What Does Mark 2:2 Mean?

And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.

Mark 2:2(NASB)

Verse of the Day

At the beginning of Mark, chapter 2, we read that Jesus had returned to Capernaum, after having completed an exhaustive preaching tour throughout the Galilean region. For days, He had not only been preaching and teaching the gospel of the kingdom, but had cast out many demons and healed numerous people that were sick with diverse diseases.

However, soon after Jesus returned to His home base at Capernaum, following this strenuous teaching tour, we discover that people suddenly realised that Jesus was back in their village again.. and soon the message was spread abroad, that the Lord Jesus had returned to Capernaum!

Once the people knew He was in the house, they quickly gathered together and pushed inside, so that there was no longer any room left in the house - not even near the door! Jesus naturally started speaking to them the word of life, and proclaiming the good news of the gospel of God and the coming kingdom, for He knew that they were like sheep without a shepherd.

It was likely that the house in question was Peter's home, where he lived with his wife and mother in law.. and as was the custom in those days, many uninvited guests would stream, unhindered, into a person's home, if there was someone there that they wanted to meet.

Jesus did not have much time to recuperate from his arduous preaching assignment before He was surrounded by vast numbers of people who wanted to see Him, and who brought the sick and lame so that they could be healed, and so we read, "Jesus, having returned to Capernaum, after some days - it was rumoured about - that He was in the house."

This is the precursor to the healing of the paralytic man whose four friends were so desperate to bring him to Jesus for healing, that they joined the thronging crowds and even clambered up onto the roof of the house, in order to bring this man to Jesus. They carried his bed onto the roof and let this paralysed man down into the courtyard below, so that the Son of God could heal his body and forgive his sins.

When one is weary and exhausted, following some strenuous project, it is generally rewarded with a time of recuperation and relaxation, but Christ had little time to recover from His demanding and difficult preaching tour of Galilee.. before the next call on His strength began.

Sadly, most of the short-sighted people in Capernaum were simply looking for some temporary physical relief, and were paying little attention to their spiritual poverty, their need of salvation, or their eternal destiny, while the blind, jealous, Jewish leaders foolishly overlooked the presence of the incarnate God, Who was living in their midst - as they sought to find anything that would discredit His important, heavenly-ordained ministry, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

May we seek to imitate our precious Saviour, and gather the God-given strength we need for each day from the indwelling Holy Spirit - through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving. And may we work tirelessly while it is still day - for the night is fast approaching, when no man will be able to work.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Jesus, Who during His earthly life, placed the needs of others before His own comfort, and gathered the strength He needed to finish the work that You ordained for Him to do, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to Your praise and glory. May I live as Jesus lived, in total dependence upon You and in submission to the Holy Spirit, knowing that Your grace is sufficient for all the work that You have prepared for me to do. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.

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