What is the meaning of Mark 2:7? Why does this man speak like this? Jesus has just told the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). The religious scholars watching are stunned. • They know only the Lord has authority to remove guilt (Exodus 34:6-7). • They assume Jesus is merely a teacher, so His words sound outrageously presumptuous. • Like the crowd in John 7:46—“No one ever spoke like this man!”—they sense something different, yet their hearts remain skeptical (cf. Luke 5:22, where Jesus reads their thoughts). He is blaspheming! Blasphemy, in their minds, is claiming for oneself what belongs exclusively to God. • The Law demands death for true blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). • Later, when Jesus says, “I and the Father are one,” the same charge resurfaces (John 10:33). • Ironically, the scribes accuse the only sinless One (Hebrews 4:15) of sin, revealing their spiritual blindness (Isaiah 6:9-10). Who can forgive sins but God alone? On this point the scribes are theologically right and spiritually wrong. • Scripture is clear: “He forgives all your iniquities” (Psalm 103:3); “I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions” (Isaiah 43:25). • Jesus backs His words with divine proof: “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He heals the paralytic instantly (Mark 2:10-12). • The miracle verifies His identity as “Immanuel—God with us” (Matthew 1:23) and the promised Redeemer (Isaiah 35:5-6). • The cross will later seal this authority, for “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7), and the resurrection publicly vindicates Him (Romans 1:4). summary Mark 2:7 captures the conflict between human unbelief and divine self-revelation. The scribes rightly affirm that only God can forgive, yet fail to recognize God standing before them. Jesus’ words are not blasphemy; they are the gracious declaration of Deity in human flesh, offering forgiveness to all who will believe (John 3:16, Acts 13:38-39). |
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