2 Samuel 12:24-28 - The Lord loved him

12:24,25

David comforted his wife and made love to her. As a result a son was born, called Solomon. Solomon was to have great wisdom and was the one to build the temple. He was also to fall away badly, and foolishly to have seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. He took his father’s failings to the n’th degree. “And the Lord loved him”. This means that the Lord’s favour rested upon Solomon, it is not meant in a sentimental way. He was given an extra name, Jedidiah, which means “loved by the Lord”. Nathan the prophet who had previously come to pronounce judgement upon David, is now sent to David with a positive word. Although David had sinned and was under judgement, he was still loved by God.

12:26-28

Meanwhile, there was still the battle with the Ammonites to be won. Joab did do this and captured the royal citadel. He sent word to David that he had captured the water supply of Rabbah. This would mean that victory was near, for a city under siege could not last long without water. He invites David to come and lead the final capture of the city. Otherwise Joab himself would claim credit for the victory.

12:29-31

David did as Joab had advised and captured the city.  David also took the crown of the king of the city, along with much plunder. The people of the city were put to slave labour. He did similar things to all the Ammonite towns.

Mark 3:8-10 - He had healed many

3:8

People came from several regions. Idumea was the area of Edom, and had been forcibly converted to Judaism  in 129 BC. Herod the Great came from that region. Tyre and Sidon were Phoniecian cities, there some Jews who lived there. All these people came because they heard what Jesus was doing.

3:9,10

Jesus told his disciples to get a small boat ready, He was better able to preach from a boat, and it would avoid people pressing against Him. In 1986 a well-preserved first century fishing boat was found, it was 27 feet long, and 7.5 feet wide. Jesus had healed many, and people will always seek healing. The same is true even in our medical age. 

2 Samuel 12:18-23 - On the seventh day

12:18,19

On the seventh day the child died. Given David’s response over those seven days, his attendants were afraid to break the news to him. They were afraid of how David might respond to the death of the child. However, David knew something was up, and guessed what it was. So they had to tell him that the child was dead.

12:20-23

Much to the surprise of the attendants, David got up off the ground, washed himself, made himself presentable again, and went to the house of the Lord to worship Him. He then went to his own house and asked for food and ate. This reaction was not at all what the attendants were expecting. They asked David why he was reacting in this way. David explains that while the child was still alive there was still the possibility that God might let the child live. Now the child was dead, the matter was settled. David accepted the Lord’s judgement. This is in contrast to Saul, who never learnt anything.

Mark 3:5-7 - They began to plot how they might kill Jesus

3:5,6

Jesus was full of anger and distress. Now we should realise how deep the issue is. Jesus could have waited a day to heal the man, and there would have been no great loss to the man, instead He healed him there and then. He did this because the Pharisee’s understanding of the Law was so completely skewed. Their attitude made others suffer, and was a symptom of the sad state of their hearts. A similar sentiment can be felt towards many, particularly the “elite”, in today’s society. They cause pain and suffering for people in society, and their hearts are deeply corrupt, to their own harm as well. So Jesus heals the man.

In response the Pharisees leave and join with the Herodians in plotting how to kill Jesus. Instead of realising their own fault and repenting, they seek to kill the accuser. The Herodians were supporters of Herod, and so were effectively working for the Romans. The Pharisees hated the Romans, but their desire to get rid of Jesus overrode this.

3:7

As happened on a number of occasions, Jesus withdrew, this time to a lake. This may have just been to spend some time with His disciples, or it could have been in response to the plots of the Pharisees and Herodians. However, again as often happened, He was followed by large crowds. When Jesus is doing what Jesus does it will attract large crowds, and the same is true today. When we resort to gimmicks to attract people it is a sign that we are not really walking in step with the Spirit.

2 Samuel 12:15-17 - David pleaded with God

12:15

So the child is struck with an illness. Note that Bathsheba is referred to as “Uriah’s wife”, emphasising the evil that was done. Again, we may find it troubling that the child is struck, the child who was innocent. Though it is worth noting that those who are pro-abortion have little concern for the child victim. However, we should note that the emphasis in the text is on David, so we should perhaps focus on what God wants us to focus on.

12:16,17

David was attached to the child, and he pleaded with the Lord to relent and to spare the life of the child. David slept on the ground and refused to eat. The “elders of his household” tried to get him to eat and to get up, but David was not for listening.

2 Samuel 12:11-14 - I have sinned against the Lord

12:11,12

Trouble would come from within his own household, and we will soon read about how this would happen. His wives would be taken, and people would sleep with them in broad daylight. David had acted secretly, he would be sinned against openly. David would be humiliated.

12:13,14

David responds by saying “I have sinned against the Lord”. Saul also said a similar thing, but with Saul any “repentance” was at best skin deep. With David it was genuine. Psalm 51 was written in response to God convicting David of his sin. However, sin has consequences, and the son born to Bathsheba would die, because of the contempt David had for the Lord. Now we might ask why David’s son should die for David’s sin. It is more useful to realise that my actions, good and bad, have consequences for the lives of others, and this applies to all of us. Each one of us has  responsibility for how we live our lives, and it matters.

Mark 3:3,4 - To save life or to kill?

3:3

Jesus took the Pharisees (let’s just assume the “some” are Pharisees for the sake of brevity) head on. There was no attempt at compromise. Today our church leaders are all too ready to seek to avoid controversy, and sometimes even to capitulate completely to the world. So Jesus calls the man to stand up in front of everyone.

3:4

Jesus then confronted the Pharisees. They may have thought that Jesus was “on trial”, in truth they were the ones on trial. Jesus asks them a question, is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill? The Pharisees were unable to answer, for the answer was obvious.

2 Samuel 12:7-10 - You are the man!

12:7,8

Nathan now comes to the punchline, “You are the man!” What David had done was just like the actions of the rich man in the parable. David had all sorts of riches, including several wives. Uriah had one wife (and was therefore living according to God’s ways, unlike David in this regard), yet he had taken Uriah’s wife when he fancied her. And this was after God had looked after David, reducing him from the hand of Saul, and anointing him king over Israel. God had blessed David in all sorts of ways.

12:9,10

The Law instructed Kings not to have many wives, David had despised the word of the Lord, and so had despised God. David had arranged things so that Uriah would be killed, but God holds him directly responsible. We should note again that God quite clearly holds David responsible. Anyone who tries to argue that the Bible somehow holds Bathsheba responsible for tempting David is talking absolute nonsense. David’s actions would have severe consequences, both immediately and in the long term. “The sword shall never depart from your house”. Sin is a very serious business.

Mark 3:1,2 - So they watched Him closely

3:1

The sequence of disputes ends with another one concerning the Sabbath. Indeed, many of the disputes between Jesus and the religious leaders centred around the Sabbath. As noted earlier, the Sabbath was indeed very important and a crucial part of the Law, but the religious leaders did not understand its true significance and meaning. 

3:2

Jesus is in the synagogue and it is the Sabbath. There was also a man with a shrivelled hand. “Some” were looking for an excuse to accuse Jesus. “Some” are probably religious leaders, quite possibly Pharisees, even the ones involved in the previous clash. This time they are deliberately looking to find fault, rather than reacting to something that Jesus did. Would He heal on the Sabbath?

2 Samuel 12:4-6 - He must pay for that lamb

12:4

A traveller came to the rich man. The rich man wanted to provide hospitality for the traveller, but instead of taking one of his many sheep, he took the one ewe that belonged to the poor man. This was theft, it was also so wrong because the rich man had plenty of sheep of his own.

12:5,6

David rose up with indignation at the injustice of it all. He declared that the rich man should pay with his life. Then, realising that the death penalty did not apply to theft, said the man should pay for the lamb four times over. David had sinned, but his conscience was not completely dulled, he still knew the difference between right and wrong. So when he sees wrong, and being the king, he knows that something should be done about it.

Mark 2:27,28 - The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath

2:27,28

Jesus concludes the incident with two very profound statements. The first was that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”. God saw things very differently from man, and the Pharisees were looking down the wrong end of the telescope! We have a terrible tendency of getting things the wrong way round. A religious mindset will make the commands of God into burdens. There is, of course, the opposite danger which puts all the focus on us instead of on the Lord.

The second profound point is that “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath”. At least part of the meaning of this is that Jesus is God and so has the authority to override some of the details of the Law, or rather the interpretation of the Law. Jesus had a far better understanding of the Law than the Pharisees ever had. Jesus did, afterall, actually write the Law! However, I think there might be more of a link between the statement in 2:28 and the preceding one in 2:27 than this explanation seems to give.

2 Samuel 12:1-3 - The Lord sent Nathan to David

12:1

We now come to the denouement of David’s sin. We sometimes hear the phrase “speaking truth to power”, and it is usually a load of nonsense, but here we have a genuine example. “The Lord sent Nathan to David”. Nathan is going to confront David with the reality of what he has done, and the consequences that will follow. Sin blinds and we all need to be aware of that. That is one of the reasons we should read the Bible, listen to godly preachers and prophets. For the Holy Spirit through the word of God can take away the blindness.

12:2,3

Nathan uses a parable to convey the message. As we all know, Jesus did most of His teaching via parables. This indirect method allows someone to see the truth, before realising that it applies to them, whereas a direct attack may just result in a defensive reaction. The parable involves a rich man and a poor man, the wealth expressed in terms of the number of sheep and cattle each owned. The poor man had only one ewe, but the one ewe was very precious to him.

Mark 2:24-26 - Why are they doing what is unlawful?

2:24

The Pharisees objected to what the disciples were doing because it was the Sabbath. Now there are two important points to be aware of. The first is that the Sabbath was indeed a very important matter. It is one of the ten commandments. The prophets mention the Sabbath (e.g Isaiah 58:13; Ezek 20:16). Secondly the religious leaders had produced all sorts of detailed rules on what constituted work on the Sabbath. They clearly thought that what the disciples were doing was “work”.

2:25,26

Jesus reminds them of an incident involving David and his men when they took some of the consecrated bread. Under the Law only the priests could eat this bread (Lev 24:5-9), but the priest allowed David and his men to have some of the bread (1 Sam 21:1-6). So what is the point that Jesus is making here, for the incident referred to had nothing to do with the Sabbath? I think there are two possibilities. One is that the priest in David’s time allowed the Law to be broken because of the circumstances, so if a priest could do that, how much more did Jesus have the right to let His disciples eat the ears of corn? A second possibility is that Jesus is demonstrating that the Law was never intended to be applied in an absolutely fastidious manner.

2 Samuel 11:18-27 - The thing David had done displeased the Lord

11:18-21

Joab sent a messenger to David with news of the battle, and more specifically of the demise of Uriah. He carefully briefed the messenger, warning him of the likely response of David. An initial response of anger was to be expected, for putting men in the most dangerous position was not a wise thing to do. Moreover, past experience should have warned against it. The messenger was to say that Uriah the Hittite was dead, David would then be happy.

11:22-25

The messenger duly gave his account to David, finishing with the news that Uriah was dead. There is no record of David’s response prior to the news that Uriah was among the fallen. After the messenger has finished, David adopts a philosophical approach, essentially saying these things happen in war.  Joab is not to worry, but to press on with the attack.

11:26,27

Bathsheba heard the news and mourned for her husband. Note that Bathsheba is not actually named in this latter part of the account, the emphasis is on David. He takes Bathsheba as (yet another) wife. This may have been out of desire, or out of a feeling of responsibility. Whatever the case, a son was born. “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord”. God knew all that had been done, and He was displeased. This was the biggest problem that David faced.

Mark 2:22,23 - New wine

2:22

Old wineskins became hardened with age (people can be prone to the same phenomenon!). New wine would still be fermenting. So if new wine is poured into old wineskins there is a likelihood of the wineskin bursting and everything is lost. New wine needs to be poured into new wineskins. Likewise, the old religious order needed to change. A little more fasting, a more committed approach to keeping the Law was not good enough.

2:23

The final confrontation in this chapter (there is another one at the beginning of the next chapter) concerns the Sabbath, though I think this one may actually be more concerned about a general attitude towards the Law, see later comments. It was the Sabbath, and Jesus and his disciples were going through the cornfields, picking some ears of corn as they went along. The act of picking the ears of corn was not itself illegal (Deut 23:25).

2 Samuel 11:14-17 - Put Uriah where the fighting is fiercest

11:14,15

David is now getting desperate, and his sin leads him to even more callous and evil actions. He wrote to Joab and told him to put Uriah in the most dangerous position in the battle. But even that wasn’t enough for David. He told Joab that the other men were then to withdraw from Uriah, making him a sitting duck. We should remember that David has been honourable and god-fearing in so many of the things that he has done in the past, yet now he is acting like this, like any other pagan ruler. We should all guard our hearts very carefully, for sin can so easily get a hold of us.

11:16,17

As well as being evil, David’s plan was rather stupid. Sin will often do incredibly stupid things, just look at history, or reports in the news about the downfall of famous or powerful people. Or look at ourselves! David’s plan would have made it blatantly obvious what was happening. Joab realises all this, so he adopts the plan. So he puts Uriah and others in the most dangerous place, but does not have the others withdraw. This meant that not just Uriah, but other good men would also die.  And so it transpired, Uriah and others died that day.

Mark 2:20,21 - On that day they will fast

2:20

However, Jesus is not discounting fasting altogether, He is just saying that now was not the time.  A time would come when the bridegroom would be taken away. “Taken away” implies that this would happen by force, and Jesus is obliquely referring to the cross. “On that day they will fast”. This does not mean that Friday must be the day of fasting, but is more general than that.

2:21

We now get two more analogies, both saying that things need to change. One might think that a damaged wineskin could be repaired by sewing on some new cloth, but what would happen is that the tear would become worse. The system of Judaism needed more than an upgrade, it needed a complete transformation. Likewise, we need to be born again, some self-help will not do the trick.

2 Samuel 11:10-13 - Why didn't you go home?

11:10.11

David learns that his first plan has failed so far, so he asks Uriah why he didn’t go home, and so sleep with his wife, as David had hoped. Uriah replies by demonstrating his commitment to duty, and his respect for the Lord  and for the rest of the fighting men. These are qualities that David has singly failed to exhibit. The plans of evil men (and at this point David was an evil man) can be thwarted by men of integrity. Integrity is a vital quality for us all to nurture within ourselves.

11:12,13

David has not given up hope. He made Uriah stay an extra day. During that time, under the guise of hospitality, David had Uriah eat and drink with him, and made Uriah drink. His reasoning was that Uriah’s scruples would not now be as strong, and he would go and sleep with his wife. However, even drunk, Uriah held to his principles, and slept in the servants’ quarters. He did not go home.

Mark 2:18,19 - Why don't you fast?

2:18

The area of controversy relates to fasting. In all these matters the key point is that something new is happening, and that it requires new thinking. As Rom 12:2 says, we need to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. John’s disciples fasted, and the Pharisees fasted regularly, on Mondays and Thursdays. “Some people” asked why Jesus’ disciples did not fast. “Some people” is a rather general term, and implies that this time it is not the religious leaders who are asking.

2:19

Jesus does not answer directly, but uses a series of analogies in His response. The first one draws attention to Himself, by likening Himself to the bridegroom. Isaiah 62:5 refers to God as the bridegroom. It is totally out of place for the guests to fast when the bridegroom is with them, indeed it would be rude to do so.

2 Samuel 11:3-9 - I am pregnant

11:3-5

David sends someone to find out who the woman was. She is described as the daughter of Eliam and the wife of “Uriah the Hittite”. There is an Eliam mentioned in 2 Sam 23:34 in the list of David’s Mighty Men, and Uriah is also included there. David sent for Bathsheba, she came to him and he slept with her. As noted above, David is presented as the guilty partner, with Bathsheba being a passive partner. The “monthly uncleanness” was her period (Lev 15:19). The significance here is that there is no way she was pregnant by Uriah, it could only have been David. The reference to Bathsheba as “The woman” is consistent with David being the focus of the account, and the one whose guilt the Bible is concerned with. She finds that she is pregnant and sends word to David.

11:6-9

David is now in real trouble, the fact of his sin will now be found out, so he tries to cover up the matter. He does this first of all by recalling Uriah from the battle. Joab sends Uriah back. David meets Uriah and inquires as to how the battle is going (it was probably a siege). He then tells Uriah to go to his house. David’s hope is that Uriah will go home and sleep with his wife and so assume that the child is his. However, Uriah is a more honourable man than David and remained with the servants.

Mark 2:17 - I have come to call sinners

2:17

The Pharisees and other religious types had no idea of what God’s purposes were. We all need to be on our guard that we do not fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. Jesus then explained to them why He had come. It is the ill who need a doctor, in the same way it is sinners who need a saviour. Jesus came as that saviour, to save us from our sins. The righteous have no need of a saviour. Schnabel seems to say that Jesus is saying that He came first to save sinners, and the Pharisees were a lower priority and less need. If my understanding of what he is saying (p71) is correct then I think he is totally wrong. We are all sinners, and various things that Jesus says about the Pharisees show clearly that they were not the least bit righteous in God’s eyes. We need to recognise our sinfulness, our need of a saviour. We also need to recognise that Jesus is interested in saving many more sinners, ever, especially, those we might regard as beyond the pale. It is a very human reaction, one that we are all prone to, to regard some people as far worse than ourselves.

2 Samuel 11:1,2 - But David remained in Jerusalem

11:1

We now come to the most infamous of David’s sins and the start of his downfall. Joab was out with the army, but David remained in Jerusalem. There is a common opinion that David should have been out with the army instead of remaining in Jerusalem, and it was his staying in Jerusalem which gave him the opportunity to sin, “the devil finds work for idle hands” scenario. The commentary casts doubt on this assessment, saying that the army was involved in a long siege, and David staying at home was not necessarily a sin. However, the text does draw attention to the fact that it was “the time when kings go off to war”, so it would seem to imply that David should have been with the army.

11:2

One evening David was walking around the roof of the palace. This would have been a flat roof! The palace would have been higher than the other buildings, so it gave him a good view of the surrounding area. Included in this view was Bathsheba, who is described as being very beautiful. A few years ago I heard someone on Premier’s Unbelievable arguing that the Bible portrays Bathsheba as being guilty, or culpable, tempting David. I have to say that in all my years of reading the Bible (45 years) I had never even thought of such a view. Having heard the suggestion I still can see no evidence for it at all. The Bible quite clearly presents David as being guilty, and seriously so.

Mark 2:15,16 - Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?

2:15

Later Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house. And a collection of other tax collectors and sinners were there eating with Him. Many of these had followed Jesus. This could be following in the sense of just following to see what was going on, or it could be a sign of a deeper commitment. ESV has “He reclined at table”, rather than the NIV’s “Jesus was having dinner”, “reclined at table” implies that Jesus was a welcome guest and friendship.

2:16

“The teachers of the law who were Pharisees wondered why Jesus ate “with tax collectors and sinners”. There were two reasons (at least) for their concern. One was that by eating with this lot Jesus could well make Himself “unclean”, for there was no guarantee that they had kept to the Pharisees’ food and washing rules. Another possible reason is their having a very low view of “tax collectors and sinners”, and the very fact of mixing with these people was not something that should be done.

2 Samuel 10:13-19 - The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites

10:13-16

The battle went very well for Israel, with both the Arameans and the Ammonites fleeing at the sight of the Israeli armies. Joab did not destroy the enemy, but returned to Jerusalem. In the meantime, the Arameans regrouped ready to do battle again. They also called up more troops.

10:17-19

David heard of all this and this time he gathered all the troops together and led them into battle. The Arameans again formed their battle lines ready to fight David, and again they fled before Israel. David inflicted heavy losses upon them, including the commander of the army. Now seeing that they could not defeat Israel, the Arameans made peace with Israel and became subject to them. The Arameans were now afraid to help the Ammonites.

Mark 2:13,14 - Follow me

2:13

The next incident brings another controversy. Again Mark gives prominence to the fact that Jesus was teaching. When saw people He began to teach them. We are all blinded by lies to some extent or other, and part of the task of the church is to teach the truth. It is definitely not to affirm people in the lies that society has taught them.

2:14

However, the focus of this incident is Jesus reaching all people. Jesus sees “Levi son of Alphaeus”, also called Matthew (Mark 3:18; Matt 9:9). The Romans had a variety of taxes, and tax collectors were not popular, some things never change. Tax collectors were also known to skim off a proportion for themselves. However, Jesus called Levi to follow Him.

2 Samuel 10:7-12 - David sent Joab out

10:7,8

In response to the insult David sends Joab out with the entire army. David is getting older now, and though up to this point he was known as a warrior, he is now much less so, and in the next chapter this may be part of the reason for his downfall. So the Ammonites and their allies/hired mercenaries line up for battle.

10:9-12

Joab was a complex man and prone to be impetuous, but here we see him in a good light. He arranged his men in an orderly fashion. His best troops would be deployed against the Arameans. The rest were deployed against the Ammonites under the command of his brother Abishai. The two groups were to go and help each other if it proved necessary. Joab encourages his soldiers to be “strong in the Lord, and to fight for Israel and their families. He also knew that the outcome was ultimately in the hands of the Lord.

Mark 2:9-12 - Get up!

2:9

Now at this point was it reasonable for the teachers of the Law to deduce that Jesus was God? Maybe not, but Jesus now does something that should at least cause them to think, rather than react. He presents them with the question “Which is easier to say to this paralysed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say ‘Get up, take up your man and walk’?”. The first one is easier to say, for there is no immediate visible sign of someone’s sins having been forgiven, the second is quickly proven to be true or false.

2:10-12

Jesus then commands the man to get up, take his mat and go home, which of course the man does. Jesus has shown that He was not mouthing empty words. He also refers to Himself as the “Son of Man” for the first time in Mark. The term “son of man” can be taken in two ways. Ezekiel is frequently referred to as “son of man”, meaning that he is just a man. In Daniel 7:13 it is used in a messianic sense. Jesus deliberately uses the term ambiguously, maybe referring to both His deity and humanity.

2 Samuel 10:5,6 - They were greatly humiliated

10:5

David learnt of what had happened, He sent out messengers to the envoys, and told them to stay at Jericho until their beards had grown back. The problem with the clothes could be easily dealt with. David was seeking to spare the men further humiliation.

10:6

“When the Ammonites realised that they had become obnoxious to David”. One thinks that surely they realised this would be the effect of their actions, though we are all capable of doing foolish things without thinking through the likely consequences. Anyway, they hire various mercenaries ready to deal with Israel.

Mark 2:6-8 - Who can forgive sins but God alone?

2:6,7

Now only God can forgive sins. Maybe if you are the one sinned against then you can forgive the one who sinned against you, but no one but God can forgive someone’s sins against someone else, indeed forgive all the sins someone has ever committed. So they accuse Jesus of blaspheming. This is a constant feature of the gospels, that Jesus is repeatedly acting as if He was God, which, of course, he was. There are those who seek to claim that the deity of Christ was an idea that slowly developed over time. Such ideas are utterly ludicrous. The gospels make no sense whatsoever unless Jesus was God. By the way, the corollary of all this is that Jesus does have the authority to forgive our sins, every single one of them.

2:8

Jesus knew what the teachers of the Law were thinking. Note that the teachers of the Law had not actually said anything at that point, but had merely thought it. So Jesus asks them “why are you thinking these things?” In forgiving the man his sins Jesus knew what He was doing. The teachers of the Law were correct in saying that only God can forgive sins. The correct conclusion to have drawn was that Jesus was God, the incorrect conclusion was that Jesus was blaspheming. 

2 Samuel 10:1-4 - I will show kindness

10:1,2

From David’s success and generally good behaviour we are soon going to enter a phase focusing on David’s failures. This chapter represents a transition from success to failure. 1 Sam 11 records Saul rescuing the city of Jabesh from Nahash the Ammonite. Nahash has now died and has been succeeded by his son Hanun.  As was a custom in those days, David sent a delegation to Hanun to express his sympathy, much as world leaders today send messages of condolence when another world leader dies.

10:3,4

David’s kindness was rebuffed by the Ammonites/  Hanun sought advice from his commanders, and they were very distrusting of David. They claimed that rather than showing respect by sending his envoys, he had sent them in order to spy out the land in preparation for an attack. So they seized the envoys, cut off half of each man’s beard, and also cut off their garments at the buttocks, then sent them away. These actions were highly disrespectful, and were intended to shame the envoys.

Mark 2:3-5 - Your sins are forgiven

2:3,4

Some men brought a paralysed man. The man, unable to walk, was carried there by his four friends.  They had brought the man in order for him to be physically healed., and were so desperate for this to happen that they were not perturbed by  the lack of accessibility. So they went up to the roof and dug a hole in it so that they could lower him down through the hole.

2:5

“When Jesus saw their faith”. Note that the faith the men had was for Jesus to heal the man, it was not for Jesus to forgive his sins. Their faith was that Jesus could do something about their friend's physical condition. People will often come to Jesus for less than doctrinally perfect reasons! Jesus, however, tells the man “Son, your sins are forgiven”. Why does He do this? It could be because sickness was often associated with sin, and the man may have thought his condition was as a result of his sin. Or it could be that being forgiven for our sins is actually more important than being physically healed. 

2 Samuel 9:11-13 - Like one of the king's sons

9:11-13

Ziba agrees to David’s command. “So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.” We can perhaps see in Mephibosheth a picture of how God treats us. We are invited to eat at His table as one of His sons. Mephibosheth had a son of his own, called Mika. All of Ziba’s household served Mephibosheth. The chapter finishes with a reminder that Mephibosheth was lame in both feet.

Mark 2:1,2 - There was no room left

2:1

We now get a series of incidents that all involve Jesus in some sort of controversy. The first one is the paralysed man being dropped through the roof. We tend to focus on the way the friends got the man into the house and his healing, but the focus of the text is actually on Jesus’ right to forgive sins.

2:2

Jesus returned to Capernaum, and news that hHe had returned home got around so crowds gathered around the house  There was no room left at all and Jesus “preached the word to them”. So  again we see the importance that Jesus, and Mark, placed on preaching.

2 Samuel 9:4-10 - Mephibosheth!

9:4-7

David learns where the son is and had him brought up to Jerusalem from Lo Debar. The son was called Mephibosheth. He bowed before David, thus paying him homage. Mephibosheth was naturally nervous, probably fearing that he might be for the chop. David tells him not to be afraid. He had not brought him up to inflict vengeance, but to show kindness to him. In particular, David would restore to him all the land that belonged to Saul, and he would always be allowed to eat at David’s table.

9:8-10

Mephibosheth was surprised, considering himself to be totally unworthy of all this. David then calls Ziba, tells him what he has done. Ziba and his family are instructed to farm the land that Mephibosheth has just received. This would be a continuation of Ziba’s service to Saul. All of Ziba’s family were to be involved in this.

Mark 1:43-45 - See that you don't tell anyone

1:43,44

Jesus sent the man away, and told him not to tell anyone. The man had a choice of whether or not to obey Jesus, it seems that the demons did not. The man had also to go to the priests and to present the sacrifices that the Law required. Jesus was not rebelling against the Law, but fulfilling it (Matt 5:17-20). A lot of the religious teaching about the Law was man’s interpretation, rather than God’s intention.

1:45

The man did not obey Jesus, but freely told everyone he could about what had happened. It also seems that he did not present himself to the priests. Jesus therefore had to restrict Himself to lonely places, but even that did not stop people coming to Him. Jesus healed and freed people out of compassion and as a demonstration of who He was and the message of the gospel. Realising who He was and understanding the message of the gospel were what Jesus wanted people to grasp above all else.

2 Samuel 9:1-3 - Is there anyone left of the house of Saul?

9:1

We now come to a personal interaction of David with Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. The incident demonstrates the righteousness and mercy of David, and his continued honouring of Jonathan. The account starts with David enquiring as to whether or not there was anyone left in Saul’s household. David wanted to continue to show kindness to the house of Saul for Jonathan’s sake. 

9:2,3

Saul had a servant called Ziba who was continuing to look after the house of Saul. So he was summoned to meet David. David asks him if there are any survivors of the house of Saul, fearing that they may have all died as a result of the conflict. Ziba replies that there was still a son of Jonathan, and states that this son was lame in both feet. The significance of the son being lame is that he could not go out to fight with the army, so could not lead a nation, and therefore was no threat to David’s kingdom.

Mark 1:40-42 - The leprosy left him

1:40

Leprosy as used in the Bible covered a range of skin diseases, and was not limited to our current medical definition of leprosy. Lepers were outcasts, largely because of the risk of infection spreading. The leper here comes and kneels before Jesus. The leper’s words “if you are willing” are not so much expressing a lack of faith, but are said out of respect. He did not presume that Jesus had to heal him.

1:41,42

NIV has “Jesus was indignant”, ESV has “moved with pity”. Whatever the case, Jesus was deeply moved, and he “reached out his hand and touched the man”. This was something that you did not do, for it would make you unclean. Jesus had compassion on the man, and told the man that He was “willing”. “Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed”.