Breaking Through Barriers

Whether someone is in a wellness program or in athletic training, there eventually comes a moment in which all progress seems to come to a halt: the dreaded plateau. The plateau is that situation you arrive in where whatever you were doing no longer produces the same results. The diet only gets you to a certain point and the workout routine does not progress any further. Unless something changes, you do not progress, and in many cases, you begin to regress. The key to progress is identifying barriers and finding a way to break through them. Today, we are going to look at a situation just like that.

As we continue the journey of the footsteps of Jesus, we are still in Galilee. A couple weeks ago, Jesus cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue in Capernaum. Last week, Jesus had left town and traveled the territory of Galilee. This is where he healed a leper and we saw that he took on the man’s uncleanness so that healing could flow from him. This is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us. This week Jesus is back in Capernaum where we will witness yet another healing miracle.

So turn with me to Mark chapter two:

Mark 2:1–12 NASB95

When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

Jesus is at home and a crowd is gathering inside and outside the home. He has the reputation of being a healer, so people come from all over hoping for their miracle. In this story, you have the story of the paralytic man carried by four men. There was such a crowd that they had to take the man up on the roof, make a hole, and lower him down through it to get him in front of Jesus.

This story is very simple, but as we take a closer look, I want you to see two things. First, the paralytic and his friends were not hindered by the barriers before them. First there was the crowd. There were so many people that they could not get to the door. Even if they had gotten to the door, the house was full. There were too many people to try to get this paralytic man to Jesus the direct way. They had to come up with another option.

The second barrier they had to break through was the roof. They are on the ground. They have to get the man up to the roof, then clear a space large enough to lower the man through. This was not an easy task. One thing you need to remember is that houses back then did not have roofs like houses today. Their houses were generally covered in straw with some support structure underneath, but they were not incredibly sturdy. The process of making a hole for this man would not have been very difficult, nor would it have been very difficult to put back, but it was a barrier that still had to be broken.

The friends carrying this man were not going to give up. They did what it took to get him in front of Jesus. The question before us today is this:

What barriers do we need to break through to get our friends and family in front of Jesus?

These four men did whatever it took to get their friend in front of Jesus so he could receive healing.

There is a second thing I want you to see in this exchange with scribes and Pharisees. Mark and Matthew tell us there is a group of scribes looking on at this, but Luke adds there are Pharisees in the group as well. The paralytic man is placed before Jesus. He says to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven,” and the scribes and Pharisees are thinking to themselves Jesus is blaspheming. Blasphemy is committed when anyone claims to have Godlike authority when they do not, or when someone attributes the work of God to someone who is not. Here, they are thinking Jesus is not God, therefore he does not have the authority to forgive sins, yet he just claimed the man’s sins are forgiven. This is an act only God can do, therefore Jesus is blaspheming by claiming authority only God has.

Jesus knows what is going on in their minds. He knows what they are thinking. He responds by asking a series of questions. “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?” Now, has Jesus instructed the man to get up, pick up his bed, and walk? Not yet. That is about to happen.

Let me ask you. Which is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk? If we are to answer the question at face value, the answer is your sins are forgiven. It is an easy thing to say. But consider Jesus’ position. The scribes and Pharisees are right. Nobody has the authority to forgive sins but God. Anybody can say your sins are forgiven, but that does not mean one has the authority to forgive those sins. When Jesus says the paralytic’s sins are forgiven, he is not just making a statement of fact. He is making a proclamation. He is exercising his authority to forgive.

Verse ten is such a crucial statement:

Mark 2:10–11 NASB95

“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”

Jesus, speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, says, “so that you may know...” The miracle is performed not just for the man, but as evidence to the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus indeed has authority to forgive sins.

What we need to understand is that the miracle was not so much about the healing of a man, but that his sins were forgiven by the only one with the authority to do so.

A couple weeks ago when we talked about the demon possessed man I told you that demon possession or demonic activity is not the greatest problem we face. It is the wickedness of the human heart. That is the greatest barrier to be broken. So we have to remember this:

Forgiveness of sin is the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are numerous ways we can craft a gospel presentation so we can communicate it in a way someone may understand. However, we must not change the gospel message to make it sound more attractive. Let me help you understand what I mean.

The core of the gospel message is that we have violated God’s law and are deserving of punishment. God calls any action that does not meet his standards sin. We are guilty of breaking the law. Jesus came to satisfy the demands of the law on our behalf so that we could receive mercy. Jesus took the punishment we deserved so we could receive life instead of death, freedom instead of imprisonment.

When I have shared this with students, I have said it is like taking a test. There is a test in life that if you pass will get you into heaven and a relationship with God. The thing is that it requires a perfect score and you already missed at least one question on the test. There are no retakes. But imagine someone came to you and said he took the test, got every question right, and offers to put your name at the top of the paper and turn it in. That sounds like a pretty great deal! Every student wants that deal. The important part of this is that by accepting his work on your behalf, he expects you to follow him and learn how to get all the right answers. Some people call this cheating, but so is cheating death!

The problem in modern churches is that we are changing what the Word of God calls sin and we are telling people that God wants them to be happy, healthy, and wealthy. People heard so much fire and brimstone preaching, that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction and now so many people believe God is love and does not care about what you do or who you love. The road to God is in the pursuit of pleasure and comforts. This is incorrect.

It is as if we have taken the byproducts of a relationship with Christ and made them the central part of the gospel message. That is a grave mistake. Does God want you to be happy? Does God want you to find fulfillment? Does God want you to be healthy or wealthy? Perhaps, but it is on his terms, not ours. I am a pretty wealthy man in spite of the balance in my bank account. Why? Because my worth is not measured in dollars.

There are plenty of people who are genuinely happy living in prison of their own sin, but they are blind to the truth. Our message is not “God wants to make you happy.” It is “God wants to make you holy.” At the end of the day, the person who does not know Jesus as Lord and Savior is going to eternal prison unless they look to the one man who is holding the keys for release. Forgiveness of sin is the central message of the gospel. Any message that does not call sinners to call out for forgiveness is not the full gospel.

As we close, there are two questions we must answer:

Are you sharing the full gospel of Jesus Christ? What barriers must you break through to get your friends and family before Jesus?