Mark Worksheet - Chapter 2

Worksheet - Mark 2

 

Review of Chapter 1:

We saw in Chapter 1 that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a dove, and the Father spoke saying "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased."  Jesus was approximately 30 years old as He began His public ministry.  Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go into the wilderness where He was tempted by the devil for 40 days.  After that, He chose His first four disciples; Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John, who left everything to follow Him and become fishers of men.  Jesus preached repentance and healed the sick as well as cast out demons.  He did not permit the the demons to speak about Him because they knew who He was and they caused disturbances among the religious leaders.  Jesus was on His Father's timetable.  We saw that He was tempted like us and under pressure to perform and please like we are; yet He handled it without sin and we saw the way He did that was by rising early before dawn and going to an isolated place to pray to His Father and receive the daily strength He needed.  May we do the same. Amen.

Mark, Chapter 2:

1.  Jesus returned home to Capernaum several days later.  When the people heard that He was back home, so many gathered at His door that there was no longer any room for anyone to get near Him.  As He spoke the Word to them, four men came carrying their paralytic friend on a pallet. 

• When they saw that they could not get him through the crowd for Jesus to heal him, what did these four friends do? vs.1-4 -
• When Jesus saw the faith of the men who brought their friend to Him, what did Jesus say to the paralytic? vs. 5 -
• What does this show us that is the most important thing our sick loved ones can receive from the Lord?

2. Some scribes in the crowd saw that Jesus was claiming to forgive sins and considered that blaspheming for they realized He was making Himself out to be God if He was forgiving sins.  Jesus knew what was in their hearts as they reasoned silently. 

• How did He respond to their concern over this? vs. 8 - 11 -

3. What did the paralytic immediately do when Jesus told him to rise, take up his pallet, and go home? vs. 12 -

• How did the people respond to this miracle? vs. 12 -

4.  Jesus went out again by the seashore and taught the multitude as they came out to Him.  As He passed by, He saw a man named Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting in the tax office. 

• What did Jesus ask Levi to do? vs. 14 -

Note:   We know that Matthew wrote an account of the Gospel of Jesus as well and we have lessons from the book he wrote for us.  Levi (Matthew) was a tax collector under Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galillee.  The tax collector's booth where Jesus found Levi was probably a toll booth on the major international road that went from Damascus through Capernaum to the Mediterranean coast and to Egypt.

5.  Jesus went to Matthew's home with His disciples to eat together.

• What kind of guests were there eating with Jesus and His disciples? vs. 15 -
• What did the scribes of the Pharisees say to the disciples of Jesus when they saw that Jesus dined with these type people? vs. 16 -
• When Jesus heard this, what was His answer to them? vs. 17 -

Ponder:   When was the last time you spent time with the lost in order to share with them and call them to follow Christ with you? Sometimes we are so involved in our church life that we don't get outside of the walls of the church to influence the world for the Christ we serve.

6. John the Baptist had disciples that followed and were taught by him.  The Pharisees had disciples that followed and were taught by them. 

• What exactly is a disciple?  Use a dictionary and/or concordance to give the definition and any Scriptures to explain what a disciple is: 

7.  The Pharisees knew that the disciples of John and the disciples that they had all did according to the law of Moses and went without food on fasts at various times.  They had observed that Jesus had not observed 'fasting' with His disciples that were following Him. 

• How did Jesus explain to them the reason His disciples were not fasting yet? vs. 19 - 20 -

8.  Jesus went on to say that no one puts a 'patch' of unshrunk cloth on an old garment.  What did He say would happen if the new was put on the old? vs. 21 -

Ponder:  What does He mean by this and why does He share it in connection with fasting according to the Law and when His disciples will finally fast?

9.  After this, Jesus said that no one puts new wine into old wineskins.  What happens if they do that? vs. 22 -

Therefore, new wine must go in new wineskins.

Note: These were word pictures that Jesus was able to show that His way was going to be completely different and new from the way of the Old Covenant of the Law they had received through Moses.

10. What are we taught in the book of Hebrews about the New Covenant that Jesus brought to us as believers in Him?

• Read Hebrews Chapter 9. 

Write out a list of how the people worshiped under the Old Covenant and how that would change under the New Covenant in the blood that Jesus would shed on the cross for mankind.

• Old Covenant (Law) -
• New Covenant (Grace) -

10.  What are we encouraged to do as individual believers in the Lord through this new and living way of the New Covenant ?

• Hebrews 10:19-25 -

Back to Mark 2:

11.  The Pharisees challenged Jesus saying that His disciples were breaking the law of Moses by picking heads of grain on the Sabbath day.  Jesus explained to them that because they were hungry and needed food, they were within the law to do so.   He reminded them that David and his men did the same thing when they were hungry and ate consecrated bread meant only for the priests.  

It was lawful to do 'good' and to 'save life' on the Sabbath, so David and the disciples were currently following the law of God. 

• What did Jesus want them to learn in regard to the Sabbath Day? vs. 27-28 -

Review & Reflect:  Jesus forgave sin in the paralytic ... Jesus ate with the tax gatherers and sinners ... Jesus did not have His disciples fast while they were with Him, but said they would after He left ... when they had the new wine to put in the new wineskins or rather the Holy Spirit to indwell their new life as a believer in Him ... and Jesus allowed His disciples to eat when they were hungry on the Sabbath Day.  Jesus walked in the newness of the Spirit and not the oldness of the letter of the Law.

12. How does the newness of the Spirit in us set us free from the law?

• Romans 8:1-6

Application: 

• Do we care enough for our loved ones to do what it takes to help them find their way to Jesus? 
• Do we care enough for the people in our world that are sinners to eat with them and share our Lord with them?
• Have we been born again so that we are new creations in Christ able to carry the new wine of His Spirit within us?  If you are not sure, make sure by asking those who know Him how you can be sure of your salvation. 
• Are you honoring Jesus as the Lord of all, including the Sabbath?  According to the apostle Paul, how should we handle the special days of the law? Read Romans 14:4-10 -

 

Your summary and prayer today:

 

 

 

Written by B LeMoine for Heart & Home Bible Fellowship짤 with permission to use on RTB websites only. For personal or ministry related use, please email Brenda for permission and conditions.