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Kingdom Forgiveness
Mark 2:1-12 Manuscript
January 25, 2009
We are a church that is trying to embody the message and mission of Jesus everywhere that God sends us.
Therefore, it’s crucial that we have a good sense of who Jesus is and what he’s done.
Mark 1:1 introduces Mark’s gospel by saying that this is an account of the gospel (good news, not advice) of Jesus Christ (Messiah—the anointed deliverer of Israel), the Son of God (God come in the flesh).
Jesus announces that “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15), and then goes on to demonstrate that this is more than just words.
The kingdom of God has not just come in talk, but in power.
Last week we saw Jesus manifest the kingdom by casting out a demon, by healing Peter’s mother-in-law, and by healing a leper.
We saw that Jesus didn’t catch the leper’s uncleanness but that Jesus caught the leper’s cleanness.
He is the source of cleanness and so, with a word and a gentle touch, Jesus restores this man to wholeness.
That’s a picture of the kingdom of God.
When God’s kingdom comes in its fullness, there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more suffering.
One of the key ideas that we were introduced to last week was the idea of “authority.”
In Mark 1:22 it says that “they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.”
Jesus didn’t have to quote anybody else’s teaching—he is the source of powerful, authoritative teaching.
After Jesus cast out the demon with just a word, Mark records that “they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this?
A new teaching with authority!
He commands event the unclean spirits, and they obey him’” (1:27).
In today’s passage we see that Jesus’ authority does not just include the ability to do miraculous signs and wonders that demonstrate the kingdom, but that he also has a spiritual authority that belongs to God alone.
As a result, we see the beginning of the controversy that will eventually lead to Jesus being put to death.
Chapter 1 was a chapter that described the overwhelming excitement and approval of Jesus and his ministry.
It began with God the Father saying that he was well pleased with Jesus and ended with Jesus’ being so popular that he couldn’t freely enter a town because there were so many people clamoring to see him.
But chapter 2 is a chapter of opposition.
Some people—religious people especially—begin to have a problem with Jesus.
The more specific Jesus gets about who he is and what he’s come to do, the more resistance he faces.
This is how it is in our lives too.
People think that Jesus is a wonderful guy—especially when he’s teaching about loving your enemies or healing hurting people.
But as soon as Jesus begins to demonstrate that he isn’t just a good human teacher but God himself, people begin to resist.
If you’re a Christian who loves on people and does good works that bless people, you will likely receive a warm welcome.
People will want you to be around them.
But the more specific you get about Jesus and the more you think of him as the only true way to God, the more people will resist what you are saying.
We’ve been asking the question, “Who is Jesus?”
Well, in today’s passage, the focus narrows just a bit.
We see that he’s not just a good teacher.
He’s not just a miracle worker.
He’s much, much more.
The first few verses give us the setting.
Mk 2:1-2 - And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door.
And he was preaching the word to them.
The last chapter ended with Jesus traveling all around Galilee and doing ministry with tremendous popularity and following.
Now we see that Jesus is back to his home-base in Capernaum and word gets out that he’s back.
Sure enough, as soon as people hear that Jesus is around, they flock to be around him.
Jesus is “preaching the word” and the house is filled and overflowing.
Now many people have speculated about whose house this is.
Where are they?
Most commentators believe that it was Peter’s house, some have suggested that it was Jesus’ house, and others say that it was probably a house that somebody in Capernaum was letting Jesus use.
The text doesn’t really say, so we could only speculate.
But whoever owns it is about to experience a big surprise.
Mk 2:3-4 - And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
You may recall that the last time Jesus was in Capernaum people brought all kinds of sick and demon-possessed people to Jesus so that he could heal them (1:32-34).
Well, now that word is out that Jesus is back, we’d expect it to happen again.
Sure enough, here comes four friends carrying their paralyzed friend on a bed so that they can get near Jesus.
Now, they weren’t hauling him around on a Sleep Number mattress—it was probably a cot of some kind.
We also don’t know exactly the condition of the man.
The text says that he was a paralytic, but we don’t know how severe it is.
Is it head to toe? From the waist down?
Can the man talk?
We don’t know.
But it was apparently severe enough that it took four men to carry him.
This is the picture of a totally helpless man.
Well, they get to the house and it’s absolutely packed.
People are coming out the door.
Have you ever had a time when you showed up somewhere and it was totally jammed?
This happens to my wife and I every time we go out to eat on a weekend night.
We usually forget that other people like to go out on weekends too and we end up showing up somewhere and going, “Oh, duh!
Of course it’s packed—it’s Friday night!”
So we just end up going somewhere else instead.
After all, there are lots of restaurants.
But for these men who had carried their paralyzed friend for who knows how far, there were no other options.
There wasn’t another Jesus in the nearby shopping center.
They had brought their friend to be healed by Jesus and nothing would deter them.
Now, it’s quite common for people to face obstacles as they are trying to get to Jesus.
Mark records a number of stories who are looking for Jesus and find that their faith and determination is tested.
For instance, in chapter 5, there’s a man named Jairus whose daughter is very sick.
On the way home with Jesus, he gets the report that she has died—but he perseveres and Jesus raises her from the dead.
In the same chapter, there’s a woman with an issue of blood.
She’s gone to all kinds of doctors and healers and had dealt with the problem for 12 years.
The crowd was overwhelming.
But she persevered and touched the hem of his garment and was healed.
In chapter 10, there is a blind man named Bartimaeus who is calling out for Jesus but gets rebuked by the crowd.
They tell him to be quiet, but, the Scripture says, “he cried out all the more.”
He would not be deterred.
The same thing happens to us, doesn’t it?
You decide to start investigating who Jesus is and suddenly these trials take place in your life that you didn’t expect.
You have trouble at work, lose a job, face opposition from your friends or family, or something else goes wrong.
Perhaps you decide that you want to go to church on Sunday and all of a sudden Sunday morning becomes a nightmare.
The alarm doesn’t go off.
The kids are cranky and slow moving.
You get in a fight with your spouse.
What are we to learn from this?
Well, it seems that the Lord allows these tests for two reasons:
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To test our genuineness.
Do we really have confidence in Jesus?
Do we think that he is as powerful as the Bible says he is?
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To test our sense of need.
The people described in Mark’s gospel are at the end of their rope.
They don’t have any other option.
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