Mark 2 Paralytic

1 song

baptism

good afternoon

We have a baptism this morning

explain baptism —-

ordinance, OUTWARD EXPRESSION OF AN INWARD REALITY

its a profession of

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

go in the water your identifying with Jesus death and burial

you are cleansed and washed clean in Christ righteousness

and when you come out you are raised to NEW LIFE in Christ

This has already happened for the believer in the heart

And today Blake Watkins is going to make this proclimation

Blake will you come up

2nd-3rd song

announcments

Good afternoon everyone

Its so exciting to be here in our new location, at a new time

and its good to see some new faces out there

We are so happy your with us this morning…

now as I was studying todays passage

I started thinking about my friends

I dont know if you have any good friends

and I think a good way to gage

the solidness of a friendship

is not in plesantries but in actions

I can say when your in a healthy church

you should have many good friends

I have some good friends here today

from my sending church in Florida

they showed me their friendship

by driving and flying from southwest Florida

to help us this weekend

they showed up

and helped carry the load.

its like when you ask a friend

to help you move

you know you have a real one when

he shows up to carry heavy things

but as I have turned 36

Im starting to feel old.

I got a cramp tying my shoe the other day

and and said, Lord,

I thought this was supposed to happen at 56 not 36

So now I know 2 things

drink more water

and

carrying beds and dressers

for friends is out the window

but in all honesty

what does a good friend do

He shows up to help carry the load

today were going to be reading about 4 really good friends

who did whatever they could to bring their friend to Jesus

so will you please open your bibles

as we continue our verse by verse study

through the book of Mark

we are in Mark ch 2

Mark 2:1–4 “And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.”

So last week we read about how Jesus and His disciples

left to capernaum to go and preach in the surrounding towns

He literally said the reason HE came was to preach

and so they are now returning from their missionary journey of

preaching the gospel

and word gets out, Jesus is back !!!!

He is in the house

and so what happens,

the house fills up with people

and when the house fills up with people,

what does Jesus do

He starts teaching the word

and the people are hungry and listening intently at all of His words

May we people who love the teaching and preaching of Gods word

May we be the ones who fill up Gods house

because of our desire to be

around teachings of Jesus

and so this house

which is more than likely peters house

is filled to the brim

you know those signs for building codes that say

max number of people allowed in this building

they were way over that

elbow room only

so much that the door was fully blocked

there was anticipation

What was Jesus going to say

What was HE going to do

Dear friends let us have that same anticipation every time we come to church

What am I going to hear today

What is JEsus going to do

Guys, Jesus is doing amazing things in peoples lives

every Sunday

and we get to be a part of it!

and so the people are crammed in the house

As Jesus is preaching the Word ! Amen

and no one else could get in the house

but there are 5 men

who need to get in

they cant get in

because the door blocked

but they need to get in

you see

these 4 men have a friend who is a parylitic

this means

there the nerve signals between the brain

and the muscles are blocked.

this is either due to disease or physical injury

and it leaves the person paralyzed

and so this man has 4 friends

who despretely need to get him to Jesus

dear friends How badly to you want to get close to Jesus?

now the way homes were built in this day

is that they would have wooden beams going accross

the top of the house

and then they would lay sticks and

thatch, which is dried plant material

and mud accross the wooden timbers

in some cases there would be tiles

that would have been imported from european trade

and there was a layer of material

that would make up the roof

and would act as another room

where people would often eat

or lounge to get relief from the heat in the eavenings

and so usually, there was a staircase on the side of the house

so either these men

carried this paralytic up those stairs

or if those stairs were filled with people

they went up on someone elses roof

and walked from roof to roof

to get to the home Jesus was in

THIS is a bold faith

that leads to action

now I want you to imagine your in the room,

listening to Jesus

and hanging on every word He speaks

when all of the sudden

you here a thud

and dirt starts falling from the ceiling

and Jesus looks up

and all of a suden

a huge chunk of dirt comes crashing in

as the light of sun peeks through the new hole in the roof

and before you know it there is a large hole

and you see a gurney

with this man

being let down through the roof

and into the presance of Jesus

and dear friends these men

were bold

and brave

and willing to take great risk

to get to Jesus

If the enemy blocks

your way into the house where Jesus is

you dont turn and walk away

you dig a hole in the roof

and do what it takes

there was nothing stopping these men from

coming to the one who had the power to heal their friend

We must have this same fire

and determination to get our friends to Jesus

Let us be a curch that brings our friends to the rooftop

and sends them in droves through the hole

in the cieling and into the Church

Matthew 11:12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

we will face violence from the enemy

there will be spiritual warefare

but God is calling strong men and women to take the fight

right back at the enemy

this passage is an example of where men

took the kingdom by force

D.A. Carson says

The kingdom is making great strides; now is the time for courageous souls, forceful people, to take hold of it.” (Carson)

let us take ahold of the kingdom

and do what it takes to get our friends

into the presance of Jesus

now

lets look at what Jesus Says

to the paralyzed man when he is let down through the roof

and into His presance

Mark 2:5 “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.””

Hallelujah

upon seeing their faith

Jesus proclaims your sins are forgiven

now what do you think this man is thinking ?

He is probbly like awesome

but what about me legs

you see Jesus was addressing

the more important thing

which was healing from His sin

and this proclimation held even more weight

than all of the healings Jesus did

because in this very statment

Jesus claims to be God

look at what the scribes and pharisees say after hearing

this

Mark 2:6–7 “And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?””

while they were wrong about Jesus speaking blasphemies

they were absolutely right about God

being the only one who can forgive sins

Now blasphemy is a very serious sin

and it is attributing characteristics to God that are not true or holy

it is essentially disrespecting God

and speaking evil or falsely of Him

When the pharisees heard Jesus say

your sins are forgiven

they believed He was disrespecting God

because only God could forgive sin.

this is indeed true and

it is a very clear evidence

to the diety of Christ

this means Jesus holds divine authority

and in Himself holds the very nature of God

Jesus is God

He has authority to forgive sins

yet the pharisees are not happy about this

and they dont like it

now let me take a step back so that you

could understand this crowd better.

there were 3 types of people here

the people who were only there to see miricales

and what they could get out of Jesus

the people who like the pharisees, only wanted to

judge Him and trap Him —- these are the legalists

and then there were people who genuinely wanted to hear the good news of His preaching

may we be the ones who come because we

genuinely want to hear about His Good news

because God knows our hearts

and our thoughts

look at verse 8

Mark 2:8–9 “But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?”

Jesus knows what they are thinking

He knows they are doubting His divinity

and He calls them out

Why are doubting me

why are you thinking ill of me

why dont you believe

and so Jesus poses this question to them

What is easier ?

to tell this paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven

or to tell Him to get up and walk?

What do you think?

you see

anyone can say your sins are forgiven

but to actually bring forth healing to a paralytic

that is impossible

and so Jesus

decides , I am going to make a point here

while were in this crowded house

and people are on the edge of their seats

Jesus teaches with the demonstration of power

Mark 2:10–12 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!””

Heres His point

My Word is Truth and I am going to prove it

He kept proving it all the way to the ressurection

We believe Jesus Words because of what He did

and who He is

John 14:11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.”

and so His miricales

validate His message

and so Jesus is saying

I know yall are doubting me

but when I heal this man

you will know a few things —-

first off they will know He is the son of man

the Son of man was Jesus favorite title for Himself

and it is found in

Daniel 7:13–14 ““I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.”

the son of man does not mean a mere man

but one who is like a son of man

yet He comes in the clouds of heaven to establish a kingdom in Glory

and all nations will and peoples will serve Him

This is a messianic term

and so When He heals the paralytic He is proving He is messiah

He is also Proving His divinity

because remember

only God can forgive sins

and so Jesus

The Son of Man

turns to the paralytic

after declaring His sins are forgiven

and tells the man

arise , pick up your bed

and go to your house.

and at the sound of His voice

in the same way when God said

let there be light and there was light

Jesus said rise up

and the man got up ….

He came into the room through the ceiling as a paralytic

and he left the room walking out fully healed

dear friends this passage holds so much weight to it

as we look at the implications of this healing and the people involved

and that brings us to our first point

Find friends that will bring you closer to Jesus

these 4 men showed creativity and persistence

they were willing to take great risk

to get their friend to Jesus

we want to be around people like this

who are willing to go after Jesus in this type of way

in the same token

there may be some people in your life hindering you from coming closer to Jesus

there may be people in your life

putting you on a gurney

and bringing you onto the roof of sin

give those people the gospel

and distance yourself from them

because they will lead you to destruction

I have a friend in Florida

we used to share the gospel together

as he got older

he started hanging around people who

led him into drugs and partying

he walked away from the Lord

and he lived in sin

His spirit was literally paralyzed

and he became unrecognizeable

He ends up in a house fire that kills mutiple people

he passes out

and gets saved by a fireman

by Gods grace

my brother in Christ reconnected with him

he brought him back to his church

and the young man is clean

and walking with the Lord again

do you see how having friends who want to bring you closer to Jesus is so important

If you spend a long enough time in the barbershop

your going to get a haircut

If you spend a long enough time with friends in the word

your going to get peace in your heart and relationship with Jesus

Q. So do you have close friends who are bringing you closer to Jesus

If not, I want to be that friend

and I know a lot of people in here who want to be that friend too

in the same way

let us be the friend who is willing to carry the man on a bed

Be the friend who brings people closer to Jesus

because honestly sometimes

people are so burdened

they need to be carried

look at

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

are you willing to carry your friends burdens with them

to bring them to Christ?

Q. Who are you carrying closer to Jesus?

and ask yourself

Am I the type of person who is influencing my friends and family in righteousness

Q. who is it that your willing to tear open the roof for

and who is a part of your team

because dear friends we can go at it alone

there were four men carrying the one

lets team up together to bring people to the healer

imagine if I tried to carry this piano down the stairs by myself

I couldnt do it,

I would need friends to get all four sides

in the same way

we need eachother to do ministry

I just have a picture of the church being these four men

and running gurneys of sick souls up on the roof

to get them to Jesus

This is what we are called to do

we are all just christian friends , trying to help our friends, get closer to the ultimate friend

Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

we want to be that friend to eachother

but more importantly

we want that friendship with our Lord Jesus Christ

Now I want to pose a question?

What happens when

a person comes to Jesus as a paralytic and is not healed

Hey we tore the roof off to get them to JEsus

and they were not healed

dear friends dont miss this

that Jesus main objective is always the heart

and that brings us to our last point

Rejoice that your paralyzed heart of sin has been healed

This passage is a wonderful picture of what Jesus has done

to all of us in our hearts

saying your sins are forgiven is way easier to do

but actually forgiving someones sins is way harder to do

let me remind you what it cost our savior to purchse our salvation

He lived a perfect life on your behalf,

He never sinned

and He went to the cross willingly

to recieve your punishment for sin

as He hangs on the cross

He takes on the wrath of God in your place for your sin

and He rose from the dead 3 days later

to establish His Authority over sin and the grave

and He offers you

to take part in His kingdom

if you will just come

bring your paralyzed heart to the throne of grace and be healed

Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

This is what God does when we come to Jesus by faith

the heart of stone is paralyzed

stones dont move on their own ——

yet the heart of flesh

is the very heart of Christ

His heart is placed inside of you

When He looks at you and

calls you by name

and says , Your sins are forgiven

so dear friends rejoice

not just that your body was healed

but rejoice that your sins are forgiven

and so this afternoon

I want to allow this miricale of healing to point us to the

ultimate miricale

of the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ

let us surround ourselves with men and women

who will bring us closer to Him

let us also be the men and women who will do what it takes to get our friends

to the feet of Jesus

and when we fail at being that friend

remember that JESUS WAS THE PERFECT FRIEND IN YOUR PLACE

HE IS THE PERFECT AND ULTIMATE FRIEND

AND HOW SWEET IT IS TO HAVE A FRIEND IN JESUS

SO DEAR FRIENDS

let us rejoice

that we have come to Christ, in faith

and that we have heard those words spoke to our soul

from our God and savior Jesus Christ

brother, sister your sins are forgiven

now maybe you have never received Christ as your savior

maybe today will be that day

that you hear those sweet words spoken to your soul

lets pray