Sermon Tone Analysis

Bible Reading

Introduction

We’ve been studying together the Gospel of Mark, and as we’ve done that study through the first chapter of Mark, I think it’s clear that Mark has been placing a great emphasis on the fact of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the authority of Jesus Christ.

Mark very clearly outlines specific incidents which took place in the life of Jesus Christ which indicated to the crowds looking on that here was one that had come into the world who was authoritative!

Jesus was one who was looked upon by those who saw him as a man with authority!

This Gospel, according to Mark, is the Gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1).

And very quickly, the authority with which Jesus spoke, and the authority that He demonstrated through the works (miracles) that he performed, demonstrated to the crowds that He had authority, and they evoked within the crowds a sense of awe and wonder!

But until this point in the Gospel, that’s really the only response we’ve been shown - that of awe and wonder!!

Chapter 2 in Mark’s Gospel marks a turning point.

From Mark 2:1 - 3:6, Mark outlines a series of events which take place which are marked by confrontation to Jesus Christ by the spiritual leaders of the day.

The spiritual leaders are going to oppose Jesus, and they will confront him.

These are sections marked by conflict!!

The transition to this new section on conflict really began back in 1:44, where Jesus told the leper that he had just healed of leprosy to go and show himself to the priest, and to offer the required sacrifices as a testimony to them (or rather, as a testimony against them).

You will recall that I mentioned last week that the healing of the leper presented a dilemma for the priests, in that the miracle that had been performed would need to have been recognised as a work of God (since the power behind the miracle was undeniable).

Thus if the priests were honest with themselves, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ was from God.

Further than that however, these priests would never be able to point the finger at Jesus and say that Jesus was working against God by going against the law of Moses, since Jesus had specifically instructed this leper who was healed to go and perform the necessary sacrifices, and thus abide by the law of Moses.

But despite the clear authority of Jesus, and despite the miracles that were performed in order to confirm that this was indeed the promised Messiah, the spiritual leaders of that day would rise up in opposition to Jesus.

And that opposition begins in the text we read this morning.

1.

The Request for Healing

Verse 1 of our text sets the context for us.

You will recall that previously after Christ had had a busy Sabbath day, he awoke the next morning very early and went out to pray, and the entire town was looking for Him, Jesus said to His disciples that they would go to the other nearby villages so that he could preach there also (v.38).

And so, according to Mark 1:39 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons.

At this point, in Mark 2:1, Jesus Christ has returned to what was considered his “home” in Capernaum, and the people of the town get word that He has returned, and that He is in the house.

It’s not certain if this was a home that was given to him by those who supported his ministry, or if this was the house of Simon and Andrew again that Jesus was staying in - I think it’s likely the latter.

But When the people hear that Jesus is back, they once again flock to Him.

They remember him from when He performed mighty miracles in their midst.

Many of them had probably had members of their own family healed, or if not, most likely they had had people that they knew well healed.

And so they all flock to Jesus in order to hear what it is that He has to say.

The crowd is again, we’re told, so large that all the people that wanted to hear him couldn’t fit into the house where he was preaching, and they filled the place to overflowing, such that one could not even gain access to the front door of the house.

Notice what Christ was doing: Preaching the Word!!!

Those gathered had gathered to hear the word preached.

But we must also note who specifically were amongst those gathered.

At this point, not merely those who lived in Capernaum.

By this time, the fame of Jesus had spread, and various scribes and pharisees came to listen (and probably test) what it was that Jesus was saying.

Recall that Jesus had been throughout Galilee, preaching in the synagogues.

All these pharisees and teachers of the law had now been exposed to His teaching, and were intrigued.

These teachers had now come together to hear Christ preaching...

The paralytic arrives...

At this point, the paralytic arrives on scene, being carried by four men.

Some things to note...

The men have a genuine concern for their friend who is paralysed.

Wonderful demonstration of love and kindness...

They would most likely have made a special arrangement for him to be able to be carried there.

But they are obstructed, unable to reach the Saviour.

But they don’t stand waiting, hoping for something to happen.

The proactively take further steps in order to ensure that this man is brought to the feet of Christ without delay!!

Application:

The friends are eager to bring this man who is in need of healing to Christ in order to receive that healing.

Are we eager to bring our friends, and to even overcome obstacles in bringing our friends to Jesus, even when the obstacles seem great?

Continue:

And so they take the man up onto the roof of the house that Jesus is in.

In that day, there were usually stairs on the outside of the houses which went up onto the roof.

The roof ...

This outside cover of a house was generally flat.

It had beams with transverse rafters, overlaid with brushwood, tree branches, etc., on top of which was a thick blanket of mud or clay mixed with chopped straw, beaten and rolled.

Such a roof was not difficult to “unroof”

Even though this may not have been the most difficult roof to get through, it still would have caused quite a stir.

Digging away the dirt of the roof / clay of the roof, would have resulted in bits of dirt falling down onto the heads of the those below.

Consider what your response would be, with all these important teachers of the law sitting there, evaluating this authoritative teaching...

How dare these people do this…what are they thinking!?!

I would certainly imagine that most of those present there would have been indignant to the malicious damage to property being caused.

But the determination of the men drives them forward.

And eventually, having dug through the roof, a hole large enough to fit a man lying down on a stretcher / mat / pallet, they lower the man down at the feet of Jesus.

2. The Response of Jesus: Forgiveness

Immediately we see the contrast to how we would typically respond and react, and how Jesus responded.

The word “son” here is an endearing term rather than a condescending one

It shows Jesus’ care and concern for the man.

There is no wasted time on the concern and unhappiness of the roof having been damaged / broken through, but rather Christ focuses on the core issue, and he demonstrates concern for people, above concern for things!!!

Application:

How often are we so concerned for the things of lesser significance, where there are opportunities to speak into matters of great significance.

But not only does Jesus respond with affection, but he responds to a problem completely different to that which was perceived by all those present there that day.

It was as clear as could be that the man was a paralytic.

It was patently evident that here was a man with a real physical need.

And Christ didn’t deny that - he addressed it, as we will see.

But Christ recognised that there was a deeper and more serious problem than the physical, and he immediately addressed the more serious problem.

Regarding this man having his sins forgiven, we can be sure that he must have been in a sense overwhelmed.

We need to recall that in the day of the Israelites, very often those who were ill or disabled were thought to be so as a consequence of sin.

Recall the time that Jesus and his disciples came across a man who had been blind from birth...

Jesus disciples asked Him, “who was it that sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ...

We also have the example of the friends of Job, who suggested to Job that it must have been sin which had caused his punishment...

And so it’s possible that even this paralytic lived with some measure of guilt for sin, with the society surrounding him bringing judgments...

We should not however infer from this that the paralysis of the man was directly caused by sin.

But what we do see is that Jesus, through this proclamation of the mans sins being forgiven, is declaring and demonstrating to all people present that He has not only the power to heal the body, but also the power to heal the soul.

3. The Response of the Teachers: Indignation

As Christ says these words to this man, “your sins are forgiven” the pharisees and teachers of the law are having their minds begin to work overtime...

“What did He just say” - “What does He mean when he says your sins are forgiven”?

Recall that these are men zealous for God.

Zealous for the law.

Zealous to ensure that people say all the right things in all the right ways...

They have an eye and ear for error

And so as they hear these words, we read in verse 7 that they were thinking to themselves...

Now we need to consider some important questions here.

What exactly is meant here when it says that God alone can forgive sins?

What did Christ imply by His words “your sins are forgiven”?

And why was it that it was seen as blasphemy?

After all, do you and I not forgive people?

William Hendricksen writes:

To be sure, there is a sense in which we, too, forgive, namely, when we earnestly resolve not to take revenge but instead to love the one who has injured us, to promote his welfare, and never again to bring up the past (Matt.

6:12, 15; 18:21; Luke 6:37; Eph.

4:32; Col. 3:13).