The Finished Word

The literary unit in chapters 1 and 2 of the Gospel of Mark includes five stories highlighting the authority of Jesus as the “ Son of Man .” It also shows the growing conflicts between him and the religious authorities based in the Jerusalem Temple, especially over issues of ritual purity and Sabbath regulations. There are parallels between the present story and the preceding one about cleansing the leper.

Forgiveness links the call of the tax collector to the healing of the paralytic – Christ’s authority to discharge sins and restore men  – Mark 2:13-17. When Jesus pronounced the paralytic’s sins “ forgiven ,” he offended the Scribes and Pharisees, and he alienated them by  showing mercy  to “ sinners ” considered unacceptable by more scrupulously religious Jews. Seeing Jesus eating with “ tax collectors ” and “ sinners ,” the Scribes and Pharisees insinuated that Christ also was a notorious sinner – (Mark 2:1-17).