Slices
Prepare
‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins...’ (1 John 1:9). Come to Jesus now.
Bible passage
Jesus forgives and heals a paralysed man
2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers 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 by digging through it and then lowered the mat the 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 this paralysed man, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk”? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.’ So he said to the 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!’
Explore
Back in Capernaum, where Jesus had demonstrated his authority to preach and to heal, crowds gather to hear him (vs 1,2). The sermon is interrupted as a man is lowered into the house through a hole in the ceiling. So confident are his friends of Jesus’ authority to heal that they go to great lengths to bring this sick man to Jesus.
Instead of healing the man, surprisingly, Jesus tells him his sins are forgiven (v 5). This is everyone’s greatest need, whatever their other difficulties. Sometimes it is in times of illness that people begin to ask the big questions about life, have regrets about past actions and seek forgiveness. This not only surprises everyone, it challenges the authority of the religious leaders (vs 6,7). Forgiveness is God’s prerogative (v 7), so Jesus is making a big claim: healing the man of his paralysis is straightforward compared to forgiving sin (vs 9,10)!
For the first time in Mark, Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man. This must have reminded people of the Messianic figure in Daniel (Daniel 7:13,14). Jesus has authority to forgive and to heal because he has come from heaven to inaugurate the kingdom of God (v 10).
Respond
Worship the Son of Man, and bring to him those people for whom you have concerns, as the friends of the paralysed man laid him before Jesus.
Deeper Bible study
What things keep you away from Jesus, preventing you from hearing him speak? Confess them to him.
If you had been there, what would you have thought? Do you wonder, as I do, what Simon thought about his house being torn apart? Did Jesus go on preaching while dirt and twigs fell on his head? First-century houses in that area were one-storey, with flat roofs that people put to all sorts of uses.1 They re-roofed them regularly. So it wasn’t as odd as we might think that these people went up on the roof (by an outside staircase) and unroofed the roof by digging it out, as the Greek literally says.
What follows is equally surprising. What stands out is that Jesus knew everything that was going on, with the paralytic, his friends and the crowd. We might have expected him just to indicate compassion for the paralytic and heal him, but the story doesn’t go that way. When he saw their faith he forgave the man (v 5). Jesus knew more than we do (and more than Simon, Mark’s source). Maybe ‘their’ includes the paralytic. Maybe the rooftop entry was his idea. Maybe he wanted forgiveness even more than the ability to walk again.
The scribes latched on to only one thing. What authority did Jesus have to forgive anyone? Before they dared to say anything, Jesus took the initiative and asked them an easy question. When he commanded the paralytic to get up, the paralytic answered their question in plain sight. Everyone (including the scribes?) was stunned. It was not what they thought the day would bring.
Are you afraid to be open with Jesus? Do you think he doesn’t know? He can stun us with his power and authority as he takes the initiative and continues to bring his kingdom to earth.
Whether you’re like the paralytic, needing forgiveness and healing, or like the scribes murmuring criticism, come to Jesus now.
1 Think of Peter at Joppa, Acts 10:9
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Exodus 7,8; Psalms 13,14
Pray for Scripture Union
This week, all of the Scripture Union prayers relate to this article.
Give thanks to God that we live in an age when children and young people are hungry for the words of the Lord and are so open to discovering the Bible and learning about him (Psalm 119:103).
