Jesus Forgives
For Meditation
Last week we looked at a number of stories about Jesus’ power to heal illness and diseases. At first glance, this story in Mark 2:1-12 looks like a similar story of healing. Jesus returns to his own hometown, to either his own house or perhaps the house of one of his disciples. His reputation as a powerful teacher and healer is growing, and so he is thronged by the crowds. A group of men bringing a paralyzed friend are unable to break through the crowd to get to Jesus, so they go up to the roof and dig a hole through the ceiling to lower their friend down to him. Jesus sees their faith and responds with action.
But what makes this story so unusual is that Jesus’ first words to the man are not “you are healed” but “you are forgiven.” If I were the man, I would be pretty surprised and disappointed! With all due respect Jesus, I busted in here not to get forgiven but to get some new legs! There’s a lot to unpack here, but at root this story is telling us that while Jesus does have power to fix our problems, his deeper mission is to battle the source itself that has broken our world- the sin and rebellion at the core of the human heart. Jesus does have the power to heal the body, but he also has the power to heal the soul, which in the end has a much more lasting restorative impact for us and for the world.
In announcing this man’s forgiveness, Jesus incites conflict immediately with the religious leaders. “No one can forgive sin but God alone!” they say. They are right. In claiming this power, Jesus makes an audacious claim about himself, and from here on out he will be in the crosshairs of the religious powers. Jesus is already demonstrating that his forgiveness comes at great cost- but it is a cost he will choose to bear himself.
In preparation for worship this week, meditate on Psalm 32 and what is says about the blessedness of being forgiven.
Mark 2:1–12
1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 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 mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”