Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Mark 2: can we recognize YHWH in earth?

Some people say that Jesus never saw himself as YHWH. Really?

1-5 After a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and word got around that he was back home. A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. When they weren’t able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, “Son, I forgive your sins.”
6-7 Some religion scholars sitting there started whispering among themselves, “He can’t talk that way! That’s blasphemy! God and only God can forgive sins.”

The religion scholars were right. Only God can forgive the (generic) sins of a person. Jesus made it very clear: He has authority to forgive sins. This is a very strong statement, one that we believe or we reject, there's no middle ground. I believe he has authority to forgive my sins too.

In the same chapter, the disciples of Jesus were accused of breaking the Sabbath. Jesus answered:

27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath.”

Jesus didn't agree that the Pharisees had authority to say what is to break the Sabbath or not. He said that He is the Kurios, the Adonai even of the Sabbath. Jesus has the authority over the Sabbath, over the Jewish tradition of what it means to keep the Sabbath. Isn't it a strong statement? How could a Pharisee agree with Jesus? Wasn't it necessary to believe that YHWH came to earth?

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