In Mark 2, Jesus had just returned home to Capernaum and the people were excited to learn from his teaching. The place where he was staying (probably Peter’s house) was so filled with visitors that no one could get in to see Jesus. How exciting it must have been to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him. What an example of faith the four men and paralyzed man had to have had to cut a hole in the roof of Peter’s house in order get to see Jesus. Jesus used their faith as an example for the religious teachers (Pharisees) that He truly was the “Son of Man” and was able to forgive sins and perform miracles.

Then Jesus went out to the lake where the crowds gathered again and where Jesus saw Levi in his tax collector’s booth. Jesus called Levi (Matthew) who was considered to be scum as one of his disciples. The Pharisees couldn’t understand why Jesus would want to associate with him and the other tax collectors since certainly they did not.

I find it comforting that Jesus wants a relationship with all of us, “sick people” and am thankful that I don’t have to worry about “living up” to standards set by others. Jesus continues to point out that the Jewish law had become so intolerable that it was impossible to really follow it. He used fasting and harvesting grain on the Sabbath as examples of how “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath”, and that He was Lord of all, even Lord over the Sabbath. How very comforting it is to know that having faith in Jesus is all He wants and that there are no other rules that I have to follow to have an eternal relationship with Him. Praise God!