Mark
2:9-12 “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your
sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that
you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” ---
He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up
your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed,
and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified
God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” NKJV
In Mark Chapter 1 we were informed by Mark of our
Lord cleansing a man from his disease of leprosy. Now in Mark Chapter 2 we find
four dear friends of a man paralyzed either from the waist down or from the
neck down bringing the man to our Lord believing that He could make this man
whole. They were so confident in our Lord’s ability and compassionate desire to
heal their friend that even despite the massive crowd; they would let nothing
stop them from getting to Jesus. Their single minded determination gave them
the idea to go to the roof top of the house and remove enough portions of the
roof to lower their friend’s stretcher down to Jesus.
This scene pictures the soul of any person who our
Lord spoke of in Matthew Chapter 5 of being poor in spirit, mourning over their
sin, and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. When the soul is brought to
this point of conviction over sin then it is at a blessed state or condition
for then only can our Lord come with His healing grace through faith. As our
Lord was preaching the Word of God to them in the Capernaum home, He saw this
bed being lowered from the roof top with this man lying on it. His first words
after witnessing this were, “Son your sins are forgiven
you.” The friends and the paralyzed man believed that only the Lord
Jesus could make him well.
Psalm
103:3-5 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who
redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving-kindness and
tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that
your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. NKJV
Isaiah
38:17-20 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great
bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of
corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. For Sheol cannot
thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope
for Your truth. The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day; The father shall make
known Your truth to the children. “The LORD was ready to save me;
Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments All the days of our
life, in the house of the LORD.” NKJV
Initially they were not coming to get sin forgiven,
but again this is our Lord’s primary purpose for becoming a Man after leaving
Heaven. He wanted them to know He saw through to their hearts which revealed
their trust that He only could restore their friend’s physical condition (see
the article entitled “When He saw their Faith”, http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=90889).
Of course there were some Scribes present (they seemed to be always present
when our Lord was restoring the physical and spiritual brokenness of people)
who called Him a blasphemer in saying, “Son your sins
are forgiven you.” Therefore, our Lord wanted them and all around to
understand that He is God and He alone has the power to forgive a man’s sin,
cleanse him from sin, restore him out of brokenness, and give him new life
forever. This is why He asked the religious Scribes who questioned His
sincerity and authority, “Which is easier, to say to
the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up
your bed and walk’”? They understood immediately the answer to that
question for none of them or anyone they knew could say to this physically paralyzed
man, “Arise, take up your bed and walk” because
they knew only God had the power to say such a thing and make it happen.
Today so many well-intentioned (but lost in religion
or spirituality) people go to a Priest, a Rabbi, a Spiritist, a Medium, a Buddhist
Monk, or an Imam for absolution of their sins or spiritual healing thinking it
will be sufficient. Just as those religious Scribes then missed the One Way of
sin forgiveness and spiritual healing it is still the same today for most of
humanity. It is not that God the Holy Spirit is not doing His work of
conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment, but it is still the hearts that
are hardened against the truth being still in love with sin. The Lord Jesus
Christ demands Lordship over the heart He redeems and the heart still in love
with darkness cannot see Him as the only way for sin forgiveness, so it goes to
the others mentioned above trying to appease the conscience and bring rest to
their troubled souls.
However, then our Lord would not let the Scribes
miss the point He was making and sealed its certainty by making the humanly
impossible occur by commanding the man to, “Arise, take
up your bed and walk” and so the man did just that by the power of God
he was no longer paralyzed but he walked in the presence of all there that day.
Our Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit is still doing the same thing today all
around the world for the broken souls who confess, repent, and turn from their
sins to Him alone and they are resurrected from their dead in trespasses and
sins condition, made new creatures in Christ Jesus, made a partaker of His own
Nature, and given grace (Divine influence upon the heart) to walk in newness of
life for and to the Glory of God (see the article entitled “Jesus Saves and
only Jesus Saves” http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=133282).
Luke
7:16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet
has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” NKJV
John
6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh
profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are
life.” NKJV
John
7:31 And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes,
will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?” NKJV
Acts
5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to
give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. NKJV
“After grief for sin there should be joy for
forgiveness.” A. W. Pink 1886-1952
“The trouble is, people do not know that Christ is a
Deliverer. They forget that the Son of God came to keep them from sin as well
as to forgive it.” D. L. Moody 1837-1899
“Sin forsaken is one of the best evidences of sin
forgiven.” J. C. Ryle 1816-1900
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
