Hope for the Hurting
Notes
Transcript
1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.
3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Pray
Introduction
The title of the sermon today is Hope for the Hurting. Have you ever had someone in your life that was very sick that you would do nearly anything to see them healed? This is the premise of our text today. The healing of a man. But it isn’t just centered around this man because by the end of it, we have a large group of people who have witnessed what Jesus has done. When something like this happens, there are usually 2 reactions. You are either very hopeful in what has happened or you are very skeptical.
We see both reactions in our text today. The people are hopeful because of what they had witnessed Jesus do. But the scribes were skeptical. To bring this to a modern context, we have a big problem with drug addiction here in our area. I know people who have gotten clean and sober and you could tell that it was a miracle from God. But yet, people still are skeptical. Even to the point that they just sit and wait for the person to fail instead of taking the time to be there and help them. For our church, we should be a people who are hopeful in the miracles that we see. It is easy to be skeptical. But we should have faith and we should be there to help others. If there is one thing for you to take away from this today it is that Jesus can heal us no matter what it is. There is hope for all and that hope is found in Jesus. And the church should be there to help out those who are hurting. And that is where we begin in our passage today.
We Bring the Hurting to Jesus
We Bring the Hurting to Jesus
1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.
Jesus has been doing a tour in Galilee. Now he is back in Capernaum. He was likely at Simon’s house where he was before. And the house was packed. You couldn’t even get in the door. Now, what was Jesus doing to be able to gather a crowd like this? Mark tells us that he was preaching the word to them. As we have seen over the last few weeks in the verses prior to this, this is why he came (38). To preach the word. God’s word changes souls. This was the ministry of Jesus. Preaching the word.
3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
The crowd that was there was not for only the preaching. There were some that were there for the wrong. There were some that were only there to see a miracle happen. But Jesus is not there for a miracle. He is there to preach the word of God and we will see that shortly.
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
The house that Jesus was preaching in was a full house. No one else could come in the door. For us to really picture what is going on, I want you to imagine this house. It probably was not a large house like you would imagine one being today. People did not lounge around in houses like we do now, so they wouldn’t need the rooms that we have today. Most of the houses would have had a staircase going to the roof. So, if you are like me and wondered how they got a paralyzed man on the roof, there you go. The roof is not like we would have today either. It would have been a roof made of sticks and mud and it would have probably had some sort of tile on it.
And what did this mans friends do, they tore a hole in the roof. Then they lowered him where he was in the room with Jesus. This was incredible to go to the lengths that they did, just to bring their friend to Jesus to be healed. And Jesus saw this.
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus saw their faith. And he forgave this man of his sins. Wow. Just to hear those words spoken is amazing. But I want us to slow down for a second here. I am sure that like me, you have heard sermons on this passage before. And I have heard this preached wrongly, most of the time. The sermon is usually that Jesus forgave this mans sins because of the faith of his friends. No one is ever saved because of someone else’s faith. We have too many people today who think they are Christians because their parents or grandparents were Christians. This mans sins were only forgiven because of his own faith. We know that when scripture refers to the forgiveness of sins, it is talking about justification(salvation). No one is saved except by grace through faith (their own faith).
So am I saying that the faith of the friends is not important in this story? No, absolutely not. Because I really want you to look at these 4 men for inspiration. We play a role, though it is a limited role, in bringing people to salvation. We often have to, metaphorically, bring people to Jesus. People who are far from God, people that are hurting, people that are spiritually paralyzed. They need to be brought to Jesus. But that is where our role is limited. It is the person who must believe though. We cannot make people believe.
How do we bring people to Jesus today? Most of the time, it will look more like we are bringing Jesus to them. We bring Jesus to others by sharing the gospel with them. Since I mentioned it, this is what the gospel is.
creation and fall
need for a savior
who is the savior
what do we do with it
I said that we bring people to Jesus. This is what we bring them to. To the opportunity to repent and believe. Maybe they have some sort of ailment that they want to see healed. I understand. But Jesus is not just our doctor, Jesus is our savior. And someone who understands the gospel and their need for a savior will set aside any desire for physical healing for the opportunity to be eternally healed. We bring people to Jesus.
We see the Forgiveness of Jesus
We see the Forgiveness of Jesus
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
There was a lot of skepticism around Jesus. So naturally, he attracted people that only wanted to see what he was doing to be critical. And this was the scribes. Now, the scribes knew the scripture. They were people who could read and write. So they would have known what the Old Testament would have said about the messiah. And they had the messiah right in front of them and they were questioning.
7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Now, this is their thoughts. They are thinking to themselves, “who does this guy think he is?” They say that he is blaspheming. Not a word that we use in everyday conversation. Got questions .org defines it “To blaspheme is to speak with contempt about God or to be defiantly irreverent.” They are saying that Jesus is being irreverent towards God. This is a foreshadowing of what is to come. At the end of Mark, the primary charge against Jesus that leads him to the cross is that he is a blasphemer. And what makes them think this? Because Jesus told this man that his sins are forgiven.
They were thinking to themselves that no one can forgive sins but God. And they are right. Only God can forgive someone of their sins. I cannot walk up to a stranger on the street and tell them that every sin that they have ever committed has been forgiven because I have said so. That is essentially what Jesus is doing. And he can do it, because he is God. So Jesus knows they are thinking this, so he responds.
8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
So Jesus takes what they are thinking in their spirit and brings it to light, in front of everyone. They are questioning what he is doing because he is doing something that only God can do. So to answer their questioning thoughts, he proves himself to be the one who can forgive. He displays a characteristic that only God has, omniscience. He knows what they are thinking. And says it to them. And it wasn’t just a lucky guess. Yes, I am sure that their faces spoke very loudly. But it wasn’t Jesus reading their face or even really reading their mind. Jesus knew their hearts.
They were doubting Jesus. He is saying that he is forgiving this man of his sins but only God can do that. So if someone is saying this, then they are saying that they are God. And if someone says that they are God, then they are blaspheming. Jesus knew how they felt about what he was saying so he decides to really display his power to prove that he not only could say these things, but he could do these things.
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
I used to work for a guy that had a sort of catchphrase. Don’t talk about it, be about it. Think about it like this, let’s say you are getting someone to come and do some work on your house. They give you a quote and have it all listed out what they are going to do. They will be there next Monday morning at 8 and should have everything wrapped up by Tuesday afternoon. They have told you what is going to happen. Now, if things do not happen like they have said (barring any minor inconveniences), would you trust them. No. If you pay them to put up new sheetrock and they just paint over the old, they are proving to you that they have lied. That is why I have always liked the phrase “don’t talk about it, be about it”. Jesus, in this moment, took the opportunity to not only verbally prove himself to be God, but to put action behind it.
Was it easier for Jesus to say that the mans sins are forgiven or to heal the man? It was easier to say that his sins are forgiven. But instead of just leaving it at just that, Jesus proves to them that he holds the power of God. Jesus knew these mens hearts. He knew that it was better to prove to them what he was saying.
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
To prove that he truly has the power to forgive sins, he heals this paralytic. Not only did he tell the man to stand, but to take up his bed, and go home. Just picture what is happening. Jesus tells this man to stand up. But not only that, grab your bed, throw it over your shoulder, and go on home. He wasn’t weak in his knees and wobbly. He was strong. Strong enough to be able to pick up his bed and carry it home. I am sure that this man and his friends were thankful that the scribes were there. Without the scribes questioning Jesus, he may have well stayed paralyzed.
Take up your bed and go home. Why? because the Son of Man, who has authority, has told you so. If you remember back to the first chapter of Mark, Jesus began teaching in the synagogue and the people there said something about him. And, by now, what the people said in the synagogue about Jesus would have gotten to the scribes. Mark 1:22 “22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.” So the scribes had heard that the people recognized that Jesus had authority that was different than wha they had. And now, Jesus just told them that he was going to heal this man to prove that he had authority.
We see the forgiveness of Jesus. Not too many years ago, a young man walked into a church in Charleston SC and took the lives of 9 people. Everyone was struck by this tragedy. Most churches upped their security. Since then, we have seen a rise in church shootings. We even had one last Sunday in Texas. But what struck me even more than the tragedy of the shooting was the reaction of the church members and family members. See, this young man targeted this church because it was a black church. He was a white supremacist. The church could have made it an ordeal about race, they could have made it an ordeal about gun violence. But what they did shocked most of the world. They got on national television and told the young man that they forgave him. They forgave him and called him to repentance.
I read this story of these friends who did whatever they could to get this man before Jesus to be healed of this paralysis. And if he had only been healed of this paralysis, I am sure that his life would have changed. The people around hims life would have changed. He would no longer have need people to carry him, he would not have needed anyone to have help him get dressed. But Jesus did more for this man than that. Jesus not only took away this mans physical suffering that he was currently going through, but he took away his eternal suffering.
We Glorify God for what He Does
We Glorify God for what He Does
12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
They were amazed. They had never seen anything like this. This man who was paralyzed just stood up, threw his bed over his shoulder, and walked out of the house like it was nothing. And that is because it was nothing. He had been supernaturally healed by Jesus. No weakness, no fatigue. They saw this and they responded. How did they respond? They glorified God.
They had witnessed the great works of Jesus. Don’t forget what started this. Jesus forgave this man of his sins. And to prove that he had the power to do that, he healed this man who was paralyzed. So now, to everyone there, whether they were a normal citizen, someone who was seeking some sort of healing, or a scribe, could not deny that this man had his sins forgiven. Because it is easier to say that someones sins were forgiven than to heal them. Jesus did the harder to prove the easier. And the people responded in worship.
You cannot accept Jesus as a great moral teacher and deny his claim to be God. Other religions have no issue with accepting Jesus as a good moral teacher. The issue they have is with Jesus’ claim to be God. And that is what makes Christianity such a personal religion.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Because of God coming in the form of man, we can go to him because he understand what we are going through. You may not have seen a physical miracle like these people have seen. But if you have been saved by grace through faith, then you have experienced a greater miracle than someone being able to walk again or someone regaining their sight. You have eternal life.
We glorify God for what he does. March 29th, 2009. I can think back to that day very clearly. I had been attending church for quite some time. I had grown up in church but had left for a while. Then a friend invited me to go to church with them. I had been going for a while and had even made a profession of faith to try to impress a girl. I began volunteering at the church. I ran the sound system and did the projector system. I was there every Sunday and every Wednesday. So don’t think that just because someone who is here every time the doors are open means that they are saved, because that was not true with me. But I had been having some very deep conversations with one of the men there and through those conversations, God convicted me that I was not saved. So on March 29th, 2009 I came to a saving faith. Have I been perfect? Far from it. In fact, I still struggle with some of the same things even 15 years later. But I look to the word that Jesus did on the cross and I rest in the fact that he is the one who holds my salvation and it is not me. And for that, it is my intentions to glorify God for what he has done for me.
Conclusion
I said at the beginning that Jesus can heal us no matter what it is. Will Jesus heal you? If it is part of his will, then yes he will. We have been talking about suffering in Sunday school for several weeks now. And we have said it over and over again that suffering is a battle for the faith. Suffering should bring us into a greater level of faith in Jesus. Maybe we get healed of physical ailments, but maybe we don’t. Regardless of our physical healing, we are all called to glorify God.
I want to turn this conversation from physical healing to spiritual healing, because that is what is most important. Maybe you are here today and do not see any sort of spiritual healing in your life. As we have seen in our passage today, spiritual healing comes from the forgiveness of sins. So the question is have you been forgiven of your sins. Plain and simple. And the way you are forgiven of sins is through salvation. Salvation comes through repentance and belief of the gospel. I want to remind you of what the gospel is. (gospel presentation)
How do you respond to the gospel? Repentance and belief. (explain)
Today, you have the opportunity, if the holy spirit is drawing you in, to do this.
Believer
For a lot of us, we have experienced spiritual healing. But maybe there are things that are still there that you are dealing with. So I want to give you 2 simple things to do.
if you are still dealing with things in your life that don’t seem to go away, I want to challenge you to spend extra time in God’s word and in prayer over these things. Find verses that give you reassurance that Jesus has taken our sin from us. Find verses that give you assurance of your salvation. Pray for God to take these things away from you.
Glorify God - regardless, maybe you are dealing with things right in this moment or not, give God the glory. You have been saved by grace through faith and this is only through the power of God in your life. Give God the glory.
We are going to sing one more song this morning. You can sit, you can stand, it doesn’t matter. But, in this moment, you have the opportunity to publicly glorify God through singing. So, don’t squander this opportunity today.