Mark 2:1-12 Jesus, Lord of Hearts

Introduction: Recap ESTABLISHED power, authority, and his message, here Jesus faces opposition as his identity and authority are joined together as God incarnate, proclaiming forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus himself.Illustration: Forgiveness is a tricky thing? Kids “I’m sorry” “I forgive you.” …Not feeling it. Adults, “I forgive you…But I’m still mad at you, the friendship is over…” “or really and truly, I forgive you, come and eat, join me, let’s talk as we once did…no barriers, reconciliation.” But then the Forgiven, you may doubt…have they really? If only we could see the FORGIVER’S heart….We cannot. Jesus can see our hearts, he reveals his heart, and he is able to show that yes indeed, God forgives our sins through the authority and work of the Son of Man. God is reconciled to you in Christ Jesus and he gives us the demonstration of healing this paralytic even as he gives us the seal of the resurrection.Our passage today has numerous proofs as to Jesus’ identity. It is also our first “Conflict passage” if you don’t count Peter’s (where are you everyone’s looking for you.” The scribes act as the foil. So you might ask: what makes Chapter 2 the next chapter: Conflict, one key is to ask Exactly what did Jesus do or say? Why did others object to it? How did Jesus respond to the objections or criticism?We also return to Capernaum today and the popularity of Jesus once more has people crowding this little home. He is found PREACHING and, once again, is pressed into Healing, but in this case he speaks favorably of the faith of those seeking healing.Read: Mark 2:1–12 [1] And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. [2] And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. [3] And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. [4] 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. [5] And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” [6] Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? [9] Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—[11] “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” [12] And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (ESV)Prayer of Illumination#1 The Drama of Faithful Friends v. 1-5#2 The Dilemma of Identity v.6-8#3 The Demonstration of Jesus: Proving the Invisible with the Visible v. 8-12#4 Jesus Statement: Every Word Matters (v.9)#5 Glorify God! (v. 12)#1 The Drama of Faithful Friends v. 1-5[Telling the story]A) [Back to Capernaum….popularity…..what will he do this time. Why did he leave? The healing ministry had supplanted his ability to preach the kingdom of God that God was drawing near to dwell with his people] and to deal with sin that if we return to the Lord that he is faithful and will forgives us, gather, sustain, and restore us, reconciliation between God and Man and man and man.B) Jesus must constantly balance his ability to preach with his compassion and pity to heal. And today he reaffirms both his compassion. And his priorities, that he has eternal priorities that cannot fade over a limb that though made whole for decades would one day decay again.C) Jesus so far is preaching: they are spilling out the door, maybe 50 people can crowd in? And R. Kent Hughes points out who we know is there…their first appearance in Mark and of course, the beginning of CONFLICT. This section begins a series of conflicts and they are seated there. Verse 6: Some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their heart… So one group arms crossed, waiting for the first toe out of line. The other group was amazed at the authority of preaching but not converted in heart.· J.C. Ryle says of The crowd “they were amazed, they were astonished, they were filled with wonder at his mighty works but they were unconverted…” Ryle, 21. This may seem a harsh indictment but in Matthew 11 this is Jesus’ assessment. Unbelief at his preaching.But what may be true of the world, and the overall crowds, is not the case for all…Four friends filled with a belief in Jesus, in him doing for their friend what he cannot do for himself. These four friends bring him to Jesus. Maybe Jesus is preaching the content of the sermon on the mount, “blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God,” and the roof begins to shake and dirt and sticks are dug and pried up until a man is lowered down by his friends. Paralyzed in bed…His need is apparent. We have come for Jesus the healer and Jesus sees the need. With keen insight of heart and mind, He sees the love of the friends, the faith and trust in him. We have brought him to you and to the clearly paralyzed man, Child, Son, your sins are Forgiven.And immediately we say, Sin? He is paralyzed, what about his life-quality, his mental health, he is suffering, and you are talking Sin?And commentators wonder, maybe the faith of the friends and this man recognize this. What sins, what thoughts, what guilt and shame has this man wrestled with as he has laid there?We, the world, we are often offended when the spiritual, sin, eternity, and souls are addressed with the physical and immediate crying out for need in front of us. We need Jesus, we need the word of God to correct our priorities and to understand both our sin and the misery.One commentator said, “Put differently, our greatest need is hidden from the human eye; it cannot be seen, except by God!”ILL: John Newton was a man who was a slave trader, he was a healthy, powerful, and influential man…But he said he was a blind wretch, sinning against God and Man. And he was blind, but now he sees even as he gave up his wealth, power, and went blind in his old age! His inner self was renewed, his outer self-wasted away. Would he have preferred both? Certainly, but which one did he sing about about, what thrilled his heart?Let’s continue, What is the problem?Try to restrain how much you know about Jeuss for a minute: Pretend all you know is Mark 1 and your Old Testament for a bit: Not only do we now know: Jesus can heal the sick, sure he can preach a message, but can he actually forgive sins and make a sinful and wretched soul forgiven and whole?The scribes are scribbling furiously; they are doing the theological calculations. Prophets may do miracles in God’s power, a prophet can preach God’s word, but he cannot forgive sins; God alone forgives sins. Look with me in v. 6-7.#2 The Dilemma of Identity v.6-7[6] Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” [8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?· Two premises: First, Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7& Second, only God can forgive sins.o The Scribes are limited to looking on appearances§ Is. 53 specifically says, Jesus has no form that we may admire him. (transfiguration was a unique moment)§ So the scribes see a mere man, they think they see a mere created being not their creator, all the while we see Jesus perceives the hearts of man.§ Jesus as the Son of God, as divine pierces the hearts of man.§ But they don’t know that…pretend we don’t know that…Just this sudden inward insight so far.· Second: Only God can forgive sins.o Is. 43:25 [God speaking] “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and I will not remember your sins.o Ps. 103:3, 12 [2] Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [12] as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.o A+ Absolutely, the scribes are correct. Only God can forgive sins. Only God knows, judges hearts, and is the ultimate party sinned against.o David in Ps. 51 says, Against you and you only have I sinned, oh Lord.§ Remember, forgiving sins is costly to the offended Party. God is always ultimately the only one who grants full forgiveness of sins.§ Christ forgiving sin, proves He is God, HE IS the offended party.§ He is the Son of Man, the Ancient of Days of Daniel 7.o All of this is about what goes on invisibly in our hearts. All this is about what happens in our hearts in the quiet moments.o Where is all this happening? Invisibly in their hearts.· Jesus perceives all this, they believe he is a blasphemer, a megalomaniac, eventually needing to say his miracles are from Satan.· So we are at an impasse as time slows down and all these things happen in the invisible realm of hearts, and Jesus moves the conversation forward by posing a solution…#3 The Demonstration of Jesus: Making the Invisible Healing Visible v. 8-12[8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? [9] Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—[11] “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”[12] And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (ESV)* Jesus is saying, “I am not just saying things.” Its easy to say things, man those 200 pushups were difficult this morning…No words are cheap: Jesus is creating a priority and a proof. What MUST happen is forgiveness of sins, the salvation of this man’s eternal soul is knowingly or unknowingly what these friends brought him here for. And in order to externally and visibly prove my words. I will give you a sign. Arise, pick up your bed, and walk. Go home!”The man is immediately healed, he is not the baby deer with shaky legs. He is healed. And he is sent home. He doesn’t parade him through the people. He is not a grandstander, he isn’t about popularity, and glorying in the spectacle. He is sent home. Healed and Home.Once again the implication…The priority was the first statement. Your sins are forgiven. That is the priority of grace. The priority of the HEART. The SOUL. Our relationship with God being restored so that no sin separates it is the immediate priority of every man, women, and child. Until that is restored, all else is secondary. We know this from the paralytic, and we know this from the thief on the cross (Saved!..Still on a Cross.) Repeatedly, Jesus prioritizes our hearts, the cross, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the word being preached over all else.Furthermore, the man was obedient, unlike the Leper, he has prompt and immediate obedience to Jesus.*As I studied this account this week, I was struck that the Evangelical priority of the gospel is biblical. Right, it gets asked, “did evangelicals get it wrong? Is the social, ethical, progressive gospel right?No. Salvation by grace through faith, the gospel is the priority; Jesus clearly orders the priority here, while we also know salvation brings with it social implications of a saved, transformed people. A Loving—Charitable—People.The gospel is the foundation for Christian love and charity to flow out of, downstream of, a restored relationship with God, to then go and love others. Never reverse the priority. Because such a priority is the faith that brings your friend to Jesus, do you bring others to Christ, do you move heaven and earth in order to invite, love, and point others to a need to be brought to Jesus?The scribes would never have embarrassed themselves like these four friends. A Gospel driven zeal for the Lord is believing Jesus is the Son of God who can truly forgive sins is worth moving heaven and earth until you have resolved it in your heart.Fight to get to Christ. TO Have Christ. Go to Jesus he knows your heart.#4 Jesus Statement: Every Word Matters (v.9) v. 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?I want to draw our attention to each word of Jesus here. Because Jesus’ is saying, the miracle confirms his words.First, YOUR sins: Jesus doesn’t come to deal with sin abstractly; he looks at this man and says YOUR sins are forgiven.You have a need, I know your heart, YOU are set against God and neighbor, YOU need forgiveness. Sin is always relational, and faith is always personal: Against Christ and IN Jesus Christ.Jesus doesn’t set up a new system of religion that the scribes can count and quantify, counting sins, counting righteous deeds on an abstract counter. It is personal, Son, YOU!Have YOU personally dealt with Jesus and your sins? No one else can. It may be only in praying and crying out to Christ in need.Second, your SINS: You have sins, they do separate, and it’s not just again, counting the number of sins, Jesus sees our hearts, we are Eph. 2 “dead in our trespasses and sins.” Jeremiah say, Jeremiah 17:9“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Not the scribes and pharisees. Genesis 6:5“Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”So from Jesus’ perspective he sees people’s hearts; he looks at this paralyzed man and what shocks him is not (merely) the condition of his legs but the condition of his heart! A desperately sin-sick heart, that sins because of the corruption of his whole nature: thinking, loves, will, desires, reactions, emotions, the entire inner self the seat of self is in every facet darkened by the paralyzing grip of SIN…Such that God says we need a new heart, renewed heart, heart surgery to change our relationship to our sins, to free us from them.Each heart’s own sins, in particular, are addressed only by the Son of Man who knows your sins and is the debt holder of those sins.HE can forgive because Jesus is the God-Man and the proper representative on the Cross. He will die for this paralytic by name with full awareness of what he is really dying for.Your SINS, yes, those sins, if the Spirit has called and you are trusting in Christ, then Jesus knows them; he died for them. And so believe in Jesus, boldly confess particular sins, particularly.Last word, your particular sins, particularly Are FORGIVEN (The language and grammer means: Done once for all with abiding effect. Perfect.It is a Passive verb meaning done to you and for you: dismissed, done away with, the guilt, the debt is forgiven, the debt is removed, the relationship barrier is dismissed.o Remember God says in Is. 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.o Ps. 103:3, 12 [2] Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, [3] who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, [12] as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.o Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (ESV)To forgive is to dismiss, release, ransom, and cover the debt. The moment Jesus said those words was tied to the future reality of the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Every human being who has been declared Just! Justified by Faith alone, as a declaration, experiences it in a moment of pronouncement from Heaven. This man received it face to face with Jesus. And I want you to think of your sins this way, So when Satan accuses you, you have the same reality of Jesus by name looking at you and saying Forgiven. And this is by sheer grace.#5 Glorify God! v. 12 They were amazed and glorified GodWe owe God all glory and honor and thanksgiving for forgiving us. The man springs up, obeys Christ, and returns home. His friends have much to praise the Lord for.They were amazed, This is no blasphemer, the man walks. God is at work! Bless the LORD O my soul, and forget not all his benefits! Do not forget the blessings, the benefits, the gift of the Lord to your life!I wonder how many days before the man took walking for granted? I wonder how many days of our lives we take being Sons and Daughters bound for heaven and glory for granted?Despite the perpetual reminder of our remaining sins…This is why when we read confessions of sin, scripture about our sins, it is not to perpetually weigh us down…No, that is Satan’s goals of accusations…Instead, our goal is the goal of HEART work, SOUL work. To be Amazed again, and again at new morning mercies and to BLESS the Lord, who is glorious, who is wondrous, who anchors our lives. He is the glorious center. He holds the throne. And every time you confess sin and read in the word, or hear pronounced, the answer “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” Then it should re-anchor Jesus on that thrown and cast sin, your fleshes desires, and all competing idols off as worthless.May we not be as the scribes who weigh the externals. May we by the Spirit meditate in our hearts on the reality of Salvation by Faith in Christ Alone. That the beleivers life is one of faith and repentance. Sons and Daughter. Prayer | Benediction This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamesensley.substack.com