Sermon Notes: Mark 2:1-12
Mark 2:1-12
Eric Croft
What is the greatest benefit Christianity has to offer the world? There are many other religions and beliefs, so what makes Christianity distinct from all others? I understand that question may be pretty obvious to people like us who are faithful members of a local church, and take our discipleship with Jesus seriously, but I do not believe we should assume that everyone knows the correct answer to that question. If you were to ask others, you may hear something to the effect that Chrisitanity gives them a better sense of morality or ethics. Christianity provides a better framework for how they should structure and live their lives. Some may say that Christianity moves them to do acts of service and love their neighbor in a way that otherwise they would not. Some may say Christianity gives them peace and purpose for living their lives.
All of those answers are certainly right, and we should pursue those as followers of Jesus. But those are simply only by-products of the great benefit that Christianity has to offer. There is only one benefit that transcends all other benefits in Christianity, and that is that in Christ all of your sins are forgiven through repentance and faith in the blood of Jesus Christ on your behalf. Man’s greatest need is escaping the eternal punishment and condemnation that will be eternally poured out on him in hell for unforgiven, unrepentant sin. It is not sin alone that sends people to hell, it is unforgiven sin that sends people to hell, therefore your greatest need is forgiveness of sins. No amount of work can get you there. You can’t give enough money to buy your way there. Only through asking God to forgive your sins can you receive the forgiveness of Christ for your transgressions. Listen to what Paul says in Acts 13:38-39, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”
This is what we see in today’s text. Jesus has been given the authority and power alone to proclaim forgiveness of sin.
**Let’s stand and read the text together.**
What do we see in this passage?
1. Jesus draws a large crowd as he returns to his hometown of Capernaum. (V 1&2)
Verses 1, 2 says, “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.”
Capernaum was Jesus’ base of operations when he began his ministry in Galilee. Although not a large city, Capernaum was a strategic position near a trade route and supported a thriving fishing industry along with a synagogue. This proved to be an ideal location for Jesus’ ministry base as he would call some blue collar fishermen to be his disciples.
But recall the ending of last week's passage that Jesus was driven away from his base of operations after cleansing the man with leprosy. Jesus heals this man and after healing him, Jesus, “sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” However, the man who received this fresh healing goes out and begins to openly proclaim what happened to him, thus causing Jesus to retreat to desolate places because the crowds were closing in from every quarter.
Large crowds following Jesus though was quite the norm during his ministry. Many people were following Jesus because of the many miracles, signs, and wonders that he was performing. I think about the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6, and how the day after the crowd is seeking Jesus. Once they find Jesus on the other side of the sea from where the feeding took place, the people say, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” Jesus exposes their true motives in seeking him out, not for who he truly is, but because they ate the fish sandwiches and were intrigued by his ability to pull off such a thing.
Miracles, signs, and wonders in the ministry of Jesus were not intended to be merely for entertainment. That’s not what Jesus had in mind for his audience. Miracles proved Jesus’ deity and his role as the Messiah during his earthly ministry.
“A miracle is a supernatural event within the realm of the natural world.”
The miracles that Jesus performed sometimes resulted in belief, or created a willingness in Jesus’s hearers to listen to his teachings. However the majority rejected Jesus despite his miracles.
Miracles alone do not convince people to believe in Jesus or in his gospel message, thus when Jesus began to say things to the effect of in order to be my disciple you must eat my flesh and drink my blood, many people abandoned him and declared that his teachings were too harsh. We want to see miracles, but we do not want to submit to him as Lord and God because that just seems too extreme.
Regardless of the crowd's motives, the fact remains the same in the text. Jesus finds himself back at home, perhaps seeking a moment of rest, when quickly the house begins to fill up with people that there is no more room.
So, what does Jesus begin to do? This leads us to our next observation in the text.
2. Jesus is preaching the word. (V2)
“And he was preaching the word to them.”
We can be assured that Jesus is preaching to the crowd the same good news message he came preaching in 1:14,15, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””
We know that Jesus doesn’t deviate from his original message, and preaches the same good news throughout his ministry. Jesus is direct with his preaching. He’s on a mission to declare the good news. The snake crusher has arrived that was prophesied way back in Genesis 3, and with his arrival a new kingdom is being ushered in where he is the king. Yet his kingdom is not a kingdom of this world. He came to seek and to save that which was lost, and to liberate those who are under the curse of sin. He came to deliver those who have been taken captive by their sins, and are under the dominion of the kingdom of darkness. His message is an urgent call to repent, to turn away from your sins, and to embrace his transforming power that only he can provide. The gospel is good news because it is the only news that can free you from your slavery to sin, and bring you into a right relationship with Jesus.
Mark makes it very clear in chapter 1 that Jesus came to preach. After calling his first disciples, he “went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching.” And then in 1:39, “he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.”
Jesus also drew large crowds because when he preached, he preached with authority. 1:22 says, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”
This is why the preaching of the word is central to our order of worship here, because preaching was central to the life and ministry of Jesus. We have nothing better to offer you here. We gather to hear the preaching, the proclamation of God’s word, and then submit to it as the highest authority in our lives. The authority of God’s word doesn’t come from my own authority, or anyone else’s authority who preaches, but rather it comes from God himself.
3. Persistent faith is put on display by the paralytic and his four friends. (V. 3-5)
“And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near 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.””
So here come these four guys with their friend who is paralyzed, confined to a bed, seeking to get him close to Jesus.
I imagine they heard that Jesus was at home and they have witnessed some of his miraculous healings, and they believe that if they could just get close enough to Jesus, then he can heal their friend and make him walk. They fully believe and trust that Jesus is able to do what nobody else can do.
Luke records in chapter 5 of his gospel, “the power of the Lord was with him to heal.”
However, when they get to the house, they are unable to enter because of the crowd that has already gathered to listen to Jesus.
So instead of giving up hope, these friends go to the roof of this house. Something for us to note here is that their houses didn’t look like ours do today. They had stairs on the outside of their house, beside the wall, where they would go upstairs, to the roof of the house was flat. Once these four guys carried their friend to the roof, making an opening would not have been difficult for them to do.
The typical construction of an ancient Israel roof consisted of thatch and clay that was supported by some cross beams. Digging through that would not be as strenuous as going through shingles, plywood, and rafter beams like we have today.
These are certainly some incredible friends! I say persistent faith is put on display because they refused to be denied access to Jesus due to the large crowd already gathered around. Last week, we saw the bold faith of the leper. Today this passage teaches us about faith that perseveres.
The natural tendency for most when they meet opposition or difficult circumstances is to give up. But not these friends. They get to work. Their faith in what Jesus is able to do is greater than any obstacle in their way. Their faith stirred them to action. They were not content to just sit back and pray about their friend's inability to walk, and hope that one day he is able to gain strength in his legs and walk. The friends believe that Jesus has the power to heal, if only they could reach him. Faith in Mark means more than simple belief; it shows itself in action.
So they are on top of the roof, and inside the house, picture roofing materials beginning to fall on top of you. This is a crazy scenario to picture yourself in. The crowd came to listen to Jesus, and a huge interruption began to break through mid-sermon.
The man is lowered on his mat in front of Jesus and Mark tells us, “when Jesus saw their faith…" Whose faith? I believe it was all five of them. This paralytic certainly had to have some measure of faith in Jesus just as much as his friends did I believe. We don’t know exactly how long this guy has been crippled and unable to walk. He could be a young man, middle aged, or older, and he could also have been bitter about his life circumstances and refused help from anyone.
What is faith? The writer of Hebrews tells us in 11:1, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
But here the Greek word for faith is pistis, which means the conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.
So, in relation to Jesus, this means they believed and trusted that Jesus could heal their friend. The paralyzed man and his friends had faith that was visibly seen by Jesus, because Jesus sees what others do not see, which leads us to our next observation in the text.
4. Jesus forgives the paralytic of his sins, which is his greatest need. (V 5)
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
What an incredible statement this is. The man comes for physical healing of his legs, but instead Jesus goes straight to the man's heart. What is Jesus doing here? He is proclaiming the kingdom of God is here to fix what sin has broken, specifically man's relationship with God. In proclaiming to this man his sins are forgiven, Jesus is saying, the new covenant of salvation of Jeremiah 31:34 has arrived, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
This man's greatest need was not physical healing so that he could walk. If Jesus healed the man and he was able to walk, his greatest need would still need to be met.
Jesus sees the man’s greatest problem, and goes straight towards it without the man even realizing it. Many people today do not realize their own greatest problem.
David said in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Everyone of us has been born with a sin nature that is rooted in the first Adam who sinned and rebelled against God, thus our greatest need is not physical needs but spiritual. Reconciliation with God through Christ who is the second and better Adam is every person's greatest need for this life, and for life after death.
Psalm 32:1-2, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
5. The religious elite sitting in the crowd begin to question Jesus in their hearts, and Jesus exposes their questioning to the crowd. (V. 6-9)
“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?””
Scribes were learned, professional Jewish scholars, lawyers, and teachers responsible for teaching and interpreting the Mosaic Law. They were experts in scripture but frequently argued with Jesus over their legalistic traditions and oral laws.
They knew their Old Testament scriptures, yet they were unable to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, and the promised Messiah by which all the prophets were writing about.
Jesus addressed the religious leaders in John 5:39 and said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.”
Here is an important principle that we ought to take note of, and that is that you can read the Scriptures, you can study theology, and still not embrace Jesus as Lord and God. That’s what the religious leaders were guilty of during the life and ministry of Jesus. If you reject Jesus as God, you can read the Bible all day long and it’s nothing more than another book. You and I must come under the authority of Scripture and be molded and shaped by it, and submit every part of our lives to it.
The Scriptures are intended to point us to the truth that Jesus is God, not simply to be a source of knowledge or a set of rules. The ultimate goal in reading and studying the Bible is to find and follow Jesus, as the entire metanarrative points to his very person and work.
In one sense, these scribes in attendance were right in saying that only God can forgive sins, but they failed to recognize Jesus as God in the flesh.
Verse 8, “Immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?”
Talk about an intense moment now! These scribes are now being exposed by Jesus for raising a question within their hearts that had not been asked out loud. Here is another moment of Jesus showing himself to be God. Multiple OT texts speak of the Lord being the one who is able to see and hear the heart and thoughts of man.
1 Sam. 16:7, “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
1 Chron. 28:9, “the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought."
Psalm 139:1-2, “O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.”
Jesus then asks them a question in verse 9, “Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
David Garland says in his commentary, “Jesus skirts the issue of blasphemy with a riddling question of his own, in effect, “Which is easier, to make a theological pronouncement about the forgiveness of sins or to provide empirical proof that the man’s sins have indeed been forgiven by virtue of his ability to get up and walk away?”
This response follows scriptural guidance for verifying a true prophet and pinpointing a false prophet who presumes to utter in God’s name what the Lord has not commanded him to speak.
Deut. 18:22, “when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”
Jesus is aware of this OT Scripture, thus he is aware that validation is needed for proof that this man’s sins have been forgiven. So the way we can understand what Jesus is saying is, Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” and prove it; or to say, “Get up, and pick up your bed, and walk,” and prove it? Forgiving sins is invisible. For a man unable to walk to pick up his bed is manifestly visible.
6. Jesus demonstrates his authority as the Son of Man sent by God to forgive sins by commanding the paralytic to pick up his bed and walk. (V 10&11)
“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority of earth to forgive sins”--he said to the paralytic– “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.””
Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man 14 times in the gospel of Mark.
The teaching team at SWO pointed out that anytime Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man, he is referring to one of three things:
His authority
His suffering
His future glory
Here in this passage, he is referring to his authority to forgive sins. Only Jesus can forgive sins. He alone has the authority to do so. This is the good news of his coming. What was insufficient under the old covenant, namely the continuous sacrifice for sins, Jesus satisfies by sacrificing his own blood and becoming the spotless lamb of God so that in him he can provide forgiveness of sins.
What is the significance then of the name Son of Man that Jesus prefers to call himself?
To answer that, we need to go to the prophet Daniel in Daniel 7.
We know that God spoke to prophets in many different ways, but one of those ways was through dreams and visions.
Daniel begins to have this dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed one night and it's a crazy dream. He even says at the end that his spirit was anxious and the visions of his head alarmed him.
Here's a summary of his dream:
Daniel dreams of these four creatures that come up from the sea all different from one another, and each of these creatures represents a kingdom.
The first creature is a lion with two wings and it represents the kingdom of Babylon. This was a world power in the time of Daniel. Huge kingdom and very powerful. Nebuchadnezzar was a leader in Babylon that you have probably heard of.
The second creature Daniel saw was a bear with ribs in its mouth and it represented the kingdom that overthrew the Babylonian kingdom. The bear represented the Persian Empire.
The third creature was a leopard with four wings and it represented the Greek Empire. The Greek Empire moved really fast and leopards move really fast so that is what was symbolizing here.
The last creature Daniel saw was what he described as terrifying, dreadful, and exceedingly strong. He said it has great iron teeth and a bunch of horns. He can't even fully describe this thing. It is so wild looking. It sounds really intimidating, almost something prehistoric like a dinosaur. This creature represented the Roman Empire.
In this dream, Daniel sees all these kingdoms are brought into this throne room, and seated on this throne is the one sitting whose name is called the Ancient of Days, which now we know is God the Father.
God is seated on this throne and all these kingdoms are brought in and God condemns them and God sends them into judgement. The message is that even if they are powerful rulers on earth, they are not more powerful than God even if they have power for a long period of time. Every kingdom is going to rise and fall. Theirs not a kingdom on planet earth that has always been here or will always remain.
But the one who is seated on the throne, the Ancient of Days, has always been. He is bigger than time and so he is never going to fall. God is eternal. So, in this scene we see the Ancient of Days handing out judgement on all these wicked kingdoms of the earth.
But then Daniel says that there is one who came before the Ancient of Days, and he looks like a son of man.
Daniel 7:13, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man,”
He’s just a regular guy unlike all these other creatures that Daniel saw, and remember the Ancient of Days condemned and judged them when they came into his presence.
“He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
The son of man comes into the presence of the Ancient of Days and he says to him, I’m going to build a kingdom and you’re going to rule over it and everyone is going to serve you. Philippians 2 tells us that every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
So when Jesus says here in Mark 2, “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” He is declaring I am the Son of Man in Daniel chapter 7 written 600 years before his birth by which all authority on heaven and earth has been given to by God the Father.
Jesus is also the Son of Man that John saw in Revelation 14 seated on the cloud returning to gather his elect people and bring them into his eternal kingdom.
I’m not sure if the audience in Mark’s gospel caught on to what Jesus is saying, but we have the full revelation of God’s word, and you and I need to understand that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth and that includes the authority to forgive sinners and make them right with God.
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Mark finishes this story by saying in verse 12, “And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed (Luke says “They were filled with fear”-- phobeo, “panic” really) and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
What is amazing here is that Mark never says the crowd has faith. Only the paralytic and his friends demonstrated faith that led to forgiveness of sins. That was true throughout his entire earthly ministry. Many people were curious about him. Many were amazed at him, but very few embraced him as God, and that same response to Jesus is true for many today.
Application:
1. Repent and believe in Jesus as the Son of Man who alone has the authority to forgive sins.
Acts 4:12, “There is salvation is no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
No amount of good deeds will ever grant you the forgiveness you need for your sins.
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Your greatest need today is spiritual healing. A new heart that is sensitive to God’s Word, a desire to worship him as the only true God, and to live in a way that is honoring and pleasing to him.
Do not be like the crowds in Jesus’ day that just lingers around him but never commits your life to him. Do not be like the scribes who were theologically obese and never applied the truth of scripture to their lives.
All theology should ultimately lead to doxology. Theology which is the study of God should lead us to doxology, which is the worship of God.
Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlesness.’
2. Preach the good news of God’s kingdom. Jesus modeled for us the urgency in preaching and calling people to repent and believe. If you have been saved, you have been equipped to go and preach this good news. Disciple others in the faith.
3. For those who do believe, ask the Lord to give you a persistent faith that shows itself in action.
Faith in Mark is described as more than just saying I believe in Jesus. Faith shows itself in action. We have already seen in Mark that demons are aware of who Jesus is, and James tells us, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe– and shudder!”
As followers of Jesus we have been called to good works. Are you actively engaged in good works for the building of God’s kingdom?
Do not grow weary or faint hearted in your relationship with Jesus. Put on the armour of God, grip the sword, and be prepared to do battle against the enemies of God and the dark forces of evil.
4. Worship
Let’s sing to the Lord and worship him in spirit and in truth. Let’s worship Jesus as the one who alone has the authority to declare sinners forgiven and set them free from their slavery to sin.