Arise Take Up Your Bed - Mark 2:11

Mark wrote how Jesus said to a “paralytic man” brought to him, “Son, your sins be forgiven you”, and “scribes” were questioning His statement. When Jesus knew what they were asking, He answered them, “that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (he said to the sick of the palsy,)”, and in chapter two and verse eleven of his book, Mark shares how Jesus instructed the paralytic man to, “Arise, and take up your bed” where we read:

I say unto you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.

The verse reads, “I say unto you, Arise, and take up your bed, ...” Mark began with the words, “I say unto you” which means “Jesus Himself utters, declares and proclaims to the man sick of the palsy”, “Arise” or “be aroused, rise and lift yourself up”, “and take up your bed” which means “and elevate, carry off and bear the man's own pallet or camp bed which is rather simple and holds only one person”. Mark shared how Jesus told the “paralytic man” to “get up” and carry his “bed”.

The verse continues, “... and go your way into your house.” Mark added the words, “and go your way” which means “and withdraw, depart and go back” “into your house” or “to the paralytic man's home and abode”. Mark shared how Jesus instructed the “man sick with the palsy” to “depart” to his own home.

When we think through Mark's words in this verse, we see how Jesus demonstrated physically His “power” over maladies as proof that He has “strength” to “forgive sins” as well. God showed His authority over physical needs through His Son Jesus, and when a person humbles themselves to believe and trust in Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, he cures their greatest “spiritual need” which is the “forgiveness” of sins.

Next time Mark shares how the man sick of the palsy, “immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".