Mark 2:7 | Exposing the False Trinity Doctrine

The King James Version (KJV) is mostly used in these lessons. Click here to access the KJV online.

Who can forgive sins but G-d [Yahuwah] alone?
 

Trinitarian Claim

In this passage, the Pharisees declare that only G-d [Yahuwah] can forgive sins. Yahushua forgives sins and so Trinitarians claim he must therefore be G-d [Yahuwah] in agreement with the Pharisees.

The Problem with the Claim

Trinitarians Endorse the Error of the Pharisees

The very point of the narrative is that Yahushua had proved the Pharisees were wrong. The passage tells us that Yahushua proved the Pharisees were wrong and Yahuwah had given authority to forgive sins to a man named Yahushua. By endorsing the error of the Pharisees, Trinitarians are betraying their own blindness.

Analysis of the Facts

The Point of the Narrative

Let's note what Yahushua says in the same account written by the hand of Matthew:

But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, take up your bed and go home. (Matthew 9:6).

Carefully regard what Yahushua said here. The Pharisees charge that only Yahuwah can forgive sins. But Yahushua tells them that the Son of man has authority to forgive sins on earth and he is healing the paralytic to prove to these Pharisees with this sign that he has been given this authority. He asks, "Which is easier?" Is it easier to do a miracle or forgive a man's sins? We are to obviously conclude it is easier to forgive this man his sins. So Yahushua does the more difficult thing, a miracle, to prove that he has the authority to do the easier thing, forgive sins. By doing this miracle, he shows Yahuwah had given him the authority to do such a miracle and if he had this greater authority it shows he also had the authority to forgive sins. Note also how we are told in Scripture that it was G-d the Father [Yahuwah] abiding in Yahushua who did the works (Jn 14:10; Acts 2:22). A man was given this authority and Yahushua is demonstrating to the Pharisees that they were completely incorrect to insist that only Yahuwah can forgive sins. Trinitarians should take note.

Now let us carefully note what Matthew goes on to say:

When the crowds saw it, they were awestruck, and they glorified G-d [Yahuwah], who had given such authority to men. (Matthew 9:8).

And there we have the truth of the matter. Yahuwah had given the authority to forgive sins to Yahushua.

The crowds were quite amazed by the fact that Yahuwah had given such authority to men to forgive sins. Yahushua had proven the Pharisees were completely wrong. Notice how we are told that Yahuwah gave this authority to men, clearly showing us that Yahushua as a man was given this authority by his G-d. So, what more do we need to say here? The Trinitarian abuse of Mark 2:7 to promote their doctrine is an absolutely apalling example of their blindness and their errors. The passage demonstrates the Pharisaical notion that only Yahuwah could forgive sins was wrong and Matthew writes that the crowds were amazed because Yahuwah had given such authority to forgive sins to men. We should also take note here that Yahuwah is distinguished from the man Yahushua in this passage.

Perhaps, one might like to invent a little story here that the crowds didn't realize Yahushua was G-d [Yahuwah] yet. But that wouldn't make any difference at all. Matthew wrote this passage under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and he said that Yahuwah had indeed given such authority to men, and the man who had been given this authority, happened to be Yahushua the Nazarene.

And behold, they brought to him a paralytic, lying on his bed, and when Yahushua saw their faith he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven." And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming. [Who can forgive sins but G-d alone?]" But Yahushua, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, "Rise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins," he then said to the paralytic, "Rise, take up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were in awe, and they glorified G-d [Yahuwah] who had given such authority to MEN." (Matthew 9:2-8; Mk 2:7)

Rather than supporting the Trinitarian claim, the passage intentionally refutes their claim. It militates heavily against Trinitarianism because it illustrates that Yahuwah gave authority to men in the giving of this authority to the man Yahushua. It not only distinguishes Yahuwah from the man Yahushua but it also shows us that if Yahushua was G-d [Yahuwah], why would he need to be given this authority from Yahuwah? But here we see Yahuwah had given Yahushua the Nazarene that authority.

The Trinitarian apologetic is once again is shown to be extremely disingenuous. The passages themselves tell us that the reason Yahushua was forgiving this man's sins was that he as a man who was given authority to do so by Yahuwah, not because he was "G-d [Yahuwah]," and so the Trinitarian finds himself not serving the teaching of Yahushua but falling down flat on the side of the Pharisees.

Yahushua gives this same authority to his apostles. After he rose from the dead, he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and told them that if they forgave the sins of any they were forgiven and if they retained the sins of any they were retained (John 20:22-23). Before Yahushua said this he said, "As the Father sent me, I also send you" and breathed the Spirit into them. When Yahushua was baptized at the Jordan, he was anointed in the Spirit and given this authority in the same way as he gave it to the Apostles. This is why they baptized in the name of Yahushua for the forgiveness of sins. As servants of their Lord, they had been given authority to do these things in the name of Yahushua by the Spirit he gave them just as Yahushua did these things in the name of his G-d and Father [Yahuwah]. As he himself said on this occasion, "Just as the Father sent me, I now send you."

The teaching in this gospel is that Yahuwah had given authority to forgive sins to men. To prove he had been given this authority by Yahuwah, he asked the Pharisees which was greater, to forgive sins, or to heal a crippled man. It was obviously easier to forgive sins. By showing he had the authority to do something greater than forgive sins, a healing miracle, Yahushua proved he had been given the authority to do the lesser thing: forgive sins. And so Yahushua healed a paralyzed man to prove he was given the authority to forgive sins. We are plainly told by Peter that Yahuwah had anointed him with such authority (Acts 2:22; 10:38; cf. Luke 4:18). Who can forgive sins but G-d [Yahuwah] alone? As the narrative says, Yahuwah had given such authority to men. The man Yahushua was given that authority by Yahuwah at the Jordan when his G-d anointed him in the Spirit to act in His name.

In the Name of the Father

Yahuwah sent Yahushua in His name which means He sent Yahushua to act on His behalf (John 5:43). He spoke the words of the Father (Jn 14:10) and the works he did were from the Father (Jn 10:25,32,37-38; 14:10-11). He was the Father's word. He only did what he saw the Father doing (Jn 5:19,30). Ultimately, it was Yahuwah who forgave the paralytic's sins, but not Yahuwah alone. It was Yahuwah by means of his word, the man Yahushua of Nazareth.

Conclusion

The very point of this narrative is to demonstrate that Yahuwah had given authority to a man, the man Yahushua, to forgive sins. And Yahushua demonstrates to the Pharisees that he had been given this authority by doing the greater miracle, healing the paralytic. By doing the greater sign, he proved he also had the authority to do the lesser sign, forgive sins. The point of this account is that Yahuwah had given the authority to forgive sins to men. And so having insisted that only Yahuwah could forgive sins, Yahushua had proven the Pharisees were blindly wrong. And so are Trinitarians who stand with them.

It was not Yahuwah ALONE that forgave sins. G-d the Father [Yahuwah] authorized this man to forgive sins in His name. Yahushua only did what he saw the Father doing and he only spoke what the Father told him to say (Jn 12:49-50).

"They glorified G-d [Yahuwah], who had given such authority to men."

• https://www.worldslastchance.com/topical-biblical-studies/anti-trinitarian-studies
• https://www.angelfire.com/space/thegospeltruth/TTD/verses/mark2_7.html