The Chosen Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqZh-SkoMPI
So we are in a series in the Gospel of Mark… (slide on where we are…)
- Which is Mark’s biography of Jesus, written around 70AD… and it is his attempt at capturing the story of Jesus life…
- And the purpose of this biography is persuading us all that this Jesus is the Messiah.
- Central question… Mark 8:29 where Jesus asks his disciples “who do you say I am?”
- So we started seven (can you believe it), seven weeks ago with verse 1, where Mark tells us “this is the beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.”
So we have finished chapter 1… and it only took us 7 weeks… and we missed a whole bunch of stuff! We are definitely rushing too much!
- And what we have seen, is almost like Mark in the first 13 verses gives a kind of theological commentary about who Jesus is… right?
- We are told right up front, he is the Messiah, the son of God… and we see this through his baptism and the voice from heaven and his temptation….
- But then from verse 14 we come down to earth with a bump, and the characters in the story become the ordinary inhabitants of Galilee.
- It is like we have seen Jesus from God’s perspective… and now the curtain falls and we are among men and women being astonished by Jesus, wondering what on earth is going on.
- But as we will see today… all these stories point us back to what Mark has already told us about who this Jesus is!
So we come to todays passage in Mark 2…
- And we are going to watch it from The Chosen in just a moment…
- But remember how Jesus popularity is growing…
- He is teaching with an unheard of authority…
- He is doing remarkable things like casting out impure spirits and healing the sick…
- So the crowds are growing…. News is spreading… the religious leaders are getting nervous and suspicious…
- And the last thing we read in chapter 1 is “the people still came to him from everywhere.”
Watch the Chosen clip…. Based on Mark 2 and todays passage that we will refer to…
Well, I will refer to the passage in Mark 2… but I got to say, that clip captures the story very well.
- This is the coming to earth with a bump… with Jesus doing remarkable things amongst ordinary people.
- I think the Chosen does a great job of capturing that!
- But wow, what a story….
- A paralyzed man, who because of the crowds, in desperation is lowered to Jesus through a roof… I love that line “hey that’s our roof, put it back!”
- A surprising turn of events when instead of healing the man, Jesus instead forgives his sins…
- The religious leaders immediately accusing Jesus of blaspheming “who can forgive sins but God alone?”
- And then Jesus using his authority, still healing the man, amazing the crowds.
- What on earth is going on?
So I want to suggest two things today… (the sermon was really just watching The Chosen)
- Firstly this is saying something about who Jesus is.
- Secondly it is saying something about our deepest need. OK?
So firstly, what is this story saying about who Jesus is?
- Now I reckon this story can at first seem a bit confusing… Jesus almost comes across a bit rude…
- Clearly the guy has come with his friends because news is spreading about healings happening by this Jesus.
- He has been paralyzed his whole life and his big need is to be able to walk.
- So Jesus seeing their faith in bringing this man to them says, almost confusingly; “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
- So who is this Jesus?
And rightfully, the teachers of the law ask (verse 7) “why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
- And in one sense they are right… there are great figures in the Old Testament… heroes of the faith… but none of them can forgive a person their sins.
- Right? Moses did miracles…. But he couldn’t forgive sins…
- Joshua was a great military and spiritual leader… but he couldn’t forgive sins…
- David was a great King… but he needed his sins to be forgiven!
- So for the people present at this scene, they know that there is one and only one who can forgive sins… It is God alone!
Right? I can forgive you or you can forgive me, if something is wrong between us… (Vic and I)
- But this man has done nothing wrong to Jesus… so why is he forgiving his sins!
- Well let me tell you… let me tell you clearly…
- This man Jesus, who in the last few days has healed leprosy, who has delivered a man from an impure spirit… who is teaching with authority.
- This man is Yahweh… this is God walking in their midst!
- Only God can forgive sins. This Jesus is claiming to be God.
- And the religious leaders immediately know the audaciousness of this claim and immediately oppose him.
See, if you were there as a Jewish man or woman, the big story that has shaped your nation and your understanding of who God is, is the Exodus story.
- And as God is revealing himself to Moses we find out about the character of God.
- Now, don’t be under any illusions… God is not a push over, a soft teddy bear.
- God is otherly… God is holy, God is demanding of righteousness. God is the ultimate judge. He will not leave sins unpunished…
- But listen to this. And wherever you hear the word “Lord”, that is the translation of Yahweh, the name of God.
So Exodus 34:6-7;
“And he (that is the glory of God) passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
OK? That is God’s character… It is God alone who can forgive your and my sin.
- We are created in God’s image and all sin is ultimately sin against God alone.
- Romans tells us all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- When we harm others, we are harming the image of God in them.
- When we abuse our bodies or are given to addictions and bad habits, we are harming the image of God in ourselves…
- I heard the comedian Russell Brand who has become a Christian… in a video a few weeks ago, in tears over the way he harmed others in his past…
- And it was this realization that when we sin, when we sin against others… it is not just them we are sinning against, but God who we are sinning against too!
But what is the character of Yahweh? The Lord, the Lord, compassionate and gracious God.
- This is the one who is slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness.
- This is the one who maintains love to thousands and forgives wickedness, rebellion and sin.
- Right?
- David writes in Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
- The prophet Isaiah writes (43:25) “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
- Micah 7:18-19:”Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”
- Daniel 9:9: “To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.”
Are you with me? Forgiveness belongs to the Lord… to Yahweh!
- Yes, we are going to be taught to forgive one another…
- But ultimate forgiveness, the kind that joins us into right relationship with God, that gives us peace with our creator, belongs to the Lord.
- So they accuse Jesus of blaspheme. Only God can forgive sins.
- Who is this Jesus?
And can I just say one more things before we move on….
- Because Jesus does heal the guy. Right?
- Yes he starts unexpectedly by forgiving the guys sins, even when this hasn’t been asked for…
- But the miracle of healing is not withheld…
- And I think there are two things going on here…
Firstly, this is in one sense just an out and out act of compassion and mercy… again within God’s character…
- I want you to know that Jesus is merciful!
- When his friend Lazarus died he wept.
- Is that the God part that wept? Is that the human part that wept? don’t know… maybe that’s a false dichotomy…
- But Jesus is moved to tears by human suffering and loss.
And this healing is also a physical demonstration of Jesus authority to do what can’t be seen visibly…
- That is to forgive sins… right? I could pompously say that to you… but I am not God, so how can it be proven?
- But now with the physical healing and the authority on display… it is visible to all who this is.
- One scholar Archibald Hunter says “he did the miracle which they could see, that they might know that he had done the other one that they could not see.”
And Remember Psalm 103… which is about God’s character.
Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion
This healing and forgiving is the very character of Yahweh. And here it is on display in one scene in Mark’s gospel.
- This is what they were looking out for… Right?
- I love that scene in The Chosen clip when Peter says to Mary across the roof tops; “Can you believe we are really here for this?”
- Haha… they knew Psalm 103 and what Yahweh, their Lord was like. At least they knew it from what they had read…
- Now they were seeing it with their eyes. Yahweh, their Lord has arrived…
- And Matthew watching the whole thing like he is eating popcorn… told by Peter… better get your tablet and write this all down… too funny!
- Anyhow, I hope you can see what Mark is saying about who this Jesus is.
Healing going with salvation… (observation… gift… visible sign of an inward healing…)
OK, next! What then does this story tell us about our greatest need?
The crowds love Jesus… at least up until this point, because he is putting on a pretty good show!
- I mean they didn’t have Netflix or the NRL or fine dining opportunities…
- But they had Jesus who was going around healing and casting out evil and teaching with authority!
- What is not to love?
- But dealing with your sin and brokenness is a bit trickier.
(so verse 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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
So what is our greatest need?
- Well how would this go if this was one of your friends here in Sydney?
- Right, someone you know who has endured a life of not being able to walk? Or some other life diminishing condition?
- So as I said, there has already been lots of healing and deliverance and teaching with authority…
- But you bring your friend… and instead of healing… “son, your sins are forgiven”
- Do you reckon that would wash?
I think Jesus is pivoting pretty decisively at this point of his ministry to emphasize something super important…
- Jesus is saying your most immediate problem in life may not be what you think. Yes I have been healing and casting out evil and teaching with authority…
- But your primary need is the forgiveness of your sins.
- You could be healed… (and we believe and always want to have faith for healing)…
- But a right relationship with God is the most crucial thing in your and my life.
- Now as we have noted, Jesus does heal the guy… and our bodies are important!
- But the primary need we all have is to have our sins forgiven by God.
Now we are not an overly liturgical church…but I do recognize that we are in the 40 day period in the lead up to Easter called Lent.
- And it starts with something called Ash Wednesday… which was actually on the 5th of March.
- And the tradition is that at a service, the Minister marks your forehead with ash… and says something along the lines… “remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
- Right? It is a pretty humbling moment. A reminder of our fragility and impermanence and that all of us will one day die.
And so what is the most important need we have during this life on earth?
- I would suggest it is to be at peace with God.
- Now we know that Christianity is much more than just having your sins forgiven…
- It is life to the full now… it is community and hospitality and learning the ways of truth and grace from Jesus.
- But let me say, it is never less than your sins being forgiven.
- You and I fall short of the glory of God and it is only through the sacrificial death of Jesus and receiving the forgiveness of sins that we can have this peace with God.
I took our new dog Luigi (here he is) down to Manly cemetery for a walk this week. He was very well behaved… no pooping on graves!
- But it was super sobering… a bit of an Ash Wednesday type moment…
- This is how life ends… ashes to ashes, dust to dust!
- But I was actually so moved by so many of the words on the headstones… maybe it was a more Christian era…
- But one that really struck me simply said “at peace with God.”
You know I love the fact that as Jesus initiated the Kingdom of heaven on earth, that he healed the sick and delivered people from evil…
- I love the fact that when we get saved, we get to be a part of a church community… that at its best is unlike any other…
- But that guy who was lowered down by his friends through the roof… although he was healed
- Eventually like all of us he ended “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
- But he received what we all most deeply need to receive.
- He encountered Jesus and had his sins forgiven… and got peace with God.
- What about you?
Communion… “do you come to Jesus for forgiveness? Your sins are forgiven…”f