1 Mark 2:1-12 Jesus Heals a Paralytic This morning we see another story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man; another miracle displaying his power as the Son of God. Matthew tells us in chapter four, right from the beginning of his ministry that his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them (4:24). So, this was not the only paralytic Jesus healed. But, I must ask why did Matthew, Mark, and Luke include this story? I believe it is for one reason. Look at verse 5: And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven. When a person heals another person everyone praises God. However, when a man says to another man, Your sins are forgiven there is another level of authority displayed. Though the healing is important, in this story it secondary to the main point; namely that Jesus has the authority and the power to forgive sins. I will end with this truth. But, on the way there are some other truths that will certainly be helpful for us. 1. Preaching is the means to kingdom growth. I don t want to reiterate too much of what I have already said in the first chapter of Mark. At the same time, if Mark repeats himself it must be important and I will do the same. Notice what Jesus is doing when they were gathered back in Capernaum. Verse 2 says, He was preaching the word to them. In Mark 1 Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God. In verse 21 he was in the synagogue teaching. In v. 38 Jesus said preaching is why I came. And, between chapter 1 and chapter 2 of Mark we are told Jesus spent his time preaching in the towns of Galilee (v. 39). As we come to this story, Jesus is back home Mark tells us. And, everybody is in the room, at the windows, crowding the door, of this house (probably Simon s house). What is he doing? Again, In the midst of physical healing, He is consistent in preaching the word of God to them! Let s consider the Apostle Paul for just a moment. Through the power of the Holy Spirit Paul was a great worker of miracles. Everywhere he went great miracles followed. At the same time in all of his letters he always emphasized the preached word of God over and above the working of miracles. In his two letters to Timothy, the pastor of the church in Ephesus, at the end of his instruction he said, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Tim. 4:1-5). The reason Paul could say this to Timothy was that he knew the growth of the Kingdom of God came through preaching. Listen to what he says to the Corinthians: For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to Jews and follow to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger then men (1 Cor. 1:22-25). As a disciple of Jesus, Paul knew that the calling of sinners came through the preaching of the Gospel and the power of God to make his foolish words effective. In another place he said, Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:16).
2 Today, your ministry as a disciple of Christ is to preach repentance and faith in the Gospel. In season and out season, preach the Word. When you feel like and when you don t, preach the Gospel. When you are down and hurting and emotionally torn, preach the Gospel. Reprove, exhort, and teach the Gospel. Do the work of an evangelist! This truth begins with Christ, then to the apostles, down to every disciple of Christ. Here are a couple thoughts for application. I was reading an article this week on evangelism and social action. It dealt with World Missions and Evangelism, particularly how certain ecumenical groups have moved from understanding the church s mission as strictly evangelism and discipleship and elevated social concern as an equal component of the church s mission (the social gospel). What does this mean? It is true that God is concerned with the poor, the needy, the hurting, the sick, and the outcast (to name a few). This is why, in the wake of mission work throughout the world, hospitals, schools, institutions of higher learning, and other social institutions have been founded. These things are great for society and culture. In our culture today we have crisis pregnancy centers, after school programs for kids, feeding kitchens for the poor and the homeless. The list goes on. No Christian should ever be against the social outworking of the Gospel in these ways. We (think of Haiti at the moment) must be salt and light in these aspects. However, when we neglect the preaching, teaching, aspect of making disciples, the very thing we are trying to accomplish, namely true kingdom growth, we lose the very power and means God has ordained to bring about His Kingdom. This is why Paul could say, I am the most pitiful man if I do not preach the Gospel. What happens to a church or a Christian organization, or an individual who focuses on good social aspects but neglects to preach the gospel? Here are two quick examples. Consider the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. This school was the first state supported school in the U.S. It was founded with the primary purpose for training men to preach and teach the Word of God. Now, more than 200 years later look at it. Socially, the university does countless good activities. But, there is no real power to affect the world. Consider a typical Sunday school class for children. Most teachers will pick a story from the Bible and then pick out the applications for the children. They learn how to obey their parents, be nice to their siblings, be respectful to their elders, give to the needy, etc. But, when these applications are taken away from the main message of the Bible, namely Christ, there is no real power given to these children to really obey God in motive. If you get the Gospel, the applications will follow. You can t clean up the world with a salt and light that has no preserving or no power in shining light. The salt and light Jesus preached is Gospel preaching, Gospel teaching, Gospel evangelism, which in effect will cause those who get it to be changed. Jesus said, I came to preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives. This means we must do the same! The power of morality is in the gospel. I could say so much more, but let s move on. 2. The Disciple of Christ must do everything in his means to bring a person to Christ. Look at verses 3 and 4. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 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. There is a great crowd standing and observing. But, being a part of the crowd is not the same as being a disciple of Jesus. Here we see four men doing whatever it takes to bring their friend to Jesus. It seems to me that the people would have allowed these men to come through the door. Their inability to do this shows me how large and determined the crowd must have been to hear and see the words and works of Jesus. Without going into much detail, Syrian roofs were made of dirt and they were between 1 ½ to 2 feet thick. There were usually stairs and some roofs were connected to other roofs. Mark doesn t tell us how they got there, but they obviously dug through the roof. We are talking pretty major property damage on the house to dig a hole big enough for man on a stretcher to be lowered through, not to mention all the dirt and mud falling on all those down below. And, we know those below could not have moved because of the crowds. Here is the application: These men didn t care about the consequences of a badly damaged roof, repair costs, raining dirt down upon all those in the house, the cuts and scratches from digging, nor what anyone in the house or in the village would say. They did WHATEVER IT TOOK to get this man to Jesus. How we understand this principle will affect everything we do concerning the practical means we use in our Christianity. I am not a proponent of the ends justifying the means. This is not what I am saying. Obedience in godliness to the will of God is always how we decide the means we use to get to certain ends. Our end is always the glory of God and proper worship of Him. And, our means are always obedience to the will of God. Practically speaking, we are commanded to make disciples and do whatever it takes to bring souls to Jesus. Isn t this really what these men were doing? They were doing their best to make disciples of Christ. They were obeying God in faith in front of the world because they knew Jesus had the power to heal their friend. I am so convicted here. So many times my comforts, my preferences, my laziness gets in the way of my use of means to make disciples. Fathers, making disciples of your family may require that you give up something very important to you concerning your pleasure/leisure time. Mothers, you may need to give up a few minutes sleep or some of your leisure time. Concerning evangelism, it may mean that you go through extra work in order to make sure you share the Gospel with someone God has put in your path. The applications are almost endless. In the end, can you say as a disciple of Christ you are willing to do whatever it takes to take someone Jesus? May God help us as we look to Christ for such a motive! 3. Jesus has both the authority and the power to forgive sins. Look at v. 5. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. So far in the book of Mark Jesus taught with authority unlike the Scribes, cast out demons, and healed the sick. But, here in this story Jesus authority is taken to even a higher level. Notice the response in verses 6 & 7: Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? I believe at this point the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders begins. And it continues all the way to the cross. Up until this time everyone could have accepted him. He taught unlike the Scribes. He healed. He had power over demons. Everyone, including the Jewish leaders, could have thought (based upon their understanding of the OT) this could be the prophet of whom Moses spoke (Deut. 18). But, when Jesus said, your sins are forgiven they immediately thought to themselves God alone can forgive sins. And what they think in their hearts, namely that he is committing 3
4 blasphemy, they will only say openly in the days to come (Mark 3:22-30). We will consider in depth the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in Mark 3, but for now, the scribes believed Jesus was taking a right that only belonged to God, and those who committed such a sin should be punished by death. The Jews believed that sin was the cause of illness, but since forgiveness of sins was exclusively God s right, Jewish healers seldom if ever pronounced forgiveness of sins in their healings. Apart from the Day of Atonement when the high priest declared the promise that the people s sins were forgiven (still God s authority), not even the chief priest had such a right or authority. Also, in their view, not even the coming Messiah had such a right. They knew what the OT said over and over. Listen to one example from the prophet Isaiah: I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins (43:25). God alone has both the authority and the power to forgive sins. And right here, as God in the flesh, Jesus displays his power and ability to forgive sins. Notice what happens next (v. 9). Jesus knew their thoughts (another right only for God) and said, Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'? They were thinking evil in their hearts by questioning the very authority of the Son of God. Is there anything worse today than denying Jesus the power and right that is His? NO. The very blasphemy they were accusing Jesus of in their hearts they themselves were committing. As the eternal Son of God, Jesus had this authority alone. Today, Jesus, as the eternal Son of God has the right and authority to forgive your sins. Here is why: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it; the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith... (Rom. 3:21-25a). After his active obedience in obeying the law both in motive and in deed, he passively, and with great joy, laid down his life as a sacrifice in the place of sinners, even this paralytic. Then, Paul says, He was declared to be the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead (Rom 1:4). Today, if you believe on the Lord Jesus you will be saved. Your sins will be forgiven. Trust Him today! Let s move back to the end of this story. Notice what Jesus says in vv. 10-12 and what happens next. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home. 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! Now, I must ask a question. Why did Jesus seem to put more authority on his ability to heal over and above his authority and ability to actually forgive this man s sins? He seems to say, Ok just so you know I have the authority to forgive sins, get up and walk. I believe the reason he does this is because he adopts his conversation to the capacity of the scribes. In other words, they were carnal and worldly, only thinking about this world. They were more concerned about the outward powerful sign of healing, not the authority of Christ to forgive sins. They were affected by the outward signs of Christ and not the spiritual
power of Christ to forgive sins. Never forget, He who has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear. How many times do we focus on the things in life that don t really matter? Or, we focus on the powerful visual signs and not upon the important things in life. We like the big things, the numbers, the excitement, the big events, but neglect the simple spiritual means of prayer, the word, making disciples through humble service. Remember what Micah said, He has shown you oh man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to do justice and love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). May God give us this motive! And, may we at Grace always reflect these things in how we make disciples! In the end, not only were the man s sins forgiven, he immediately got up and praised God all the way home. Please don t miss this. Not only was he healed from an incurable disease, his sins were forgiven. The very power that physically healed the man is the same power that forgave his sins. One last Application. The Work of God is displayed through the means of faith. Look at verse 5. Mark says, And when Jesus saw their faith... Although this passage doesn t go into the nature of faith, what it is, or where it comes from (as other passages do), faith was the means through which this man s sins were forgiven and his paralysis healed. Remember what the writer of Hebrews says, And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Heb. 11:6). 5