Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Read

Five Characters—who were they and what are they doing:

Jesus

More later

Speaking the Word, healing (together as always)

Crowds

Heard Jesus was in town

Rubbernecking

Paralytic

Nothing; got up and walked

Needing

Friends

More later

Acting

Scribes

Grammateus (copiers), synagogues no priests, became nomodidaskalos

Sitting and questioning

True Disability

Presenting issue: paralytikon

Mark and Jesus: forgiveness

Not as surprising to them—illness and sin connected

Sometimes connected (paralytic @ pool of Bethesda):

Sometimes not

Jesus makes it an issue:

Never forgave before.

Why?

Jesus knew sin was cause

The man thought sin was cause, Jesus knew

Authority.

Jesus raises issue with scribes

Auth been an issue:

Taught as one w/ authority, not as scribes

Auth over demons

Auth over disease

Now real question: auth to forgive sin

And it’s only ? that really matters

What is man’s greatest need?

Central ? of gospel, central offer of Christianity

MacArthur:

The most distinctive benefit that Christianity offers the world is not sacrificial love for others, a high standard of morality, or a sense of purpose and satisfaction in life.

All of those virtues are by-products of biblical Christianity, but they are far from Christianity’s greatest gift to humanity.

The gospel offers one surpassing benefit that transcends all others and is provided by no other religion.

It corresponds directly to mankind’s greatest need.

Only Christianity provides a solution for humanity’s fundamental and far-reaching problem—namely, the reality that sinners stand guilty before holy God, who has justly condemned them to eternal hell because of their rebellion and lawlessness.

This man paralyzed, powerless to support himself.

More than that, powerless to deal w/ his sin

So are you

Who Is this Man?

One Person, Two Natures

Raises 2 huge issues:

How does he know what they’re thinking?

Why does he respond as he does?

Truly man.

Anything any human has, he has (except sin)

So can you read someone’s mind?

Can any human?

Angel or demon or Satan?

Who can?

So when Paul told us,

He meant it.

At the same time, when he told us,

He meant it.

Both true.

Fully man, fully God—in one person

Hope you like thinking about the Trinity

Scripture: one God, but threeness.

How to combine those teachings?

Didn’t have to articulate at first, but heresies, had to defend

What language to use?

Church: oneness = “essence” or “nature”

Threeness: “person”

Nature: what a thing is.

H Bavinck: “that by which a thing is what it is”

God’s nature: simple, holy, eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, etc.

Person: not same as our use (entire individual).

In theology, it’s the “who,” active subject of a nature.

One who does things, who acts and lives through a nature

Trinity: one nature, three persons. 1 what, 3 whos

Incarnation: Jesus added to his divine nature a human nature; only person who did

Jesus: one who, 2 whats

Why stress this? 2 reasons:

First, American “Christians” confused.

Ligonier State of Theology (2 yrs), 2020:

“Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God.”

52% agree.

Evangelicals: 32% agree

“Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.”

55% agree.

Evangelicals: 56% agree

Second reason: Mark won’t let us get away from this.

And he won’t b/c Jesus won’t either.

Watch what He does:

Son of Man

So knew what they were thinking: Forgiveness = Divine prerogative.

They don’t think he’s just announcing; think he’s forgiving

So accuse of blasphemy; capital charge—and the one for which He’s eventually condemned:

Why blasphemy?

Only God can, God is one, Jesus claims to do what only God can do, making himself equal = blasphemy

So what does he say?