The Gospel of Mark: A Daring Faith

The second chapter of the Gospel of Mark opens with one of the most remarkable acts of faith we see and all the Scriptures. According to this passage, Jesus has just finished a preaching tour of the Galilee, and he has returned to the city of Capernaum. The news quickly spreads that he is returned, and the crowds descend upon the place where he is staying. No doubt friends and disciples of Jesus were present in goodly numbers, with genuine interest in the truth. Also, there must have been many “rubbernecks” burning with curiosity to hear what Jesus would say and especially what he would do. Last but not least, there were straitlaced rabbis – Pharisees and doctors of the law – filled with envy, and deeply disturbed about the large crowds Jesus was attracting. The result is that the house is filled and there is not even space to squeeze through the doorway.

Verse two of the passage, tells us that Jesus was preaching and teaching. But in the middle of his sermon, an event takes place that is going to give him an opportunity to teach what true faith is all about. We are about to meet five men who are willing to do almost anything to be in the presence of Jesus. We see the absolute determination of their faith, and their faith is a testimony and an encouragement to us.

Faith of the friends

Forgiving love of the Savior

I. THE FAITH OF THE FRIENDS

1. Jesus was always pleased when he saw faith put into action

ILLUS. #1. The Canaanite woman of Matthew 15:22-28. She cries out to Jesus, “Have mercy on me, Lord, aSon of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” Jesus tells her that He has been sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. She continues to plead with Him, and Jesus gets curt and even insulting when he tells her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” Her response is, “Yes, but even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Jesus praises her, saying, “Woman, your faith is great, your daughter will be healed.”

ILLUS. #2. In Luke’s gospel, we have an account of a Roman military commander who’s slave is sick. He has a high regard for his servant, and when he hears that Jesus is in town he asks some of the local Jewish elders to intercede with Jesus on his behalf. As Jesus starts for the home of the commander, he is met by a second contingent. The Centurion has sent friends to tell Jesus that he is not worthy for Jesus to come under his roof, but just say the word and he knows that his servant will be healed. Luke writes, Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, andnot even in Israel have I found such great faith.”

2. Jesus is always gratified by our faith – without which it is impossible to please God

3. the faith of these three men is evidenced in that . . .

A. FIRST, THESE MEN DARED TO DO THE DIFFICULT

1. it was not easy to bring this man to the Lord

a. they had to carry him, who knows how far, through the streets of the city – perhaps from an outlying village

b. when they arrived at the house where the Lord was teaching, they found the house full and the doorway blocked

c. assessing the situation, they realized they could carry the man up an outside flight of stairs to the roof of the home

2. we do not know how heavy this man might have been, but it is not easy to carry a full-grown man who is nothing but dead weight up a flight of narrow stairs

a. these for friends manage the difficult task

b. they dared to do the difficult

B. SECOND, THESE MEN DARED TO DO THE UNORTHODOX

1. when they found that the door was blocked, and that the house was full, they did not sit down, as so many of us would have done, and appoint a committee to research the various ways to get to Jesus

2. these men did what was necessary

a. in doing so, they risked the disapproval not only of the owner of the house but also of every person there, by interrupting the meeting in order to get their friend to Jesus

3. the remarkable thing is that Jesus never rebukes them, nor criticizes them for their interruption

a. you can almost picture the bemused smile on our Lord’s face, as dust and chunks of mud and pieces of straw begin to rain down upon those in the home

1) this is not some tiny hole that these men are digging through the roof

2) its large enough to let a man down who’s laying prostrate on a stretcher

4. these men dared to do the unorthodox

C. THIRD, THESE MEN DARED TO DO THE COSTLY

1. somebody had to pay for that roof

2. imagine the face of the owner, sitting there at the feet of Jesus, when he hears the sounds of picks and shovels on his roof

a. he looks up and, to his amazement, a hole begins to appear in the ceiling of his home

1) the hole gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger as this man’s eyes get bigger and bigger and bigger, until suddenly a head pops through to make sure that their on target

b. wouldn’t you love to know what this guy is thinking?

1) is he wondering if his homeowner’s policy is going to cover this?

2) does he began to mentally calculate the bill to present to these home wreckers?

3. somebody had to pay that bill, somebody had to repair that roof, and surely it was one, if not all, of these men

4. these four friends had the faith to believe that Jesus would welcome them and that Jesus could change their friend’s life

a. they took a bold step of faith, ignoring all the insults, and outrage thrown at them to make sure their friend had a chance for healing

b. they had a faith that refused to die in the face of obstacles

II. THE FORGIVING LOVE OF THE SAVIOR

Mark 2:5 "And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” NASB95

1. we don’t know why the man on the stretcher was paralyzed

a. we do know that the medical dictionary in those days was a very short one

b. people then believed that all illnesses had one of two causes . . .

1) you had either done something to make God mad and the illness was God’s punishment, or . . .

2) you were possessed by a demon

c. that’s it

d. to stay healthy all you had to do was stay away from demons, don’t make God mad and everything will be okay

2. considering that this man is paralyzed, the thinking of the crowd must have been, “Man, what’s this guy done?”

A. JESUS DEALS WITH THE ROOT PROBLEM IN THE MAN’S LIFE – SIN

1. as the hole gets bigger, I think Jesus is more and more bemused

a. I can picture Him trying to keep a straight face, but not quit able to do so

2. as Jesus stands there, the paralytic man is lowered to the ground right in front of Him

a. Jesus looks up to see four anxious faces peering down through the hole in the ceiling

b. He looks down on the hopeful and now perhaps somewhat embarrassed man on the pallet

c. He looks out at a room full of people – and one distraught homeowner – who all wait in expectancy – what will Jesus say? What will He do?

1) will he heal this man . . .

2) or will he become angry that His bible study has been interrupted?

3. Jesus looks down at the man and says, You’re sins are forgiven

a. Jesus never took sin lightly

1) He never told people, “Do you feel guilty? Don’t worry about it.”

2) this is the philosophy of our day – and it doesn’t work

3) we live in a culture where so many people feel horribly guilty, but they don’t know why because they’ve been told it has nothing to do with their behavior

b. Jesus regarded sin as inexcusable departure from God’s holy law

c. But he also offered the only true solution

B. SIN FORGIVEN LEADS TO SOME AMAZING CURES

1. God knows what much of modern scientific medicine has forgotten

a. our mind, our will, our emotions and our bodies are all inextricably linked

b. you cannot have a problem in one of those areas without the whole being affected

2. I have read medical journal articles that say that upwards of 50% of hospital patients could go home well in days, if they could experience one thing – forgiveness

a. one of the most difficult things for medical doctors to heal is illnesses and diseases associated with a person's failure to forgive

b. forgiveness is extremely difficult for some people

1) for some people, the most difficult thing to do is forgiving yourself

c. when people keep their bitterness, their resentments, their anger inside for years on end it takes a toll

1) the results are cardiovascular illness or disease, arthritis or rheumatism, chronic depression and even mental illness

3. Jesus offers this man what he needs the most

a. the result?

Mark 2:12 "And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” NASB95

III. LESSONS FROM MARK 2:1-12

A. FAITH IS THE ROOT OF ALL GREAT WORKS

ILLUS. T. S. Elliot once said, “The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.”

1. faith is believing that God is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think

a. ultimately, faith is being obedient to the Word and Will of the Father

B. WE MUST BE WILLING TO PAY ANY COST TO BRING LOST PEOPLE TO JESUS

C. WE MUST BE FAITHFUL WITNESSES: JESUS IS THE TRUE SOUL WINNER

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