Who can forgive sins but God alone?
Mark 2:2
"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."
Jesus was preaching and his words are literally bringing down the house. Huge crowds of people are there seeking all sorts of things from him, healing of their afflictions, rescue from their past traumas and mistakes, restoration from their wickedness. And the latter is Jesus' main focus.
Wouldn't you love to hear the sermon he was giving that day?
Probably we already have throughout the gospels.
Some folks break through the roof and lower their friend who is paralyzed down into the midst of where Jesus was standing. "Jesus saw their faith" the gospel says, and he said to their friend, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” And sitting there among the crowd were "Scribes" who were questioning his words.
What do we know about the Scribes?
We know Jesus said that The Scribes sat on the seat of Moses. This is the name given to a special chair of honor found in the synagogue where the authoritative teachers of the law would sit. They had the approved position to speak on The Word of God. They were educated, ordained, appointed, approved. If they spoke it, the people believed it (Matthew 23:2).
Jesus has experienced opposition from these religious leaders almost from the very beginning. And he was in the habit of answering their questions about his teachings by asking them a question, or answering them with a parable. Sometimes both.
These Scribes are carefully studying everything he says. Which is good really, because we benefit from the exegesis that comes from these encounters, our understanding, as well as theirs, is increased by the encounter. And this should be a lesson for us. Don't shy away from these sorts of encounters because The Holy Spirit prepares us for these kinds of experiences. The Word of God does caution us to avoid useless conflicts and controversy, but not every biblical debate is useless. Sometimes exhortation can produce valuable discernment and wisdom.
So, these Scribes, who are really there just to catch Jesus off his game and find fault with his understanding, are thinking about how they might question Jesus' teaching. Jesus catches wind of their thoughts, how we don't know. And he puts a question to them...
Mark 2:9
"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?"
Before they could recover from this shocking interpretation of the thoughts of their hearts and even put together a reply, Jesus answers his own question by saying...
Mark 2:10-11
"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralytic “I tell you: get up, take your mat, and go home.”
Well...there you go. The deed is done. The secrets out. And everyone there was astounded.
“We have never seen anything like this!” (v.12)
They ALL gave God the glory.
Do you think they ALL fully understood what Jesus just did?
He didn't just heal the paralyzed man's body, he healed and restored his entire person. Mind, body, and spirit. He forgave his sins first, healing his soul, and then he healed his wounds. But there was more.
He raised again the question of his identity. He assumed for himself the divine prerogative to forgive the sins of mankind. He said as much,
"I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." (v.10)
He just told them and showed them that he is greater than Moses' seat.
And they thought to themselves, "We know that only God has the authority to forgive sins."
And they were right!
For all their staunch religious beliefs and harsh treatment of people who conflict with their positions, in this instance they were completely correct. At least their theology was sound on that point.
It is true that only God has the authority to forgive sins. Priests can offer sacrifices and prayers for the forgiveness of sins, but the One who is doing the forgiving is not a man. Or at least it didn't used to be that way. Now we see Jesus not only offering forgiveness but giving it.
Even during the time of the Reformation, the Protestant Reformers did not dispute that the Catholic priest could give absolution and say, “Te absolvo,” after somebody made a confession of sin. They understood that authority was delegated to them by God to speak the words of absolution and assurance. And they acknowledged that Jesus had said to His disciples, “Whatever sins you remit on earth will be remitted in Heaven.” (John 20:23)
Where they divide and dispute on this is in the matter of sacramental works of satisfaction and merits of congruity.
But what's the reality in these things?
Anybody can say, “Rise up and walk,” but that doesn’t make it happen. And so, the answer to Jesus' question to the Scribes is that it is more difficult to say rise up and walk than it is to say, "your sins are forgiven", because there’s no way anyone could prove that what you’ve just said is true. Only your authority speaks for you.
Jesus proved his authority, not by amazing words and wisdom, although many were astounded, but by healing the man of his afflictions.
Jesus Christ has that authentic authority. No one could question it and ALL were astounded. The proof was in his pudding. He publicly pronounced that this man’s sins had been forgiven "so that you may know that the Son of Man has power or authority on earth to forgive sins". Jesus wanted them and us to know that he, The Son of Man, who descends from heaven, from the throne of judgment, who will judge the earth, is also the One who has the authority and the power to pardon the sinners.
Jesus spiritualized that moment. He physically healed the man and spiritually healed him, but even though he had said it we still can't see his spiritual redemption. It is invisible to us from our perspective. We have only the fruit of his physical healing to give validation to what Jesus said about his soul.
Is It Easier to Forgive than to Heal?
Yes, it is, for us. For us it's just words of assurance, but for Jesus it requires his entire existence because he's actually doing it, he's actually making it right with God.
He's not a priest in a confessional box, he's going outside the box, entering the world through the womb of a Jewish teenager and The Word becomes flesh. He was born under the law and fulfilled it in his life, death, and resurrection. He finished the sentence for our sins so that we don't have to confess our sins to a man. Through his flesh He gave us direct access to God, or at least indirect access through our Mediator and High Priest in heaven.
The Scribes thought to themselves:
"Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Mark 2:7
The answer we discover today in Mark's gospel is, YES!
Jesus can forgive our sins.
And the Bible cross references this truth:
Hebrews 4:14-19
"So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
Come boldly friends!
Come boldly to Jesus, the Son of Man, our High Priest. And trust in the assurance that he has forgiven your sins when you call out and upon his name placing your faith in his resurrection and atonement.
He knows our mixed up responses to his Word. He knows our limitations. He was victorious over those human traits. He faced what we face, and much more. He took the path of most resistance so that we won't walk alone in our paths which tend to be the paths of least resistance. We have such a high priest. His mercy covers our nakedness and shortcomings, he's not assigning atonements for us to accomplish. He accomplished it for us. He alone has the authority to forgive our sins, and he serves to meet our ongoing need for atonement. His resurrection is the physical proclamation of his entitlement at the hand of God. Like that physical healing of the man's paralyzed body, Jesus' resurrection is the evidence of our forgiveness of sin.
And so, we place our souls into His hands by faith in His resurrection. God delivered him from death, and he'll return to bring us to himself. Our moment of salvation is that moment when we stop, kneel, and by faith say, "I need you Father". And then we get up and walk with Jesus.
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