The Word This Week
Mark 2:1…
Jesus said He did not come to overturn the Law, but to fulfill it.
It is one thing to teach with authority, heal the sick, drive out demons, and cleanse lepers - it is quite something else again to begin to portray yourself as God.
The Bible teaches only God can forgive sins.
How dare Jesus tell this paralytic his sins are forgiven?
Every practicing Jew in the room would have been aghast. Especially the scribes, who were the most familiar with God’s Word from their hours of copying it faithfully.
For some, what Jesus said to this paralytic may have been disappointing. After healing so many of their afflictions, Jesus doesn’t appear to address the most obvious need of this paralyzed man.
Think of his friends up on the roof. They had such high hopes for their friend after hearing about or seeing Jesus heal and cleanse all those who came to Him when Jesus was last in Capernaum. Now that Jesus has returned, they would bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus to heal his paralysis.
Frustrated by arriving too late to actually get in the packed room, they were not deterred. Imagine the effort required to get their paralyzed friend up on the roof – and then to break through the roof tiles and to lower their friend down through a hole they made, (large enough to fit a man through,) and into Jesus’ presence.
We can just imagine how excited they must have been, their faces peering down through the hole to see Jesus heal their friend. What faith they had in Jesus!
Jesus did not do what they expected of Him. He would purposely meet the greatest need of this paralytic, which no one in the room understood. Jesus forgave this man’s sins, which would have been intentionally shocking – especially to the scribes present. Imagine the disappointment of the paralyzed man’s friends – but also of the man himself. He came wanting to walk again, and Jesus tells him he is forgiven of his sins!
Who can forgive sins but God alone? People say Jesus never claimed to be God. They are wrong.
Pastor Bill
Jesus said He did not come to overturn the Law, but to fulfill it.
It is one thing to teach with authority, heal the sick, drive out demons, and cleanse lepers - it is quite something else again to begin to portray yourself as God.
The Bible teaches only God can forgive sins.
How dare Jesus tell this paralytic his sins are forgiven?
Every practicing Jew in the room would have been aghast. Especially the scribes, who were the most familiar with God’s Word from their hours of copying it faithfully.
For some, what Jesus said to this paralytic may have been disappointing. After healing so many of their afflictions, Jesus doesn’t appear to address the most obvious need of this paralyzed man.
Think of his friends up on the roof. They had such high hopes for their friend after hearing about or seeing Jesus heal and cleanse all those who came to Him when Jesus was last in Capernaum. Now that Jesus has returned, they would bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus to heal his paralysis.
Frustrated by arriving too late to actually get in the packed room, they were not deterred. Imagine the effort required to get their paralyzed friend up on the roof – and then to break through the roof tiles and to lower their friend down through a hole they made, (large enough to fit a man through,) and into Jesus’ presence.
We can just imagine how excited they must have been, their faces peering down through the hole to see Jesus heal their friend. What faith they had in Jesus!
Jesus did not do what they expected of Him. He would purposely meet the greatest need of this paralytic, which no one in the room understood. Jesus forgave this man’s sins, which would have been intentionally shocking – especially to the scribes present. Imagine the disappointment of the paralyzed man’s friends – but also of the man himself. He came wanting to walk again, and Jesus tells him he is forgiven of his sins!
Who can forgive sins but God alone? People say Jesus never claimed to be God. They are wrong.
Pastor Bill