Jesus’ early conflicts with the scribes and Pharisees culminate in this section. In particular, controversies involving food: whom he eats with (tax collectors and sinners), when he eats or doesn’t eat (not…

Jesus constantly surprises. He teaches with authority (1:22), commands with power (1:27), touches the unclean (1:41), and even exercises the divine prerogative to forgive sins (2:10). So far what he has been…