Mark 2:1-12

I have always been a pretty decent communicator.  I hosted talent shows in middle school and high school.  I was great at presentations in elementary school.  Being in front of people has never been a big deal.  So my communications and speech class in college was pretty easy…except I sat next to a pretty girl. Now, not prettier than Rachel…no one is prettier than her, but long before I met Rachel…I was sitting next to a girl in speech that I had a bit of a crush on. 

Well, she really was not that in to me.  But in my weird thinking, I thought if she just saw my speaking ability then she would definitely want to date me.  Stupid right?

So, my first speech I was going to kill it.  I believe the speech was one of those “how-to” type speeches.  So, I wanted to show my sensitive side, so I chose “How to change a diaper.”  This would be my speech.

I memorized every word.  My jokes were perfectly timed and hilarious.  She was staring deeply at me the whole way through the speech.  My seven minute speech was nothing short of miraculous and engaging.

I go back to my chair and sit down beside her.  She leans over to me and I know that this is the moment she will profess that she truly sees me.  She understands my genius.  She’s going to admit that her blind eyes are finally open to me.  And in slow motion, the words come out of her mouth….

“You have bird poop in your hair.”

Huh? I say.

“Yeah, there’s a big ole blob of bird poop in your hair.” 

She said it loud enough where everyone is looking and I slowly reach up and run my fingers through my hair only to feel it.

Let me just tell you, there is no recovery from that.  Its not something I wanted to hear, but needed to here it.

We have all been there.  Someone tells us the painful truth.  Someone reveals a blind spot to us.  Someone holds up a mirror to our own soul.

The book of Mark was written just as the apostles were dying off and the first generation of eye-witnesses to Jesus’ ministry were dying off. The book was written in order to make sure we always had access to what the real Jesus really said, really did. We’ve been going through the book of Mark, and even though it’s only chapter 2, only the second chapter out of 16 chapters, a change comes. Up until now, whenever Jesus spoke and acted, everybody was happy. Everybody praised God. Everybody was amazed.

You still see that response on the part of a number of people. Look at verse 12, “This amazed everyone and they praised God …” But for the first time and increasingly after this incident, you see people shocked and confused and furious about what Jesus is saying and doing. Why?

Well, Mark moves from announcing Jesus and his miracles to Jesus exclaiming to people what they needed to hear and not what they wanted to hear.  

Case in point, the man being carried in by his four buddies.

1: The man had a desperate need for change.

BIBLE VERSE

Mark 2:1-4

2 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.

Now, there are a couple things I want you to see here that enriches the context.  

Life in Israel was very public. And very hospitable. 

In the morning the door of the house was opened and anyone who wished might come out and in. The door was never shut unless someone deliberately wished for privacy; an open door meant an open invitation for all to come in.

But secondly, this was Jesus’ home.  Mark says it right there in the text.

Jesus has returned to Capernaum, and word spreads quickly.

His house is packed. People are pressing in.  Because Jesus let everyone come in that day. The door is blocked. No one else can get in.

But four men refuse to give up. The man they are with cannot move.  He cannot get to Jesus himself, so they help him.

I often wonder if they were hoping to catch Jesus that morning not occupied with the crowd.  When they can’t get in, they do something radical.

They carry their paralyzed friend onto the roof, tear open the ceiling, and lower him down in front of Jesus.

Now, it is a shocking moment. Dust falling. Pieces of the roof breaking apart. They are tearing a hole not just on any roof, but perhaps Jesus’ roof.  The person they are seeking help from, they tear his roof apart.  That’s desperation.

The entire crowd staring. The conversation stops.  And then the awkwardness…a man on a mat being lowered 8 feet down to the foot of the homeowners whose house they just tore up.

But they didn’t care.  All they cared about was getting their friend healed.

Notice something important.

The paralyzed man couldn’t walk to Jesus. His mat he was lowered on was the mat of a pauper by his friends.

His friends carried him. This is a often picture of the church.

Sometimes people cannot get to Jesus on their own.

They are paralyzed by:

addiction

guilt

shame

despair

And God calls us to carry people to Jesus in that desperate situation.  The reason we pray for people every week is because people get desperate and need help expressing the words.  

And what is interesting is Jesus never gets tired, angry or frustrated at our desperation.  He welcomes it.

Look at what happens…the text says:

BIBLE VERSE

Mark 2:5

5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic… “

Jesus saw his desperation and is going to respond, but not the way the man hoped for. Look at how…

2: The man’s greatest need was addressed.

BIBLE VERSE

Mark 2:5-7

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?”

In Israel, in the time of Jesus, it was natural and inevitable. The Jews integrally connected sin and suffering. They argued that if people were suffering they must have sinned. That is in fact the argument that Job’s friends produced.

BIBLE VERSE

Job 4:7-8

7 “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? 8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. 

The Rabbis had a saying, ‘There is no sick man healed of his sickness until all his sins have been forgiven him.’ To the Jews, a sick person was someone with whom God was angry or angry with his parents.

It couldn’t be more dramatic. If someone was doing this right now, imagine. Everything would stop. The entire room would’ve immediately known what he was here for…healing.

Yet, Jesus doesn’t seem to know the man’s greatest need…to walk. Instead, Jesus offers forgiveness…

Now if this guy was like me, he would have said something like, “Uh, gee, well, uh, thanks. But everybody in the whole world but you, Jesus, seems to realize that’s not what I asked for. That’s not what I am needing right now.” I’m paralyzed! I have a more immediate problem here!” 

Jesus is saying, “No, you don’t.” That’s the whole point. Jesus is saying, “No you don’t.”

It is amazing those men make no reference to guilt or sin or forgiveness. Jesus does. Jesus is saying to him, “You think you know the main problem of your life, and you don’t.” Jesus is saying, “Look, I know you have problems. I know you’re suffering and I’m going to get to that. I know you’ve been the victim of terrible things that weren’t your fault, and I’m going to get to that.” 

But you need to realize the main problem in a person’s life is never their suffering; it’s their sin.

“The main problem in your life is not what’s happened to you, not what people have done to you, not what’s occurred. Your main problem is the wrong way you’ve responded to what’s happened …” 

The main problem is always deeper.  

You see, we tend to think…

If I had a little more money…I’ll be happy.

If I had a few more friends…then life would be better.

If I just got the thing I wanted…then I would never ask you God for anything else.

But it never does.  

More money…more problems.

More friends…more conflict.

More stuff…more headaches.

Why?  Because our main problem is not bound in the stuff.  Our main problem is not what has happened to us.  Our main problem is not the sickness or the disease.  Our main problem is a sin problem.  An idol problem.

Paul in his letter to Timothy says this:

BIBLE VERSE

I Timothy 6:6

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 

What is Paul driving at when he says this to his young protege?  Well, he’s basically saying if God has you…then you can be satisfied.  He’s the only one that brings contentment.  He’s the only one that can bring peace.

Barclay would say: 

Contentment comes when we escape the slavery to things, when we find our wealth in the love and the fellowship of others, and when we realize that our most precious possession is our friendship with God, made possible through Jesus Christ.

Follow me.  When Jesus says to the man, “your sins are forgiven,” he is saying I am giving you something that will truly make you whole…peace with God.  Your body maybe broken, but your soul is not.

See, the Bible says our deepest problem is every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus. We’re looking at something, whether it’s to walk, or to make it, or a relationship, or a condition, or a situation. We’re looking at something saying, “If I had that, then everything will be okay.” 

But it never is. And it never will be.  In our story…

This is not what anyone expected.

The man came for healing.

The crowd came for miracles.

But Jesus addresses the real problem.

Sin.

Our culture believes humanity’s greatest problem is:

lack of education

lack of opportunity

broken systems

But the Bible says something far more radical.

Our deepest problem is sin against God.

The man’s paralysis was tragic.

But his sin was eternal.

And Jesus deals with the eternal problem first.

This is the Gospel.

The Gospel is not primarily:

self-improvement

inspiration

life advice

The Gospel is the announcement that sins can be forgiven through Jesus Christ.

As Timothy Keller wrote:

“The gospel is this: we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

And Jesus could do this because…

3: Jesus claims he possesses divine authority.

3. Jesus Claims Divine Authority

BIBLE VERSE

Mark 2:6-12

.” 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!” 

Now, there is an interesting comparison that Mark will start to make in the gospel.  He uses a different word for crowd then most use in the New Testament.  His use for crowd would be what rabbis would call, “people of the land.”  It was the phrase they would use for the lower class.  And the rabbis would teach that the good Jew should not mix with those of the lower class.

Jesus would often be around and identify with this lower class.  And so I would imagine, the scribes that are entering the scene are there for an assignment.  They were there to see what all the fanfare was about this itinerate preacher.

So, Mark will take the “crowd” and often compare them to the elites and the ruling class, and in this theocracy, that would be the people of the law…or scribes. It would often be a sort of a showdown between Jesus and the lower class verses this ruling elite class.  

And this is what is happening here.  

The religious leaders are shocked here. They say…

“Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Ironically, they are correct.

Only God can forgive sins.

Which makes them raging mad.  Here’s why.  Their complaint that God is the only one that can forgive sins was not a defense of God’s sovereignty, but their own social power.  As Torah interpreters and co-stewards of the religious order, they controlled the means by which people’s debts were forgiven.

If you did not act right…do the right rituals enough…then they could keep you as outsiders.

Why did they do this….

The traditional Jewish count is 613 commandments in the Torah.

The Pharisees developed thousands of additional interpretive rules explaining how to obey those commandments.

These were called the “traditions of the elders.”

A famous example:

The Torah says “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8).

Pharisaic interpretation defined 39 categories of work forbidden on the Sabbath, called the Thirty-Nine Melachot.

Each category produced many detailed applications (for example, how far you could walk, whether you could carry something, etc.).

By the time of Jesus, these interpretations produced hundreds—likely thousands—of detailed rules governing daily life.

The Pharisees believed they were protecting the Torah, creating what they called a “fence around the law.”

Their idea was:

If we build extra rules around God’s law, people won’t accidentally break the real command.

This is why Jesus says later in Mark…

BIBLE VERSE

Mark 7:8

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 

So, when Jesus steps in to forgive sins…they are not just offended on the sake of God, they are terrified that the whole system that they created would collapse.

BUT, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS IS GOING TO DO AS WE WILL SEE AS WE GET FURTHER AND FURTHER INTO MARK.

And he will prove his authority with the miracle.  Remember, the rabbis believed that ‘There is no sick man healed of his sickness until all his sins have been forgiven him.’

Jesus is following their man-made idea and turning it on its head….HOW?

This moment raises a huge question.

How can Jesus forgive sins so easily?

Because forgiveness is never free.

If someone destroys your car and you forgive them, you absorb the cost.

Forgiveness always requires someone to pay.

Jesus could forgive this man because one day He would carry that man’s sin to the cross.

At the cross:

our guilt was placed on Christ

our punishment fell on Him

John Stott says:

“Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we must see it as something done by us.”

His righteousness was given to us

As the apostle Paul says:

BIBLE VERSE

2 Corinthians 5:21

“God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Conclusion: The Real Miracle

Let me show you the real miracle in this story.

Everyone in the room thought the greatest miracle would be a man walking.

But the greatest miracle was a sinner forgiven.

A healed body lasts a lifetime. A forgiven soul lasts eternity.

Think about it.

This man walked out of the house that day… but one day he would die again.

But the forgiveness Jesus gave him that day would never wear out.

And that is the miracle Jesus came to bring.

The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Not just that man’s sins. Your sins.

So the question is not simply, What happened in this house in Capernaum?

The real question is:

Where are you in this story?

1. Some of you are the paralyzed man.

You feel stuck.

Maybe it’s:

- guilt from your past

- shame you cannot shake

- habits you cannot break

- pain you cannot explain

And you keep thinking:

“If I could just fix this one thing… my life would be okay.”

But Jesus says the same thing to you that He said to that man:

“Your sins are forgiven.”

The greatest miracle God can do in your life is not fixing your circumstances. It is forgiving your soul.

2. Some of you are the four friends.

You know someone who cannot get to Jesus on their own.

They are paralyzed by:

addiction

depression

anger

confusion

doubt

And your calling is simple:

Carry them to Jesus.

Bring them in prayer. Bring them to church. Bring them into conversations about Christ.

Because sometimes the greatest act of faith is not walking to Jesus yourself…it is carrying someone else.

3. And some of us are closer to the scribes than we realize.

Close to Jesus. Close to church. Close to the Bible.

But our hearts are still far away.

You can know the rules and still miss the Savior.

You can sit in the room and still miss the miracle.

Imagine that house in Capernaum.

A hole in the roof. Dust in the air. A crowd holding its breath.

And Jesus looking at a broken man and saying:

“Son… your sins are forgiven.”

That same Jesus is speaking today.

Not through a hole in a roof.

But through the Gospel.

And He is saying to every person who will trust Him:

“Rise… take up your mat… and walk.”

Because the greatest miracle is not that Jesus makes bad people better.

The greatest miracle is that Jesus makes dead people alive.

And when that happens…

You will walk out of here saying the same thing they said that day:

“We have never seen anything like this.”