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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends around the world,
May I invite you to consider an important question this weekend? “What is the greatest need in our world today?”
Is it economic stability and prosperity for millions? Is it education for the millions in poverty and illiteracy, who have no access to school? Is it clean water or health care? Is it political stability and justice for all, in all places?
Come with me into Mark 2 and let’s rejoin Jesus. Mark begins with this statement: “A few days later when Jesus returned to Capernaum, the people heard that He had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the Word to them…”
You’ll recall Jesus and four fishermen friends had been here in Capernaum a few days before as recorded in Mark 1. I don’t see them mentioned in Mark 2, so maybe they’ve gone back to their fishing for a few days. After all they had bills to pay, and I’m sure many people in the fish market depended on their daily fishing catch. Evidently, Peter and Andrew, James and John had been away for several days with Jesus.
We don’t know who or exactly where, but evidently someone in Capernaum had invited Jesus to their home, and very quickly word spread that the healer was there, so a crowd gathered and packed that house. Mark records: “Some men came, bringing to Jesus a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowds, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on…”
Now go ahead, put yourself in the house. You are mesmerized by Jesus and His teachings, when suddenly dirt starts falling down from the mud ceiling and a hole appears which grows larger as men on the roof are actually digging through the ceiling! You’ll remember in those days their homes had flat roofs where the people would often sit in the cooler evenings looking at the stars and talking about life.
I would guess the homeowner ran outside and shouted up to those guys on the roof and they shouted back… quite a commotion! I’ve had a few small interruptions as I’ve preached before, you know, crying babies or someone needing the bathroom. I’ve even had a couple of medical emergencies, but never have I had the roof over my head opened up so a crippled man could be lowered! I doubt we can really imagine it…but Mark says it happened. Of course no one needed to explain why, right? These four guys were desperate for Jesus to consider helping their friend. How desperate are you, or am I, for Jesus to help our friends whom we know need Jesus but haven’t yet met Him? And what are you and I doing about that?
Once again Mark only gives us a sentence or two in the conversation between Jesus and these men, but I have to believe there was much more. Perhaps Jesus said something like this: “Hi my paralyzed friend. I can see you’ve got some very determined friends. What’s your name and how long have you been like this?’ Then looking up to the guys holding the ropes on the roof, perhaps Jesus shouted…‘I commend you for your creativity and your perseverance. I also commend you for your faith, for you must be convinced I can and will help your friend.’ I wonder if Jesus then said to the cripple… “Do you believe I can heal you, right here, right now?’
Mark reports: “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.”
As you look at what Mark wrote next you can see a debate broke out, right then and there, between some religious leaders who were in the house, and Jesus. Of course Jesus could have just as easily simply healed the man and kept on teaching, but this was an important learning moment. While Jesus did many miracles, healing sick people was not His priority mission.Every sick person Jesus healed would eventually get sick again and die of something. Even those Jesus raised from the dead, grew older and died of something. When Jesus healed diseases or raised people from the dead, He did NOT give them immortality. So at best it was temporary relief. As I search the Scriptures, I do not see God finding delight in temporary fixes. God is eternal and His solutions are once and for all solutions! Now think about that my friends!
Think about how many medications are in your medicine cabinet and mine which claim, very clearly, to be for TEMPORARY relief of symptoms. Do you know why? Because very often prolonged fevers or persistent headaches or rashes or other things which over the counter drugs address can be symptoms of something much more serious, thus temporary relief buys you time to evaluate. If the symptom becomes a frequent recurrence, wise people check in with professional medical help to discern if their problem is serious!
Every miracle Jesus performed was helpful. . . temporarily. Even the dramatic ones, like healing from leprosy or paralysis or blindness or death. The much more important problem EVERY person whom Jesus healed had, was a terminal problem, and that was why Jesus said to this paralyzed man “son, your sins are forgiven” rather than “get up and walk.”
Now let me ask you a very important question. When Jesus said “Son, your sins are forgiven”do you suppose the cripple man and his four friends on the roof, were disappointed? What if Jesus had told the guys on the roof to pull him back up, unhealed from paralysis, but forgiven of his sin! Would they have been frustrated and left feeling their quest for Jesus’ help had been a failure? Now ponder that deeply for a few moments. . . because it’s where you and I live everyday.
The greatest need EVERY person has in the world, is to fix their terminal problem, their sin problem. But almost all people have many other temporary issues they’d rather God deal with BEFORE God deals with their sin problem, and yet it’s this sin problem that is at the root of EVERY need every person has!
The religious leaders had every right to object. They were right in saying “Why does this fellow talk like this? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7) That was exactly Jesus’ desire. His words demanded a conclusion about Him. To say “Son, your sins are forgiven”Jesus was either insane and should be locked up; or a blasphemer, a mocker of God and should be rejected and ignored; or He was God incarnate, and should be worshiped! Now, the problem was, Jesus looked like any other man, so how could anyone tell which of those statements was true about Jesus? And the same questions persist today, for you, me and every living person. Who is Jesus?
That’s why Jesus’ answer to them is vital truth for them and for us today. Listen carefully: “Jesus said to them: ‘Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘You sins are forgiven” or to say “Get up, take your mat and walk”? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins… I tell you, take up your mat and go home.’ He said to the paralytic.
The paralyzed man 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 2:8-12)
The paralyzed man 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 2:8-12)
Can you hear the cheering of the four men on the roof, and the loud shouts of amazement of the people as the formerly crippled man walked out with his mat rolled up under his arm? What just happened here?
Jesus, God among us, Immanuel, had made it very clear. . . He had the ability BOTH to heal a person from their symptoms, no matter how serious, and also heal them from their terminal sin bondage which would eventually end them in hell!
Now we know that some months later Jesus went to the cross and paid for the sins of every person in the world, through His death. And then three days later, in His resurrection, He defeated death and made sin forgiveness and eternal life possible for any and every person who would meet one condition. . . realize their inescapable terminal sin bondage and request rescue from Jesus, and trust His death and resurrection to be ENOUGH to rescue them!
This weekend I have an important question. Do you see yourself in this Mark 2 story? Are you, or someone you know, far more concerned about the painful symptoms that you are crying out for God to heal you from, then you are about your much deeper need? OR are you willing to see that God cares far more about your heart condition and your eternal destiny and your terminal sin bondage, than about whatever the issue is that you want Jesus to fix? What might happen if you asked Jesus, this weekend, to help you see your needs in the priority that HE sees your needs?And what might God do if you invited HIM to deal with your life in the priority order that HE knows are your most important needs? Do you trust Him to love you enough to not settle with just superficial stuff…but go down to the deepest places needing His healing touch?
I have song for you to consider as you ponder these questions and talk with Jesus, because ‘There’s Healing in His hands for you’ my friends:
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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