Epiphany Season · Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany · 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 2:1-12Mk 2:1-12 Working Preacher
Luther Seminary reads the healing of the paralytic as the opening of Mark's first cycle of controversy over Jesus' authority to forgive sins.
Mark 2 verse by verseMk 2 verse by verse Precept Austin
Verse-by-verse notes with Greek word studies and cross references across Mark 2.
Classic commentaries on Mark 2Classic commentaries on Mk 2 BibleHub
Gathers classic and modern commentators on the passage in one place for quick comparison.
Mark 2:1-12Mk 2:1-12 Enduring Word · David Guzik
An accessible verse-by-verse commentary, widely used across evangelical churches.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B Loyola Press · Sunday Connection
A Catholic reflection covering the paralytic lowered through the roof in Mark 2:1-12.
The Faith of a Few Good Friends Sermons That Work · Episcopal Church
An Episcopal sermon on the four friends whose faith carries the paralytic to Jesus in Mark 2:1-12.
Background & Word Study
Paralytic on a Platter Left Behind and Loving It
A line-by-line Greek translation and grammatical analysis, including the word for the paralytic's mat.
The Place of Healing in the Biblical Story Psephizo · Ian Paul
Sets Jesus' pairing of forgiveness and healing within the wider biblical theology of healing and the meaning of sozo.
The Paralytic Man (Mark 2:1-12)The Paralytic Man (Mk 2:1-12) Theology of Work
Reads the four friends who carry and lower the man as a picture of community bearing one another's burdens.
Overview: MarkOverview: Mk BibleProject
An animated overview of Mark's literary design and portrait of Jesus.
The Church Fathers
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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