The Power to Heal (Mark 2:1–17)
Notes
Transcript
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CPT: Jesus came to heal people from their sins.
Purpose: To urge the church towards an outward evangelistic focus.
CPS: Jesus came to heal people from their sins.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves your humility.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves your urgency.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves your awe.
Introduction
Attention
We live in a world that is very distracted. There is a lot of noise, a lot of information that is constantly being thrown at us. We certainly don’t have a lack of information. We have so many voices giving us so much information that it’s overwhelming.
Everyone wants you to believe that their topic, their thing, is urgent. But what happens is that, when there’s one voice telling you that something is urgent, and another voice telling you that something is urgent, ultimately at the end of the day, nothing seems really urgent.
I think what’s happened is that, because of all of the information, all of the noise, people have lost a sense of what truly matters, what’s truly urgent in their lives. People get wrapped up in all of the temporary issues, but their souls are dark. Their souls are corrupted and broken. Their souls need the healing power of Jesus Christ.
I’ll give you an example of all the information. This week, we had a spy balloon floating over the country, and they had to shoot it down with a rocket. And if you weren’t paying attention to that, there we a lot of talk about classified documents showing up everywhere, and I started to look for them in my house. If it wasn’t that, maybe you were on Facebook seeing that your friends are hanging out in all these places, and you wondered why you weren’t doing the same thing? You felt like your life was lonely. Or if it wasn’t that, maybe you’re into football, and saw that Tom Brady retired for the second or third time, whatever it is. Or maybe your favorite show came on Netflix or Hulu or whatever you have, and you started to binge watch.
There isn’t something necessarily wrong with each of these pieces of information, but when all of these pieces of information start to crowd up your mental space and take you away from what’s truly important, what truly matters, there’s a problem.
Sometimes we need to step back and look at the things that we consider important. How can we as a church, as a body of believers, keep our eyes on what truly matters? We will look at that as we continue our series in the Gospel of Mark. Turn to Mark 2, starting in verse 1.
Scripture Reading
1 When he entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
2 So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word to them.
3 They came to him bringing a paralytic, carried by four of them.
4 Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
5 Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts:
7 “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Right away Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’?
10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralytic—
11 “I tell you: get up, take your mat, and go home.”
12 Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
13 Jesus went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.
14 Then, passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.
15 While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him.
16 When the scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Pray
In these verses, we are seeing the power of Jesus to heal people from their sin. There are a couple of things we see about Jesus’ power to heal people.
First,
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves our humility.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves our humility.
We will start with the latter half of these verses. Jesus is teaching near the Sea of Galilee. What’s beautiful in these verses is Jesus is teaching in both instances, in the healing of the paralytic and the call of Levi, which is probably another name for the apostle Matthew.
Jesus is teaching a crowd by the sea, and he sees a tax collector. He tells Levi, also called Matthew, to follow him, and Levi follows him. Jesus is then found in the house of Levi, and that’s where we pick up in verse 15.
15 While he was reclining at the table in Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him.
16 When the scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus is reclining at this table, which is how they would eat in the first century. They would lie down, probably on cushions, and have a table in front of them where they would eat.
There are many tax collectors and sinners eating with Jesus. Basically, these are the unsavory folks in the Jewish neighborhood.
It’s interesting that the Gospel is using the term, “tax collectors and sinners.” He really describing the Pharisees opinion of these individuals. The Pharisees were a strict group. a ruling group in Jewish society who would carefully teach Jews how to abide by the Jewish laws.
In fact, you can say that the Pharisees believed that the pathway to living a right life before God went through them. So if you didn’t follow their laws, you were kind of worthless. You were a castaway.
Now tax collectors, they were the worst! This a group of people who sided with the enemy Rome to extract an exorbitant amount of money from their own people. In fact, the Pharisees might have considered these other people sinners just because they were hanging out with tax collectors.
This group of people were certainly not the type of people that the Pharisees would approve of.
Which brings us to Jesus. Why was Jesus hanging out with tax collectors and sinners? These castaways, this riff raff. Doesn’t he know who they are? That’s what the Pharisees were thinking. They must have been confused.
Certainly, for the Pharisees to ask this question, they realize there is something different about this rabbi. But the rabbi Jesus is not doing ministry in their approved places, among their approved people.
What’s interesting is that, when the Pharisees ask, “Why is Jesus eating with these folks,” they don’t ask Jesus directly. No, instead, they ask his disciples. If you’re a bit intimidated by a leader, you try to peel away some of his followers. All you need to do is cast enough doubt.
They had authority among the people, and they could use that to say, “Is Jesus really the one you want to follow?” We see that same tactic today. People who have influence and authority, but are frustrated that Christians don’t think the way they want them to think. You’ll see this in our education system, you might see it in your work place, a message that says, “You don’t think the way we want you to think. Is Jesus really the one you want to follow?”
But isn’t it good that Jesus protects his flock? Jesus protects his people. He steps right in. It says in Mark 2:17, that when he heard what the Pharisees asked the disciples, and stepped in to answer. You know, sometimes we’re not ready to answer the questions the world throws at us, but Jesus is. That’s why we need to walk closely from hin, learning from him in his Word, so that we can have ears to listen and be ready to answer when the time comes.
Jesus tells the Pharisees, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. And really, who among us is perfectly well? We need the healing touch of the Lord every day. We need to be with him, listening to him, communing with him.
But we need to know that we need healing. Those unsavory folks that were hanging out with Jesus were exactly where they needed to be. It takes humility to know your need for healing.
How many of us don’t like to go to the doctor? They say that you should go for a check up with your doctor at least once a year. I know for years that I avoided going to the doctor. See, I struggle with my weight, and I didn’t want to go in and hear the same thing. Now, if you’re in good shape you may not know this, but when you have some extra pounds, the doctor is going to come in and say, “Jason, you need to lose some weight.”
I would think to myself, “I know! I knew that before I came in here. This is why I’m at the doctor, for you to tell me that I need to lose weight? I could have looked in the mirror for that.”
But then, one day, I got on a health kick. I started jogging, I start watching what I was eating, you know, diet and exercise - who knew? And after about a year, I had dropped 50 pounds. And I couldn’t wait to go to the doctor. I just wanted one time in my life where the doctor would tell me, “Jason, you’re weight is magnificient! Keep up the good work.”
And what did the Pharisees want in our story? They wanted this rabbi Jesus to tell them, “Your righteousness is magnificent! Keep up the good work.”
But instead, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.” The truth is, the Pharisees weren’t well. They needed healing from the Lord Jesus, too. But their pride caused them to miss the healer. See, Jesus’ power to heal people from their sins deserves your humility.
Jesus says this about his mission in Luke 19:10:
10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
See, you need to realize that you are lost before you can be found. So many folks are just wandering around not realizing that the answer to your dilemma is found in Jesus. He didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners. I am a sinner saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves your humility.
Second,
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves our urgency.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves our urgency.
We get in this first part of Mark 2:1-17, and Jesus is teaching a large crowd of people in a home. It says there were so many people there, there was no more room. Everyone was kind of squeezed in tight to listen to Jesus.
It says there were so many people there that the doorway was blocked. And we hear about this paralytic. The paralytic is somewhere outside of the house, and there is a barrier of people between him and getting to Jesus.
A paralytic is someone who has lost the function to move in a major part of their limbs, and this man who is outside, away from Jesus, can’t walk. He must have heard that the healer is here, but he can’t walk. And there are a whole bunch of people in the way for him to get to Jesus.
I try to imagine how this man who can’t walk convinces others to bring him to Jesus. Maybe he says, “Friends, there is a barrier between me and Jesus. Can you bring me to him?” Or maybe his friends just love him so much, that they know that he needs to get to Jesus. And there is an urgency for him to get to Jesus.
Either way, we read in Mark 2:3-5:
3 They came to him bringing a paralytic, carried by four of them.
4 Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
5 Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now, to get a picture of what’s happening here, you need to understand a first-century home in Israel. A lot of these first century homes would have a flat roof, it was an extension of the home, and there would be a stairway that would get you up to this roof. So this home where Jesus is teaching probably has a stairway that goes up to a flat roof.
These roofs were made up of grass, clay, and clay tiles, and you could dig through the roof to get to the room underneath. Now, its probably not the best security system for someone to get into your house so easily, but that’s the way they were.
This group of people believe that if they somehow get this paralyzed man to Jesus, he has the answer for his problem. Jesus can heal him. When you believe in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to heal people, you will remove barriers, and obstacles, and roofs, and anything that is getting in your way to bring someone to Jesus.
So they dig through this roof, and they lower the paralytic down to him, probably using some kind of fishing line. And they lower him down and set him, hopefully they don’t just drop him and say, “Oops, Jesus, can you fix that too? I think we broke something else.” They break through the barriers and they set this paralyzed man in front of Jesus.
It says that Jesus sees their faith. It’s important to stop right there. Are there things in your life that show your faith? Are you breaking down barriers because you believe that Jesus still changes lives and heals people? May the Lord Jesus Christ see your faith because you believe that Jesus changes lives.
Jesus sees their faith, looks at this paralytic man and says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” If you are someone who marks in your Bible, put a star next to that verse, Mark 2:5, because if you are ever asked, “Did Jesus claim to be God,” this is one of those times where Jesus shows a divine power to forgive sin.
Now, I wonder what the friends are thinking, because they brought the paralytic to be healed by him physically, but Jesus is forgiving his sins.
Now there are some scribes in the room, the scribes are the religious folk, and they know exactly what Jesus is doing. They think this is blasphemous! It says in Mark 2:7:
7 “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Now, it’s only blasphemy if it’s not true, which brings us to, “Is Jesus God?” It says in Scripture, in John 2:25:
25 and because he did not need anyone to testify about man; for he himself knew what was in man.
Jesus knew who the person on the inside really is. And you can have all the adornments, everything can look good on the outside, but Jesus knows who you are on the inside.
Jesus knew who the person on the inside really is. And you can have all the adornments, everything can look good on the outside, but Jesus knows who you are on the inside. ihere on this side, and he knows what the scribes are thinking. He knows what in their inside too. He turns to them and says in Mark 2:8-9:
8 Right away Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’?
Jesus is saying, “What’s the bigger miracle?” Sure, I can heal him and he’ll be able to walk, but what good is that? That’s only temporary. Isn’t it better that I heal him on the inside, forgive him of his sins, and he’ll be healed forever, for eternity. What’s the bigger miracle?
So many of us are praying for temporary things when God wants to do a change in your forever. But you won’t believe in the forever until you see a change in your temporary.
Jesus wants you to believe in his power to change your eternity. So he says this to the scribes and to the crowd in Mark 2:10-12:
10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralytic—
11 “I tell you: get up, take your mat, and go home.”
12 Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone. As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
How many of us have lost our awe in the power of Jesus to forgive sin? Too many of us act like those Pharisees wondering why is Jesus eating with the tax collectors and the sinners. We have lost our awe at the power of Jesus to forgive sin. Where is our urgency? What are we doing to break down the barriers to bring people to Jesus?
I was watching a reality show, I think it was called Doomsday Preppers, or something like that. This show shows people who are ready for Armageddon in their mind. They have these huge guns, these arsenals.
They will actually run drills, for when the zombies are coming for them, after the nuclear holocaust has wiped out all the food, they have these fortresses on their land that they’ve built up.
They have these underground bunkers that they’ve built and filled with all kinds of food and goods to keep them safe. They’ve constructed barriers to keep people away. Even though the world is falling apart, they are okay.
I wonder as a church, what barriers have we put up to keep people away. Is it our walls? Is it our church culture? What barriers do we put up in our church, in our home, in our lives, to keep people away? Where is our urgency to bring people to Jesus?
When there is an urgency to bring people to Jesus, we will break down anything that stands in the way. We will break down the walls, we will break through the culture, we will do whatever it takes to see Jesus change a life.
Church, I want Jesus to see our faith. A faith that says, yes, Jesus can change your temporary issue. Yes, Jesus can heal your marriage. Yes, Jesus can heal your worries and bring you peace. But ultimately, the greater miracle, is the eternal miracle is the eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday, we had a memorial here, a celebration of life, that was called Heaven Bound. On the cake it said, “Heaven Bound.” On the program it said, “Heaven Bound.” Because our sister in the Lord is living eternal life with Jesus today in heaven.
And I want there to be a section in heaven for Paradise Hills that is so full because there was a church on 6038 Cumberland St that had an urgency to bring people to Jesus.
Let us never lose our awe at the power of Jesus to change a life forever.
Conclusion
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves your humility.
Jesus’ power to heal people from sin deserves your urgency.
Prayer
Communion
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Last Song
Doxology
24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!