I’m intrigued by what people consider important today; priorities. For instance, college students are people who are apparently concerned with finding a job – something than has been getting tougher over the past few years. The average college student is also concerned with Texting, Facebook, and Twitter. What happens when the social media world and the job market conflict?
When work vs. Facebook and Twitter, who wins? I ran across an interesting press release from Cisco Technologies, put out in April of this year:
During job interviews, 2/3 of college students will ask about their policy regarding social media policies. 56% of them will not accept a job that bans the use of social media, or they’ll find a way to circumvent the policy. Doing the math, that means that over 1/3 of them value social media freedom over salary. Cisco also found:
• 2 of every 5 said they’d accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility
But here’s the one that got to me:
• 1 of every 3 college students and young employees believes the Internet is as important as air, water, food, and shelter. Wow! Priorities, people!
The story we’re looking at in Mark 2 today gives us an interesting look into the priorities of Jesus as he lives life on purpose. And I think it should help us have a set of priorities that are better informed than the 1of every 3 college students who believe they can stop breathing but not stop using the internet!
I. (Jesus' priority - to forgive sins) (v.1-5)
Mark 2:1-5 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered 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 paralytic, 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 and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Joke – Kevin had shingles. Too often, it seems like the dr. isn’t really tuned in to what we see to be the need of the moment. Anyone who has spent much time in a dr’s office can appreciate this. Here's what happened to Kevin.
Kevin walked into a doctor's office and the receptionist asked him what he had. Kevin said: “Shingles.” So she wrote down his name, address, medical insurance number and told him to have a seat and fill out a medical history chart.
15 minutes later a nurse's aide came out, called Kevin back, and asked Kevin what he had. Kevin said, “Shingles.” So she wrote down his height, weight, took some more medical history and told Kevin to wait in the examining room.
15 minutes later a nurse came in and asked Kevin what he had. Kevin said, “Shingles.” So the nurse gave Kevin a blood test, checked his blood pressure, scheduled an electrocardiogram, and told Kevin to take off all his clothes and wait for the doctor.
A half hour later the doctor came in and found Kevin sitting in the buff, waiting patiently. He asked Kevin what he had. Kevin said, “Shingles.”
The doctor asked, “Where?” Kevin said, “Outside on the truck. Where do you want me to unload 'em??”
Jesus was in Capernaum. Mark calls it “coming home.” Notice that so many people want to hear Him, they’re even crowded outside of the doorway of the house where He’s speaking. There’s also a pan of the camera here to tell us what was going on inside the house. Mark doesn’t say, “They had the most attractive and comfortable house in town,” or “Their youth program was the best,” or “The worship time and music in this house was the best in town.” No. The crowds were gathered that day for some other reason.
Mark simply says Jesus “preached the word to them.”
There are these 5 guys. One of them is a paralytic. We don’t know why – only that he can’t walk, and that he has 4 friends who care enough about him to carry him to Jesus that day. All 5 of them believe that Jesus can help the man’s situation. But when they get to the house, they can’t get in. It’s tough enough carrying around a stretcher with a person on it. It’s tougher still to try to get it through a crowd. It’s interesting to me that the thing that kept these men out, temporarily, was the crowd. It wasn’t that they were offended, or they didn’t like the music, or that no one greeted them at the door. In fact, no one was polite enough to even help them get in the door.
Not to be deterred, these 4 men get on top of the house, which was normally accessible by stairs and regularly used. They calculate the location of Jesus, and dig through the roof. Picture it – Jesus is just getting to the meat of His 2nd point, when, dust and crumbled mortar begin to hit Him on the head. Then, as if He had planned it for dramatic effect, down from the newly opened roof comes this paralyzed man on the stretcher, lowered by ropes, right in front of Jesus. 4 pairs of hopeful eyes peer down into the house as the dust settles. Here lies this man – unable to even sit up – he’s covered by the dust and debris, and he’s looking at Jesus with pleading eyes. Obstacle upon obstacle has been overcome. He’s finally where he knows he needs to be for help. Jesus looks down at the obvious plight of a disabled man. The King of Kings stands there with the power to heal him with a word. Jesus looks him in the eyes and says…”Child, you sins are forgiven.”
Huh? That wasn’t what He was supposed to say! That’s not why there’s a hole in the roof! Sins forgiven? What does that have to do with a man who can’t move?
Mt, Mk, and Lk all 3 give us this same insight.
It’s like Kevin with shingles in the doctor’s office. I don’t expect Jesus to look at this situation and say, “Your sins are forgiven,” which just goes to show me that I have a way to go when it comes to having the same priorities that Jesus has. There is in this story a gentle reminder that we need to occasionally step back and see if what we think is important really is important.
(Why? )
I suppose we could see how Jesus is going to use this as an opportunity to confront His enemies with the truth. Just saying what He said gave Him an opportunity to teach them and us about His authority. We’ll get to that in a moment. But there’s more here.
Why did Jesus forgive him? Why make this the first thing He even addresses?
Because it’s the most important need! Everyone watching, skeptics and believers, could see the obvious. This man was pathetic. He couldn’t work. He couldn’t care for himself, not at all. If there was a genie in the lamp that day, this guy’s 1st wish would have been to be healed. But remember Jesus was living His life on purpose, and that purpose He tells us in Mk 10:45 – “not to be served, but to serve, and to offer His life as a ransom for many.”
The list of potential causes and needs that we can throw ourselves into is never-ending. The list of peoples’ perceived needs we could address doesn’t go away either. How do we decide?
Right now, in downtown Rockford, there are over 100 people with no place to live. CCC supports mission work to help house them. But you know what? Those people need more than just a place to stay tonight. They need Jesus.
Ill - In Joplin, one of the area churches purchased a small grouping of apartments and opened them up as a low-cost housing opportunity for people in need. The lady in charge of that work told a group of us that they consistently found a mixed-up set of priorities among their clientele – Their 3 greatest perceived needs - the things for which they would 1st spend their money before rent: cable TV, cell phone, cigarettes.
How can people get their priorities so mixed up? Simple. The same we all get them mixed up. People need to eat. People need a place to live. People need medical care sometimes.
But people also need an eternal home. We’re wrong if we feed someone, house someone, help someone, but then fail to address their greatest need! You see, the goal isn’t just to get a good feeling because we help someone. The goal is to bring them to Jesus so that they can live forever. No matter how much we help someone physically, they’re going to die without Jesus someday if they don’t meet up with Him.
While we’ve been busy fighting for the political freedom and stability of people in the Middle East, most of the people in that region are still are held prisoner by Satan and bound for hell, regardless of their political state.
Our kids are surrounded by the message that they need to learn to live “safe,” but what they need even more is to learn how to be saved. Parents, there are a million things you want to teach and give to your kids, but the most important thing you can give them is faith in Jesus!
I wonder what it was like for Jesus to look at the creation He made and see it stained by sin – crippled children, blind beggars, grieving parents, people cast out. He healed a lot of these people, but that wasn’t His priority. They eventually would all die. Jesus’ priority was to forgive sins.
So, what should the Church’s priority be today? ‘Nuf said.
I have a print framed on my office wall. It’s by Paula Giltner. The title is “The Forgotten Goal.” If you look at it closely, it’s a real indictment against the Church that has lost its purpose. It’s at nighttime. A multilevel building is on fire. In the foreground, on the street, is a fire truck. Gathered in a huddle next to it are several firemen. They’re obviously engaged in some kind of argument. One is holding a book and pointing to it. Another fireman, between the truck and the building, is dragging a hose, looking back to the others for help they are not giving. They’re too busy arguing. Meanwhile, a few storeys up, people are clamoring at the windows of the flaming building, crying to be rescued from what is certain death unless someone helps them. And there they hang, by a thread, until those who were sent to help them remember their goal.
Jesus looked at this man, and this man’s friends, and when He saw their faith, He pronounced his sins forgiven. No one would doubt their faith. It was obvious because of their actions.
It makes me wonder if the Lord might take note, not just of the faith of the people who come seeking Him, but also if He might be impressed by the faith of the people who bring them.
If we really care about the priorities of Jesus, we need to have as our first priority the message that Jesus wants to cleanse the world through faith. I love the way Paul says it in Colossians 1 – that his ultimate goal was “To present every person complete in Christ.” That means we bring them to Him, then we help one another grow up in Him until He comes, so that, one day, we all stand before God’s throne finished, completed, in Christ.
Jesus' number 1 priority was to forgive the souls of men. The second feature this story shows us is…
II. Jesus' Ability - to know the hearts of men (v.6-8)
Mark 2:6-8 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?
Not only did Jesus have the ability to forgive sins, He could know the hearts of men. V6 literally says they were “dialoging in themselves” – they weren’t saying it out loud. It was an inside conversation. And Jesus says to them, “Why are you thinking these things?” That would have been enough to shut me up right there!
A. He knows
Jesus knows! He knows every thought you ever think today! In a way, that is scary and at the same time, comforting.
-Ill – Years ago, in rural America, a little boy was assigned to watch the sheep one Sunday morning. He heard the bells ringing for church and saw the people going across the field to church, and he thought he’d like to say a prayer, but he didn't know what to say. So he knelt and began to quote what he did know: the alphabet. A man was passing by, saw the boy and heard him, "A,B,C..." "What are you doing, young man?" "I was praying, sir." "But what are you saying your letters for?" "I didn't know what to say. I only knew that I wanted God to care for me and help me to care for the sheep; so I thought if I said all I knew, he would put it together and spell all I want."
Let me tell you something this morning: that’s exactly what the Holy Spirit does for us. He’s able to know us thoroughly, and to see inside us, and to take the things we can’t seem to put into words and to make them right for us before God.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that God knows us so well; that He won’t forget what we go through; that He understands our struggles? At the same time, it’s a bit unsettling, because it means He also knows every little bit of junk that passes through our minds too!
Jesus not only knew these men’s hearts…
B. He cared about Their hearts
Jesus answered the doubters with evidence!
We can't read peoples' minds today, but we really don't need to! Look around you! There’s enough of peoples' minds revealed in their actions to know what they need!
Look into peoples’ eyes and see what they’re asking:
Could someone please tell me why I should bother parenting my kids?
Why should I put effort into my marriage?
Tell me there’s more to this life than just getting more stuff!
Is there anything that’s true and sure?
Is there anyone who actually loves me and will love me even though I fail?
Why should I trust anyone, and who is it?
Give me a good reason to look out for someone other than just myself.
In the case of these skeptics, there was a need for hard evidence. They needed a case to be made for Jesus’ claims. I Peter 3:15 says we’re supposed to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. That’s the next thing that Jesus did. He showed…
III. Jesus' Authority - over sin and sickness (v.9-12)
Mark 2:9-12
Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat 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 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!"
This is the first of 4 successive run-ins with the Pharisees that Mark groups all together.
According to Jewish tradition only God could forgive sin. God Himself had said this, and the teachers of the Law believed it to the point that they believed even the Messiah could not forgive sin. So they asked, "Who but God alone?..."
Very good, Guys! You've got the idea!
(A. Jesus asserted He was God)
Saying "Your sins be forgiven" was the same as saying "I am God." While a lot of people may live like they think they’re God, I still haven’t run into anyone who would go so far as to claim it!
Let me add, at this point, that it’s still very true – no man has the authority to forgive sins. No human has the authority to send someone to Heaven or to Hell. So, please, don’t ask me to hand down a judgment concerning someone who gives a deathbed confession, or someone who walks away from their faith, or someone who died on the way to the baptistery, and then call me judgmental! Who can forgive sins, but God alone? Not me! And not you either. We don’t decide if a person will go to Hell, or to Heaven, either one. We’re in sales, not management! Our job is simply to point people to the truth, to warn them where it warns us, and to assure them where it assures us – no less, no more. Only God forgives or condemns.
OK, where was I? Jesus asserted He was God. Some of the more noteworthy and key moments in the ministry of Jesus were the times that the Father announced Who He was, like at His baptism and the transfiguration, when the voice of God from Heaven announced it out loud: This is My Son! This fact is foundational to our faith. If it isn’t true, let’s leave now. It’s the #1 question for someone who says he wants to be a follower of Jesus. It’s the “great confession.”
(B. Jesus proved He was God)
Jesus used this miracle to prove what He said. Don’t you wish we could do that? What a great evangelism tool that would be! Come next Sunday, and I’m going to heal a lame man!
Come to think of it, there are some shysters and phonies out there who are trying to do just that: “Just name it and claim it, then pray this prayer, and God will give you whatever you ask for!” Then, a few weeks ago I read the headlines about some preacher down South at a snake-handling church who died from a snakebite, and it kind of takes away from the impact of the claim, doesn’t it.
Moses came with a message to Pharaoh that he should allow the people of Israel to leave Egypt. His response was: "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice? I do not know the Lord..."
Can’t you hear a similar sentiment around us here? “Who is the Lord? Who is Jesus, that we should do what He says?”
Here’s something we can take home from this story: If Jesus thought it was important to prove His authority while He was here, shouldn’t we who are carrying on His work have the same concern, the same priority? In other words, it makes sense that we would somehow help people recognize Jesus’ deity – the fact that He is Who He claimed to be.
While we may not be raising people from the dead and healing paralytics, we do have something they didn’t have 2,000 years ago: almost 2,000 years of history – 2,000 years of the Church growing in the face of persecution; 2,000 years of people, empowered by the Holy Spirit to do things that they could never have done on their own; 2,000 years of history that verify the claims of Jesus and the signs that God performed through Him; 2,000 years of false religions that have never been able to answer man’s great need for salvation and real life.
The evidence Jesus offers is still evidence that reaches to our minds, and our hearts, and to our eyes.
Conclusion:
We want so much this morning to help you see it and believe it.
Jesus had authority over every problem there at that house in Capernaum, including sin. He had the ability to know that there were people with faith, and there were skeptics too. Yet, in the midst of it all, one priority stands out - the forgiveness of sins.
Years ago, Scott Wesley Brown wrote a song called “I Wish You Jesus”:
I could wish you joy and peace to last a whole life long,
I could wish you sunshine, or a cheerful little song,
Or wish you all the happiness that this life could bring….
I could wish you leaves of gold, and may your path be smooth,
I could wish you treasures, or that all your dreams come true,
And I could wish you paradise, that every day be spring,
But I wish you Jesus, ’cause when I wish you Jesus, I've wished you everything
I could wish a lot of things for every person here today, but more than anything, I’m praying that you would find Jesus.
