Mark 2

Power struggles are everywhere and in every culture and time.  "Teachers of the law" were threatened by Jesus.  Instead of looking at the majorily marvelous miracles He was doing, they were critical and looked at the law.  This is Legalism at it's best.  Legalism occurs when the ritual is more important than who it glorifies.  Jesus healed a paralyzed man and the faith of his friends was rewarded...they were the ones who lowered the paralyzed man down through the roof.....you don't see the paralyzed man asking his friends to do it.  Did you catch the hint of the supernatural in verse 8 were it says, Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking in their hearts....."   Remember, God knows everything.  You can keep nothing hidden from Him.

Jesus addresses fasting.....the Pharisees were fasting twice in a week so that people would see how "religious" they were.  It was not so that God's will would be more apparent to them.  Jesus calls them out on it.

The chapter concludes with the Pharisees accusing Jesus of breaking the law when his disciples pick wheat (remember in the book of Ruth how it was the law to leave some of the harvest so that the poor people could "glean").   The actual law was that crops could not be harvested on the Sabbath.....I don't believe Jesus was harvesting.....He even brought up when David and his men ate the consecrated bread that only the preists could eat.....Jesus pointed out how ridiculous the law was when applied this way and that was not the laws intent.  Sabbath laws are not more important than the Sabbath..

Mark is the author of this book.  He was not one of the original disciples and accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey.   Mark is all about Jesus preaching and leaves out the birth of Christ.