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Mark 2:1-12
A Spectacular Incident - and Solid Faith


The first two verses of this chapter do nothing more than to set the scene for what follows. But the scene is so beautiful, and the characterization of our Lord here is so typical of Him that it's worthy of a little special consideration.

From Capernaum, Jesus had gone across the Sea of Galilee to Gadarene, and there He cast out demons from two men. After being cast out the demons entered into a herd of swine, which then plunged down a hill into the lake and perished
. The people of the region, becoming aware of what had happened, didn't want Jesus to do the same with any of their herds, so they pled with Him to leave. He obliged them and returned across the lake to Capernaum to His own mother's house there.

How long He remained in Capernaum we don't know, but as was always His habit, He used the time to teach His disciples, and as word got out that He was there, an increasing number of people came to hear Him teach. Mark tells us that the crowd in the house became so large that no more room could be made, even right up to the door.

And that's the beauty of it: it was always like that - He was always willing to teach or heal, always willing to give up His privacy, always willing to accommodate as many people as could possibly crowd in, always willing to give a few more minutes or even a few more hours to minister, particularly to the poor. They loved Him because both His teaching and His way of teaching were different from those of other teachers. He must have been easy to listen to, because they could listen to Him as long as He was willing to teach.

We need to be reminded that He hasn't changed: He's still willing to come to each of us, to minister, to heal, and to teach by His Spirit. All you have to do is ask and be willing to give Him your time! Of course you need to be aware that He's also going to want to change your life and be your Lord in everything you do.

But now let's look at the incident of the paralytic. The incident occurred in the midst of one of our Lord's teaching sessions, sessions in which the rooms of the house were packed to overflowing. Four men came, carrying another man on a pallet. The man they carried was at least partly paralyzed, and Mark tells us that both he and the men carrying him had faith - they believed that this Rabbi Jesus could and would be willing to do something to help them.

They showed just how strong their faith was when they didn't let the packed house discourage them. We're not told that the paralytic or his friends spoke, but their faith was made very evident by actions that were more eloquent than any words could have been.  The men carrying him removed some tiles from the roof (where there was a small courtyard) and lowered the paralytic through the entrance they had made to the very feet of Jesus, thus interrupting His teaching in the packed house!

It was a rather spectacular entrance to say the least, but even more interesting than the entrance was what happened next. Jesus said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven!" That wasn't what they came for! They came for healing, not a confession-and-forgiveness session!

Yet we don't hear any complaints from the paralytic or his friends, and there was a reason. According to Matthew's account, Jesus' began by saying, "Be of good cheer!" It's equivalent to, "It's ok, everything's going to be all right!" Such words from One of Jesus' reputation caught their instant attention and brought expectation and hope to their hearts.

We can understand even better if we put ourselves in the place of the paralyzed man. He had been lying uselessly on his bed for months or even years, and he had had plenty of time to ask himself why he was in his miserable condition. So, just as it would have been for any of us, he probably also had plenty of time to consider how he had lived, how selfish he had been, what his thought life had been like, how unloving his actions and words had sometimes been, or how poor his relationship to God was. He very likely may have begun to think that his misfortunes were the direct result of his sins. Jesus' gentle, kindly word of cheer and forgiveness for a man with a believing hert would be as relieving and refreshing as a cool stream in a desert.

Our Lord still speaks such words to us! He wants us to know that our sicknesses, our injuries, etc. are not necessarily the direct result of sins, but, in fact, that they can actually be for our good!  If they make us fully aware of our wayward heart, and if they move us to come to our Savior and Lord to confess our rebellion and to seek His mercy - then those disabilities can do us great good. So for this man - even so serious a condition as paralysis was only a disguised blessing!

The only complaints that were heard about what Jesus said were the unexpressed ones of some scribes who were present. Even before they said anything, though, Jesus, fully aware of all that was in their hearts, asked them, "Which is easier - to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven!' or, 'Rise, take up your pallet, and walk?" The question was intended to bring the real problem to focus.

Obviously, Jesus could have said either of these things with equal ease, but He knew that the minds of these scribes were already made up. They thought, "How can this Man, Jesus, forgive sins, when only God can do that!" They didn't believe that He had authority to act on God's behalf - that He was the Messiah. Jesus made them painfully aware of their unbelief by asking the question, and by doing so He prepared them for what He was about to do.

When Jesus questioned the scribes as to why they reasoned the way they did, He spoke openly, so that everyone could hear. He did it, not so that they would be embarrassed, but so that the unbelief of the entire multitude might be removed by the healing that followed. Our Lord desired - and still desires - that His miracles produce, not mere sensation, but real faith in Him and in the gospel He brings. John reports that Jesus Himself said as much. John tells us that on one occasion Jesus said, "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him." (Jn. 10:37, 38)

What about us? What's our reaction to Jesus' wonderful works? Do they open our eyes to a see the throne of God from which they proceed, or do they merely tickle us because they're sensational? Jesus' wanted all His hearers on this occasion to be healed - just as really as the paralytic was physically healed - from their naturally careless and godless condition. He wants the same for us.

That was the intended result of the powerful and dramatic words that follow. He turned and said to the weak and disabled man on the pallet, "Rise! Take up your pallet, and go into your house!" The man who had been brought on his pallet, carried by four men, instantly walked away, carrying the pallet that had carried him, walking through the midst of the throng, a throng that now parted the way, standing back with open mouths to behold the strong, perfectly healthy - and forgiven - man leave with his friends to celebrate with inexpressible joy!

Oh how we need to try to get inside the life and think the thoughts of this man! An entirely new life was now before him. Each morning as he got up from his bed he would be instantly reminded of the wonder of his meeting with Jesus. And he could go through the day serving the God Who had forgiven him, the God Who loved him, and the God Whom he now loved! This man would be appreciating things he had never before even considered. And, most of all, his healthy body would constantly remind him of Who Jesus was.

What about us? We may not have been healed of paralysis but, hopefully, we too have experienced our Lord's forgiveness, and we need to stop once in a while to consider what and where we would be without it. We need to learn to prize it above anything in this life, including even our health. In fact, we need to see whatever measure of health we enjoy as His gift, and we also need to learn from this man to appreciate our Lord Himself along with all He has done for us. May our daily prayers include thanksgiving for each and every one of His blessings!

There's an implied warning in this incident. In Matthew 11:23, we read that our Lord said, "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgement than for you!" Capernaum was blessed with Jesus' teaching and healing perhaps more than any other locale, yet we never read of widespread faith there. The incident before us produced amazement, and many spoke out about the glory of God - but apparently not many hearts were truly changed.

The same could be true in our lives and our churches today. Our Lord blesses us in many ways, at least including the preaching of His Word. Are we moved to change? Or are we merely satisfied in some less-lasting way?

Thanks Al...  I'm adding this to my Studies in Mark folder and will add it to my ring binder.

I will come back later and take out my Bible and go through this with you.  Thanks so much!

Thank-you Pastor.

It is true, I need to recall the time when I first "saw the Lord". , during difficulties it is good to remember and to know that He lives in me and that He has given me a new life in Him.

Your words are illuminating.  If I were a visitor to this site this would be a great witness.  It is easy to understand.

God Bless..
Love In Jesus' Name.
also to Marbeth.
Jenny

Thanks for all your comments.  I do pray that God will work in each reader to understand what He was saying in the Gospel of Mark.

Al I just want to say that you certainly do a wonderful job in your writings.  Thank you so much.
I will return in the near future to comment more in substance on this one.  

Boots

I Hope your message to your congregation today was well given (I know it was) and well received.

Al  I have always been taken by the faith of the four men bringing in the fifth man on a stretcher or whatever they used.

The place was so crowded that there was no way to carry the man in the house, with out disrupting the preaching of Jesus.

They did disrupt Jesus, but the crowd was able to stay in the house. (except for maybe a falling piece of of the roof)  

The "faith". loyalty to the man on the stretcher, and persistence of these four men is something to behold.  They go the extra mile and then some.

I also think Jesus put the forgiving of the sins ahead of the healing, for one reason to show us what is more important, and then Jesus did heal the man to quiet the skeptics.

A question, do we know what happened to the four men?

Thanks again Al for your devotion of bringing us your scripture lessons.

Boots

Boots - I don't think we can know what happened to the four men.  However I'm impressed that they had as much faith as the paralytic, and for this reason I can't help feeling that they went away as new disciples also.

Your messages are so clear and easy to understand.  Thank you Pastor Al.