Forgiveness First: The Healing of the Paralysed Man

Guilt

There’s often a little part of us that can be like a weight, weighing us down. It’s a part of us that we try to ignore, but it has a habit of rearing it’s head in such a way that we can’t ignore it. It often festers away, gnawing at us from the inside. At times it makes us feel physically sick. Other times it plays havoc with our mental health.

I’m talking about guilt.

Our conscience tells us, we’ve done something wrong.

Now, I do want to acknowledge at this point, there is what we might describe as unhealthy guilt. A perfectionist might feel guilt for making an accidental mistake. Or there might be some underlying mental health issues where you constantly feel guilty for no particular reason. Or even someone may be trying to shift their guilt onto you.

And so, let me just say at this point, while it may be difficult, it can be good to identify if the guilt you are feeling is of this toxic kind because what you are facing is of a different kind.

Now while I say that, it can be easy to dismiss all of our guilt in this way. But the reality is, some of the guilt we are feeling actually is because our conscience is legitimately saying, I’ve done the wrong thing.

We don’t need some method to try and dismiss it. What we need, is forgiveness.

Today we’re going to look at one of those stories in the bible which in many ways, is a really fun story, mostly on account of the fact that someone digs a hole in the roof of a building. And following this, we get another amazing miracle where a lame man gets to walk.

But central to this story as we’ll explore in just a moment is actually the gift of forgiveness.

And so, as I start to explore this story, what I want you to be thinking about is: what part of your life do you need forgiveness?

What does that guilt you carry keep reminding you of?

Context

Well, on that note, let’s explore this story.

So we’re continuing only a short time after the miracle that we looked at last week. For the benefit of those who weren’t here (or possibly just forgotten), we looked at the leper who came up to Jesus while he was on the outskirts of town and asked to be made clean.

After being made clean, he was told to show himself to the priest and not tell anyone about Jesus.

Well… that didn’t happen. This was guy had a new freedom. The barrier had been torn down and he wanted to tell anyone and everyone what had happened.

That did of course have ramifications. People become curious. With curiosity comes skepticism. People start seeking Jesus out. Small gathering quickly become large gatherings.

People start trying to figure out what to make of all of this. Is it from God? Or is this some other kind of work not from God?

Well, the start of chapter 2 tells us that a few days have passed. He has come back to Capernaum which has become somewhat of a base for him at this point in his ministry.

Now this account takes place in a house. Verse 1 tells us that he has come home, so I’m going to suggest perhaps we can make the assumption that this was the place Jesus had been staying at. Some suggest that possibly it’s the home of Simon Peter and Andrew.

If this assumption is correct, it is interesting to think how inconvenienced Jesus is being in this account, when he probably just wanted to have some time to relax. It’s also interesting to note that in the interaction that follows, if he was feeling inconvenienced, he certainly doesn’t let it affect the way he interacts with the people.

So Jesus has come home, and now the crowds start gathering outside.

They all want to know what this man is all about. They’ve heard the rumous - they now want to see for themselves.

Well, Jesus doesn’t try and shoo them away, instead he sees the opportunity to speak words of life to these people who are gathering. Well, the house fills up quickly and people are ow standing outside trying to hear what Jesus has to say.

The Paralysed man brought to Jesus

While all this is happening, another man is brought to our attention.

We know very little about this man, other than the fact that he is paralysed. We’re never told how he came to be paralysed.

He does however have some friends that care very deeply about him.

It does make me wonder, that given the strength of these friendships that he became paralysed later in life, possibly from some sort of accident. Now I am speculating here with not a whole lot of evidence, but let me just speculate some more...

Could it be, that these friends of the paralysed man were somehow involved in the accident? Could it be that they are feeling a lot of guilt and they so desperately want Jesus to do something to relieve them of this guilt?

Now this idea of an accident that caused the paralysis is purely speculative, but just stay with me on it as we continue looking at the account.

Well, these men become aware of Jesus doing something in the house. Probably because practically everyone in Capernaum would have seen the crowds moving in that direction.

This is there chance, but then when they saw the crowds around the building, there hopes would have been dashed.

But yet, these are resourceful men. Actually, while I’m on my little speculation about these guys, could it be they are builders of some description? After all, as I’m sure you’re aware, they are about to dig a hole through a roof. Could it have been some sort of building accident?

Anyway, they find there way up onto the roof of the house.

Now, the houses during this time would have obviously looked quite different to ours. It was quite typical for the roof to be essentially rather flat. The construction of the houses would have consisted on wooden rafters that were then overlaid wiith branches and then plastered with mud. But we also know that they started using clay tiles as well. Quite likely there would have been some combination of both tiles and compacted earth that made up the roof.

You see, we’re about to hear how they make a large enough hole in the ceiling to lower their friend. If you looko at Luke’s account of this same story, which occurs in Luke 5, you’ll read that they made the opening through the tiles. So we know there were tiles involved. And here in Mark’s gospel, it describes the process as digging, so there were some kind earthen material, which is why it’s safe to say it was both tiles and compacted earth.

So, as I’ve just described, they make this hole in the roof.

Just imagine what it must have been like for the people listening to Jesus below.

I suspect they would have first heard the noise of some movement up above them… probably not really sure what was happened.

Then I suspect little bit of debris would start falling around them. They’re already marvelling at the teaching of Jesus, but now a new mystery has started to avert their attention.

But at some point, day light appears in the ceiling.

In the way I imagine it, a head then appears in the ceiling who explains - we are desperate and need you help Jesus.

The hole becomes big enough to lower a man through it, and so the four friends who had carried him up to the roof, now do just that… they presumably have some ropes that they came prepared with, and it’s not long and the paralysed man lay at the foot of Jesus.

Now all eyes turn to Jesus - what is he going to do? I wonder if in their heads they’re actually going to wonder whether Jesus will get angry because they’ve just made a mess of the roof of his house.

But Jesus looks at them, and sees their faith...

Actually, just as an interesting little observation here… did you notice the attention is on their faith, that is to say, the faith of the friends. Usually in healings, it is the faith of the one needing healing that is looked at, but here it is the friends that brought him there.

But seeing their faith, he then turns to the paralysed man and says: “Son, your sins are forgiven”.

The need for forgiveness

Now it’s at this point that we really need to pause. The presenting problem in this case is that the man can’t walk. Surely what he would be hoping for is that Jesus gives him back the ability to walk.

So we need to ask, why does Jesus first focus on forgiveness here rather than physical healing?

Now, is it that Jesus wanted to use this massive distraction as a bit of a teaching moment. That is, everyone is sinful and our eternal salvation is more important than our physical bodies in this age.

Certainly that would be a true lesson worth teaching. Our spiritual state is much more important than our physical health. And we are all in need of forgiveness.

But I wonder whether Jesus looked at this man and saw something specific.

I wonder whether hee saw something that was really weighing him down.

Could it be, that this is something the man really needed to hear?

I speculated before about a possible accident that occured that made this man paralysed. I speculated that maybe the accident had been a source of guilt for all involved.

Could it be that this is the release from the guilt that was so desperately being sought after?

Sin and suffering

Now, there is an interesting question that can be raised in this passage.

What is the relationship between our sin and our suffering?

We could ask it this way: when we suffer, is it because we have sinned in a certain way?

To answer this question, let’s start with a basic truth - the suffering we see in the world is a result of sin being in the world. So in a general sense, there is a direct link between suffering and sin.

However, when we talk about a specific instances of suffering, we should always be wary of assigning it to a specific sin.

The exception to this of course, is if the suffering was the direct result of a choice you made. For example, if you choose to get drunk and then drive a car and have an accident, the suffering you have as a result of the accident is because of sinful choices you made.

On the flip side of this, let’s say you get cancer, we shouldn’t start thinking about where we have sinned and why God is punishing us for that sin.

So sin and suffering are linked, but we need to avoid being overly simplistic about it.

It’s worth noting that in the passage we’re looking at this morning, there is no direct suggestion that the man’s paralysis is as a result of a specific sin.

Freedom from sin

But yet, when Jesus pronouces that his sins are forgiven, there would have been a massive burden lifted off his shoulders.

That’s because forgiveness is powerful.

When we’ve done something wrong, there very well may still be consequences we need to face, but the power of that guilt that is just weighing you down is gone.

Now let me just be clear on this point. Our actions will usually result in a consequence. You murder someone - you go to prison. Forgiveness will generally does not stop the consequence.

But what it does do, is that it reduces all of the baggage that goes with it. It stops the bitter feelings. It stops the hatred and resentment. It stops the offence being brought up time and time again. It stops that feeling that constantly reminds you: I’m not good enough.

There is freedom in forgiveness. With forgiveness we can start to see a better future.

This paralysed man has a massive burden taken from him.

Controversy

Now let’s remember, this act of forgiveness was done in a front of a big crowd.

Included in this crowd were the people known as the teachers of the law. These people loved to examine everything carefully - and immediately, they accuse Jesus of blaspheming.

“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” they cry!

This is going to be the start of the opposition against him that is only grow as we draw nearer to the cross.

Now, the complaint is not without merit.

When we sin, we do sin against God. If our sin is against God, then only God is permitted to forgive sins.

What they don’t comprehend at this point in time, and many will never come to realise, is that the man before them is the incarnation of God into this world. Jesus is God. And because he is God, he is well within his rights to release this man from his burden.

Healing the paralysed man

Now at this point, given that Jesus is God, he could deal with this opposition however he wanted to. Certainly he would have the power to just wipe them away. He could go all Old Testament like and have fireballs come down from heaven to wipe them out.

But he doesn’t. This is not his way.

Rather he does something that will confirm he has the power to forgive sins - he’ll confirm it with his power over the physical condition this man is facing.

And so again he turns to man, this time saying: “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home”.

Again, you can imagine everyone’s attention would firmly be on the paralysed man. What’s going to happen.

If it was a movie or a TV show, you could imagine the little pause for dramatic effect.

The miracle happens.

The man who had to be lowered through the roof to get to this point, stands up. He’s in full view of everyone - and there is no denying it.

These people can argue all they like about whether Jesus has the authority to forgive sins, but what they can’t argue about, is the fact the this man is now standing on his own two feet in front of them. A man who moments earlier was clearly a paralytic, can now move freely.

People started praising God and concluding that this was unlike anything they’d seen before.

Application

Similar to last week, the greater part of this miracle is actually not the healing of the physical condition, it is the healing that occurs on the inside.

This passage should give you hope that God can heal whatever ailment you might be facing, but it should give you greater hope that the guilt you’ve been carrying no longer needs to weigh you down.

When you feel that guilt, whether it’s the guilt from something you’ve actually done wrong, or even if its the unhealthy guilt I mentioned at the start, the first thing you need to do is hand it over to Jesus.

Ask Jesus to help identify what in your life you need to change.

I suggest doing this in a quiet time you have with God. Find some free time where you are unlikely to be distracted. Have your Bible with you. If you’re familiar with the bible, then you can choose a passage by yourself, but at this point, let me suggest Psalm 51. This is a Psalm that David goes through as he deals with some of his own sin.

Read it slowly, and make it your own prayer.

Then reflect on things you’ve been done in recent times. Think about times you have made poor choices. Think about times you have hurt people with your words. Think about times you have been unkind.

And then… we say to Jesus, I am unworthy, but I need your forgiveness.

And then, this is where our passage for today becomes so powerful. In the same way that this paralysed man was forgiven, you too can know that Jesus has also declared you forgiven.

When Jesus died and rose again on that cross he took away all of your sin.

Don’t let that guilt weigh you down.

When you hand it to Jesus, he will take that burden, and allow you to live again.

Conclusion

You know, I find it strange when people characterise Christianity as seeing God just ready to strike anyone down who doesn’t follow all his rules. The truth is, he is a merciful God who actually wants to pick us up from our fallen state.

When we feel that guilt, it usually is because we’ve messed up, but Jesus stands there ready to forgive us.

He does this, because he loves us.

So I want each of you here today to know that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who give life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Freinds, you are forgiven.

Let me pray...