Mark 2:1 NASB
1 When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.
Jesus was preaching throughout Galilee with great success. People were being healed, demons were being cast out, even lepers were ceiling cleansed. And.. the Gospel was being preached. The response was so overwhelmingly positive that Jesus would have to leave the cities and retire to the countryside to find peace, to recharge, to commune with His Father in heaven. It is after one such Sabbatical that Jesus ‘comes back’ to Capernaum.
Take a moment. Israel was a theocracy. It always has been. What was so different about the religious message of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day .vs the Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus preached? Very simply, the message of the religious leaders, over time, had devolved into a message based on a system of bartering. In essence, an exchange. An exchange that no one could live up to. It was ‘Do something to Be something” or, “Do something to Get something.” And, as it turned out, very few people could live up to the standard put forward by religious leaders who had effectively ‘monetized’ their message.
Jesus' message was simple: “Come to me all ye that are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest. His presentation was of God, who looks down from Heaven and … cares. That message, that “Gospel”, that ‘Good News’, if you will, did not require an offering from those who had nothing, but offered healing, deliverance, and hope to all who simply believed and received His message of faith. Take, for example, the following episode…
Matthew 11:28-30 NASB
28 “Come to Me, all [v]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find [w]rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”
---------
Mark 2:3 NASB
3 And some people *came, bringing to Him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men.
Oftentimes, when a department store is going out of business, they have what is called a ‘CLEARANCE’ sale. What normally happens is the prices of normally very expensive items are ‘slashed’ drastically in order to empty the store of all inventory before the store closes permanently. During these ‘CLEARANCE’ sales, a sense of urgency develops in the community because people want to take advantage of the reduced prices in order to purchase a previously unaffordable item. Additionally, time is critical because once the item is sold, it won’t be replaced. So it’s important to get in early to take advantage of the ‘CLEARANCE’ sale.
I imagine that something like that was going through the minds of many who were following Jesus throughout Galilee. The ‘Windows of Heaven’ had suddenly opened with the preaching of this young Nazarene. Suddenly, God was ‘hearing’ the pleas of those who previously had no voice because they could not find favor in the current religious system. Who could know how long such an outpouring of miracles would last? There was a sense of urgency that developed in the community. They sought out the Master with an expectancy that their pleas to Heaven would be heard. Such was the expectancy of the four men who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They fully expected that if they could get him to Jesus, he would be healed.
Mark 2:4 NASB
4 And when they were unable to [a]get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof [b]above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralyzed man was lying.
Such was the urgency of the four friends of the paralytic, that when they were confronted with a crowd so large that they might never get to Jesus, they came up with a bold plan, they would remove the roof and lower their friend in. Sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it? Again, what do we observe here? Urgency. Expectation. Faith!
Mark 2:5 NASB
5 And Jesus, seeing their faith, *said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Imagine the smile across Jesus' face. Right away, He recognizes something in the men and their paralytic friend that He recognized in Abraham, in Jacob, in Joseph and David. In Elijah and Elishah. Faith. The same faith that had felled giants, called down fire from Heaven, freed the Israelites from Egypt. Yes, Jesus immediately recognized … their faith and responded accordingly. “Son, your sins are forgiven!” Now, imagine how sweet those words were to Jesus’ hearers, particularly the four friends and the paralytic. The forgiveness of sin is a benefit to every citizen of Heaven, the inheritance of every ‘son of the King’. This was understood by every son and daughter of Abraham, every soul born of Israel. These words or something like them were the reasonable outcome for any who called on the name of the Lord, based on the lessons learned from the observations taken from the annual celebration of Day of Atonement. Lessons associated with the recent celebration of the beginning of this Year of Jubilee. Israel’s history was rife with the concept of restoration to ‘sonship’. The forgiveness of sin signaled restoration to right covenant relationship to God by his people. Literally a gift, with everlasting consequences, from God.
Mark 2:6-7 NASB
6 But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone?”
Before you give the scribes and religious leaders a hard time, take a moment to get the setting. The scribes and religious leaders are gathering from two separate areas. Some are from the local synagogue and some are from Jerusalem. What you find typically, is that the local religious leaders have a symbiotic relationship with both the local roman sentries who are assigned to northern Israel and, interestingly, with Jesus.
sym·bi·ot·ic
adjectiveBIOLOGY
involving interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association.
"the fungi form symbiotic associations with the roots of plant species"denoting a mutually beneficial relationship between different people or groups.
"the reader can have a symbiotic relationship with the writer"
It has been my observation that the three conflicting entities, the Romans, the religious leaders, and Jesus got along better the further they were from Jerusalem. When you take verses six and seven in that context, you see that there is no outright rebuke of Jesus' proclamation of forgiveness, but rather, a quiet inward reflection that what they are seeing and hearing does not align with what they understand from their years of study of the Holy Scriptures. These are scribes. They are the equivalent of religious ‘lawyers’. They were the experts at interpreting Scripture. What Jesus is doing, according to their understanding, is blasphemy. In their eyes, Jesus is diminishing the authority of God by making himself ‘equal’ with God. Blasphemy.
Mark 2:8 NASB
8 Immediately Jesus, aware [c]in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, *said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts?
Jesus immediately discerns their unspoken thoughts. Rather than strike an adversarial pose, Jesus simply questions the thoughts that cloud their hearts. Similarly, when faced with a situation that challenges our faith, the Holy Spirit challenges us to remove the obstacles of our faith and simply believe. Any test of our faith is an opportunity for a ‘teachable moment’.
Mark 2: 9 NASB
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.”
In order to ‘teach’ the teachers, Jesus poses a question, a thought experiment, if you will.
“Which is easier to say to the paralytic man?”
‘Your sins are forgiven’
‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?
Thoughts?
To say, “Your sins are forgiven” is to say, “You are hereby restored to your rightful place as an heir to the richness of your Father’s Kingdom. You are a son of Abraham and, as such, you have the right to receive the promises and blessings of Abraham. Example:
Luke 13:16 NASB
16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for [g]eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this restraint on the Sabbath day?”
To say, “Get up, take up your pallet and walk” is to say something so fantastical that it boggles the mind. “Rise up and be healed”. How many people do you know that will speak those words, fully believing that what they say will come to pass? Example:
Acts 3:6-7 NASB
6 But Peter said, “I do not have silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!” 7 And grasping him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
Can you see how Example A would be so much easier to operate in from a faith standpoint for most believers? Beloved, our job is to bless. To speak God’s blessings upon a dying world.. Can you understand how, that in order for you to complete your holy assignment here on earth, God will give you the tools and the ability to do His will on earth? Do we understand the power that God has bestowed upon His children by virtue of the spoken word?
But, can you see how both Example A and Example B accomplish identical results when spoken in faith? Listen Beloved, Jesus’ words never, ever fall to the ground void. Did he have to say, “Take up your bed and walk” because, “Son, your sins are forgiven” wouldn’t work? Of course not. In this teachable moment, Jesus was giving His ‘students’ options. One way, or the other, the paralytic was going to be healed. Surely you agree.
Since I have gone here, let me give you a little more to work with. This recounting of the healing of the paralytic is recorded in Matthew and in Luke. Let’s take a look at Luke’s rendering…
Luke 5:17 NASB
17 [f]One day He was teaching, and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
Notice that the Scripture says, “the power of the Lord was present for Him (Jesus) to heal. This word ‘power’ is translated from the Greek, ‘dü'-nä-mes”, which is the very same power promised to every believer after the promise of the Holy Spirit comes upon them. Look it up.
Acts 2:8 NASB
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”
Beloved, Luke 5:17 can be taken a number of ways. Our natural response is to take the path of least resistance. That path is a path of reason that argues that Jesus was God, thus the miracles that He performed were solely based on His will and His way.
The less-traveled path of reason surmises that Jesus had the aid of the Holy Spirit working through Him with every miracle performed. In essence, the Holy Spirit did the work. This is where I’ll probably lose half my audience. No worries. Faith comes by hearing. This truth will eventually dawn on them. For the rest of you, let’s press on.
That less-traveled path of reason will eventually lead to the reasoning that … the Holy Spirit does the work. In every case. In all cases. The Holy Spirit does the work one hundred percent of the time. What a relief. Beloved, our job is to preach the Gospel. The Holy Ghost does the miracles. There is a second factor to consider in this impromptu teaching session Jesus is conducting.
Mark 2:10-11 NASB
10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.”
Throughout the Book of Mark, Jesus refers to Himself as, “the Son of Man”. In doing so, he identifies completely with humanity. Everything we understand about Jesus forces us to understand and accept that He could only complete His final and greatest accomplishment, the Cross, as a man. A man, who, without sin, would be the acceptable sacrifice before God so as to redeem all of mankind to God: whosoever would believe in His Name. Don’t worry. I am not confused. I know, good and well, that Jesus is both fully God and fully man. However, by identifying fully with mankind in the hearing of His voice, He is telling His audience that they are both qualified and equipped to continue His work on the earth with the guidance and aid of the Holy Ghost. Did you catch that? Beloved, as a believer, you are both qualified and equipped to do the work of the Kingdom of God on the earth in these last days. Isn’t that good news?!
Mark 2:12 NASB
12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
I like Luke’s version …
Luke 5:26 NKJV
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”
Beloved, when the work of God is no longer strange to you but entirely credible, nothing will be impossible for you.
John 14:12-14 NASB
12 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
Class Dismissed! 😎
(or, rather)
Selah,
wb
No comments:
Post a Comment