When the Road Confronts Us

Intro

So far on our road to the cross we have seen how in order to follow Jesus on his road we have to give him our plans, We have seen how we have to give him our old identity, Today we are going to look at a story from Mark Where a man thought he knew what he needed from Jesus, but Jesus knew what he really needed.

I don’t know what you came in here needing today. but I do know the one who knows you so well that he knows and has what you truly need. not just what you think you need.

So lets look at this interaction with Jesus and see what it is we all need this morning.

Mark 2:1–12 CSB

When he entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word to them. They came to him bringing a paralytic, carried by four of them. 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. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 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? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat, and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralytic—“I tell you: get up, take your mat, and go home.” 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!”

This might be a story that you might have heard in VBS or Sunday School growing up or maybe you are hearing it for the first time today. Either way I think the first thing any of us notice when we read this story for the first time is the fact that they lowered this guy in through the roof. We dont know for sure but it was probably Peter’s house. and I cant help but think what was Peter thinking when he watched four strangers dismantle his house.

Alysa and I have hosted many people at our house, our house has been attacked by an army of students armed with toilet paper but no one that has ever come to our house has ever started taking it apart. atleast yet. We will see what this group of seniors does. and while the roof is what we think of when we remember this story its not the most important part of it, but it does show the determination of the paralized man and his friends. and it highlights a principle of what we are to do.

1. Bring the Hurting to Jesus

The friends of this guy did the right thing. The man was hurting. He was weighed down. He was stuck. anyone know anyone like that? anyone been like that? Are you the one hurting this morning?

I want to highlight what the mans friend’s didn’t do. They didnt say I will pray for you and keep walking, they didnt say you just need to work on yourself, They didn’t take the burden of helping him on themselves, They didn’t give him book or podcast recomendations. They saw he was hurting, they knew who could bring healing, and they brought him to Jesus. No matter what it took.

Here is the part that I believe should convict us. There is no way that these guys fully knew who Jesus was. They likely had never met him. They probably had only heard stories of what he could do. and they still had the faith that Jesus was enough to fulfill their friends need.

If you are a follower of Christ. If You are walking with Jesus on his road. you have the full picture of who Jesus is. The son of God, the king of kings, the prince of peace, the lamb of God. The beginning and the end, The Holy one, the one who created the world. If you know that and you believe that. if thats true why do we not have even more urgency to get hurting people to Jesus than this man’s friends did? Why are we so quick to either suggest other things, try to heal people’s hurts ourselves, or ignore the hurts of people? when we already know the one who brings healing?

When we are hurting why is our fallback to act like we are fine and try to fix it ourselves, and act like we have what we need already inside us we just have to find it. If you are here this morning and you are hurting. Please here this because the world will scream at you the answer to what it is you need is you. You need to become more of yourself and then you will be who are meant to be and you won’t hurt anymore.

Guess what that’s not what the Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9

Jeremiah 17:9 CSB

The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?

If I did deep enough into my own heart I know I am not going to find everything I need I am going to find more pain and deceit and it is incurable. You will not get what you truly need by looking at your self. you will not heal your hurting heart with your own hurting heart. You can’t cure it. But there’s one who can. We are called to take every hurt, our hurt, our families hurt, our friends hurt straight to Jesus and don’t let anything get in the way.

another reason that we should take our hurts to Jesus is because

2.Jesus Deals with What’s Really Weighing Us Down.

The man and his friends thought they knew what he needed. He couldn’t walk and he wanted to walk the need seemed so obvious. but what did Jesus say first he didn’t say get up and walk right away. He looked past the earthly obvious need and instead addressed what the man really needed to be forgiven.

I got to point out something that I feel is really obvious here. The man and his friends probably weren’t very happy. If I am the man and I cant walk and my friends just went through all this effort to get me healed and instead of getting healed like everyone else Jesus has met, I hear him say your sins are forgiven. and then heres the kicker nothing would happen.

There would be no miraculous sign, no bright light, no swell of orcestra music. Just a declaration that a need had been met. Seeing the man’s whole situation, Jesus lovingly looked past his surface need and met his deeper need; He looked past the man’s immediate need and met his real need.

You might think How could he forgive he hadn’t died yet? This man was forgiven the same way people in the Old Testament were forgiven by faith in who Jesus is what he would accomplish on the cross.

Mark 2:5 CSB

Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

That man was lowered into that house that day and in his mind the best case scenario was that he would walk again. But Jesus had something far better for him. he couldnt see what was really weighing him down. Jesus could. He went in with faith that he would walk the streets of Capernum again. Jesus made made it so he would walk streets of gold.

If Jesus had just healed him and not forgiven him. He would have used those legs for 40 more years and then died and spent eternity seperated from God in hell.

Coming in faith to Jesus, this hurting man received more that he expected and exactly what he needed. He received the full forgiveness of his sins. He and his friends believed Jesus could meet their deepest needs. They were simply wrong on what was really needed.

Often we think we know what our greatest need is, but really we are only focusing on our circumstances. In reality the problem you are facing today is not your spouse, children, or parents. It is not your job, boss, or coworkers. It is not your lack of resources, shortage of time, or insufficient income. Just like this young man, your greatest need is for the Messiah Himself.

He knew he was being weighed down but he was wrong about what it was weighing him down. It wasn’t his circumstances weighing him down it was his sin. as heavy as a rock.

pull out rock.

If we are going to be walking a long way. It is important that he pack what we need but we don’t want it all to be too heavy.

One of the movies I grew up with was the lyndsy lohan parent trap. one of the best parts of that movie is when they are hiking mountain and the evil step mother is hiking with them. and every time they stop the girls put more and more rocks in her pack. until it reaches a point she cant go on because she is so weighed down and she doesnt even realize why.

We are all born carrying the heavy rock of sin. it weighs you down so much that there is no way you can get closer to God while carrying the rock. and there is no way you can get rid of it on your own. and you cant walk the road to the cross carrying it.

We walk on the road. and we pray God im getting tired send me some water, God my feet are getting sore heal them, God people seem to be going faster than me I feel alone I dont know what to do. We pray for the symptoms of carrying the rock. All the while adding more and more rocks into our bag.

So what do you do? instead of pleading with Jesus to fix the circumstances that you think if this is fixed I will be good forever. using Jesus as a tool to get what you actually want and instead You come to him with your bag full of heavy sin and say Jesus You are what I need. Help me. and he will reach down take all the weight of your sin. and carry it himself all the way to the cross where it is destroyed forever.

Jesus is not a tool for you to get what you want. Jesus is what you really need.

So at this point Jesus has already fulfilled the man’s greatest need. and to prove it he does even more and heals the man. He freed him from the spiritual weight and the physical weight. All should be good for Jesus now right. He showed he has the power to forgive sins. Everyone should be on board. No

Mark 2:6–7 CSB

But some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts: “Why does he speak like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Here is what we all need to remember

3. The Road of Forgiveness Leads to Resistance

This interaction is the first of 5 straight situations where Jesus does good and then opposed by the religious leaders. The more good he did the more he was opposed. If Jesus was opposed for the good he did. We also must expect to be opposed for the good we do if we are to follow him. Every brick you lay to build the kingdom of God there will be those who would love nothing more than to see it torn down.

We cannot expect that doing good will not go unresisted

I want to protect you from the dilusion that if you get serious about your relationship with Jesus, if you start doing what you need to do to point your children to Jesus, If you start turning normal conversations with your coworkers to conversations that give glory to God, that you serve faithfully then everything in your life will be great.

I want to warn you the less you look like the world the more the world will oppose you.

It happened to Jesus, it happened to the disciples, it happened to Paul, and it will happen to you. Same with us as the church

The idea that if the church ‘got their act right’ society would embrace it is a fantasy. Persecution and opposition might be more likely, and we must be ready for that.

As we as a church do everything we can as we step into the future striving to be a brighter light than ever before, we have to be ready for opposition.

The presence of earthly opposition does not mean you aren’t doing what God will. Most likely opposition is the evidence that you are doing God’s will.

We have an enemy and he’s not lifting a finger to stop you from coming and sitting in a chair for an hour every Sunday. But when you embrace fully what it means to follow Jesus in every area of your life. He will oppose you.

But you are not called to do good because its easy. You are not called to follow Jesus because it is easy. You are not called to glorify God because it is easy. You are called to do good, follow Jesus and glorify God because it is what he created you to do.

And if you are with Jesus people and institutions may oppose you but they will not overcome you because Jesus has already overcome this world.

Be prepared for opposition. but don’t be scared of it because you have Jesus.

Conclusion

This morning I want you to ask yourself do you have the faith that the paralized man and his friends had that when you are hurting or you see someone is hurting your first instinct is to take that hurt straight to Jesus?

Do you believe this morning that he doesn’t just have what you need he is what you need. Do you trust him enough to come to him in faith this morning and say Jesus I think I know what I need. but I know you truly know what I need. Forgive me, give me what you know i need not what I think I need. This the weight I don’ even realize is there.

But hear this clearly — when He lifts that weight, when He forgives you, when He changes you — not everyone will celebrate it. The same forgiveness that made the paralytic rejoice made the scribes rage. And the same road that leads to freedom also leads to resistance.

So don’t be surprised when following Jesus costs you something. Don’t be shocked when obedience draws criticism. Don’t assume opposition means you took a wrong turn. Sometimes resistance is confirmation that you’re walking the right road.

Because this road — the road where sins are forgiven — doesn’t just pass through Capernaum. It keeps going. It leads to a cross.

And the One who forgave that man carried a far heavier weight than this rock. He carried the weight of your sin.

So today, bring your hurt. Lay down the weight. Trust Him with what you think you need.

And then keep walking — even if the road gets hard — because the One who walks ahead of you has already overcome it.