Four Whys

Mark structured what later became the second chapter of his gospel around four questions, all of which begin with the word “Why?” (The other synoptics contain much of the same material, but not within a single chapter.) Two of these queries came from scribes, a third from the Pharisees, and another from the people. As we might expect, three of the four were challenges to the Lord’s authority; the other may have been simple curiosity.

In one memorable instance, they never even got to ask the question. Jesus correctly discerned what they were thinking and answered it before they could express it.

1/ Why Does This Man Speak Like That?

Jesus had just publicly forgiven the sins of a paralytic, and the scribes were incensed. In their hearts they asked, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus asked them a simple, logical question in return: “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” He wasn’t looking for an answer and didn’t receive one. Instead, he ended the exchange by healing the paralytic on the spot, to the amazement of all in the house. In doing so, he stated his purpose plainly: “that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”. According to the scribes’ own standard, he had just demonstrated his deity, and most certainly his authority.

2/ Why Does He Eat with Tax Collectors and Sinners?

Having just called a tax collector to follow him, and proceeding to his house for dinner, Jesus was again accosted by the scribes, who asked, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” This time at least they got the question out, though they asked the wrong people. Perhaps his disciples knew the answer, but Jesus was the one who gave it: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” In doing so, he established his mission: to call those who knew they needed to help and who would respond as readily as the tax collector he called, and who became his disciple.

3/ Why Don’t Your Disciples Fast?

Observing that Jesus and his disciples were eating in the middle of a fast, bystanders inquired, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus responded in three short parables that they may or may not have understood. First, he answers their question while predicting his own death. “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.” He presents himself to them as a bridegroom, indicating that his relationship with his disciples is one of intimacy and celebration. Secondly, he offers the figures of a new piece of cloth sewn into an old garment and new wine poured into old wineskins. Both are unsuitable combinations, and in describing Judaism in these ways, he foretold its imminent demise.

4/ Why Are They Doing What is Not Lawful on the Sabbath?

This one appears to have happened at a different time, but Mark has obviously grouped it with the others intentionally. One Sabbath the Lord Jesus and his disciples were passing through the grain fields and the hungry disciples plucked and ate the heads of grain. The Pharisees immediately drew attention to the fact that they were breaking the law, at least as the Pharisees understood it. Jesus could have pointed out their faulty interpretation, but instead referred them right back to the Old Testament scriptures they purported to revere in order to show them that the Law of Moses was not a cudgel to beat others with. They had entirely misunderstood the purpose for which God had given a day of rest to his people. In doing so, he declared himself lord of the Sabbath.

Queries and Accusations

In each of these instances, we see that the Lord not only indulged the queries of the people and the accusations and barbs of his enemies, he actively courted them. His miracles displayed his authority while his words declared it plainly. He is the Son of Man, the forgiver of sins, the great physician, the caller of disciples, the bridegroom who would shortly be taken away, the new wine that would burst the old wineskins, the lord of the Sabbath and so much more. The miracles allowed believing bystanders to infer that he acted under the authority of God himself, but his words made explicit that he was no mere prophet but rather the center of all God’s plans and purposes throughout history.

Most amazingly to me, he used the perplexity and antagonism of others to bring it out.