Bible Strands
Mark 2:11
“I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the paralyzed man directly after declaring his authority to forgive sins on earth. The command is issued immediately following the declaration in Mark 2:10 and is met with immediate obedience in Mark 2:12.
The words — The imperative ἔγειρε (egeire) commands the man to "do arise," while ἆρον (aron) orders him to "do take up" the κράβαττὴν (krabatton), or "mat." These verbs frame the physical action that validates the preceding spiritual declaration.
The thread — The identical command structure appears in John 5:8 when Jesus tells another paralytic to "Get up, pick up your mat, and walk." A related principle regarding the life-giving power of divine words rather than physical means appears in John 6:63.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate physical compliance as the visible proof of Jesus' claimed authority. The reader is asked to recognize that divine power operates through direct commands that produce instantaneous results.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
Cross-references
- Mark 1:41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”
- John 5:8 Then Jesus told him, “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.”
- John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.