Your Sins Are Forgiven; Rise and Walk
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Good morning,
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Mark 2:1-12
Having studied Mark chapter 1 for 7 weeks now, we turn our attention to chapter 2.
We know from chapter 1, that Mark’s primary aim is to show us that Jesus really is the divine Son of God.
Mark identifies Jesus as early as verse 1…
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In verse 10, A voice from Heaven identifies him at his baptism.
10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
And in verse 24, even demons proclaim who he is.
24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
The claims are serious…, Jesus is the Son of God, the Holy One of God. He is divine. He teaches with the authority of God, heals the sick, cleanses the leper, and sends demons away trembling in fear.
And if its true..... then these claims are life changing, eternity shaping, claims.
If Jesus really is God in the flesh, then the very purpose of our lives changes.
If Jesus is God… then eternity is real…, our need for forgiveness is real…, and the goodness of the good news of salvation is real.
But not everybody is pleased to believe that this is Jesus’ identity.
Thus far, we have seen only excited and amazed crowds gathering around Jesus...
But the story we turn to this morning, introduces us both to some who believe whole-heartedly and to some who refuse to believe.
Tucked away in this passage is the first of five confrontations or controversies in a row that Jesus has with the religious leaders of the day who refuse to believe.
So lets read and pray for God to grant us both understanding and faith to believe in Jesus the Son of God.
1 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.
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “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?”
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!”
Lets Pray
1 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.
Jesus is back in Capernaum.
This is where Mark first records that crowds were gathering around Jesus,
In chapter 1 verse 38-39, Jesus leaves Capernaum to preach the word elsewhere, but now some time has passed and Jesus has returned.
It was not long, however, that word got out that the teacher had returned
and the crowds flocked to Jesus once again.
Jesus was preaching the Word.... and as he preached the crowds grew and grew.
On this particular occasion, Jesus was not teaching outdoors, or in a synagogue, but it appears that he was preaching from someone’s home...
The text seems to suggest that this is Jesus’ home,
It’s not super clear whose house it is, but what is clear is that throughout Jesus’ preaching, the crowd overwhelmed this home.
Imagine a living room packed full of people from wall to wall with multiple windows filled with onlooking faces and even out the door the crowd squeezes and presses in to hear the words of Jesus.
No social distancing in this home for sure.
They are packed wall to wall, window to window.
The scene then changes in verse 2 from those inside the home to a group of five men who are stuck outside the home.
3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
This group of men are late to the party.
Likely because their travel to the site was a bit slower than everyone elses.
Having caught wind of Jesus’ whereabouts these four men carry their paralyzed friend through the streets of Capernaum with the hope that Jesus might be willing to heal him.
I cannot imagine the difficulties of being a paralytic even today.
Many of us take for granted the ability to walk, to run, to stand, to drive, to use our arms and our legs as they were intended to be used…Its all grace that our bodies respond to the signals that our brains send.
But there are many in this broken world, that feel every single day that this world is not the way it was supposed to be because their bodies do not work the way they are supposed to work.
There are many that face the brokenness of their own body every morning when they wake up.
The brokenness of our bodies are a painful reminder of the brokenness of our world, and the need for new bodies and a new creation....
But to be a paralytic in the first century would have brought perhaps even greater challenges.
There were very few jobs available to someone who could not walk.
There were not many desk jobs, nor were there technologies that might aid the handicap person.
Those who were paralyzed or crippled, were driven to lives of poverty, begging for the assistance of by-passers.
Combine that with the common belief that such severe suffering was due to their own sinfulness or the sinfulness of their parents, and the paralytic truly found them self in a hopeless situation.
Mark 2:1-12 is the story of a real man who had really lived a hard and seemingly hopeless life.
We do not know if he was born this way, or if he had suffered a severe injury as a child or as an adult.
I don’t know what is worse, to never know what it is to walk, or to have it taken from you do to irreversible injury.
We only know that he was desperate for healing, and he had four friends that were desperate for his healing as well.
So when they heard of Jesus’ location, they rushed to carry this man to the only one whom they thought could reverse his situation.
But upon arriving late to the house where Jesus was teaching… You can imagine the sinking feeling that must have set in when they arrive to see the crowd so numerous and so packed in together that reaching Jesus was impossible.
Its hard enough to squeeze one person through the gaps in the pressing crowd, much less a paralytic man on a portable bed.
You can imagine the four men holding their friend sort of outside of the crowded house staring at what seemed to be an opportunity lost...
When one of them says to the other…I've got an idea.
Its risky, presumptuous, probably vandalism, and might get us in a lot of trouble…, but if he is who we think he is… it might be worth it.
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.
So one of the guys apparently spots the small stone stairs leading up to the roof of the house.
Roofs in those days functioned very much like decks.
They were flat spaces for getting fresh air, drying out laundry, and so on… and they were made out of wooden beams covered by a layer of hardened mud thick enough to walk on and to even place furniture on.
So these guys sneak around back, climb to the roof with their paralyzed friend still on the bed…
If you have ever helped someone move in or out of an apartment on the second or third floor you know what its like to maneuver a couch up stairs… but these guys are maneuvering a man on some sort of board up the stairs and on to the roof.
Once on the roof they start digging through the mud roof that they were standing on.
Now this is wild to consider from these guys’ perspective.
But think about from the perspective of the people in the house.
Jesus is preaching. Everyone is locked on to what the teacher is saying....
When suddenly some dirt begins to fall on to his head and into the living room. It starts out as just a little… and then a lot...., and then sunlight is breaking through the ceiling as you see 8 hands frantically pulling the roof and the hole growing larger and larger.
At this point, surely there is reaction from the owner or the people present, but before you know it somebody jumps down into the house and begins lowering another man on some sort of transportable bed into the middle of the room.
Now at this moment…all eyes are now on Jesus...
I mean his sermon was just interrupted by these rude, careless, sinful, house crashers, who couldn’t wait their turn to see Jesus.
Jesus should scold these guys for their behavior and send them to the back of the crowd where they belong.
But to everyone’s surprise, Jesus doesn’t appear angry… rather he seems almost pleased by what was happening.
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now before I comment on what Jesus said, let me just comment on what Jesus saw...
Apparently, what Jesus saw, was not vandalism or cutting in line.
Jesus “saw” their faith.
We tend to think of faith as a simple knowledge and belief in true things....
but for this man and his friends… their faith became visible.
Faith was more than an acknowledgment of certain facts to be true.
Faith was belief that moves.
belief that motivates.
Truth #1 Faith that Saves is Faith that is Seen
Truth #1 Faith that Saves is Faith that is Seen
For these men… there was no hope unless Jesus truly was the miracle working messiah.
For these men… there was no where else to turn, there was no step they were not willing to take.
If Jesus really was the messiah, then there was no shame in clawing their way through someone else’s roof to get their beloved friend before the eyes of the one with the authority of God.
This is what genuine, saving faith does to a person..... it produces action that is visible.
This is why James says it the way that he does in James 2.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
Jesus looked on this suffering Paralytic and called him “son”....
Even before his physical healing, there was a spiritual healing taking place and it was tied to his faith....
there was no disconnect between what this man believed to be true and his own actions...
If you really believe that Jesus is the messiah and the Lord.... then you do what it takes to get to him, to serve him, to present yourself before him.
I wonder how many of us have a faith that can be seen...
I wonder how many of us display actions that are consistent with our belief...
Jesus SAW their faith...., but more remarkable is what Jesus then said.
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus’ words here are shocking
Your sins are forgiven...
They are shocking for a couple reasons.
one......, is this really what the man needed? Doesn’t he need healing from his paralysis?
two....., With what authority can Jesus say “your sins are forgiven”?
And really its that second reason, that ruffles up the religious onlookers the most.
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?
It is here where we see the first clash between Jesus and the religious elite of the day.
The scribes were the scholars of the law.
They were respected leaders in Judaism, but as we will see, all their tradition, and their pride led them to oppose the Jesus who came to fulfill all the Scripture they claimed to know.
Being good students of theology, they immediately recognized the problems with what Jesus has just said.
Though they did not say it out loud, their minds and hearts raced with questions. And Jesus knew what they were thinking. As just a frightening side note.... there is no thought or intention of your heart that goes unseen by God.
7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
The accusation of blasphemy was a big deal.
In fact, forms of blaspheme in the Old Testament were subject to the death penalty.
To blaspheme meant to insult God directly by undervaluing him or mocking him.
In this case Jesus was claiming to have authority to do something that God alone could do.
Jesus was putting himself in the place of God....
I like how Sinclair Ferguson puts the predicament in his commentary.
“God alone can forgive sins. There was nothing wrong with their theology. But there was something wrong with their logic. They reasoned: since only God can forgive sins, and this man claims to forgive sins, then he must be blaspheming. There was, however, an alternative conclusion: perhaps he did have the authority to forgive sins, in which case he must be.... God!” - Sinclair Ferguson
Truth #2 Jesus is God Who Forgives
Truth #2 Jesus is God Who Forgives
The scribes were actually correct with their question, they just were wrong in their conclusion.
The question of verse 7, at the center of this passage, is the question Mark wants us to answer rightly.
“Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
The right answer is nobody.
God is the only one who could forgive sins.
Even the Old Testament priests were not the ones who offering forgiveness.
They simply presented the sacrifices to God and prayed for the forgiveness of the people...
God is the one who declares whether someone is forgiven or not...
Yet Jesus says, “Your Sins Are Forgiven.”
Jesus is explicitly claiming to have the authority of God himself and he is showing what he really came to accomplish.
Man’s first and greatest need is forgiveness.
Jesus addresses the spiritual problem before he addresses the physical problem.
And then he proves the reality of his authoritative forgiveness of sins, with an observable miracle - the healing of the paralytic.
But Jesus sets up the miracle of healing with some teaching.
He asks a question to set up what he is about to do and how it should be interpreted.
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
Which is a more difficult task? he asks...
Is it more outlandish that I have the authority to forgive sins?
Or Is it more impossible that I command this paralytic man to stand up and walk around...
Jesus continues...
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!”
What a moment this must have been for this man and his four friends…
I can’t imagine the joy, the tears, the bewilderment that must have been taking place in that room in that moment.
I just want to say this.... Jesus’ miracles were no small miracles.
These historical records we have telling the story of Jesus do not comment on Jesus healing back pain, or headaches, or lengthening someone’s leg through optical illusion.
When Jesus speaks..... paralyzed people stand up and walk.
Blind people see
Deaf people hear
Dead people live.
“We never saw anything like this” is the response of the people.
Amazement and worship is the right response...
But Jesus’ questions before the miraculous act are important.
What is so interesting about this story, is that Jesus seems to be painting the forgiveness of sins as the greater miracle, and the healing of the paralytic as simply the supportive miracle… the forgiveness of sins is the main event, and the man now using his legs for the first time is the supporting role.
Truth #3 Forgiveness is the Greater Miracle
Truth #3 Forgiveness is the Greater Miracle
This man stands up and walks, perhaps for the first time in his life, and Jesus says that this miracle was performed for the purpose of authenticating Jesus’ authority to forgive sins.
The lesser miracle serves the greater.
Now what does this say about the miracle of forgiveness?
What does this say about the miracle of spiritual life being given to the spiritually dead?
This man was hopeless and helpless..
He could not move his legs on his own accord.
And at the word of Jesus, he stood and walked....
but we are to see this miracle as paling in comparison to what Jesus did with the words, “Your sins are forgiven..”
Our spiritual condition apart from Christ is far worse than paralysis.
In our sin we are blind to the goodness of God,
deaf to the word of God,
have not taste for the glory of God,
have no desire for the gifts of God,
In our sin, we have no hope to earn forgiveness,
We have no strength to save ourselves,
We have no knowledge of true joy, nor awareness of where to find it.
In our sin, we are more than paralyzed, we are dead to things of God and doomed to the consequences of our sin…
But Jesus....
Jesus has the authority to set us free..
he has the authority to bring us to life...
he has the authority to bring us forgiveness for every wrong doing ever committed.
he has the authority to stand us up and have us walk in pursuit of him for the first time.
This is the goodness of the gospel… Jesus has the authority to forgive our sins totally and completely for all of eternity…
And one day, we who have been forgiven will live in a world without the brokenness.
As I have said before, Jesus’ miracles serve as a foretaste to what will be in the Kingdom of God for all of eternity.
With every miracle he is pulling back the curtain to what we have been promised - new bodies, with no more disabilities, no more paralysis, no more pain, no more brokenness, and no more sin in need of forgiveness.
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
This is the good news… Jesus has the very authority of God to forgive you of your sins and invite you into the kingdom he will establish for all eternity...
#1 Faith that Saves is Faith that is Seen
#2 Jesus is God Who Forgives
#3 Forgiveness is the Greater Miracle
So how should we respond this morning to this Jesus who makes the lame walk and brings forgiveness to the sinner?
Let me leave you with a few take aways:
Takeaways:
Run to Jesus with Your Every Need
Align Your Faith with Your Life
Be Amazed with Jesus
#1 Run to Jesus with Your Every Need.
The faith of these men pleased Jesus.
They ran to him with what was both physical and spiritual need.
They ran to him even when things stood in their way. They dug holes through the roof, and made a spectacle of themselves, just to get to him.
Do you run to him similarly?
We have the Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the people of God at our disposal at all times, and how sad it is that the smallest of an inconveniences will detour us from running to God with our needs...
We run everywhere else, before we will run to the Lord who has made himself available to us.
#2 Align you Faith With Your Life.
Jesus could see their faith, because their actions aligned with what they were believing to be true.
Is this true of you today?
Can we see that you believe in Christ by the way you live your life, spend your time, spend your money, and so on.
Is your faith visible?
I pray it would be so.
#3 Be Amazed with Jesus.
The crowds that witnessed this miracle were amazed.
They glorified God.
And said we never saw anything like this before...
But how quickly that amazement would fade when Jesus took his steps toward the cross.
Pray that God would help you be amazed all over again this morning by Jesus and by the fact that forgiveness is available to you today just as it was available to the man in this story.
“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” - Jesus.
Is he worthy… he is.
Lets pray.