduction
•	Those who stereotype Jesus as meek and mild have not read the Gospel of Mark with open eyes.  The soft, feminine images of Jesus are shattered as you read the Chapters 2 and 3.  Jesus is more than a_____________________, holding lambs and children.  Jesus is the eye of the storm, the center of controversy, a man so dangerous to the Jewish _____________________authorities that they plot to murder Him.
Introduction
•	Mark has referred to the tremendous _____________________of Jesus. Now he shows the other side of the story.  The religious leaders confront Him with controversy and hostility.  They make categorical _____________________ (2:7; cf, 3:2), raise questions (2:16, 18, 24), and plot His death (3:6)
A. The First Opposition (Capernaum: 2:1-3:6)
•	Some question whether these incidents occurred consecutively (as Mark’s account seems to suggest), or even occurred at the _____________________period in Jesus’ ministry.  It is possible that Mark has arranged his account in this manner simply because all the narratives speak of _____________________and controversy.  There is no way of settling the issue conclusively.  
1) Challenging Jesus’ Right to Forgive Sin (2:1-12)
•	What does 1:29 say? Perhaps this refers to Peter’s house?
•	The man sick with palsy was a_____________________. Other than this we have no definite information concerning the nature of his_____________________.
_____________________
•	are introduced here in Mark’s account for the first time (v. 6).  Originally they were the _____________________of scripture, but they became specialists in the _____________________of the Scriptures and the Tradition.  Sometimes they are referred to as lawyers or as doctors (teachers) of the law.  Lane comments that they are frequently mentioned by Mark, but only once is the reference favorable (12:28-34).
“The Son of Man”
•	is used by Mark for the first of _____________________times in his Gospel.  It is a Messianic title having its origin in Daniel 7:13 and was a favorite self-designation of Jesus; in fact, except for John 12:34 and Acts 7:56, it is found in the NT only on His lips.  Different interpretations have been given, but seems best to understand it as speaking of the Messiah as man’s_____________________.  
2) Challenging Jesus Association with Sinners (2:13-17)
•	The occasion was the call of Levi and Jesus’ acceptance of an invitation to attend a feast in the home of _____________________ (called Matthew in Matthew 9:9). 
•	See Luke 5:29 which says that Levi gave Jesus a great_____________________.
3) Challenging Jesus’ Attitude Toward Fasting (2:18-22)
•	The Mosaic Law made compulsory only one day of fasting---_____________________ (Lev 16:23; 26:34), but the Pharisees fasted twice each week (Luke 18:12)--one the second and _____________________days.  Frequent fasts were common among other Jews, the fast being regarded as one of the essential marks of a religious person.
Jesus’ Answer to His Questioners 
•	was in two parts:
•	a) He showed by means of illustration the incongruity of fasting on the part of his _____________________ (19, 20)
•	b) he showed by means of two parables that His teaching could not be confined to the old forms of _____________________ (21, 22).  Christianity is something new and expansive.
Between Verses 22 and 23
•	are probably the incidents of Jn 5:1-47.
•	These happen in _____________________at the time of “a feast of the Jews”. The identity of this feast is uncertain.  Robertson thinks it was probably a_____________________.  
4) Challenging Jesus’ Observance of the Sabbath (2:23-3:6)
•	Two events cause this challenge to occur:
•	1) plucking of _____________________ (2: 23-27) and
•	2) healing of the man with a withered _____________________ (3:1-6)
a) The Plucking of Grains (2:23-27)
•	The event behind this challenge was the plucking of grains by Jesus’ disciples (23-27)
•	Verses 23 and 24 give the challenge of the_____________________. Verses 25-28 contain Jesus’ response. It is in two parts.  There were _____________________categories of work that were prohibited no the Sabbath and four of these were reaping, threshing, winnowing, and preparing meals.
Jesus’ Two Responses (v. 25-26)
•	is an appeal to Scripture (1 Samuel 21:1ff) and the announcement of a _____________________ (vs. 27-28).  The Scripture citation suggests that human need takes precedence over a pedantic legal regulation.  The principle announced is that the Sabbath was made for man’s_____________________, not to be his master, to be a blessing, not to be a burden.
Note on 1 Samuel 21: 1, 8
•	says that the priest was_____________________, Abiathar’s father.  Since Abiathar became the more famous of the two men, perhaps the period referred to came to be associated with his name rather than his father’s. The meaning then would be equivalent to “in the _____________________of Abiathar.”
b) the healing of man with withered hand (3:1-6)
•	Observe the dramatic manner of Jesus (3, 5).  His looking (v5) his _____________________ (an emotion ascribed to Jesus only here) and grief (v. 5) and the unlikely alliance of Pharisees and Herodians against Jesus.  The latter, mentioned here for the first time in Mark, were a political party made up of friends and supporters of Herod_____________________.  Most of them probably belonged to the aristocracy.  They cared little for the teaching of the Pharisees.