244 Mark 2:1-12 Jesus heals a paralysed man - a podcast by Dr David Petts - Pentecostal preacher, former AoG Bible College Principal

Talk 6   Mark 2:1-12   Jesus Heals a Paralysed Man

Welcome to Talk 6 in our series on Mark’s Gospel. Today we’re in chapter 2 and we’ll be looking at the first 12 verses to which the NIV gives the heading, Jesus heals a paralysed man. And that indeed is what the story is about. It’s about Jesus, it’s about healing, and it’s about a man who could not walk. But, as we shall see, it’s about far more than healing. So let’s read it.

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 paralysed man, 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 paralysed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 6 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? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralysed man, '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 paralysed man, 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!"

 

So, as we’ve said, this passage is about healing, but it teaches us far more than that. It teaches us about who Jesus is, about the seriousness of sin and the importance of forgiveness, about faith, and about different groups of people and their attitude to Christ. We’ll work through it a verse or two at a time and then summarise the lessons we have learned.

 

1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.

As we saw last time, Jesus had extended his ministry beyond Capernaum, travelling throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons (1:39). Now he returns to Capernaum, which this verse refers to as home. When the people hear this there’s an immediate effect:

 

2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.

The house is filled with people and they overflow into the street. As we saw in chapter 1, it was his miracles of healing and exorcism that attracted the crowds, but Jesus’ primary purpose was to preach the word to them. His miracles were not the message. They were signs confirming the truth of his message – The good news of the kingdom of God (1:14). Compare Mark 16:20 (the very last verse of Mark’s Gospel):

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

 

3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them.

Notice the extremity of the man’s condition. He was paralysed. He was clearly unable to get to Jesus without considerable help. He wasn’t walking with a man on either side supporting him. It took four men to carry him there.

 

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.

These men were clearly determined to get their friend to Jesus. And, as the next verse reveals, they were clearly men of faith. What would be the point of going to all that trouble if you didn’t believe that Jesus would work a miracle?

 

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralysed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Jesus saw their faith. This could mean the faith of the four men, or it could include the faith of the paralysed man himself. He certainly exercised faith in obeying the command of Jesus to get up and walk. But, either way, it wasn’t just his faith. In my book, Just a Taste of Heaven, I have a chapter on the relationship between faith and healing. As I examined the passages in the New Testament where faith is mentioned in connection with healing, I discovered that in half the cases it was the faith of the sick person that resulted in healing, and in the other half it was the faith of someone else. In fact it’s the person bringing the request for healing who is expected to have faith. Later, in Mark 6:5-6, we’re told that Jesus was unable to do any mighty work in his home town because of their unbelief.

 

But why does Jesus say, Son, your sins are forgiven, before he heals this man? Three possibilities come to mind:

a.     The man’s sickness was the result of his sin

b.     The man believed that his sickness was the result of his sin

c.      Jesus wanted to emphasise that the forgiveness of sin is far more important than the healing of the body.

 

With regard to a. This is certainly a possibility. The Bible makes it clear that sickness is sometimes the result of personal sin, but both Old and New Testaments are equally clear that this is by no means always the case. (For more on this, please see the relevant chapter in Just a Taste of Heaven).

 

Regarding b. Even if his sickness was not caused by sin, the man may very well have believed that it was, because this was the common view at the time. I’ve heard it suggested that Jesus just wanted to reassure the man by putting such thoughts out of his mind. But if that had been his intention, would it not have been easier to say, Son, this sickness has not been caused by your sin?

 

Surely it’s much more likely that Jesus simply wanted to emphasise that the forgiveness of sin is far more important than the healing of the body. The effects of sickness may last for a lifetime. Sin has eternal consequences.

 

6 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?"

 

Well, they certainly got one thing right. Ultimately it’s only God who can forgive sin. Of course, we can, and we must, forgive those who sin against us, but every sin against man is a sin against God. For example, I can forgive you for stealing from me, but in stealing from me you have broken God’s law, You must not steal. All sin is an offense to God, and it’s only God who can give ultimate forgiveness.

 

So the teachers of the law were right about that. But what they failed to see was that Jesus was not blaspheming, because Jesus WAS God. And that’s exactly what Jesus is claiming when later he says, the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins (v10). Their fundamental problem was that their attitude to CHRIST was wrong. Note how they refer to him as this fellow. Their preconceived ideas blinded them to who he was.

 

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?

While Jesus was a man here on earth, he did not know everything. (See Mark 11 where he expects to find fruit on a fig tree when there was none). But he received supernatural revelation through the Holy Spirit, as we sometimes do through spiritual gifts like what is often referred to as a word of knowledge. So the fact that he knew what they were thinking is not, in my view, a proof of his deity, but it is a sign of the truth of what he was saying.

 

9 Which is easier: to say to the paralysed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'?

The point here is verifiability. No one could verify the statement that the man’s sins were forgiven, but if gets up and walks, the integrity of Jesus’ words is immediately verified. In other words, it’s easier to say that a person’s sins are forgiven, because there’s no immediate way of knowing if it’s true. It’s much harder to say, Get up and walk, because everyone will immediately see whether he does so or not.

 

10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." He said to the paralysed man, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."

In healing the paralysed man Jesus demonstrates his authority to forgive sins and in so doing demonstrates his deity. The term Son of Man is a Messianic title. The signs he performed confirmed that he was indeed the Messiah, God’s anointed one. This passage shows the urgent priority Jesus placed on forgiveness – he even wanted to forgive the critics, if only they would believe (v 10, that you may know…). It also indicates his willingness to die for us. It was his claim to deity that led to his crucifixion.

 

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 astounding miracle resulted, first, in amazement. This is one of the main purposes of miracles. They are signs and wonders. They are designed to make man wonder, to think and to ask, What does this mean? (as, for example, the miracle of tongues at Pentecost).

It also resulted in praise to God. But God is looking for more than praise. He’s looking for repentance. Jesus’ message was Repent and believe the good news (1:15). And, as we’ve seen in previous talks, it’s clear from Matthew 11:23 that, despite the miracles, Capernaum did not repent.

 

So now let’s try to summarise some of the lessons we have learned from this passage.

·      What we learn about healing, sin and forgiveness

·      What we learn about people

·      What we learn about Jesus

 

What we learn about healing, sin and forgiveness

Jesus has power to heal incurable diseases

Jesus heals in response to faith

Jesus makes it clear that sickness, however serious, is not our greatest problem

Sin is more serious than sickness

 

What we learn about people

Some people come to Jesus because they’ve heard what he can do

Some people come to Jesus because of their desperate need

Some people come to Jesus because they care about their friends or family

Some people reject Jesus and only want to criticise

 

What we learn about Jesus

Jesus knows the thoughts of our hearts

Jesus is God himself and only Jesus has authority to forgive our sins

Jesus loved us enough to die for us – his claim to deity was why they crucified him

 

 

Further episodes of Great Bible Truths with Dr David Petts

Further podcasts by Dr David Petts - Pentecostal preacher, former AoG Bible College Principal

Website of Dr David Petts - Pentecostal preacher, former AoG Bible College Principal