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We left
off previously with Yeshua healing a human being
of one of the most horrible and incurable diseases
-- leprosy. Most of us will never become lepers,
but because of man's sin and rebellion, all of
us are spiritual lepers. All of us -- individually,
and collectively, are not good, beautiful and
admirable, but decaying, dying, loathsome and
repulsive. All of us are "tah-may, tah-may --
unclean, unclean." But God saw our horrible condition,
and was moved with compassion, and willing to
stretch out His hand and touch us and heal us.
Through the Incarnation and His death on the Cross,
Yeshua is the Hand of the Lord stretching out
to us, that touches and heals humanity. Only the
God of Israel, working through Yeshua, the Son
of God, has the power to heal our spiritual leprosy.
This miraculous
healing of the leper was a dramatic and powerful
sign that the Kingdom of God was here in a special
way, because the King was among us, bringing the
wonderful blessings of His reign, starting to
reverse the curse, and healing us, foreshadowing
the complete and eternal healing that He will
ultimately bring, when the Kingdom comes in its
fullness, when the King will put an end to all
the sin and evil and sickness and death that was
caused by man's sin.
Chapter
1 ended with the King traveling throughout the
cities of Galilee, bringing the Good News that
the Kingdom of God -- God's rule over rebellious
humanity, had come in a greater way than ever
before. Now in chapter 2, Yeshua returns to Capernaum,
the home town of Simon Peter, Andrew, James and
John, and His headquarters in the Galilee. Another
dramatic healing is about to take place. Let's
see what happens: 2:1 When He had come back to
Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard
that He was at home. And many were gathered together,
so that there was no longer room, not even near
the door; and He was speaking the word to them.
Before
He left the entire town of Capernaum had sought
Him out. Upon His return, He again got a very
warm reception from the men and women of this
city. When He returned to the city, He stayed
in a home -- probably the home of Peter and Andrew.
But even though He was in a private home, word
went around town that the young Rabbi was back
in town, and the people of Capernaum didn't wait
for Shabbat, until Yeshua went to the synagogue,
where He was sure to be on the Sabbath, but immediately
came to Him in this home.
When they
came to Him, Mark tells us that the One who knows
the mind of God, and perfectly understands the
Word of God, who is Himself the Word of God, the
Supreme Teacher of Mankind, and the Wonderful
Counselor, was teaching them the Word of God.
He was teaching them the truth that saves and
sets free, about the God who can restore human
beings, and redeem them, if they will turn to
God, and turn away from their sins.
But even
though He had isolated himself in a house, so
many people came to Him that the house couldn't
contain all the people. They were so many people
that no one else could enter -- even the doorway
was blocked, as people crowded around to hear
the words of Yeshua. But that didn't hinder five
very special men:
2:3
And they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man,
carried by four men. Being unable to get to Him
because of the crowd, they removed the roof above
Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let
down the stretcher on which the paralyzed man
was lying.
A group
of four men and their paralyzed friend were outside
the house, and they really wanted to get into
the house, close to Yeshua. These men believed
if they could bring this poor man into Yeshua's
presence, and gain His attention, Yeshua could
heal the paralyzed one. And so they were determined
to reach Yeshua -- in spite of the obstacles.
Therefore they used extraordinary efforts to get
to the Rabbi.
First,
these men dared to do the difficult. It was not
easy to bring this man to the Lord. They had to
carry him through the streets of the city -- perhaps
many blocks. And when they found the doorway blocked,
they had to carry him up to the roof. It's not
easy to carry a full-grown man to the top of a
roof.
It's not
easy to break through a roof, and lower a man
down from a roof. Yet these men were able to do
the difficult because they really believed that
Yeshua could heal their friend. Genuine faith
reveals itself by its ability to do the difficult.
These four men are an encouragement to us to exercise
this same kind of faith. And we need that same
kind of faith, because life is full of difficulties
-- but genuine faith in God and Messiah can overcome
great difficulties.
Then,
second, they dared to do the unorthodox. They
did something radical, something irregular, and
risked the disapproval of Yeshua, and the owner
of the house, and also every person there by interrupting
the meeting. But, Yeshua didn't rebuked them,
or criticize their interruption. The King made
Himself available to the needs of these people
who had genuine faith. I hope we never lose the
ability to go against the status quo, to risk
doing something radical, to attempt the irregular.
Third,
these men were willing to do the costly. Imagine
the face of the owner -- maybe Peter or Andrew,
sitting there at the feet of Yeshua, when he heard
noise coming from the roof. He looks up and, to
his amazement, whatever that roof was made of
-- thatch, tiles, branches, begins to move, and
a hole appears, and maybe some roofing material
starts falling down. Then more daylight appears,
and suddenly the owner has a large hole in his
roof!
I don't
know what his thoughts were, but if it was my
roof, I would have been adding up the bill to
present to these men! Somebody had to pay for
the repairs to the damaged roof, and it would
have been one, if not all, of these men! But they
were willing to do the costly. That takes faith!
If someone is not willing to give their finances
in order to bring men and women closer to the
Messiah, they may not be true believers. If your
faith doesn't significantly affect your finances,
you need to consider the possibility that you
might not have genuine faith.
The four
men lowered their paralyzed friend down from the
roof, into the house, and Yeshua was able to look
into the souls of these men and see that they
had real faith in God and in Him. Their faith
caused the Messiah to meet the deepest needs of
this paralyzed man.
Yeshua
started off by saying to the paralyzed man who
had faith in Him, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
The term "son" that Yeshua used to address this
paralyzed man is wonderful. It shows a relationship
of fatherly care and concern for a child. It indicates
love and acceptance. Messiah considers all those
who have genuine faith in Him, and come to Him,
to be beloved sons and daughters. And, being a
simple child of God carries more honor than being
an angel or archangel. Being a simple son or daughter
of God is a greater privilege than being president
of the United States! It is better to be a child
of God than the wealthiest man in this world.
Understanding that you are a child of God should
revolutionize your concept of who you are and
your worth. Those who really understand what it
means to be a simple child of God, shouldn't struggle
with thoughts of worthlessness or low self-esteem.
Looking
at this man, most of us would say that his greatest
problem was his physical handicap. He was paralyzed.
He couldn't walk. He couldn't earn a living. But
Yeshua had a different perspective. He knew that
his need to be healed wasn't his greatest need.
Yeshua knew that his greatest need was to have
his sins forgiven, so that he could be reconciled
to God from whom he was alienated.
Your greatest
need is not better health, better looks, more
money, a bigger house, a better relationship with
your boyfriend or girlfriend, or your husband
or wife. Your greatest need is to come into the
presence of the Messiah, who is in the presence
of God, and be forgiven, and be reconciled to
God, and continue to be forgiven, and taught by
the King Messiah.
When Yeshua
said: "Son, your sins are forgiven" the man was
instantly forgiven. He was reconciled to God.
The eternal God immediately considered him righteous
in His sight. He was a now son who was entitled
to enter his Father's house, and live there forever!
God, working with Yeshua, had taken care of his
sin problem.
But Yeshua's
declaration posed a problem for the Torah-teachers
who were sitting nearby. 2:6 But some of the Torah-teachers
(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?"
These
experts in the Torah knew that no mere human being
can forgive sin; that prerogative belongs to God
alone. It's blasphemy for any creature to grant
atonement for the sins of another on their own
authority. They also knew that the God-ordained
way to experience the forgiveness of sin wasn't
an easy matter. It wasn't enough to say, "I'm
sorry Lord -- I won't do it again." Achieving
atonement was a much more difficult matter than
mere words could accomplish. The person seeking
forgiveness had to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
(which could be a journey of several days); he
had to go to the Temple, find a priest, purchase
a valuable animal that was fit for sacrifice;
then, he confessed his sins and laid his hands
on the head of the bull, goat or lamb; then the
animal was killed. Then the priest took the blood
and poured it on the base of the altar, cut up
the animal, and burnt some of it on the altar.
Then if the man had genuine faith in God, and
was sincere, and his heart was right with God,
and this wasn't done as an empty religious ceremony,
then the person's sin was forgiven.
Knowing
that only God can forgive sin, and that it wasn't
an easy matter, or a matter of mere words, these
Torah-teachers were stunned when Yeshua forgave
the sins of this paralyzed man! They thought to
themselves that Yeshua was taking upon Himself
a prerogative that only applies to God. He was
blaspheming -- doing or saying something that
is derogatory toward the Creator of the universe!
Yeshua
understood the confusion of these Torah-teachers
who were thinking this way in their hearts. 2:8
Immediately Yeshua, 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?
They didn't
say anything, but Yeshua was able to understand
their thoughts. You can imagine the startled looks
on their faces when the young rabbi turned to
them and basically said, "I know what you're thinking.
Why are you thinking that way?"
Some interpret
this as evidence of the omniscience of Yeshua,
that He operating as the all-knowing God here.
But I don't think that was what was going on.
We should remember the occasion when He said that
He didn't know something. He didn't know the hour
of His return; only the Father knew that. This
is not omniscience; it's the manifestation of
the spiritual gift of discernment, or the word
of wisdom, or the word of knowledge. God enabled
Yeshua to know what was going on in the minds
of these Torah-teachers. And, knowing that they
were wrong in their thinking, He proposed to them
a test:
2:9
Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man,
'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up,
and pick up your stretcher and walk'? "But so
that you may know that the Son of Man has authority
on Earth to forgive sins." Obviously any religious
figure can say to a man, "Your sins are forgiven,"
and no one can prove whether it happened or not.
A priest, a rabbi, a pastor, a false prophet,
can promise us the forgiveness of sins. That is
easier to say.
But if
you are a religious leader, and you say: "Get
up, and pick up your stretcher and walk" -- that's
immediately verifiable. If the person doesn't
immediately get up, pick up his stretcher and
walk, then everyone will know that that so called
man of God is no real man of God. So, that is
harder.
The King
was saying to these religious leaders, "You question
my ability to forgive sins? I'm going to demonstrate
to you that I indeed have the authority to forgive
human beings their sins, by doing a miracle that
is visible and verifiable. That will prove that
I have the authority to forgive the sinful sons
and daughters of Adam and Eve of all their sins."
2:10
And He said to the paralyzed man, "I say to you,
get up, pick up your stretcher and go home." "Carry
the very mat that once carried you. Change places,
so that what was the proof of your sickness may
now give testimony to your soundness. Your bed
of pain becomes a sign of healing, its very weight
the measure of the strength that has been restored
to you" (Peter Chrysologus).
And before
their eyes the man was instantly and completely
healed! And he got up and immediately picked up
the stretcher and went out in the sight of everyone,
so that they were all amazed (even the Torah-teachers)
and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never
seen anything like this." You can almost hear
them, even the Torah-teachers, saying, "This is
unprecedented! Never did a man claim to be able
to pardon sin, a prerogative that only pertains
to the living God, and then back it up by doing
a miracle!"
King Messiah
demonstrated His authority to forgive sin by miraculously,
instantly, completely healing this paralyzed man
in the sight of all present. This makes Him more
than a mere men; it means that He is more than
a prophet; even more than a messiah; this makes
Him equal to God! This miracle proves that Yeshua
of Nazareth is in some mysterious way, Elohay
Slichot, the God of Forgiveness.
But the
amazement of the Torah-teachers won't last. It
won't result in genuine faith or commitment or
obedience or wisdom or understanding. Miracles
don't always produce real or lasting faith.
Yeshua
was already experiencing the opposition of the
Adversary. He was tested by Satan in the wilderness.
But this is the beginning of Yeshua's opposition
from human beings. Notice that Yeshua's earthly
opposition doesn't come from the sinners of society
like thieves and adulterers and alcoholics. It
primarily comes from the religious leaders of
Yeshua's day. This opposition from the religious
leaders will grow over the next several years
until it culminates in Yeshua's death on the cross.
The same
principle holds true today. The worst opposition
we face comes from those who have some religious
knowledge, but religious knowledge that is inadequate
or erroneous. They say a little knowledge can
be a dangerous thing. As Bill likes to say: "It's
not what you know that harms you -- it's what
you think you know, but isn't so, that really
hurts you." It is very very important to have
enough true religious knowledge!
Sin is
like a terrible tragedy that has befallen humanity.
We may never be physically paralyzed, but mankind
has been crippled by sin. Due to our sin and rebellion
against our Creator, we can't function the way
we were designed to function by the righteous
God. Sin has immobilized our spiritual arms and
legs, making them impotent, numb and useless.
Our hands can't consistently do what is right,
or do what they should; and our legs and feet
don't enable us to walk the way we should. With
our hands we do crooked things, and with our feet,
we stumble, we fall, and leave the right path.
It's impossible for us to consistently do the
right things, and live the right way.
Our greatest
need is to have our sins forgiven, and end our
spiritual paralysis. Only the man who has faith
in King Yeshua, and has come into His presence
Him, despite the obstacles, and has heard Yeshua
say, "Your sins are forgiven," is healed from
that spiritual paralysis that keeps us captive
and immobilized.
Yeshua
is able to heal those who are physically paralyzed,
and those who are spiritually paralyzed by sin!
He is Adonai Rofaynu, the Lord our Healer, and
Elohay Slichot, the God of Forgiveness, who can
heal both body and soul. Our souls can be healed
right now, but generally the healing of our bodies
awaits the resurrection.
This incident
gives us a good illustration of the perseverance
necessary to bring people to Messiah! Sometimes
it is difficult to bring men and women to Yeshua.
The Adversary and his forces will put obstacles
in our way to prevent us from bringing men and
women to His hated Enemy. But, because the way
is difficult doesn't mean that we should give
up. We should dare to do the difficult.
Thank
God for those faithful Christians and Messianic
Jewish friends that have done that in order to
bring us to Yeshua -- in spite of the obstacles
and the difficulties. And, if God and Messiah
have enabled you overcome your spiritual paralysis,
and you are able to walk, and are living the right
way; and if you have hands that work, so that
you are doing the right things; if you have a
body that is functioning, won't you dare to do
the difficult, risk doing the unorthodox, and
even do what may be costly, to bring others --
your friends, your families, your loved ones,
into the presence of Yeshua, the Great Healer
and Teacher?
The world
is full of those who have been overcome by the
paralysis of sin. God is asking you to dedicate
yourself to be one of those friends. Look around,
and then ask yourself, "Is there anything I can
do to carry my friends to the King who can heal?"
I am indebted
to Ray Stedman for much of this message.
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