Just Words:
Forgiveness
Scripture Text: Mark 2.1-12
NOTE: this sermon was preached on the first Sunday of a new year.
INTRODUCTION
I know that a-lot-of-people really love New Year’s. The kids like New Year’s Eve so-much because they get to stay up way-past their bed-times. Football fanatics love New Years because of all the bowl-games being-played. There are people in my family that couldn’t-get the new-year-started, without watching the Rose Bowl Parade! But, I-think-that what most-adults like-so-much is that New Year’s signifies a new start. A new leaf is turned over. New Year’s is a chance to make resolutions, …decide to do things differently, …make changes and move past the past.
TRANSITION
And-that-brings us to, today… The first Sunday of a new year. What would-be an appropriate theme for the sermon ~ …something to kick-the-year-off on-the-right-foot?
Resolutions? Maybe-even-Creation? Well… those are all-good… But God has laid something else on my heart. Forgiveness. And-ya-know… forgiveness is one-of-those-things that really-oughtta-be at the beginning-of-the-year, …and end-the-year, …and fill-the-year! Who-among-us does not need to be forgiven!?! Who-among-us hasn’t been called upon to offer forgiveness? Even-today… we come together as a people in need of grace ~ …whether you’ve walked with the Lord for six-days, or sixty-years, …or, whether you haven’t yet decided to give your heart to the Lord. We step into this sanctuary as people in need of forgiveness. Whether it’s a sin-of-attitude; …or a sin-of-neglect; …or, one-of-rebellion; …or something-committed out-of-ignorance: We all need forgiveness. So, let’s start this year off-on-the-right-foot!
The Gospel of Mark tells an interesting-story of something that happened shortly after Jesus began his public ministry. Jesus’ reputation is beginning to build. As-He travels around Capernaum, he preaches and teaches and prays for the sick and heals them. Capernaum was located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee; …and it was a long way away from the seats-of-power in Jerusalem. But, the people living in-and-around Capernaum, …they were discovering-in-Jesus something grander-and-more-powerful than anything contained in Jerusalem!
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn to the second-chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Mark, chapter 2…. Jesus returns to Capernaum. It’s become his base-of-operations, …here-in-the-early-days of His ministry.
READ Mark 2.1-12
BODY
Don’t-ya-love-it when an-old-familiar-story jumps-off-the-page with some new, fresh detail ~ …something you’ve never-noticed-before!?! That’s-what happened to me when I began diving into this passage. Listen to this: …Mark tells us in verse 1, “…the people heard that he had come home.”
Now… Matthew tells us that Jesus grew up in the tiny-village of Nazareth. But, after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, …Jesus moved to Capernaum. And, here in Mark’s Gospel, …we find that Jesus is calling Capernaum “home”.
As I thought-about-that for-a-minute, …I began to wonder whether this is Jesus’ house that people are crowding in-to! If-that’s-the-case, …then it’s His roof that gets a hole ripped into it; …and it’s His carpet that gets muddied from all those soiled-sandals; …and it’s His refrigerator that gets raided; …and it’s in His-home that those never-satisfied-Pharisees grumble-and-complain! I don’t-know-about-you, but-it kinda-puts a new-spin on this old-familiar-story, for-me, …to-think of this being Jesus’ home!
But, in-this-story, we find several men trying to get-to-Jesus; …and they are carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. We don’t know how the man became-paralyzed; …we only know that he was and that his friends did everything-they-could to get-this-guy to the feet-of-Jesus. There were several-things going-through-their-minds ~ …they knew that their paralyzed-friend had a need; …they believed that Jesus could do something about that need; …and they came-up-with-a-plan by thinking outside-the-box, because they came up against a number of road-blocks to getting their friend to Jesus.
Now, let’s begin with the “need” that this man has. Why was it so-important to his friends that this man be carried-to-Jesus? What was his need?
I. Need
His friends obviously-thought that the man needed physical healing. They carried him on a mat ~ …probably the mat that he lied-down-on when sitting-street-side, begging for coins. They carried him on a mat ~ …because he was unable to carry-himself. They carried him on a mat ~ …because he had lost the ability to work, or to walk, or to go from one-place to another. He needed healing! And-so, his friends brought him to Jesus. For- whatever-reason, they thought that Jesus could-do-something. Maybe they’d heard that Jesus had healed a leper; …or that He’d commanded an evil-spirit to come out of a man; …or that He’d healed Peter’s mother-in-law and taken-away her fever. However-it-was that they’d heard about Jesus; …Whatever-it-was that they’d heard He’d already-done; …These guys figured that Jesus just-might-do-the-trick, and get their friend back-on-his-feet… So, they brought him to the house.
The-thing-is, …Jesus doesn’t heal-the-man, ..physically, …at-least, not-right-away! At-first, Jesus forgives the man! Forgives him!?!... Is that what this-guy’s-friends went to all the trouble for? Is this what he was hoping for? Was forgiveness what this guy needed?
Maybe there’s some disappointment when Jesus dispenses forgiveness, instead-of-physical-healing. Maybe the friends are sitting-perched-on-the-roof, looking quizzically-at-one-another. Maybe the man-on-the-mat is thinking, “Oh great! I was really hoping to get something-tangible, “…some kind of results that would really change-my-life from this-point-on!”
Jesus looked at the man’s friends ~ …the ones who’d dug a hole in the roof ~ …He looked at the friends and saw faith; …and based on their faith, He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven”!
Now… I don’t know if Jesus said this with a great-big-smile; …or, if He was laughing; …or, if He leaned-over the man-on-the-mat and placed His hand on-his-shoulder ~ I don’t know the details of how Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven”, …but, nobody said a word. It’s-as-though a holy-hush came over the crowd that was jam-packed in this house… A holy-hush of astonishment; …and wonder; …and expectation… “Your sins are forgiven.” It’s almost-as-though people were waiting-to-see what Jesus would say-or-do, next!
Now, there were some in the crowd; …Mark calls them “teachers of the law” ~ …these were the “experts” in the Bible. They knew things inside-and-out. They could quote chapter-and-verse and tell you exactly what you’d done wrong.
Have you ever-known anyone like-that? So full-of-knowledge, …so empty of grace? So versed in the rules, …so short of compassion? So detailed about rituals and regulations, …so devoid of love?
Well… I don’t know if you’ve spent much time around people like that, …but they’re no-fun to be around! And there were some of these guys in-the-house, …and-even-though they didn’t say-it-out-loud, ..they were thinkin’ it! And their thoughts and their attitudes were throwing cold-water on the beautiful-thing that had just happened! Jesus forgave the man of his sins! It’s a time to celebrate and rejoice and say, “That’s awesome!”
But-these-guys grumble and complain and think-to-themselves, “That-Jesus is full-of-trouble!”
The ironic-thing about this whole-deal is that what these-guys are so upset-about Jesus-offering to this man, …is the very-thing that their hearts so-desperately need for-themselves! The Bible tells us in Romans: “[A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (3.23)
In other words… We have all missed the mark. We’ve all come up short. We’ve all violated the image of God, in which we were created, and for whom we were given the breath of life. The need for forgiveness is universal because the experience of sin is-also universal! The man on the mat needed forgiveness. The friends who stood on the roof, needed forgiveness. The crowd that had jammed-into this little-house, needed forgiveness. And these “experts” in the religious laws-and-rituals of the Old Testament, …they-too needed forgiveness. Everyone ~ not-just in this story, but also in this sanctuary ~ …everyone needs to be forgiven because whether by choice, or by ignorance, or by mistake, …human beings stray from God’s perfect will; …and-as-a-result, our relationship with God-Almighty is broken, or strained, or injured.
The husband who bumbles-through-life, stepping on his-wife’s-toes, …but never apologizing for inadvertently-hurting-her-feelings ~ …he does not realize how he injures his relationship with her by not-apologizing and seeking her forgiveness. The wife who speaks-badly of her husband to her friends, …but never admits to doing anything wrong ~ …she does not see how hurtful her actions are to her husband and their marriage.
It’s the same-way with our relationship with God! When we don’t own up to our attitudes and actions, …when we don’t admit them and seek forgiveness, …our relationship with God suffers.
The man-on-the-mat gets what he does not ask for, …but it is something that he ~ along with everybody else in the house ~ …it’s what everybody needed: forgiveness.
II. Method
Let’s give the “experts” the benefit-of-the-doubt. They probably had no-doubt about the man needing forgiveness. In-fact, a good portion of the Jewish religious ritual was about how to atone for various sins. The sacrificial-system was all-about atoning for sins-committed. So, their beef with Jesus wasn’t-over whether the man needed forgiveness; …but-rather, their argument was over the method of how to secure forgiveness!
Mark tells us that Jesus simply looked at the man and said, “Your sins are forgiven”. That’s-it… no sacrifice; …no blood spilled; …no High Priest present; …they weren’t-even-in the Jerusalem-Temple!
If you were to read Leviticus, chapters 6 and 7, …or Numbers, chapter 15, …if you were to go back into the Old Testament and study the laws and rituals dealing with atonement and forgiveness, …you would find very detailed explanations of how the people were to bring a certain kind of animal for certain kinds of sins; …and that animal would need to be prepared for sacrifice by the priests. To kinda-sum-it-all-up, Numbers 15.28 says-this:
“The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.”
PAUSE
I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie that came out last Christmas ~ called “The Nativity”. It’s the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. Great movie. But… in-that-movie, there is a scene in the Jerusalem-Temple, …and in-that-scene, the high-priest is preparing a bull to be sacrificed. And the priest takes the young-bull’s head, …and he lowers his own-head to touch the bull’s-forehead. That was part-of-the-ritual that the priests did: …it was a way of identifying with the sacrifice (touching foreheads) and saying, “I should be in your place! “What you’re about to go through is what we deserve!”
The “experts” knew the Old Testament, …they knew the rituals, …they knew the “proper” steps to have sins atoned-for and to-gain forgiveness. Jesus didn’t follow those steps! Jesus didn’t jump-through-the-hoops. Jesus just-gave-this-guy forgiveness like-it-was a quarter dropped in the beggars-tin-cup!
When they thought-to-themselves that only God can forgive sins, …what they meant was: …in the Temple, …following the proper ritual, …with a priest-presiding! Jesus was not in the Temple ~ …He was in a house in Capernaum. He didn’t follow any ritual ~ …no bull, no goat, no lamb, no knife. And there-was-no priest, presiding over the whole-thing! From their-point-of-view, how could God be involved in any of this!?!... Jesus should’ve told the man to go to the Temple, see the priest, offer a sacrifice! From their point-of-view, forgiveness must come through the appropriate channels, with the appropriate ceremony.
It’s easy to take pot-shots at the goof-balls in Scripture who miss-it so-badly ~ like the so-called “experts”. They should’ve known better! They should’ve remembered Old Testament passages like Psalm 51:
“O Lord… You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
The “experts” missed-it, badly: …forgiveness is less-about ritual, and more about brokenness; …forgiveness is not on the endangered-species-list, …it’s to be freely offered; …forgiveness is not locked in space-and-time to one-particular-place and a certain-time-of-year.
The so-called “experts” knew the ritual, but missed the heart-of-God! And it’s easy for us to point-our-fingers and shake-our-heads in disgust. But-sometimes, …in the church, …sometimes we miss-it just-as-badly! Sometimes we’ve got our-own pre-conceived notions about the experience of forgiveness. Maybe we think that it has to happen on Sunday morning, …in a worship-service, …at an altar, …tears-flowing, …raw-emotions. And maybe we’ve been guilty of doubting the validity or the authenticity of someone’s repentance, …if it didn’t happen according to our pre-conceived notions!
The circumstances of how a person comes to the feet of Jesus ~ …the “how’s” and the “where’s” and the “emotions” ~ …the circumstances of how a person comes to Jesus’ feet are less-important than the fact that he comes! Whether it’s at an altar, …or in the pew; …whether it’s in church, …or in your car, …or at home; …whether it’s kneeling by your bedside, …or sitting on the couch, …or lying face-down in the floor, …whether it’s on Sunday …or Friday, …or Tuesday afternoon ~ The circumstances are not-nearly-as-important as the fact that you get-to-the-feet of Jesus! The guy that Mark tells us about had to be transported! He couldn’t even get there by-himself. He was carried by their strong-hands; …carried by their faith. He didn’t go the Temple, or the synagogue or the local holy-place. He went to a house. Couldn’t make it into the living room, …couldn’t-even get in the front door ~ …had to bust-a-hole through the roof and come down on strings!
The point is: get there! Get to the feet-of-the-Lord. Don’t get hung up on the how’s and where’s and ritual’s… What you’ll find is mercy. At the feet of Jesus, you’ll find forgiveness!
III. Results
I know that lots-of-people ~ when they read this story ~ …lots-of-folks get hung-up on whether it’s easier to forgive sins, or to heal a body. I kinda-think that’s missing the point. The point is that Jesus can do it all! ~ …heal a body that is broken and broke-down; …heal a heart that is broken and weighed-down.
When Jesus told the man to get-up and grab-his-mat and go-home ~ …and he did ~ …Did you notice the results?... The people-packed-into that crowded-house were absolutely-amazed! They were beside-themselves. Mark tells us that they were amazed “and they praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” There is the result! Amazement. Wonder. Worship.
The crowd came to the house to see Jesus; …they ended-up seeing a miracle. The man’s friends had to climb up on a roof in order to get their friend to Jesus’ feet. The paralytic had to be carried on a mat, …but left the house carrying the mat that had carried him. The man was brought to the house with the hope-for-healing; …but what he got was a restored-body and a healed-heart.
This whole-story is like a flower blooming ~ …each petal revealing another. And it all stems-from the compassionate, merciful heart of Jesus!
Tom Wright says:
“Once you’ve met the living, forgiving God in Jesus, you’ll find yourself on your feet, going out into the world in the power of God’s love.” (Tom Wright)
Can you imagine the looks on people’s-faces, ~ …and we don’t know if he was married, …or had kids, …or if he was a single-man still-living with his parents, …or if he’d been taken-in by friends ~ …but, can you imagine the looks-on-their-faces when the paralytic burst-through-his-front-door?... Can you imagine their curiosity as he told the about Jesus’ mercy and compassion?... Can you imagine yourself, …in his shoes,
…light-on-your-feet, stepping-out in the power-of-God’s love-and-forgiveness? It’s possible! That’s why He came ~ …for-you and for-me and for-the-paralytic and for-the-crowd and-even for-the-so-called-experts. He came that we might-find mercy-and-forgiveness through Him.
CONCLUSION
All too often we focus on some wish-list, …things we want God to do for us. But this passage reminds us that God desires to do something within us and between us. Forgiveness. Wiping away our sins. Restoring us to a right relationship with God.
And it doesn’t take a brain-surgeon to know that in a crowd of this size, …that there’s some ~ maybe-even many-in-this-sanctuary ~ whose hearts aren’t-right with God. And today-is-a-good-day to go to the feet of Jesus! And I wanna-encourage you to do that… right-away! Remember, the method, or how you do it isn’t as important as the fact that you do it. If you need someone to help ~ …like the man in the story: …he had his friends to-help him get to Jesus’ feet ~ …if you need someone to help you pray, …I’m more than happy to do that with you. But the important-thing-is: get-to-Jesus. Seek His forgiveness. Ask Him for mercy. Repent of your sins!
But, …listen closely to this: forgiveness is never a private, spiritual matter. The need for forgiveness arises in the contexts of relationships! Broken promises, …dropped responsibilities, …sinful attitudes, resentment toward someone for something said-or-done… The New Testament book, Colossians, tells us:
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Col. 3.13-14)
What-I’m-saying is that you have an opportunity. This afternoon, take the time to reach out to those who you’ve offended, …and seek their forgiveness. Apologize. Make things right. Don’t let it go. Don’t ignore it anymore.
