Part 7 of Jesus in Action: The Gospel of Mark – There are plenty of controversial figures in our day, but none as controversial as Jesus. What he did and said about himself shatters all our comfortable categories, as he asserts an authority for himself that is likened to that of God alone. This necessarily creates conflict with the existing authorities, including our own.

Five Controversy Stories—

1. The Authority to Forgive Sins (2:1-12)

           “But that you may know

                                   that the Son of Man has authority on earth

                                                                   to forgive sins . . . .”

 The Calling of Sinners (2:13-17)

           “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 III. The Presence of the Bridegroom (2:18-22)

         “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast

                                                while he is with them?”

 Picking Grain on the Sabbath (2:23-27)

           “So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

 Healing on the Sabbath (3:1-5)

           “Which is lawful on the Sabbath:

                                    to do good or to do evil,

                                                to save life or to kill?”

 The Verdict—“Then the Pharisees went out

                             and began to plot with the Herodians

                                                           how they might kill Jesus.”

 God’s King has arrived!  Will you submit to his authority?