Jesus Heals the Paralytic September 4, 2016 Mark 2:1-12 Matt Rawlings

1 Jesus Heals the Paralytic September 4, 2016 Mark 2:1-12 Matt Rawlings 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, "My 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!" (Mark 2:1-12) [Pray] Passages like this can be very challenging, because they are so familiar to so many. This passage is challenging because it can bring up flannel graph memories. What do I mean by that? I mean it can conjure up some soft, fuzzy, cute, maybe even fond, but flat memories. If you ve heard this account many times, it can be like a flannel graph fairy tale. A good story, but one that is really only for kids. It can be a challenge because we don t read it like the first readers did. Instead, we read it like it is a distant memory or a tall tale of the past that doesn t affect us now Maybe you come to this passage and you think isn't that nice. Isn t that a good story. Or maybe you think, what a neat story. It must have been cool to be there. Or it must have funny to see those guys digging into the ceiling. But do you stop there? Is there any lesson for us today? If so, it can be hard to see. Or maybe you think, What's the big deal? Isn't Jesus supposed to forgive people? Isn t Jesus supposed to heal people? That s what He does. Of course He forgave of course He healed. Or maybe you think to yourself, I don't think so. I can't believe that. It doesn t apply to me. This is just a story for the weak-minded who need a crutch to prop themselves up or make themselves feel better. But how about you? How do you come to this passage? How do you react to this account? How can you apply this passage to yourself? Maybe you noticed that Jesus bothered the Scribes and you wonder, why did what Jesus said bother the Scribes so much? That is a good question and it can get you on the right track. Or maybe you think now why were the people amazed and am I amazed? If so, your heading down the track in the right direction. 1

2 For most of us, I think it is helpful for us if we approach this account asking some questions, that Mark answers for us. I used to like to watch Jeopardy, which as most people know is a game show where the contestants are given the clues that are in the form of answers and to solve the riddle or question, the contestant has to respond with the right question. This account lays out three very important truths, or categories of truths for us and we are going to walk through each category by answering it with the question it addresses. The first major question we are going to address is 1. What is our need//is the greatest need? I want you to stop and think about the question for a moment. When you got up this morning, what were you aware of as your greatest need? Maybe for some, your need was coffee or food. Maybe for others it was a shower. Maybe for some, it was for strength or physical ability to just get up. Or maybe for those with kids, maybe you are like me and can t remember a week in the past 15 years where you ve slept every night of the week without getting up or being woken up by one of your precious little angels. So, maybe this morning, you were most aware of your desperate need for sleep. Maybe others still were aware of a pressing financial need today. Or others feel lousy and are aware of a need to be healed. I am sure that is what drove this man and his four friends to come to Jesus. And it is good to come to Jesus with our needs, isn t it? In fact, God tells us to come to him with our needs. Psalms 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The paralytic in our story and his friends no doubt believed that this man s greatest need was to be healed. So, let s see what the answer to the question is, of what is the man s greatest need in this account, if we hope to get to see the answer to the question of what our greatest need is. Somehow, the word got out that Jesus was staying in town we re not told where He was staying but possibly He was staying at Simon Peter s house. As soon as the report got out though, He had no more privacy. Jesus had healed the leper and all who came to Him wherever he went wanted to see Him. Everyone wanted to see Him, to hear Him and perhaps to be healed by Him or see Him perform a healing miracle. Everyone in town went to see and hear Jesus, so they came and filled the house. They were packed in so tightly that there was no more room for anyone else to come in and no one could get in or out. People were crowding the doorway outside, hoping to see just a glimpse of Him, or hear something from Him or maybe even meet Him. Jesus used the impromptu gathering to do what was his first priority to preach the word of God to them and tell them about the arrival of the kingdom of God 2

3 While He was preaching, four men came carrying a paralytic and they intended to bring the man to Jesus. But, there was no way that they could get to Jesus. I can imagine the people at the door refusing to move or give up their place to someone else. Each wanted something for themselves everyone was considering themselves and their own needs or desires. No one was letting this group in. The four men and their paralyzed friend could not get in, no matter how hard they tried. These four men were undeterred though they needed to get to Jesus. They must have all agreed, because the next thing we read is that they removed the roof above Jesus. So, one of them must have gotten the idea of going up on the roof and breaking in. The roof was likely put together with beams and rafters, that were spanned by branches and straw, interwoven and covered in hard-packed mud and sod, maybe a foot or so thick. Talk about determined to get what they came for. The text doesn t tell us about who these men were or the relationship they had to the paralytic man. Maybe it was a family member, a brother or a cousin. Maybe it was a dear family friend. Or maybe these men were all childhood friends and one of their own had been paralyzed in an accident. Whatever the cause and whatever their relationship, these men were determined. They were determined to care for this paralyzed man. So, they broke through the roof and lowered their friend down. But, what Jesus did, or what Jesus didn t do right away, and what Jesus said instead, probably was, at least initially, shocking to them. Doubtless, their expectation was for their friend to be healed. He was paralyzed that was what he needed after all! But Jesus said something that surprised everyone, he said, My son, your sins are forgiven. Think about that isn t that a little odd? Why did Jesus say that? Couldn t He tell that the man needed to be healed? Didn t He know that He would upset the religious leaders there? Couldn t He just have healed the man and wouldn t that have spoken volumes? No Jesus was far too loving, far too caring to just heal the man. If Jesus had healed the man and let him think that his physical paralysis was his greatest need, and then let the man go, the man would have left still doomed to the same eternal separation and judgment from God. Instead Jesus was proclaiming loudly, that there are far more important things than being healthy in life. If Jesus had merely healed the man, he would have communicated to those there that He was indeed a great prophet but they would have missed the greater intention for why He came. Jesus wanted to make sure that everyone there knew, that the biggest miracle that He came to do, was to provide for the forgiveness of the sins of mankind. The greatest healing He could accomplish, was to forgive the sins of humanity and in doing so, Jesus was making a direct war on both sin and all the effects of sin in this world. The friends probably thought that the greatest need the paralyzed man had, was to be physically healed from his paralysis. The greatest need the man truly had though, was to be eternally pardoned by God Himself. This doesn t mean that the man s sins caused his paralysis directly. However, the man was more paralyzed by his sins than his physical paralysis. (Isn t that true for all of us as well?) 3

4 You see, the fundamental problem of humanity and our fundamental problem is that we have sinned against God. We are in active rebellion against Him. Our biggest problem is sin. Sin tempts and lures. Sin appeals to your desires and claims to be able to satisfy them. Sin justifies itself by elevating itself to that which is deserved or needed. Sin ensnares. Sin distracts you from what is truly good. Sin makes you fearful and timid. Sin makes you feel unworthy. Sin leaves you dissatisfied and empty. Sin dulls your heart and senses. Sin makes you numb to the things of God and numb to experiencing His joy. Sin makes you proud and arrogant. Sin makes your heart calloused towards God. So, our greatest need is forgiveness. The question is, have we heard Jesus say to us, son or daughter, your sins are forgiven? If so, we can be confident that He has met our greatest need. And if He has met our greatest need, we can trust Him with every other lesser need. Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? If He has met this and supplied this how will He not also with Jesus, give us what we truly need? Not necessarily what we want, but what we need for our sanctification, for our good, for us to glorify God. Well, I can only imagine the immediate freedom that the paralyzed man must have felt. He must have had joy in hearing this word of forgiveness spoken over him by the Son of God Himself. We re not sure, but it doesn t say that he or his friends objected. We do know that not everyone reacted positively to the pronouncement that Jesus made. The Scribes, who were paid teachers of the law, or maybe more precisely, religious lawyers, whose job it was to interpret the implications of the law and to apply it to the hearers they objected. They objected because they didn t believe that Jesus actually had the authority to forgive sins. Jesus said something that was unique from any other major figure in religious history, except for God Himself He granted forgiveness and this is something neither Mohammed nor Buddha nor Moses nor anyone else can claim and back it up. But Jesus made this audacious claim and He backed it up! So, the second answer we must have to this account, is the question... 2. What is our authority/the greatest authority? The greatest authority is Jesus. Verse 6 tells us that some of the Scribes were questioning Jesus in their hearts. They didn t believe what Jesus said and they didn t believe that He had the authority that He could forgive sins. After all, anyone could say the words but it was not the right of just anyone to absolve someone of all their sins against God. So, verse 7 tells us that they said, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?". They knew that only God could forgive sins that were committed ultimately against God. But the Pharisees obviously didn t believe that Jesus was God. So, they accused him of blasphemy in their hearts. For us today, that may not seem like a big deal, but to the Jews in that day, blasphemy was considered the worst of all sins and it was punishable by death. It was ultimately the grounds that the religious leaders used, ironically, to put the Son of God to death. Jesus here had the audacity to completely pardon this man from all of his sins, and so, Jesus was granting a pardon 4

5 from all of the right judgment and punishment of God for his sins. Maybe He was a good prophet or a good teacher but God? That was simply too much for them. In their minds, Jesus made for a good sideshow and even was an interesting teacher but there was no way He had the authority of God. Now, it is interesting to think that their reaction is not too different from the reaction of many today. Many today claim that Jesus was a good moral teacher or a good example. Others claim that He was a prophet, but not God. Still others claim that He was a son of God but not God Himself. In order for any one of those positions to be true though, you could not believe what Jesus Himself taught. You see, if you believe that Jesus is who He taught us He is and if you really believe that He did what the New Testament says He did, then there is no other reasonable conclusion to reach, other than the fact that Jesus is indeed God and His authority to forgive sins and heal comes from the fact that He is the Son of God incarnate. There is no other reasonable conclusion. Why does Jesus talk like this? He can talk all He wants, only God can forgive sins. They were dead right - only God can forgive sins. But they were dead wrong - because they failed to believe that Jesus was the Son of God. They were too afraid to ask the question out loud or confront Jesus though, because they didn t raise their objections out loud. Jesus knew what they were thinking though. Verse 9 tells us that Jesus immediately perceived or knew in His spirit that they questioned Jesus within themselves. So, he confronted them and asked them, Why do you question these things in your heart? It was a good question. You see, they had enough knowledge about the Scriptures and about what Jesus had done to know who Jesus was. But they suppressed the truth about Jesus, when they should have known. So, Jesus posed them a question out loud, since they doubted Him and didn t ask Him their question our loud. Verse 9 tells us that Jesus said, Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'? Which is easier to do? It is as if He was saying, Do you think I am pretending to forgive sins here? Well, then, let me demonstrate to you just how much authority I really do have. Is it easier to tell the paralytic Your sins are forgiven? Or is it easier to say, Take up your bed and walk? The implication is that it really is harder to forgive sins than to heal, because only God can forgive sins. A prophet in the Old Testament might be an agent of God s healing, but no prophet ever forgave sins. But to man, it seems harder to tell someone who is paralyzed to get up and walk and have it really happen. Now, in verse 10, when Jesus responds to them, he says, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority. He is referring to Himself by a specific term here one that in Daniel refers to God Himself. He calls himself the son of man, and He is effectively saying that He is a human, but we know that He is no ordinary human. Throughout the book of Mark, it is evident that this Son of Man is none other than the Son of God. After all, that is the very opening verse of Mark 1:1, where Mark writes, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. That is the scandal of Jesus that He is a man who has authority to forgive sins. So, Jesus proves to him that He has the authority to forgive sins and commands him in verse 10 to get up and to pick up his own sick bed and go home. 5

6 God alone can forgive sins and if Jesus claims to forgive sins and then heals to prove that God sanctions His ability to forgive sins, then Jesus is God. He told the man to carry the bed on which he had been carried, showing that he no longer needed it and then to go home, since his greatest need of forgiveness had been met too. He didn t need to stay and hear Jesus teach he could be certain of the good news now, that Jesus is the Son of God and Jesus had forgiven him of all his sins. He didn t need to stick around anymore all of his needs had been met. With only a word, Jesus brought strength out of utter weakness. His word made the immovable move. The greatest authority is Jesus. Do we allow Him to be our authority? Do we come to Him as our authority? Do we respond to Him as our authority? Well, briefly, the last question we must answer this truth of this passage with is the question of 3. What is our response/ the greatest response? 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! " It doesn t mean that the man healed himself. It means that the man was healed when Jesus simply spoke a word over him. So, the man got up immediately, picked up his bed and went out in front of all of them. I can only imagine the cheers and the shouts of joy from his roof-top friends, as they ran down to greet the man. The crowd rightly realized that Jesus is altogether different. I imagine the whole place erupted in amazement. It says that they were all amazed and then they glorified God, saying, We Never saw anything like this! Never saw healing? Or never saw someone who could forgive sins and prove it or both maybe? Ultimately, this miracle shows us a picture of a greater reality. It shows us a man who was spiritually paralyzed by sin. You see, sin paralyzes, it enslaves, it incapacitates and places in bondage. But Jesus came to give freedom from the paralysis of sin. Jesus came to release us from the bonds of guilt and condemnation that can tie us down. Jesus also came to prove that He has power to deliver from sin, by beginning to deliver the physical world from the corruption and sickness that sin causes. So, from this account, we can see that there are a range of responses we are meant to have. One response is the initial one that the friends and the paralyzed man had when they heard about Jesus. They came to Jesus in faith. They came expectantly. Nothing stopped them, not the weight of their friend, not the unyielding crowd, not even the vandalizing someone else s home in order to take their friend where he needed to go. They were not friends of convenience. They didn t care for the paralytic until it got difficult. They really cared for him and sacrificed themselves for him. Obviously, they must have loved this man and that drove their determination to care. But there was something else that drove them they really believed that the man needed to get to Jesus and they really believed that Jesus could and would heal the man, if only He could reach him. They had the kind of faith that didn t turn around when the crowd rebuffed them. They didn t stop when people must have yelled up to them to tell them to stop tearing the roof up. They were undeterred by the cost that they would incur. I can imagine someone in the home yelling 6

7 up to them something like hey, you re going to fix that roof or pay to have it fixed. They didn t stop after they had opened up a hole above where Jesus was. They finished what they came to do in faith, they lowered the paralytic man down to where Jesus was. New Testament commentator, R. Alan Cole rightly says of the actions of these men, This could be a veritable sermon on the text of James 2:26, illustrating the truth that faith, unless it shows its reality by action, is unreal and self-deceptive, and therefore cannot be expected to achieve results. These men had real and active faith, that acted out of care and love, that stubbornly would not let their friend go away unhealed. Verse 5 tells us that Jesus saw their faith and responded to their faith in Him. Their faith wasn t in their faith to accomplish anything. Their lowering the man down did nothing for him in a sense. But it did everything, because it placed their friend before the object of their faith the One in whom their faith was in Jesus Himself. Their faith didn t heal the man, but Jesus saw their faith and mercifully responded to their faith in Him. Do we come in faith? Do we come expectantly? Another response we are meant to have, is faith that obeys, gets up and goes home. Another response we are meant to have, is the gratitude and joy the friends had. And lastly, we are meant to be amazed and glorify God. I think we are meant to have all of the above responses. Jesus doesn t tell the paralyzed man that his physical healing wasn t important, but He puts it in its proper place. Physical healing is secondary to the healing from sin that Jesus grants all those who trust in Him. If the man had not been healed from his paralysis and only forgiven, we can be sure that that man would still be rejoicing just as greatly in heaven now. Because he experienced the ultimate healing that Jesus gives and that He extends to all humanity. You see, when Jesus extended His arms on the cross, He was laid bare before all mankind. He received the punishment that we deserved and His extended arms force us to look fully on His suffering for us. But His extended arms are also an invitation to come to God the Father through Him. To come and receive the healing of all our sins, through His outstretched arms. His outstretched arms revealed the ultimate glory of God among men. So that all who trust in His sinless life, His death and His resurrection in our place might receive full and complete healing from the paralysis of sin. No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found -Isaac Watts, Joy to the World 2016 Redeeming Grace Church. This transcribed message has been lightly edited and formatted for the Website. No attempt has been made, however, to alter the basic extemporaneous delivery style, or to produce a grammatically accurate, publication-ready manuscript conforming to an established style template. 7