You’ve had a run-in with your wife. She didn’t understand your point of view, and she really laid into you. You both had to leave for work, and you both left in a huff. The day went on, though not very well, and your anger subsided. Finally, you’re both about to get to sit down and talk for the first time, and you both know you need to. Now, you’ve been thinking this thing through, and you know just what to say. “Honey, I just want you to know that I forgive you for what you did.” Way wrong answer! She was expecting an apology from you, not for you to accept one she wasn’t even going to make! You can finish this scene in your mind from there!
There’s nothing that turns someone off like telling them you forgive them when they feel like they don’t need it. This is one of the difficulties we all run into when it comes to talking to someone about their relationship with Jesus. “God will forgive you!” “Forgive me? For what? I didn’t know I was such a bad person!” “Well, yes, you are.” (and we call that message “the good news.”) So, we do some shying away from this whole subject. After all, who are you to talk about someone else’s need to be forgiven?
But I find Jesus dealing with this very attitude all the time.
(Luke 18:9-14) To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
The Pharisees, the rich young ruler, and others all remind us of individuals who just aren’t convinced that there’s any need for them to be forgiven of anything. “After, all, I’m not so bad. And, after all, I can name you a whole bunch of other people who are far more guilty than me.”
(1 John 1:8-10) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Joke - Clara Null, OK City, OK - I’d just finished a lesson on Christian behavior. "Now, Billy," I asked, "tell me what we must do before we can expect to be forgiven for our sins." Without hesitation, Billy replied, "First we gotta sin."
I don’t have the goal of all of us leaving here today feeling guilty – just the opposite. But, I do want us to leave not deceiving ourselves, having the truth in us, God’s word having a place in our lives, forgiven, and not making God out to be a liar. In fact, I hope that we can all leave here with a bit of the attitude with which the crowd left that day in Mk 2 – They were blown away! “We’ve some amazing things here today!” The word Lk uses is where our word paradox comes from: “This just goes outside the parameters of conventional wisdom!”
Maybe you’ve read this story before. Let’s hope that the picture of faith, healing, and forgiveness don’t ever become too “common” in our mind! I’d rather that we leave here this morning a little blown away by Jesus.
This is a story about a man who was healed, but the healing is far deeper than meets the eye. And I think that there’s a great message in that for every person today who will hear it. It’s a message about forgiveness. Maybe you didn’t come here this morning with the need for forgiveness on your mind. That’s OK. Neither did the people in this story…
(Mark 2:1-5) A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered 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 paralytic, carried by four of them. 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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
With those words, Jesus laid out the real important issue for that occasion. So, we’re going to consider 3 features of forgiveness that matter for every person:
Forgiveness is …
I. The Outcome of Demonstrated Faith
The premier condition of forgiveness is faith. We can’t ignore this fact. The story that we’re looking at today is a great illustration of that.
1. Forgiveness is In Response to their faith
Look again at v5: When Jesus saw their faith, said… or “Seeing their faith, Jesus said…”
Mt, Mk, and Lk all make a point of this connection. Jesus sees the faith of these 4 men and their friend and responds to it.
There were a lot of other things going on here. But we don’t read how Jesus took note of their ingenuity, or their brashness, or their desperation, or their strength, or the man’s pathetic state. Maybe all of these things were obvious to everyone as this guy gets lowered through the roof. But the thing that Jesus responds to, the thing that moves Him, is their faith.
It’s just like Jesus to be moved by faith in people.
• Jesus is walking along, and a woman who wants to be healed reaches out just to touch the edge of his clothing. Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you."
• 2 blind men ask Jesus to heal them. He asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said yes, and He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"
• Jesus heals 10 lepers. They all run away rejoicing. Only one comes back to say thank you. Jesus says to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
It works the other direction too:
• Mt 13, Jesus visits Nazareth, and “he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Mark says in that visit, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”
Jesus is looking for whether or not people have faith in Him. He often responds and then says that’s the reason for it: your faith. It’s obvious in this case. Had these 4 men not had faith, they wouldn’t have gone to the measures they did that day to help their friend. And that paralyzed man had some degree of faith too – can you imagine being lowered by ropes, breaking up the teaching that day? If they hadn’t had faith, there would have been no healing. They wouldn’t have been there. Or, they would have seen the crowds and said, “Oh, well. We tried!”
2. Forgiveness is In Response to their Active faith
We usually don’t take an intangible like faith and talk about the way we can see it. But that‘s what Jesus did. Jesus “saw” their faith. In other words, faith that counts can be seen.
Down through the roof comes this guy on his palate, and maybe Jesus chuckles to Himself and says, “Just look at the faith these guys have!”
I know these men had faith - at least the 4 friends. How do I know? Because of what they DID. And it takes me to the book of James where he’s talking about the need for faith to be active, and he says, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
Forgiveness is in response to active faith, because faith is what leads us to seek out help.
Someone who doesn’t think the doctor is going to help heal him doesn’t make an appointment to go see the doctor. But if we’re really convinced that we can go to the doctor, and that visit is going to help us, we go.
Faith has to have hands and feet to do any good. Can you imagine these 4 guys sitting around that morning saying, “I believe Jesus could help you.” “I do too. I believe Jesus could help you,” and the paralytic saying, “You know what, guys, I believe that Jesus could help me,” and then all of them just sitting around saying that to each other all day, but never going to find Jesus? It wouldn’t have accomplished a thing. That’s why James says that faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead.
If you’re wanting to become or to remain a forgiven this morning, you’re going to need faith strong enough that it leads you to seek out Jesus.
Forgiveness is also…
II. Our Greatest Need
(Mark 2:5) When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
These 4 men and their friend all had an idea of what mattered. What did the paralytic need? They saw his greatest need as a physical need – he was paralyzed. All he could do for a living was beg. He was dependent upon his friends to be moved around. And what did the people in the house, listening to Jesus think as he was lowered through the roof? “Awe, this poor man! He’s a paralytic.” And you and I, as we picture this happening, we’re thinking about the way that Jesus is going to heal him. We’re getting ready for Jesus to wow the crowd once again by taking this guy in such a pathetic state and making him perfectly well.
The mat finally comes to rest on the floor, the dust from the ceiling is still drifting around. There’s total silence. Everyone who can see him is thinking the same thing: “Man, does this guy ever need help. He can’t move at all. He needs to be healed.” And Jesus, the great physician, looks down at this guy and says, “Take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven.”
No one else even thought about this, except maybe the paralytic. But when Jesus looks at him, He sees his greatest need.
Ill - Take yourself, or some average person aside right now and ask “What, in order, are your needs?” The list would be interesting. For one thing, it would be a lot longer than the lists people made 50 years ago. At the top of the list would be some of the most basic stuff: food, shelter, clothing. Then there’d be some other essentials – you know, cable TV, home computer, 2nd car, another pair of shoes, a cell phone.
Ill – Just for fun sometime, get into line at a fast food place and pay attention to the number of people who approach the counter and say, “I need a Big Mac, fries, etc.” Then, just for fun, butt in and tell them, “You don’t need that. You want that. It’s not a need!”
We generally have confused the difference between wants and needs. And, along with that we’ve consistently confused the proper order for our list of needs. We mix up priorities for ourselves and other people.
Ill – In the news this past week was a 26 yr old woman in Seattle, WA who was grieving over a failed relationship. She decided that this was more important than life itself, and she climbed onto the edge of a bridge more than 100’ above a canal. The police were called, and as they tried to talk her down, traffic was blocked. It was causing quite a jam. Several motorists could see what was going on. They had their needs. They had places they needed to go, things they needed to do. So, several of them yelled at her to go ahead and jump. And she did. Today, she’s in the hospital with serious injuries. Why? Because she thought her needs in human relationships mattered the most in her life; because there were several motorists who thought their appointments mattered the most. We’re not always the best at figuring out what is our greatest need.
Ill- Jesus fed a crowd of over 5,000 with just 5 loaves and 2 fish. Then, He split. They followed Him, Jesus said to them “you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” (Jn 6:26-27) In other words, they were following Jesus around in search of something that was a lesser need. They wanted to be fed a meal. Jesus wanted them to have life.
And, often, when we come to Jesus, we come seeking not only our lesser needs to be met, but less than what Jesus has to give us.
• We come seeking temporary, physical help. Jesus gives us eternal, spiritual help.
• We come seeking deliverance from hardships, Jesus helps us see how our hardships bring us to depend on Him
• We come seeking healing, Jesus gives us forgiveness.
How many parents approach their work as parents saying, “I want my kids to have better than what I had.” That’s fine. But rather than getting caught up in wanting your kids to have more opportunities, better clothes, a nicer house, and all that stuff, how about getting caught up in the one thing that matters the most above those: our kids’ relationship with Jesus? How about starting out by saying, “I want my kids to have a stronger, more real relationship with Jesus than I had as I was growing up.”?
Ill – Our situation is like the guy who comes into the doctor – “Hey, doctor, I’m having these pains. I need a pill.” And the doctor, who has studied the situation and who knows what needs to happen looks at you and says, “It’s a good thing you came in. You need major surgery!”
Jesus knows our greatest need is for forgiveness. When you sit down to work on the budget, when you look into the mirror, when you make your Christmas list, when you interview for a new job, your greatest need is to be forgiven. Thank God if you are. Seek Him if you’re not!
And when you look at other people, the same is true of them. When you see a homeless person, when you talk to your co-worker, when your eyes meet with a good looking member of the opposite sex at school, when on the evening news you see a country that is torn by war, the greatest need for people in the world today is to be forgiven.
Forgiveness is…
III. Ours Only by the Authority and Grace of Jesus
(Mark 2:6-12) Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 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? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 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!"
The Pharisees got one thing exactly right that day: Who but God alone can forgive sin? According to their teaching, even the Messiah couldn’t forgive sin – only Yahweh Himself. And I notice, when Jesus said this and they inwardly objected, that Jesus didn’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that I’m forgiving this man’s sin!” Instead, He went on to prove His authority to do it!
That’s what’s behind the miracle of healing in this story. Who but God alone? Exactly, guys!
Just like faith is proven because of what we do, forgiveness also is proven by visible things – in this case, a healing. In our own lives, that fact that we’ve been forgiven gets shown by the way we’re willing to forgive others. God goes to work on our hearts. Changes take place in our lives, and we aren’t the same people we once were. Every good change becomes another visible proof that forgiveness really has become a part of us.
Also, God has given us a visible help in baptism. Which is easier to say, “You’ve asked Jesus into your heart – you’re forgiven!” or “You’ve participated in a tangible, visible act as you were united with Jesus in death, burial and resurrection. See, feel, hear – you’re forgiven!”?
How could Jesus do this? I could offer to forgive you today. That would be nice of me, but it’s no big deal. Maybe it’s nice to know I forgive you of any bad thing you’ve done, but maybe you don’t even care if I forgive you. And when you stand before God, you’re not going to want to say, “But Sherm forgave me!” That won’t work.
(Psalm 49:7-9) No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him--the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough--that he should live on forever and not see decay.
No human can do this for you. In fact, how can God do this? How can God just overlook our sins as if they’ve never happened?
Ill – I heard a news story this week about a guy who committed murder when he was 15. He was tried as an adult and convicted. He received a huge sentence, and now, after serving less than 3 years of time, he’s up for parole. And lots of people, as they hear about this are saying, “How can this be? What about justice?” I happen to agree. How can such wrongdoing be overlooked. He broke the law, he must pay the penalty. And lots of us can sound off real well about something like that until we’re the guilty party – and the judge and prosecutor is God – and the law we’ve broken is His perfect law. Then we have to start asking – how can God be moral and good and just and at the same time forgive us – not punish us - for what we’ve done? The answer is in
(Romans 3:25-26) God presented [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
That’s how I can be forgiven. Jesus took the hit for me! Now, think about what that means when He looks down at this paralyzed man and says, “Take heart. Your sins are forgiven!” That’s the short version. Behind those words is the long version that He spells out with the rest of His life on earth: “My son, I love you. I know you, and I know that you’re wanting to be healed. I want to heal you, not just from this disease, but from your greatest disease. It’s going to take a pretty drastic procedure. I’ll have to die of your disease in your place. Even though I don’t deserve to, I will. I’m covering the debt for you that you owe. And it’s on the basis of My work on your behalf that I can look at you right now and say your sins are forgiven.”
Conclusion:
We’ve considered Jesus’ authority over disease and demons and over what we believe, but today there’s an even greater authority in His hand that we need – His authority to forgive sin.
One day, standing in front of God’s judgment throne, every person is going to have an unclouded understanding of what we need. At that time, we won’t feel the need for stuff or financial security, we won’t feel the need for good physical health, we won’t feel the need to look good or to be accepted by other people. We’re going to stand before the God of creation and know without a doubt that what we need is to be forgiven. And it’s also going to be evident that the only place, the only hope for forgiveness will be the power and grace of Jesus to forgive sin.
(prayer)
