Mark 2:10

2:10 But so that you may know ¹  that the Son of Man ²  has authority on earth to forgive sins,” – he said to the paralytic ³  –

Mark 3:22

3:22 The experts in the law ⁴  who came down from Jerusalem ⁵  said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” ⁶  and, “By the ruler ⁷  of demons he casts out demons.”

Mark 3:29

3:29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” ⁸ 

Mark 5:23

5:23 He asked him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.”

Mark 11:3

11:3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it ⁹  and will send it back here soon.’”

¹ sn Now Jesus put the two actions together. The walking of the man would be proof (so that you may know) that his sins were forgiven and that God had worked through Jesus (i.e., the Son of Man).

² sn The term Son of Man, which is a title in Greek, comes from a pictorial description in Dan 7:13 of one “like a son of man” (i.e., a human being). It is Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself. Jesus did not reveal the background of the term here, which mixes human and divine imagery as the man in Daniel rides a cloud, something only God does. He just used it. It also could be an idiom in Aramaic meaning either “some person” or “me.” So there is a little ambiguity in its use here, since its origin is not clear at this point. However, the action makes it clear that Jesus used it to refer to himself here.

³ sn Jesus did not finish his sentence with words but with action, that is, healing the paralytic with an accompanying pronouncement to him directly.

⁴ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁶ tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”

⁷ tn Or “prince.”

⁷ sn Is guilty of an eternal sin. This passage has troubled many people, who have wondered whether or not they have committed this eternal sin. Three things must be kept in mind: (1) the nature of the sin is to ascribe what is the obvious work of the Holy Spirit (e.g., releasing people from Satan’s power) to Satan himself; (2) it is not simply a momentary doubt or sinful attitude, but is indeed a settled condition which opposes the Spirit’s work, as typified by the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; and (3) a person who is concerned about it has probably never committed this sin, for those who commit it here (i.e., the religious leaders) are not in the least concerned about Jesus’ warning. On this last point see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:645-46.

¹⁰ sn The custom called angaria allowed the impressment of animals for service to a significant figure.