Forgiveness: The Greatest Miracle | Mark 2:1-12 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Series)

Grateful to God that we can gather this afternoon. Maybe in your Bibles, in the gospel according to Mark in chapter two, Mark chapter two is where we will spend our time together this afternoon. And as you're there, just bow your hearts with me in reverence to the Lord and His word as we pray and ask for His help. Lord, we thank you so much. We are so grateful for your mercies in our lives.

Lord, we are helpless, and we are needy. Lord, we know what is right, but we don't have the strength to walk in righteousness. Lord, we know what is true, but oftentimes we believe lies. We just throw ourselves at your feet and ask that you would enable us to be the people you've called us to be. Lord, in this moment, as your word is delivered, may be delivered with clarity, freedom from confusion, or the commentary of man.

And we ask, Lord, that the hearts in this place who have chosen to be in your house would be rewarded with a word that comes with power and conviction and comfort and transformative grace. Lord, we pray that Satan's schemes for this service would be canceled and that he would not have a foothold in this house. But, Lord, you instead would have the full reward of what your will is for us in our obedience to you. Lord, we submit all things, our will, our emotions, our resources, our hearts, our lives that are but a mist For your name and your name alone. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Mark two, beginning in verse one, we read. And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home, 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. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

And when they could not get near to 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. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. 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? 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? Which is easier to say to the paralytic your sins are forgiven or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk. But that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, 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 the mall so that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, we never saw anything like this.

If you have been with us on a consistent basis, you might have noticed that the text that we are unpacking today is lengthier than what we would usually digest on a Sunday afternoon. It is still possible to dissect this into smaller portions so that we can we can glean much more specifics out of different passages in this larger text, but we will will trust that as we have an overview of the story, it will suffice in ministering to our hearts. Now if there was a major theme of chapter one in the book of Mark, it can easily be identified as a multifaceted authority of Jesus Christ. In so many ways, he has displayed his supremacy over Satan, over temptation, in his preaching, in his deliverance. In all these things, we see that Christ is indeed sovereign.

And the more you will learn about Jesus, the more you will understand understand just how far reaching his dominion really is. And that is certainly the case as we bleed into Mark chapter two, because what we'll see is the most crucial aspect of the authority of our Lord and master, and that is in his ability to be able to forgive sins. This is almost the the heart of his authority. This is the emphasis that Mark wants to make. This is the climax, so to speak, of the power of Jesus Christ.

If there was anything that could be louder in terms of a statement of the deity of Jesus Christ, even more powerful than him cleansing a leper as we heard last week, It is in his authoritative assurance that your record of sins can be made right by his word, by his will, by his choosing. And this is precisely the core message of the miracle that we are facing today, that Christ is not only able to make your body whole, he can restore your soul unto God. That through his intervention and his mediating work, he can connect us back again to our creator and not just know him as such, but to be able to say, you are my father, and I have your friendship and your favor over my life because of Christ. How do we deal with a large text like this? How do we deal with points?

How how do we go about this? Well, instead of trying to find a central theme or to go with a specific angle, because you can go from the angle of the man who is on the bed or the friends or the crowd or Christ himself, all we will do is just glean over this and and just speak on different observations and comment on them as Mark chooses to give us specific details about this incident. So we read in verse one and verse two that Jesus returned to Capernaum, and he found himself at home, and many were gathered together because the report had gone out that Jesus is back in the neighborhood. The last that you and I have heard about the whereabouts of Christ was at the end of Mark chapter one where he had to retreat into desolate places because one man disobeyed Christ and blurbing all that happened to him, creating almost this tsunami of of need to come from people who wanted a touch from him. And so now he's in the wilderness, and people are are coming by the droves where there is enough space to receive ministry from Christ.

It was very difficult, we learned, for Jesus to go into any town without experiencing the crushing effects of the masses who wanted just a simple touch from him. But somehow, someway, we read here in Mark chapter two that Jesus, with stealth and with grace, was able to find his way back into Capernaum without getting any immediate attention and snuck his way into home and was able to, I guess, for some time, at least a little time, receive some rest after much ministry. But what's interesting is that we know something about Jesus. Do we not? Jesus didn't own very much.

Jesus did not own a home. That is for certain. He even said to himself, the son of man has no place to lay his head. And so as we understand that, then we come to a text like this and realize that he was at home. Now we know Jesus willfully as a servant chose to be dependent upon the hospitality of others throughout his ministry, but we read here that he was at home.

And the question is simply this, whose home did he retreat to? And most people agree that the home that Jesus was at at this time was in fact the home that he was in earlier in chapter one, which was the home of Peter and Andrew who lived in Capernaum. Now that is significant for many reasons because Jesus chose to make Peter's house the headquarters for the segment of his ministry during his his tour in Galilee. And I think that is an incredible thing if you just meditate on it for a little bit because this says something significant for these brothers who chose to host Jesus. Jesus did not just come over to their home for a visit.

Jesus felt at home in their home. And what's so amazing is when you consider Jesus' instructions to his own disciples, when he sends them out in their own evangelistic campaign, he gives them a list of instructions. One of them being something that we've heard many times, and whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. Matthew ten eleven. When you go into a town, find out who is worthy enough to host you, and then you stay there, be content.

Don't try to find a better place. Stay there until you depart to the next town. And so based on that, Jesus, who gave these commands and lived by them from his own ministry, must have found something worthy about the house of Peter and Andrew for him to remain there until he departed. I think that is very encouraging for these brothers, and I think it's something instructive for us. The Lord obviously esteemed some kind of honor in this house for his peace to remain there and say, I will stay here.

I will sleep here. I will eat here. I will rest here. I will allow my presence to remain in this abode. And when we think about why that is the case, what was it that he found so worthy about them, all you have to do is just remember the last thing that we saw about Jesus in this house, and it was this.

Peter's mother-in-law served him and honored him and blessed him. And Jesus, being honored in Peter's home, knew knew that this was the place to remain so that he would be honored with his presence. And that honor towards Peter was known, obviously, with the miracle of that fever being expelled, and it only continue and progress when the multitudes would come to this very residence to receive a healing touch from Jesus. Jesus is at Peter's home. Let's go meet Jesus.

And the presence of Jesus Christ in their residence is something that you and I can know for ourselves. Listen. I want you to understand that there is a reality of blessing in any home that chooses to host the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, this is so so practical and so real that Paul had certain words for those who are married to non Christians after they've been converted within their marriage to inspire them that how their presence, because of Christ's presence in them, can be a blessing to the other members of the household who do not have a direct relationship with him. I want you to see this because I want you to realize how awesome it is to know that we are the temple of the holy spirit and how those graces don't just remain here, but can spill out to those who choose to tolerate us.

First Corinthians chapter seven. Look at these words just to get an insight of the hope of glory that is in us and what is possible when we step and live even in darkness. First Corinthians chapter seven verse 13. Look at these instructions and how insightful they are. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.

Now I'm sorry to break your dreams and smash them. This is not giving you the instruction that you can marry an unbeliever. What this is saying is if you were converted while in that place of being married to someone who is not saved, and you yourself were not saved, but you've come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. If that spouse is willing to remain with you, if he can sense and is willing to tolerate your conversion, don't divorce them. Why?

What's his reasoning? Well, verse 14. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife. And the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Mind blowing. Consider this. This is not saying that because you are saved and you're married to an unsafe person and that you had children with this unsafe person that they're automatically redeemed. That is not the case at all. I think a better understanding is instead of saying they are made holy, they are sanctified.

They are set apart. In other words, what this means is here that the presence of a believer in a home brings about a blessing to its members, which includes a greater opportunity for them to come to Christ for themselves as a result of being in daily contact with a person who is truly living for Christ. A person who's truly living in his presence, a person who's truly living by his word, that has a sanctifying power even in the midst of a household that does not crown Jesus as Lord. And so Paul's even encouraging somebody to endure remaining in that covenant with somebody who is unequally yoked for the sake of the potential impact that could be made because of the presence of the one who hosts the presence of Jesus in their hearts. And I look at that and I cannot help but think about how that is a principle true, just not not just in in a home, but in all situations.

How God was even willing to be merciful to Sodom and Gomorrah because of the presence of the righteous, or how God was willing to to turn the fate of criminals on a ship because on that very same ship was one of his servants, namely Paul. It's amazing what blessings can come with the presence of Christ in us and through us. And if this is true for even one household member to radiate such grace, then what kind of blessing awaits those when husband and wife and children say Christ is Lord of this home? What kind of joy? What kind of peace?

What kind of provision? What kind of protection can be experienced when a household is willing to say Jesus Christ owns the deed of this place? And he will rule and reign over all of us. Peter and Andrew knew that blessing. They saw they saw a great testimonies, great joys, great interventions as Christ's presence remained with them.

But we move on and we realize, though, there can be much more said about this crowd that surrounded the house. We transition with Mark as he, out of all of this crowd, chooses to focus on five individuals. Four of them, able men who are clearly carrying a friend who could not walk on his own. And Mark, as he turns our attention by the spirit to this man and his friends, wanna show us clearly that this band of brothers really believed and desired for Jesus to make their comrade whole. They believed in Christ's power.

They really desired for something to take place. And this is exactly why this miracle is so unique because we read, did we not, in verse five? And when Jesus saw their faith, it was their contributing faith that played a significant role in this debilitated friend to encounter Jesus Christ. And I want you to understand this because there is instruction here for any body of believer when it comes to what it takes to bring people to Jesus. If you look at these friends and you you understand the story, many of us who grew up in church are very familiar.

You can almost say it by heart even with the details. I noticed two things, and this is important for us as a church if we are gospel centered and gospel focused. Number one, consider the collaboration of these friends. In Luke five eighteen, we are told more in more detail that these friends carry this man on a bed. They carried him on a bed.

We are not told how they carried them, but I like to imagine that each one had a corner of that bed, and each one was willing to lift a load, and they all obviously walked in the same direction because they had the same goal in mind. And I cannot help but think, but but what would happen if one of them, just one of them chose to go in a separate direction? What if one of them had a different path in mind when the other three had a a journey set already? Or what would have been like? What would the experience have been like if if one was not willing to carry the load, but maybe crossed their arms and criticized how everybody else is doing it?

I think I think when you just meditate on the simplicity of that, we see a great example of the necessity of equal collaboration among one another if we really wanna see people brought to the feet of Jesus. What it's gonna take is one mind. What this church needs to be made of of of people who say, our goal is, yes, to glorify Christ, honor Christ, but to to fulfill the great commission. And all it takes is one person in a church. Trust me.

I've seen it. All it takes is one person in that church who wants to make ministry and the church and people and service about them for it to make that ultimate goal that much more difficult than what it needs to be. And more than that, it's carrying the load, equally sharing, saying we wanna make this burden lighter. We wanna make this burden lighter. So every person will say, whatever load I need to carry, whatever part of this I need to put my hands to, I will do it for the sake of ultimately seeing people encounter the Lord Jesus Christ through the gospel.

And when you have this idea, when you have this this plan set and you have people who share those values and that attitude, great things can be done. Wonderful things can be accomplished. And so remember that in your mind. Remember that it took four of these men clearly to lift this man. Every single one of us in this place has a role to play, a burden to carry, and it can it can accomplish much if we just have that continually ever before us.

But not just the collaboration. Think about the determination of these men. It's already a challenge enough to carry a full grown man with dead weight at any distance without any need for external challenges to make it difficult. But when you have things like this, a crowd before you blocking the entrance, you can feel the weight even more. You can feel the pressure to a greater degree.

I wanna tell you something. Bringing people to Jesus is not an easy task. It is challenging. It is difficult. It is difficult just dealing with people, but then when all these external things come, which they often do, anybody who has endeavored to set themselves to such an assignment can testify of the difficulties that come when you say, I wanna be a soul winner.

The distractions of just temptation in life, the discouragements of your own mind and of other people, the demonic opposition, the demand on your schedule and your time. These are just a few reasons why people feel the temptation to say, I quit, man. I don't think I can do this. Not quit on Christ, but quit on bringing people to Christ. And that's often the case in so many people's lives and so many ministries, and they come up with excuses in regards to the sovereignty of God, and we don't need to participate, and and we try to get ourselves out of the effort that is needed for people to be brought to the gospel or to receive the gospel.

But I look at this example as an inspiration. You have these these men who are probably burning in their thighs, carrying their friend, and who are probably cramping in their forearms as they're lifting them on that bed, and they come and they see this crowd of people and nobody's budging, nobody has any courtesy to let this man through. Easily, they could have hung their heads and went back home and say maybe another day, but instead, they strategized. Instead, they were quick thinking and they saw perhaps a staircase on the side of the house and they climbed that house and they break through the tiles and and they dig and they pull and they they continue to encourage each other. They encourage their friend, we're not letting you go.

In order to see this accomplished. It takes determination. It takes persistence to see people saved, to see people come to know Christ. And we always want things easy, and I can tell you this. Ministry is not easy.

Soul winning is not easy. You have to be able to push through. True faith is able to push back when you get pushed back, and not to hang your efforts and leave it to somebody else to do it. Those who shrink back so easily, when there is no immediate fruit, when there is delay in prayer, when there is persecution, when there is internal strife, will never know the joys, will rarely see what the gospel is capable of doing in someone's life because it requires hands on the plow, white knuckled dedication to the case of Christ and the cause of the gospel. That can even be said for the owner of the house.

Right? Whether it's Peter or somebody else, think about the price he had to pay to host Jesus. I gotta get a new roof now. We never think about that, do we? We think this is like some Disney story in the house no.

Be real. Be the owner of the house for a moment. They just broke through my roof. I gotta fix the ceiling now. But any temporal loss in this life is worth the eternal reward.

And so whether you host, whether you go out into the streets, whether you serve in the local church, you will pay a price, but the price is worth it. And before men moving on, it's worth mentioning another element of the true faith that these men show. Notice again as we read verse five. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. Jesus saw their faith.

He didn't hear their faith. He didn't evaluate their creed or their confession. He saw it. True faith speaks through actions. True faith will will be determined by your behavior, and your deeds will speak onto the doctrine that you adhere to.

That is true. It's tangible. It's measurable. It's observable. It can be seen.

It can be studied. It makes you stand out like these group of men stood out from this crowd. And these men show that faith is something that Christ wants to see in us and not just hear from us. And what's amazing is you even see this kind of faith with the man after he was healed. Scroll down to verse 12, and what do you see?

And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all. Mark is being very specific. Before them all, Jesus gave a very detailed command and he obeyed unlike the leper who was healed. He does exactly what Jesus said, but he did it in the presence of all. What I love about that truth is that in this crowd, you have a mixed people.

You have spectators. You have many people who really believe who Jesus is. We are gonna read in a moment that you had scribes, religious Pharisees who criticize everything. And in the midst of all this kind of people, this man was not ashamed or hesitant to declare his submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ. I gotta be honest.

There might be some people in here who know how to immediately obey Jesus or to display their submission to him before some. Not all. Before some. That is not true faith. That is not the faith that Jesus is looking for.

What Jesus is looking for is that in any circumstance or setting, people know this man does not own his life. This woman does not operate by her own wisdom. She, he is in submission to the word of God, to the person of Jesus Christ. Before them all, he obeyed. Oh, would we have that same faith?

Would we have that same faith? And so we see that these brothers here are displaying a faith that Christ praised. And I pray that not one person in this place who represents Maranatha Bible Church and more importantly the kingdom of God would be experts at displaying their submission to Christ before some and not all. And so we realize as we read on that after these men break through this roof, the stunned crowd sees as the debris is falling and unusual light is shining in that place where Jesus is teaching from, absolutely astounded at the interruption and Jesus is preaching, but he chooses to pause. And you can imagine the anticipation of the people as this man seems to be floating by just a few threads and the careful love of four friends who are doing whatever it takes to bring their friend to the Lord.

May I also add this? There's something about these friends that testify about the man, the man himself who was paralyzed. Who do you have in your circle that will bring you to Christ when you can't bring yourself? Who do you have in your life that will know how to pray for you, how to counsel you, how to console you, how to remind you, how to rebuke you when you are weak? Not in my notes, but something to consider.

Here's this crowd wondering, what is about to take place and here is this anticipation being built up? Is Jesus going to heal? We've seen him heal before. We heard that he is healed, and you could just imagine the suspense as Christ now looks down at this man laid before him and his sermon was interrupted. And whatever astonishment was there would only be amplified by their immediate response of Jesus as we see in verse five.

Son, your sins are forgiven. What did the crowd think? I wonder. I know what the Pharisees thought. What did the friends who went through so much to see their friend healed think regardless.

Jesus perceived what this paralytic truly needed. He saw that there was something so much more important than his legs being revived. And he offers it first forgiveness of sin. That tells me what Jesus saw in this man was a disabled spirit before he saw any disability in his body. What he saw in this man was somebody who was unable to walk in the ways of God.

Somebody who was not in step with the spirit. Someone who was weak because of an ancient fall through our federal head who was Adam. And Jesus pronouncing forgiveness means that he saw in these four men and in this particular person a faith that was beyond just just being able to be restored physically. These men and this person clearly believe that Jesus was the one who can offer salvation. They heard that message of repentance.

They heard about the kingdom of God, and they had this trust that this Jesus was more than just a faith healer. He was the savior. And in Christ's estimation, spiritual disability was more important to restore than one's ability to physically walk, and we should have the same estimation. Forgiveness is the greatest miracle. Reconciliation with God is more important than even the health of your body.

And if you have any doubt about that, realize how Jesus says it in Matthew chapter nine. Turn your Bibles to Matthew, which is the first gospel account in the New Testament, and look at verse two of chapter nine. Notice an added detail that Matthew has. Matthew nine verse two. And behold, some people were brought some people brought him a paralytic lying on a bed.

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, take heart. Take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven. In the King James, I like how the phrase is is read. Be of good cheer.

If you have the New King James, it will say the same. Be of good cheer, my son. Your sins are forgiven. Now think about the significance of that as you look at the sequence of the events. Jesus tells them to be of good cheer on the basis of being forgiven before he even received the miracle.

Before the miracle came, Jesus could tell this man genuinely, your heart can actually swell with joy. You can actually know a happiness and a contentment. Even though at this point you are unable to walk, you can know genuine cheerfulness of the soul. Now what that tells you and I is that this is a principle of truth that sustaining joy is possible regardless of the afflictions that we endure in life. Regardless of them, even if it's as severe and as burdensome as not being able to walk up a flight of stairs.

You and I can tap into a certain happiness on the revelation of what Christ has done with our record of sin. And and here's how you can live in that joy. It's by taking all of these things, all of these crushing circumstances, these life altering events, and to and to contrast them in light of eternity. Listen. This man could be of good cheer because he died two thousand years ago.

He died two thousand years ago, but he is enjoying what Christ offered for all of eternity, and that is his forgiveness. And that is how we have to understand it. We have to view all things in light of everlasting life and the temper temporal things of this world that will wash away when Christ calls us home. You and I have to see that. I wanna call you to be of good cheer this afternoon.

If you're truly forgiven, realize. Now I know you won't realize it now because you talk to Christians and and it's it's just they paired it. They understand it. Jesus forgave me. Jesus forgave me.

Trust me. I know it's difficult for you to get joyful now. I know it's something that's old news to you, but you're gonna really, really appreciate it when you stand before God. You're really gonna appreciate it. And I can't wait to see the frozen chosen erupt in praise when they realize the significance of the redemption as they stand before God.

I'm waiting, and I pray that God would keep us in praise and adoration until then. That's why Jesus can say something as shocking as it's better to enter into life crippled or lame than to have both your hands and both your feet and be thrown into everlasting fire. Be of good cheer. The essence of our faith is not physical restoration or material prosperity, but a heart that has been reconnected to God because of what Christ has done on our behalf. And that is the point of this miracle.

The point of the miracle is this, forgiveness is the greatest miracle. Reconciliation is the greatest miracle of them all. And Warren Wiersbe said, quote, forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs. It meets the greatest need, it costs the greatest price, and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results, end quote. And to that I say amen.

Son, your sins are forgiven. Unfortunately, the greatness of that statement was was esteemed as the complete opposite by a few scribes who were in attendance that day. Mark tells us here in verse six that there were some who were sitting there who were questioning in their hearts as they received the shockwave of disgust for a mere man to be able to pronounce that someone is actually in right standing with God. It was utter blasphemy to them, and they meditated on that thought. But before they can even think another one, we are told very clearly, Jesus, in verse eight, immediately perceiving in his spirit.

That scares me. Because what is hidden from man, what is coated with skin and a skull is plain to Jesus Christ. It's so clear. It's as though I'm speaking on a microphone. Every thought that runs through my mind, he sees it, and he considers it.

What a great motivation to cultivate a holy thought life. I've said it before and I'll say it again, true holiness is putting your effort into the cleanliness of the inside of the cup and not the outside of the cup. Legalism is concerned about the outside of the cup and has no concern about the health of the soul. What may be hidden before Jesus is obviously naked and clear to him, and that's why I continually seek his cleansing from within. What is the Lord doing in this moment?

What is he about to do? These men are accusing him of blasphemy, and we see in verse eight, immediately Jesus perceiving in a spirit that they thus questioned within themselves said to them, why do you question these things in your hearts? You can imagine the chill down their spines. He just read their minds. I mean, imagine stopping in the middle of a sermon or an event and turning somebody just reading your thoughts.

I I know what you want for lunch after the service. What Jesus is doing with this response is making his claim of divinity all the more undeniable. First, because he exposes what these men are thinking. Think about that. These men, the scribes and Pharisees, were experts in the law, and if they were truly students of the word, they would know that the scriptures are so clear in giving the prerogative of minds being read and hearts being known to God and God alone.

You don't have to turn there, but listen to when Solomon prayed. Listen to what he said about this truth. In first Kings eight thirty nine, Then here in heaven, he prays, your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each one whose heart you know according to all his ways, for you you only know the hearts of all the children of mankind. You and you only. You're the only one who occupies that category of mind reading.

And here's this Jew from Nazareth who is now reading and exposing the thoughts of these Pharisees, giving us the clear conclusion that he is in fact Yahweh in the flesh. Furthermore, within the criticism of these men, there is a truth. We see it at the end of verse six. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Yeah.

You're right. No one. And that is the accusation that this man is claiming to be God, but what's so interesting is that when Jesus responds, he does not attempt to deflect that. He's not attempt to correct them. If anything, he is putting them in a corner, and it's it's the same truth for people today concerning the person of Jesus.

You only have two conclusions with the acts of Jesus and the statements of Jesus, and it is this. He is either a blasphemer or he is God in the flesh. Now if he is a blasphemer like these men are accusing him to be, then you have every right to disregard every claim of the word of God. You can walk away and do you, man. Just go.

Because this man is is a blasphemer. He's a sinner. He's a he's a lunatic. But if he's God in the flesh, which is the only other option based on the claims and the acts of Jesus, then what you do with Jesus will have consequences. Those are the only two options.

There's no third. There's no neutrality. Jesus made that clear. They're either for us or against us. Right?

They either scatter or they gather. I'm either a blasphemer or I am God. If I'm a blasphemer, go ahead. If I'm God, bow your name. That's exactly what is happening in this moment.

Jesus is questioning their claims, and he does this in many places. And it's a blessing to know that through the condemning criticism of these men, we find a nugget of truth, one of the strongest evidences that Jesus Christ is in fact God. But not only does he expose their thoughts, he's preparing to silence them for the time being because he presents a question. Jesus was a master at asking questions. And he does so here.

Verse nine. Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk? What an awesome evangelist. What a wonderful apologist. Which is easier?

Answer me. To say your sins are forgiven or to say to the paralytic, rise up and walk? Do you know the answer to that? I'll give you what I believe. It's easier to say your sins are forgiven.

Why? Because to claim authority that somebody's sins are forgiven doesn't have tangible evidence. I can go up to anybody and be like, your sins are forgiven. Okay. Well, where's the proof of that?

And you and I, we believe that Christ forgives us, though there is no writing on a wall or a tablet that falls from heaven that gives you a certificate. We, by faith, believe that he has forgiven us. And so it can it's very difficult to challenge somebody's authority based on something that's invisible. But to say rise up and walk, to claim you have authority to raise up the sick, based on what happens will determine whether you're a fraud or you're genuine. It's as simple as that.

So which is easier? Well, obviously, both are are impossible for man to accomplish, but in the sense of evidence, your sins are forgiven. And that's exactly what Jesus is doing. He he's he's he has a strategy in mind. He's making a case, and he's setting them up.

The Lord purposely waits to heal this man after his claim of divine authority to make somebody right in their standing with God so that when he does heal this man, it would back up the initial claim of his authority. So he he sets it up in such a way where he says, which is easier? And if they say, well, your sins are forgiven because you have to prove the latter, now he's about to say, okay, I'm gonna confront you with that. The timing of this healing would leave the scribes much to think about as Jesus would say, rise up and walk. They would leave leaving scratching their heads wondering, well, if he was able to raise up this man to walk, then maybe he has the ability to forgive sins.

That's exactly what he's doing, and it is brilliant. There's a principle there too tucked in that helps many of us, I hope. Whenever Jesus delays in anything that we're asking for, believing God for, it's always so that he can maximize his glory. He could have healed this man immediately and it would have glorified him. He could have brought about restoration right there and then and he could have received praise, but how much more now when he had waited just a little bit longer to bring about that so that a greater thing could be accomplished?

Believe the Lord for that. And so they are stunned by this because we read here in verse 11, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. And look at this in verse 12. He rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all. Just like the woman that was healed by the fever, immediately, there's there's this jolt of joy that we know in our experience of Christ that brings about immediate change, immediate obedience.

It may not be perfect obedience, but there is a deposit of a desire that says, I want to live for him. I want to honor him. I wanna walk as he calls me to walk. And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all. So they were all amazed and glorified God saying, we never saw anything like this.

We never saw anything like this. I look at this and there's many things that can be said, but one thing stands out to me. And I remember when I first read this story, being saved, and something stood out to me and it still stands out to me today. Maybe you noticed it as well. Jesus said, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.

Why take the bed? I think it's more important than just being courteous to the owner of the house. Pick up your bed. And we're told here that this man picked up his bed, rolled it up, and went first to his home. And when the thought came to me reading this initially many years ago, it's still a thought that resonates with me today, and it is this.

That bed was his testimony. That bed was his story. That bed was the evidence of where he was before he met Christ and where he is today because of Christ. And what I love about this is that the testimony of encountering Christ in Christ's mind was not to stay there, but was to go out for others to be able to see for themselves what Jesus had done. And each of us has something to point back to to say, this is this is where I was before Jesus, but look at me now.

See me now. And it's amazing that the first place where God wanted him to go to testify was the home. We're making a full circle here. Was to go home and to show if you had a wife, his wife. If you had kids, his kids, what Jesus had done.

That is the first place where people should see the marks of a man who has been touched by Jesus. And you wonder what happened after this. We are not sure, but all we know is that this man did the opposite of what the leper did. And as I look to this story, I think, like the leper, that this is significant in a spiritual sense. This man could not walk, and his friends could only do so much for him.

And Romans tells us that before Christ came, we were weak in the flesh. We were weak, and that is when he came to save us. I wanna close with this thought, and this is I know it's not in has points and titles for each point, but I'm just gonna speak from the heart. For those who have that desire for for someone that you love to come to Christ, realize that though these friends did so much, there was only so much that they can do. All they can do was bring the person to Jesus.

And that is where it all ends for you and I in our work for Christ, that we bring them to the Lord. And in that moment, it's between their faith and the Christ and how it moves forward from there. But we don't get their names, we don't get their response, but you can imagine the great joy that these men felt in the efforts that they put into this moment being known. And there are some people who may not be physically crippled, but are in so many different ways. And if we wanna experience testimonies in the next few years as as God preserves us to say we never saw anything like this, we never thought anything like this could happen, It required a collective effort to be able to lift people who might be emotionally disabled, who might be definitely spiritually broken, say let me bring you to Jesus.

And that contribution was enough for Christ to change this man. Don't underestimate your efforts for the kingdom of God. There are many things I can say. If you haven't noticed, it's outside of my comfort zone to deal with a larger text. I'm much more comfortable dealing with two verses and getting as much out of it, but I trust that the Lord has spoken to our hearts.

Why don't we pray together? Lord, we we see this story and we realize that we should glory in our redemption above all else. If nothing else works for us, we can be of good cheer. Many people are familiar with that truth, but are numb to the feeling that it should cause. Lord, just renew the joy of your salvation in our hearts.

As a church, Lord, help us be of one mind, of one heart, to share the effort and the burdens of the ministry for the sake of souls coming in contact with you. Lord, we pray for those who might have entered today who have legs to walk, but their hearts are paralyzed. And they are dead in terms of their relationship with you. They have no life. They have no power to walk in your ways.

But, Lord, as we are here, maybe they've been invited by a friend. Maybe they were convinced to come just for this day. Lord, would you would you let them know that you're willing to heal them and save them and that they can leave here with a testimony. They can walk out of here with their past and their sin and their evil and their habits that dishonored you and it destroyed so many other things, that they can walk out of here restored with a story what Christ has done in my life. Lord, we just give you all the glory for your word today, and we pray that as we sing even now, you would shower us with a reminder of the eternal blessing in the gospel and how this life is but a mist.

And what will mean more than anything else on our death bed is not our bank account or what experiences we had or what places, what places we traveled to. But one thing, am I saved? Am I redeemed? Am I his child? And Lord, we just thank you that we can know that now, and we rejoice in it today.

In your name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship.