Corona Chronicles - Crown of Thorns

Welcome to corona chronicles, crowned Thorns, and we're following Jesus on his road to the cross. And we're now in Mark chapter 2. And this is 1 of the most famous stories in Mark's gospel, where Jesus reveals who he really is and what he's come to do. This is verse 1 of chapter 2. A few days later when Jesus again entered Capurdo, the people heard that he had come home.

They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came bringing to him a paralyzed man carried by 4 of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it, and then lowered the man the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, some, your sins are forgiven. Now some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves.

Why does this fellow talk like that? He's he's blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but got alone? Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit, this was what they were thinking in their hearts. And he said to them, why are you thinking these things?

Which is easier? To say to this paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven. Or to say, get up, take your mat and walk. But I want you to know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. So he said to the man, I tell you get up, take your mat and go home.

He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of the the ball. This amazed everyone, and they praised God saying we have never seen anything like this. This is this is the 1 of the classic sort of stories they read at Sunday's Gordon. And quite a writer. Yeah.

So yeah. So it's just a fantastic story. Yeah. Because you've got this. You've got every ingredient for for good stuff, haven't you?

You've got a crowded house absolutely packed out. No 1 else can get in, but here's a group of mates bringing their paralyzed mate. I mean, whether he wanted to go or not, we don't know. But they're carrying him. They can't get in, so they dig a hole in the roof.

And it's just that classic scene where you can imagine inside the house, Jesus is speaking, and then there's crumbling on the wall and bits of dust falling down and everybody's there. What's going on? And is there an earthquake or something? And then suddenly this bloke is lowered down, who's paralyzed. Yeah.

And and I I always think, you know, does he wanna be there? But His mates want him there. Yeah. And then you've got this on an initial reading, an extraordinarily disappointing sentence from Jesus. Yes.

Because we know that he has the power of God to heal people, and presumably they're carrying in there to be healed. Yeah. And he he says to the man on the mat, son, your sins are forgiven. Yeah. Yeah.

And you think Great. Yeah. I know. It's like going to the dentist, isn't it? With a throbbing tooth.

Than a hole in your molar and him saying, your sins are forgiven. Yeah. I think, well, that's lovely, but it's not work. I didn't know. You know, if they come to my tooth fixed, you know.

And And yet, Jesus is showing us here that this man, although extremely needy in the physical realm, has an even greater need. And it's what we saw with the leper as well. The, you know, the cleansing and the forgiveness of sin is our most pressing issue, isn't it? Yeah. No matter what our physical state in this life whether we're disabled or abled or strong or weak, you know.

We're all born cut off from God. And that to be reconciled to God is our is our most pressing and urgent need. And Jesus is very affectionate calling him son already. You know, it's a very you know, you don't get the impression that he's irritated or frustrated by this interruption, he's gonna use it as an opportunity to show that only he can cure our most our most important needs, forgive us of sins. Yeah.

And and that is the most important thing, because you can be healed as this man is going to be. Yes. But you'll die again, anyway, you can have your legs, but they're going to fail it in the end. But the main thing for eternity, is that you're right with the living God and in order to be right with the living God and enter into fellowship with the living God. You need your sins forgiven.

So, yes, absolutely. So you would get this. And then, of course, the teachers of the law, the religious people are listening in, and they're right. Because they they say holy, what? Who can forgive sins but God?

This has gotta be blasphemy, hasn't it? Because how can how can anyone really forgive sins other than God? So what what's going on there, do you think? Mhmm. Yeah.

Well, I think I as you say, they they are right. And Jesus Jesus knows what they're saying. And that that is exactly the point, isn't it? That Jesus would agree with that sentence. You know, who can forgive sins but God alone?

Yeah. No 1. Only God has the authority to forgive sins. And therefore, in claiming the ability to do that, Jesus is claiming to be to be God himself. You know.

And this this is just a great I mean, don't know whether people are listening in from other faiths or religions, but this is a great passage to go to, to show the the divinity of Jesus that he was God. You know, everybody knew that to claim to be able to forgive sins was some was a was a reserve for God allowed. Jesus knew that, and yet he claims it here. To be God himself who can forgive sins. And he says of himself here in verse 10, which is I think the first use what it is the first use in Mark so far.

His favorite title for himself Jesus is that he talked about in verse 10 that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. And that term son of man has has, you know, strong meaning when you go to the old testament part of the bible -- Mhmm. -- and particularly something like Daniel 7 in the old testament, where it shows that that the son of man is God's person. God's right hand person. On the same level as God, and is given authority over all the universe.

Yeah. And and part of his authority is being able to deal with sin. Yeah. And and that that his authority has been 1 of the great themes of chapter 1, because back in verse 27 when Jesus cast out an impure spirit. The the the kind of the crowd's response was, what is this a new teaching and with authority?

In other words, it's not like the other teachings that we've heard, which are quite interesting and wordy, but lack power. Here's someone who says something, and it happens you know, there's authority here. And that's what Jesus is showing at the end here. You know, I want you to know that I have authority to forgive sins, So, he says to the man, get up take your mat and go home. He got up took his mat and walked out.

In other words, if Jesus has got the authority to heal this man physically with a word, then when he says your sins are forgiven, that word carries the exact same authority you know, he can pronounce healing, and he can pronounce forgiveness. And that is the main thing. He doesn't say, I want you to know that the son of man has authority on earth to heal the paradise. Know, that's that is part of what he's come to do, but it's not the emphasis. The emphasis is I want you to know that I am the 1 who can forgive sins.

And so the the healing in a sense is is a is a is a witness and a sermon toward to what he's going to do. Yeah. So actually, we need to say to people, if you if you know you're a sinner, don't stay there. There's 1 who has authority to forgive sins, and that's Jesus.