Message preached Sunday, October 12, 2014 from Mark 2:1-12
Theme: Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins committed against God.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
As we open our Bibles this morning to the second chapter of Mark’s Gospel, let me begin by asking a question. What would be the greatest authority someone could have on earth?
Now; your first answer to that question might be that it would be the ability to command the greatest possible number of people. If someone—be they a king, or an emperor, or a monarch—had the ability to give orders to the greatest number of people, and have those people do whatever they commanded, then it would be easy to think that they had the greatest authority on earth. And of course, there have been many people throughout history who might have been able to argue that—in their time—they had the greatest authority on earth. There are many kings and rulers who are—without doubt—competing with each other for that title even today.
But that only assumes that we’re talking about ‘authority’ as it relates to humankind—on what we might call the strictly ‘horizontal level’. Such authority only has to do with human beings toward other human beings. I suggest to you that the greatest authority on earth would be an authority that directly touches human beings with respect to their relationship with the kingdom of heaven. To be specific, if someone living among humanity had the authority to forgive the sins that people committed against God in heaven, that would be the greatest authority on earth. It would be a type of authority that would far exceed the mere authority of people over other people—an authority that no mere man can exercise; but that when present and exercised, does the greatest and most eternal good for people imaginable.
And that exceedingly great kind of authority—the authority to completely forgive the sins of people that they had committed against God, and to declare them righteous in His sight—is what this morning’s story in Mark 2 is about. It’s found in the first 12 verses of Mark 2; where we read of something that happened after the Lord Jesus had completed His preaching circuit throughout the regions of Galilee. We’re told;
And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-12).
* * * * * * * * * *
I have often thought that if someone wanted to be extremely popular, all they would have to do is convince other people that they were able to forgive their sins.
People everywhere feel the burden of sin. It’s true that a lot of people refuse to admit that they feel that terrible burden; but I have learned to take it for granted that most people know that the burden of guilt is there. Many try to deal with that burden by denying that God exists. Others simply try to bury it under a pile of good deeds or religious rituals. But if people were honest, they’d admit that they have deep regrets over the ways they have disobeyed God, and have sorrow over the things they have done or said before Him. And if someone could convince them that could simply say, “I forgive you of your sins” and that all their guilt would be taken away from them, then that person would be the most popular person in the world. Everyone would come to them to have their sins against God forgiven. That person would make countless people happy.
But here’s the problem. None of us on earth have the authority to do such a thing. The only Person who could forgive sins committed against God is God Himself; and for anyone else to think they could could forgive sins committed against Him would be a dreadfully blasphemous thing! Suppose I came to you and told you that I had a credit card with a store, and that I had been very foolish and had run up an enormous amount of debt that I could never repay. Suppose you had compassion for me, and lovingly told me, “I forgive your debt.” I may walk away very happy; but then next day, when I checked my mail box, the late fees and collection notices would still be coming in anyway—and that was because I wasn’t in debt to you. I was in debt to the store. Only an authorized representative of the store could forgive my debt—and even then, the only way the debt could be completely forgiven is by someone else—with the full cooperation of the store—bearing the cost themselves. Otherwise, you would be very presumptuous to simply forgive the debt I owed to someone else.
And that’s why this morning’s story is so important. It shows us that there is only one Person who has ever walked among mankind who proved He had the authority—on earth—to forgive the sins that people committed against God. The relief that people long for of having their debt before God completely forgiven, and the books wiped clean, is available—and it is found only in Jesus Christ.
As this story shows us, Jesus has the authority on earth to forgive sins committed against God.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now; let’s look closer at this story. I have tried to break it up into seven parts; and the first part tells us . . .
1. THE SETTING (vv. 1-2).
The setting of this story is important. Jesus had gone out on a preaching tour of the regions around Galilee. If you’ll remember the passage we studied in our last time together, that was when He met and healed the leprous man who went on to tell everyone about Him.
Do you remember how, at the close of that last story, we were told that—because of the healed leper’s testimony—people began to gather around Jesus in such great numbers that He could no longer enter the populous places? He had to remain out in the desert places; and people had to go out to Him. That explains what happened in this morning’s story. We’re told in verse 1 that after a few days, He had once again come to Capernaum—“His own city”, as Matthew calls it in his Gospel account—and was in a house.
We’re not told whose house it was. But whoever it was that it belonged to, they would have had quite a story to tell! Word had gotten out that Jesus was there; and pretty soon, there was such a great crowd of people gathered at the house that—as Mark puts it–“there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door” (v. 2). This might simply mean that there were so many people crammed into the inside of the house that you couldn’t get around through it to the door any longer. But because of the nature of what Mark goes on to tell us in this story, I believe it meant that there was such a great crowd of people all around the house that you could no longer make your way to where the door from the outside!
And somewhere in the house—deep inside—would be Jesus. My guess is that He was—if I may put it this say—stuck! It may be that He would have preferred to get out of the house and go out to a desert place to accommodate the huge crowd that had gathered; but there were so many folks jam-packed inside that even He could not get to the door.
But I love what Mark tells us at the end of verse 2; “And He preached the word to them.” Even at a time when our Lord might have preferred to rest after His busy preaching tour—even at a time when people so pressed around Him that He could barely move around—He nevertheless loved them all and preached the truths of the kingdom of God to them. And if they were crammed together like that, they must have loved it too. I’m betting people filled every spot of the inside of the house—taking in every word.
* * * * * * * * * *
So; that’s the setting of the story. And then, the scene of activity shifts from the inside of the house to the large crowds outside—many of whom where crammed around the doorways and windows of the house to hear what Jesus was saying. That’s when Mark tells us about . . .
2. THE FAITH (vv. 3-4).
Mark tells us, “Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men” (v. 3). We read that four men were carrying him; but it may have been several people who were involved in bringing him there. He may have been someone that people cared about very much. Somehow he had become stricken with palsy. He was no longer able to walk, or move. Perhaps he had completely lost the ability to speak. All he could do was lay on a cot or on a mattress, as others carried him to Jesus.
I imagine them walking all around the area outside the house—carrying the poor man. They would have gone to the front area of the house—where they door was; but would have seen that they couldn’t even get near it. They might have tried to go to one of the windows; but the crowds were gathered even there. And even if they could find a way to get the man in through a door or a window, they could plainly see that they couldn’t have gotten in and carried the man to Jesus past all of the people inside. But they didn’t give up. Real faith never gives up. Maybe one of them found a way to get to the top of the house. They tied ropes to the cot on which he was laying, and drew him up to the roof, stood at the spot above where Jesus was teaching inside, and began digging. The roof of such houses, in those days, was made of a layer of sticks and twigs that had been covered with clay.
Think of what that must have been like from the inside! Did someone who was standing in the house—listening to Jesus—start to feel crumbs of clay fall on their shoulder? Did they look up and see a finger poking through a hole in the ceiling? Then, did they see an eye looking down the hole?–and hear a voice say, “This is the spot, fellas!” And then, did they begin go see strong hands digging, and pulling, and breaking open a hole big enough to let the bright sunshine fall upon the crowd below? Did people begin to laugh as they saw the poor, paralyzed man being gently lowered down to Jesus until he came to rest beside Him?
Mark tells us that what the Lord Jesus saw most of all in this was their faith. Jesus always notices unrelenting faith like this! And dear brothers and sisters in Christ; may I suggest a lesson that this teaches us as followers of Jesus? That poor paralyzed man might be a good representation of some people that God has placed in our lives. Just like that poor man, they are incapable of doing anything to bring themselves to the Lord Jesus. The Bible tells us that, apart from His grace, we are dead in trespasses and sins—incapable of doing anything to save ourselves. It may be that it’s up to you and me to bring them to Him. And it may even be that we have to be diligent and creative and innovative in how we do so.
I think it’s wonderful to notice that Jesus didn’t just notice the man. He also noticed the faith of those who brought the man to Him.
* * * * * * * * * *
So, there was the man lowered down to Jesus. Every eye was on the man—and on Jesus. And then comes a great surprise. You would have thought that Jesus would smile up at the men on the roof, tell them that He sees their friend, and then look down, speak to the man, and heal him of his paralysis. But instead, Mark tells us about . . .
3. THE FORGIVENESS (v. 5).
Mark writes, “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’” (v. 5). And do you suppose the men on the roof would have shook their heads disapprovingly and said, “No, Lord! We wanted You to heal him! We went through all this effort so that you can make him well!”
But I think that there is something very important to consider in the fact that Jesus’ first act was not to heal the man, but rather to forgive him. For one thing, it shows us what is most important to our Lord. When we come to Him for our needs, we often put in the forefront the needs that we have in mind when we come. But what we don’t often realize is that Jesus knows our real needs better than we do. When we come to Jesus and ask for healing, and we aren’t healed right away, it’s not that Jesus hasn’t met our need. Rather, it might be that that’s not our greatest need at the moment. When we come to Jesus and ask Him to take us out of a trial, or to supply our material needs, or solve some difficult problem for us, and He doesn’t do right away what we ask, let’s not just automatically assume that He hasn’t heard our prayers. Let’s instead take it that Jesus knows our real need better that we do; and that our real need must be met first before the other needs can be met.
I always think of what Jesus said in the Sermon on The Mount—in Matthew 7:7-8. He said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” We don’t have a promise in those words that if we ask, we will receive exactly what it is that we asked for. He knows what we need better than we know to ask. Nor does He promise that if we seek, we will find exactly what it is we were looking for. He knows our needs better than we know to seek. And neither does He tell us that if we knock, the door will open to exactly what we expected. He knows what we need better than what we want the doors to open up to.
Now take this man. He wanted healing. That’s what the people up on the roof wanted for him too. That’s why they went through the great effort that they went through for him. But Jesus knew best of all what was really needed. And what the man needed more than anything else—yes, even more than healing—was the forgiveness of His sins.
You know; some people have said that this poor man was saved by the faith of others. But I don’t believe that’s true. He was certainly brought to Jesus by the faith of others; but I believe that when we’re told that Jesus saw “their” faith, this poor man was among those whose faith Jesus “saw”. And we have no idea what went on in the heart of that poor man when Jesus looked down on him in tender love and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” I believe Jesus knew exactly what the man really needed—and at that moment, the horrible weight of the guilt of a lifetime of sin fell off the man; and that his soul was free.
One dear brother pointed out to me that this forgiveness was full and free; and that it involved none of the sacrifices or rituals that were required of the Jewish people in the law of Moses. In that respect, this act of Jesus is one of the most vivid and glorious displays of the New Covenant of God’s grace that you’ll find in the Bible. What a stunning story it is!
* * * * * * * * * *
Well; as it turns out, that paralyzed man wasn’t the only one who went through the roof. The religious authorities who heard Jesus speak those words went through the roof too! And what Mark tells us next gets us to the real heart of this story. He tells us about . . .
4. THE COMPLAINT (vv. 6-7).
Mark writes; “And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” (vv. 6-7). The scribes were the theological authorities of the Jewish religion of that day. They were the scholars. They were highly respected; and that’s why they were sitting in the house; listening to Jesus as he preached. And they were shocked at what they had just heard.
Mark tells us that they were reasoning these things in their hearts; which means that they weren’t necessarily speaking those thoughts out loud. But what they were thinking was clear—and it was logical. They first rightly reasoned that only God can forgive sins committed against Himself; and that if a mere man were to presume to forgive sins committed against God, it would have been a very blasphemous act. But second, they assumed that Jesus was a mere man; and therefore, they concluded that as a mere man, He had just committed a great act of blasphemy. I want to stress that their reasoning was correct based on their assumption; but that it was their assumption about Jesus that was wrong.
This leads us to . . .
5. THE ANSWER (vv. 8-9).
Mark tells us, “But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves . . .” (v. 8); and isn’t it interesting that He knew? They perhaps had not said a word; but Jesus, nevertheless, knew—with perfect clarity—what it was that they were thinking. On another occasion, in John 2:24-25, the Bible tells us that “He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” The thoughts and reasoning of all men—even men who are skeptical of Him—are known by Him completely.
Immediately—as if whirling around and looking right at them—Jesus said to those scribes, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?” (vv. 8-9). And I ask you the same question, brothers and sisters. Which is easier? Obviously, it is far easier to say “Your sins are forgiven you”; because no one would know whether or not it was done. No one could tell whether or not Jesus had the authority to forgive sins; because nothing would have happened before the eyes of the crowd to prove that it was so. I hope I’m not being irreverent in saying so; but even I could have told the man, “Your sins are forgiven you.” It would be much harder to tell the paralyzed man, “Arise, take up your bed and walk”; because then, everyone would be able to see whether the man did so or not.
And that’s when Mark tells us about . . .
6. THE HEALING (vv. 10-12a).
As if to not even wait for the scribes to answer, Jesus said, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power [or “authority”] on earth to forgive sins”— (v. 10). And then, before the eyes of them all He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (v. 11) Notice carefully that Jesus did not say this to the man simply to heal him, but also so that those who saw would know that He has the authority to forgive him. Do you notice that Jesus calls Himself “the Son of Man”? That is a name that is taken from Daniel 7:13; and it is a unique name for the Messiah that identifies Him in His relation to humanity. It speaks of Him as the Son of God who has taken full humanity to Himself; and who walks upon the earth as “God with us”. I believe He chose that name deliberately to highlight the fact that He alone is the one Person who has authority “on earth” to forgive sins committed against God.
And look at what happened. We’re told, “Immediately”—that is, without any slow progressive healing; without any time passing at all—“he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all . . .” (v. 12a).
It was clear to everyone! If Jesus could prove that He had the authority to do the harder thing to say—that is, heal the man instantly and send him home, then it’s obvious that He had the authority to do the easier thing to say—that is, to forgive the man’s sins that had been committed against God.
And finally, look at . . .
7. THE REACTION (v. 12b).
Everyone saw what had happened—perhaps as everyone in the house, and outside, and on top, all were in stunned silence as they heard the man leaving and dancing and shouting praises to God as he carried his bed out the door. I suspect they made room for him as he left! And we’re told, “so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’” (v. 12b).
I like how it’s put in Luke’s Gospel when he tells this story. They spoke what is perhaps one of the greatest understatements in all the Bible; “We have seen strange things today!” (Luke 5:26). But perhaps more important is what we’re told in Matthew’s Gospel concerning their reaction; that “they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men” (Matthew 9:8).
* * * * * * * * * *
That word that Matthew used—“power”—can, in the original language, be translated “authority”. And I believe that’s how it should be understood. Jesus alone has the greatest authority on earth—the authority to forgive sins committed against God. That’s because He demonstrated Himself to be the Son of God.
And remember how at the beginning I stressed that the only way someone’s debt to another can be ‘completely forgiven’ is by an authorized representative bearing the cost of the debt themselves? That’s what Jesus has done for us. He could forgive the man’s sins because He would soon, Himself, take the full guilt of those sins upon Himself and die for them on the cross. As it says in Ephesians 1:7, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins . . .”
We today don’t have to go through the roof of a crowded house to make our way to the forgiveness of sins. Jesus has already paid the debt; and if we place our faith in what He has done for us, we are—by His great authority, and because of His faithful sacrifice on the cross—completely forgiven!