Epiphany Season · Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year B
Mark 2:1-12
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
February 21, 2027
Overview & Insights
“Son, your sins are forgiven... Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” (Mark 2:5, 11)
Jesus’s authority continues from Mark 1, but now with a polar opposite reaction: rejection rather than wonder. This begins five episodes (2:1–12, 13–17, 18–22, 23–28; 3:1–6) that center on the leaders; in each one Jesus’s opponents make disparaging comments and ask him challenging questions regarding his deliberate ignoring of the law. He responds with dominical sayings and aphorisms that highlight his authority. In 1:21–45 Jesus’s popularity with the crowds grew exponentially; in 2:1–3:6 his opposition grows even more powerfully. In 1:45 he attracted so many people that he could no longer enter the towns. In 3:6 the leaders are already plotting his death. They can not accept the new economy, the new covenant that he is in the process of establishing with his kingdom teaching (2:21–22).
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Commentary
Mark 2 - Controversy with Religious LeadersMk 2 - Controversy with Religious Leaders Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik's verse-by-verse commentary on the healing of the paralytic and Jesus' authority to forgive.
Mark 2:1 CommentariesMk 2:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Aggregated classic and modern commentary notes on the paralytic lowered through the roof.
Mark 2 CommentaryMk 2 Commentary Precept Austin
A deep collection of verse-by-verse notes, word studies, and quotations on Mark 2.
Barnes' Notes on Mark 2Barnes' Notes on Mk 2 StudyLight
Albert Barnes' classic exposition of the forgiveness and healing of the paralyzed man.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B (Sunday Connection) Loyola Press · Sunday Connection
Catholic catechetical background and family reflection questions on the forgiveness and healing of the paralytic.
Background & Word Study
Book of Mark OverviewBook of Mk Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of Mark's literary design for context on the conflict stories.
Mark 2:1 Greek InterlinearMk 2:1 Greek Interlinear BibleHub
Word-by-word Greek with parsing for the forgiveness and healing dialogue.
The Paralytic Man (Mark 2:1-12)The Paralytic Man (Mk 2:1-12) Theology of Work
A background study on faith, community, and the friends who carried the paralytic to Jesus.
The Church Fathers
Sermons & Reflections
A Children's Sermon on Mark 2:1-12A Children's Sermon on Mk 2:1-12 Gary Neal Hansen
A Reformed pastor's ready-to-use children's message on the friends who brought the paralyzed man to Jesus.
Mark 2:1-12 (Sacred Space)Mk 2:1-12 (Sacred Space) Sacred Space · Irish Jesuits
The Irish Jesuits' guided lectio-divina prayer built around this Gospel passage.
Questions preachers ask
Why does Jesus forgive the paralytic's sins?
When four friends lower the paralyzed man through the roof, Jesus forgives his sins first, then heals him to show that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive.
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