Not Everybody Likes Jesus

As we move into Mark chapter 2, it has become clear that Jesus’ messianic ministry is not
only attracting the poor and suffering throughout the whole region, but Jesus is becoming the subject of intense controversy and conflict with the Pharisees and scribes in the area, who had come to see Jesus not as Israel’s Messiah, sent by God, but as a threat to their own power and prestige. In fact, the next five incidents recorded by Mark (which takes us from Mark 2:1-3:6) indicate that Jesus and his disciples were being constantly challenged directly or indirectly by the Jewish religious authorities.