Getting a Clean Start in the New Year
Mark 2:1-12
Well, we’ve come to the end of one year, and the beginning of a new year.
And, of course, we tend to look back at this point in the year to what has happened. And 2013 certainly has been an eventful year for the Wallace clan, climaxed of course, yesterday, when we married off our daughter Amanda.
And, of course, we look forward to a happy, and happier new year. We always want the new year to be better than the last, and to that end, we’re dreaming and making resolutions. And I want to suggest to all of you here this morning that we do the same in our relationship to the Lord. That we set aside some of the things that we didn’t do so well last year, and make resolutions for a new and better life before the Lord this year.
And to that end this morning, we’re going to look at a passage which speaks just exactly about that—setting aside before God those things in our past that need to be set aside and getting a clean and a new start before God in the new year.
And for that this morning we’re going to take a look at one of the most incredible days in the life of Jesus Christ—incredible not only in terms of what Jesus said and did, but also incredible in terms of what some people did, what five young men did on a very busy day in what had become Jesus’ hometown during his itinerant ministry, Capernaum.
Now Capernaum was a town in Galilee, a beach city and fishing village located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, about 3 miles south of the northern tip of this 12-mile long lake. It was the home of the disciples Peter and Matthew, and it clearly became Jesus’ hometown during the time of his 3-year itinerant ministry as a preacher throughout Israel. That’s evident from both this passage and Matthew 9:1 where it calls this city his hometown.
And Jesus had just become a national sensation; He had just been on one of his preaching tours through Galilee or northern Israel and he had been casting out demons and healing everyone who came to him. The result was that the crush of people around him had become so great that according to the last verse in Mark 1 he could no longer publicly enter any of the villages or cities of Galilee. Instead, he conducted his ministry out in unpopulated areas, and people were coming to him from everywhere in Israel.
In the midst of this, he apparently managed to privately make his way back to Capernaum, but even there the news spread that he was at home. The result was that surging crowds made their way to his house, or at least the house where he was staying. And so many gathered together in this house apparently that there was an absolute jam—the doorway was jammed with people and there was a crowd all around the door and there was absolutely no room for anyone as he taught the people the Word—the Word of God—a sign as to what we ought to be doing in our churches—teaching the Word of God and nothing less and nothing more.
And along come four men carrying a paralytic on a little bed or cot. Obviously, they had heard about Jesus’ healing ministry and were hopeful that their friend, the paralytic, might be healed even as so many others had been. But there was no way anybody in that house or around that door was giving up their spot or making way for these five men to present their friend’s desperate need before Jesus.
But these men were not about to be denied. They were desperate; they were convinced that Jesus was perhaps the one and only solution in the world to their friend's tragic plight, and they were afraid that this might be the one last best chance for their friend to ever live a normal life again. And so they did what for most of us would have been unthinkable.
Now in those days and at that time the typical house in Israel had a flat roof which often functioned as sort of an outdoor patio for the occupants. And there was often an exterior stair case leading up to that roof. Or in many cases in cities there would be a series of houses which were built right next to each other, with little or no space between them. And so there was only a staircase and, at most, a little roof-hopping to do to get to a place immediately above where Jesus was. And since these men could not approach Jesus from below, they decided to approach Him from above. So they began to literally un-roof the roof—that’s exactly the meaning of the Greek here.
Now we might immediately question how substantial the roof was. One thing we know for sure—it was substantial enough to support the weight of five fully grown men. And according to what we know about how houses were constructed in those days, there were beams and rafters, and on top of those beams and rafters there would be plant materials combined with dried mud and hardened clay, and there was such a thing as tiles. And so this was no small project. They were literally dismantling the roof of a fairly substantial house.
Now you’ve got to imagine the scene. This place is jammed with people and Jesus is speaking and all of a sudden there’s all this commotion, all this noise coming from above Jesus. Tiles being thrown off to the side, bricks being moved, holes being dug in the hardened clay, dirt and sand and dust coming down in front of Jesus or perhaps even on Him. What a spectacle this must have been! And then there was some light coming through from above, and perhaps a rush of some fresh air, and the digging and dismantling is continuing as Jesus is trying to teach. There are four faces looking down from above, I’m sure. And there’s at least one face looking up, that of Jesus.
And you know what’s a bit amazing to me—that no one is objecting to the dismantling of this house. If it were Jesus’ house, he was not objecting. He wasn’t rebuking these folks for what they are doing. You would think someone would have a problem with this kind of incredible interruption to the proceedings, or someone would have a problem with the destruction of their home at this point. But there is no apparent objection. Jesus is apparently in control of all the proceedings and he allows this interruption to continue. And the truth of the matter is that this is totally in keeping with His Word and His character. He’s the one who encourages us to seek God. He encouraged people in the Sermon on the Mount to ask and it would be given to him, seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. He encouraged people to seek God with all their heart. And so here we have an example of five men who are doing just that—no matter what people think—they are going to make their request known to Jesus no matter what; they are not only knocking, they are literally tearing a house apart to get to Jesus. It’s the very thing Jesus would not condemn, especially if it were his own home. In fact it’s the very thing He would commend and reward.
And that’s exactly what happened, but not as some would have expected. So a pretty substantial hole in ceiling has now been dug out, and I imagine there’s all sorts of dirt and dust on the floor, and perhaps even on Jesus Himself and lo and behold this paralytic is now being lowered, on his bed, apparently by ropes attached to the bed, right down in front of Jesus in the sight of everybody. These five men were desperate. For all they knew this was the last and best chance the paralytic would ever have for a normal life. And so everyone there, knowing of Jesus’ spectacular healing ministry, now anticipated that Jesus would simply say a word, or wave his hand over the paralytic, and announce that he had been healed.
But that is precisely what Jesus did not do at this point. He surprised everybody in that room by what he did next. He looked with compassion upon that paralyzed young man and said, “Son, child, forgiven are your sins.” And he said it with such authority and majesty that every single person in that room knew that He meant it in such a way that forgiveness had been granted by God Himself once and for all and forever.
Now what was going on here? Did the paralytic and his friends go to all this trouble just simply to hear this declaration, that this man’s sins were forgiven? No! This is not at all what they expected or what they hoped for. After all, everyone could see this man’s apparent most desperate need was for healing, so that he could move and walk and live a normal life.
Everyone that is, except for Jesus, who saw and knew something that no one would have ever guessed—that this man’s most desperate need was not physical, but spiritual. His most desperate condition was not his paralysis, but his sinfulness. He was a sinner in the presence of the Almighty Holy God. And on top of that, because he was sinful, he was also mortal. He was going to die someday. According God’s law of sin and death, sin results in death, both physical and spiritual. Sin, which consists of those things which we do wrong, and those right things which we fail to do, both sins of commission and omission, and consists of even our thoughts and desires—our selfishness, our thoughtlessness, our anger, our bitterness, our jealousy and our pride, our vengeful thoughts as well as our actions—are all an affront to God. And because God is just and holy, sins must be punished. No one respects a judge who just lets a criminal off so he can go free and hurt people again and again. No God is holy and just and a just God must punish sin. And more than that, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God according to the Bible. If we keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point, the Bible tells us that we are guilty of all. And Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “It is appointed unto men once to die, then comes the judgment.”
So only Jesus saw clearly what this man’s greatest need was—not for physical for healing, but for spiritual healing, for the ultimate forgiveness of sin by God Himself which would free him from having to pay for his own sins in a place none of us like to talk about called hell. But Jesus talked about it plenty, more than anyone else in the Bible, for it’s the very thing that He came to earth to prevent—to prevent us from going to hell by making it possible for our sins to be forgiven.
You know what Jesus’ action shows us here? That the most desperate need of everyone in this room is for God’s forgiveness. And that every one of us here needs to be as desperate as these five young men were for Jesus' help with this terrible problem, because our eternal destiny depends on it. Forgiveness of sins is the difference between life and death, heaven and heal for eternity. If we don’t get forgiveness from God for our sins before we die, we end up paying for our sins forever. If we do get forgiveness for our sins, then it will only because we accept the gift of Jesus’ payment for our sins already when He died on the cross.
First point this morning: Recognize your most desperate need in life is for God’s forgiveness. No matter what your struggles this morning, no matter how badly last year went, no matter how serious your problems are, there is no problem greater than your sin before a holy God, and your need for forgiveness.
Have you ever wondered what will happen to you if you die, if you die right now? Do you know the answer to that question? If you don’t know, it’s probably because you don’t know whether you’re forgiven by God or not. And for that we return to the story for the answer to life’s #1 question: How can I have my sins forgiven by God. How can I live forever?
Now we need to ask another question. What was it about that paralytic that prompted Jesus to make that majestic and authoritative declaration that his sins had been forgiven? After all, the paralytic and his friends had just broken into this house in the plain sight of everybody.
Verse 5 also gives us that answer: “And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.” What did Jesus see about these five young men that so impressed Him?
He saw their faith.
Now at first glance we might think that Jesus, being the all-knowing God' peered directly into their hearts and saw something that was not visible to others—that attitude of faith. But that is not what was going in this case. What Jesus saw was what everybody in that house saw that day—the visible demonstration and proof of their faith that was evident in what they had done. For they so believed that Jesus was able and willing to heal the paralytic that they were willing to do just about anything to present their request before Him — including dismantling a house to get to Him. They had shown their faith by their actions.
Now if they hadn’t believe that Jesus had any power to heal their friend, do you think they would have even bothered to bring him to Jesus’ house that day, much less torn apart a roof to lower their friend down to him? Naw! There were plenty of other things they could have been doing that day. After all, this was beach city. They could have been sunning on the beach. They could have been swimming in the warm waters of the Sea of Galilee. Or they could have gone fishing. Or they could have been about making a living. There were plenty of more profitable activities that day to be involved in if they hadn’t believed Jesus could and would heal. But they absolutely believed. And because they believed they acted in accord with that faith, and they were determined that they and their friend would not be denied!
And Jesus said that it was because of that kind of faith, the kind of faith which absolutely everybody saw in action, demonstrated and proven before them that day that this young man’s most desperate condition was remedied—he was forgiven.
And you know what, that’s the consistent testimony of Jesus and the Bible throughout with regard to how sins are forgiven and men receive the promise of eternal life in heaven. It’s comes by faith. Not by works. Not by faith plus works. Not by keeping the 10 Commandments. Not by going to church. Those are the things you do as a result of faith. But they don’t result in forgiveness. Only faith, faith in Christ results in forgiveness and eternal life.
But what kind of faith exactly? Obviously, active faith, a faith that impels and compels to action as it did in these five men. A faith that produces works, a faith that can be seen by the works that it produces.
A faith that does nothing is no faith at all, according to the Bible. But faith without works, is dead being by itself says James 2. Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so is faith without works. In fact, James 2:19 says that “You believe God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.”
In other words the kind of faith that simply agrees with the facts about Jesus--which assents to the idea that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world is not good enough. It is not the kind of faith that produces forgiveness or eternal life. The kind of faith that results in forgiveness is personal trust, reliance or dependence upon Christ, not just agreement with the facts about Jesus Christ. It’s the kind of faith that you show by the things you do, just as these five men demonstrated their faith in Jesus so obviously on that day. That’s the kind of faith that elicits this response from Jesus Christ—"Your sins are forgiven." And that’s our second point this morning. You want to be forgiven of your sins. Then put your faith in Jesus in order to be forgiven. Have the kind of faith that can be seen; that is proven by the kind of works that result from it.
Is that the kind of faith you have? Do you show your faith by your works? By your works of following Christ, seeking him out in prayer, in the Word of God, by being in church on Sunday? If your faith does not produce these kinds of works, chances are you don’t have the kind of faith that results in forgiveness, you don’t have the kind of faith that saves from sin’s consequences.
And there were some there on that day in the crowd in Capernaum who did not have that kind of faith either. For there were people, even religious officials from all over the country who had come to see Jesus, including the highly educated scribes or lawyers who knew the Old Testament forward and backward, and the Pharisees, the strictest sect of religious people back then. And they came to see what all this buzz was about Jesus. And when they heard what Jesus said to the paralytic, all kinds of red flags went up. They didn’t voice their concerns on this occasion—it was still very early in Jesus’ ministry. But Jesus knew what they were thinking on this occasion. And what they were thinking is found in Mark 2:6-7: "But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way. He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?”
They were very perceptive in one sense. When Jesus made such an amazing declaration about this paralytic’s sins being forgiven with such authority and finality, he was clearly implying that He was God Himself. For who but God could make such a sweeping and authoritative statement about any man’s sins?
Now there were actually two possible conclusions which could be drawn from Jesus' claim to be able to forgive the paralytic sins. Possibility a.) was that Jesus was telling the truth, and therefore that Jesus really was God in the flesh. Possibility b.) was that he was a liar, a charlatan or a false prophet. And that He was only pretending to have the authority of God to forgive sins. However these religious men made an absolute presumption here apart from any prevailing evidence. The presumed possibility b.) –that Jesus was indeed a liar, a false prophet and therefore a blasphemer.
Now we’ve got to ask ourselves a question here. Why didn’t Jesus just wave his hand over the paralytic and heal him in the first place? The answer is this--it was because he was intentionally making a point, a point that was so worth making that He didn’t care if He drew the ire of the religious authorities in Jerusalem. And His point was this—that He was indeed God in the flesh. And it was important to believe or trust in Jesus as the only God who could forgive sins. Otherwise, why would He have risked offending these authorities by doing things the way He did.
So, Jesus, according to verse 8, being aware in His Spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? And then He asked a very thought-provoking question. “Which is easier to say to the paralytic: ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say ‘Get up; and pick up your pallet and walk.”
Now I don’t know about you, but I think for any mere human being, both statements are pretty difficult to make. Both are, in fact, impossible for a mere man to make, although I can imagine that at one time or another in history a physician may have cured a paralytic. But no mere human being has ever been able to say with the very authority of God that someone’s sins were forgiven. So clearly both are typically impossible things to say, but if we had to choose one as more difficult than the other, the nod would go to “Your sins are forgiven.” But both statements are virtually impossible for any mere man to say.
So, Jesus, without waiting for an answer then proceeds to prove his point—that He is God in the flesh, and therefore has the unique authority to forgive sins, even as He has the authority to heal people. Verse 10: But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” And the paralytic did just that—proving that Jesus was more than a mere human prophet or miracle worker, but He was indeed God in the flesh, the one who alone had the authority to forgive sins.
And thus He made our third point this morning: Jesus proved Himself to be worthy of our faith. Therefore, why not trust that Jesus is the only God who can forgive. Trust that Jesus is indeed the only God who can forgives. For who Jesus is gives effect to what He did, and authority for what He said. If He was infinite God, He could pay for a nearly infinite number of sins by an infinite number of people when He died on the cross. But if He was not God, and merely a man, the best He could was what any of us might do—and that is pay the penalty for His own sins.
So finally, what should your response to Jesus be if he has forgiven your sins? It should be exactly what the paralytic’s response was. When Jesus spoke to the paralytic, he not only believed, but he miraculously obeyed. Jesus said "get up, take up your pallet and go home." So the man did exactly that—He got up, He was healed, and because Jesus had healed Him and proven to be God in the flesh, He did exactly what any grateful human being would do. When God spoke, he listened and he obeyed.
And you would have done the same thing if you had believed as this man did, and you had been rewarded with a healing. When the man who had healed you spoke, you would not only have listened, you would have obeyed.
The principle is this: What you really believe determines what you do. And so when you really believe in Jesus, then you let Jesus determine what you do next. And when you do that, He changes your life.
Let your active belief, your real trust in Jesus determine what you do next—and Jesus will change your life.
So what was Jesus’ point in Mark 2:1-12: It was this: When you really believe in Jesus as the God who forgives, your life will show it. The four friends of the paralytic really believed, and it showed. And ultimately the paralytic himself believed, and it showed and he obeyed. That’s what happens, what begins to happen to you in the way that produces the forgiveness of sins, a personal relationship with God and the promise of eternal life. When you really believe in Jesus, you’ll not only be forgiven, but you will show your faith through what you do.
I have a couple of questions for you this morning: Have you recognized that your situation is desperate? That apart from Christ’s forgiveness of your sins, you’ll be paying for your own sins for eternity in a place called hell.
Then, do you want to be forgiven once and for all?
Finally, do you want to know for sure.
Then let me encourage you. Put your faith, your personal trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as the one who can forgive—because He’s God in the flesh. And begin to show your faith in Jesus by what you do!
Now I suspect that there are a few of you who are listening this morning who are every bit as paralyzed as the paralytic—at least in a spiritual sense. That’s because there’s a spiritual barrier that is every bit as real as the walls and the crowds that surrounded Jesus on that day 2,000 years ago. For some of you that barrier is pride.
For others, the barrier is fear of what others will think and ay if you really believe in Jesus and show it. "What will my wife say?' "What will my parents say? What will my friends say?" You're paralyzed because there's an obstacle between you and faith.
And for some of you the obstacle is your own self-centered will—you want to have your way, rather than God's way.
Let me encourage you to not let any barrier stand between you and eternal life, and the forgiveness sins. If you can trust Jesus with your eternal destiny, you can also trust Him with your life here and now. He's a good God who knows what's best for you. After all, He created you and the life you will live. So, trust Him this morning, no matter what, and receive His incredible blessing of forgiveness, heaven and a new and better life beginning right now.
Jesus loves you so much, He died for your sins. Tell Him you're accepting that gift of forgiveness right now by praying this prayer with me: "Father, "I know I'm a sinner and that my most desperate need is forgiveness of my sins. I thank you that you sent your Son, the God-Man, Jesus, to die for my sins. And you proved it by His resurrection from the dead. Now, Father, I'm trusting that Jesus died for my sins. That He has healed me spiritually. I promise to show my faith by how I live, and by living for Jesus. And I thank you that because of Jesus love for me, and His death for my sins, that I now can be sure I'm forgiven and have eternal life. Now make me the kind of person you want me to. In Jesus' name, Amen"
