Week Two Study for Yourself Read: Mark 2 - Mark 3:19 Keep in mind as you read: What is Jesus fighting against in this week s reading? What/Who is Jesus fighting for in this week s reading? Listen to His voice: In this week s reading, what does Jesus want you to hear? Study tip: Every line of Scripture teaches us something about God. Sometimes what we learn is obvious, and other times we have to think for a while about what we ve read. Choose one of the sections from this week s reading and list out what it reveals to you about Jesus. Worship song suggestion: When the Fight Calls - Hillsong Young & Free Learn: Turn to the next section and read the commentary by Ben Sykes. As you read, remember that one way we grow in the knowledge of God and the Bible is to be challenged. Allow the text to challenge you and even raise questions for you to further investigate on your own or discuss with others. Reflect: What stood out to you or spoke to you most in this section? - 1 -
When Jesus heals the paralyzed man, it reminds me that: Jesus is always available. Jesus is our healer! Jesus has all authority When we go to Him (seek Him) we WILL find Him. It s BY FAITH that He heals and forgives Jesus not only wants to heal our sickness and disease, but He desires to forgive our sins. Sometimes you are the faithfilled friend, and sometimes you are on the mat being taken to Jesus. ~ Mindy Wohlford - 2 -
Week Two Study with a Teacher Jesus Wants You to Know Something A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven. Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, Why does this fellow talk like that? He s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up, take your mat and walk? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. So he said to the man, I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home. He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, We have never seen anything like this! (Mark 2:1-12 NIV) Jesus had come home. Note that detail from the first verse. We know from the gospels that Jesus is born in Bethlehem (Merry Christmas), grows up in Nazareth with his parents, then later lives in Capernaum (Matt. 4:13). He lives there for enough years to call it his hometown. It is from this city that Jesus meets his first few disciples Peter, Andrew, James, and John and then sets off into ministry. On occasion he swings back through his hometown. Where did he stay when he was home? Well, Peter probably still had his house there - he was married - and we know Levi had a house also. But curiously, Mark 2:15 (after the above story) is often translated as having dinner at His house rather than having dinner at Levi s house. So at the end of Mark Chapter 1 we - 3 -
see Jesus leave Capernaum to preach in nearby villages. Now He returns again, coming back home. Point being: Jesus probably owned a house in Capernaum - at least at some point in his life. Now re-read the story above. Jesus is (probably) back at home one day, in his living room, so to speak. He has just started His ministry. He has only called a few disciples at this point, but word has gotten out about His recent miracles and His house is besieged with people. To summarize: He has started the very first home group and it has gotten out of hand. You think your home group is crazy? Imagine at this very moment that your roof explodes and a stretcher is suddenly lowered from a medical helicopter hovering just above your chimney. What would you say? What would you do? There are several important issues, you begin. First, my roof is expensive. Someone is going to pay for that. Seriously. Not cool. Second, I was actually right in the middle of teaching an important Bible lesson - and it was going to be awesome. Third, please wait your turn. There is a long waiting list to be in my popular home group. We need to be fair. Finally, I have noticed that this gentleman on the stretcher is badly in need of healing, maybe we can do something about that. But no. Jesus doesn t say any of that - at least not at first. Jesus leads with this: Son, your sins are forgiven. That s great, the man on the stretcher probably replies. But I don t really have a forgiveness problem. I have a not-being-able-to-walk problem. Can we talk about that instead? How dare you not see what is truly broken in me? I m on a stretcher. Hello! Jesus does understand. He is the only one who understands. If you have a forgiveness problem then you go to the Temple - the house of God - so you can make a sacrifice. If you need to be healed then there is only one game in town - and Jesus is back home today! Yet despite this man s misunderstanding, he actually HAS come to the right place. He is in the house of God. He has been plunged into the presence of God Himself - and he is about to get more than he bargained for. All authority on heaven and earth has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18) and He uses this authority to do something completely unexpected. Jesus has every right to lead with I want you to pay for what you have done. Jesus has every right to lead with I want you to get what you want (physical strength) so you can get out of my house. Instead, Jesus exercises His authority and steps into battle: I want you to get what you need. Your sins are forgiven. - 4 -
Forgiven? Are we talking about the roof, here? For some reason I get the impression you are talking about so much more With this one statement, Jesus tears the roof off the religious establishment. Forgiveness was big business - and it was their business. You don t talk to God directly about forgiveness - you talk to a holy person then they talk to God for you, or they sell you the proper sacrifice, etc. Jesus immediately knows in His Spirit what the religious leaders are thinking (v. 8). This is a spiritual battle. Jesus is seeing with different eyes. This is truly an odd moment to pick a fight - but that is exactly what Jesus does. The religious leaders in attendance officially freak out when they hear this language. When we come into the presence of Jesus we don t bring the battle to Him. He is already there fighting. Rather, the words and actions of Jesus teach us what the true battle is. He shows the battle to us. The word of Jesus to this man is specific: Son, your sins are forgiven. Regardless of whether he was physically healed or not that is what he needed to hear. Jesus knows that eventually this man will realize that the hometown healer standing before him (whose roof he just tore open) is the Son of God, the Messiah! Is He mad at me? I knew it. I wrecked His house! He has always been mad at me. That is why I have been paralyzed all my life My guess is that these types of thoughts were not new to this man - they were possibly bouncing around in his head for ages. Jesus was speaking to his deepest need. Could he take these perfect words to heart, let them take root? If he does not accept this forgiveness then his legs will be healed but his heart will still be paralyzed. He will remain forever convinced that His God is angry and upset with him. Jesus boldly asks What is easier for me? To heal what is paralyzed on the outside (your deepest want) or to heal what is paralyzed on the inside (your deepest need)? Jesus has the authority to battle for whatever He wants - so He picks what is most important. Have you ever wondered what it is that Jesus wants? I love my wife - I wonder about what she wants all the time. I love my kids. When they have a birthday my wife and I give a lot of thought to what they want, so we can give the perfect gift. Jesus tells us explicitly in this story what it is that He wants. Jesus wants us to know that He has authority on earth to forgive sin. (v. 10) Jesus wants us to know that we can burst into His presence at any time and not be judged. Jesus wants us to know that His love for us extends long past our wants, and includes our every need - even the needs we don t have the courage to admit that we have. Think about how deeply you want to be healed. Oh, that would be the best gift ever, Jesus! If you could just get me past (fill in the blank) Think about that roof-sized hole - 5 -
in your life right now - that (fill in the blank). How deeply do you want that problem solved? Now multiply that desire by a God-sized factor and realize that is how deeply the God of the Universe wants what He wants. He wants you to know that you are forgiven. The house can literally fall apart around Him - and He is still undistracted from this one key thing: you must know that you are loved and forgiven. That is the battle for Jesus. He will pick a fight with anyone who would tell you otherwise. Own it. Accept His forgiveness. You are in His presence now; you can t go anywhere else. Your friends have dropped the ropes. That was probably the plan all along: drop the ropes that suspend your stretcher - so the only way Jesus can get rid of you is to heal you - give you what you want. But Jesus doesn t want to get rid of you. That s the point. You are now in His presence, and He so happy. He is loving on you now - giving you what you truly need - forgiveness (and healing you too, btw). We ll worry about the roof later, He says. I m actually an excellent carpenter Week 2: Listen to His Voice Dad, I ve done so much that surely has let You down. Surely You are as ashamed of me as I am of myself. Or is that true? Do I have to live out of shame? If You haven t told me to do that, then maybe that isn t necessary after all. But there is so much to consider! You have to decide for me. You are the only one who knows everything. I don t even trust my own judgment. So be straight with me: Am I forgiven? I want to hear the verdict today. Yes, I know true humility is when I accept what You say, rather than disagreeing (that s pride) - even if You are more generous than I ever dreamed possible. - 6 -