Mark 2:7

2:7 “Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! ¹  Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Mark 6:47

6:47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land.

Mark 10:18

10:18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? ²  No one is good except God alone.

Mark 14:6

14:6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a good service for me.

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¹ sn Blaspheming meant to say something that dishonored God. To claim divine prerogatives or claim to speak for God when one really does not would be such an act of offense. The remark raised directly the issue of the nature of Jesus’ ministry.

² sn Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the young man to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The following statement No one is good except God alone seems to point the man in the direction of Jesus’ essential nature and the demands which logically follow on the man for having said it.