Mark 2:1-12

It has been an immense pleasure for my wife and I to be here in these past days.

It is a catalyst conference.

The singing together has lifted our souls up to the Lord repeatedly throughout the day.

And then hearing the word of God, well, I heard it in three different sessions.

And then preaching myself.

And then the fellowship of the gospel, people who know and love the Lord Jesus,

is the kind of thing just to elevate your soul.

It's been a beautiful, elevating week.

We are very privileged to have been able to participate in this.

As you heard the scripture read this morning, you thought if you were engaged, as I think you were,

you probably had your mind go back to when you were young and there were flannel graphs

and you had the four stretcher bearers and the whole story.

This is a story that everyone knows.

And we've known it since we were children.

And it lends itself to great teaching of spiritual truths.

It is a story that is freighted with some very heavy theology as it is unpacked.

And so as we move through this this morning, you'll find that it gets more intense and more beautiful

and more pointed as it goes on.

So we're going to get into that story this morning.

Now, Alpine hikers have told me that when caught in a brewing storm,

they've seen the hair on the heads of their fellow hikers, say hi in the Alps or the Sierras,

stand out in a radiant crown from their head.

The metal flames of their backpacks in the days they had them would begin to glow with kind of a blue, eerie, neon light blue

called, if you know the words, St. Elmo's Fire.

And that term, I don't want you to look up on your phones right now, but you'll have fun if you check it out,

has been recorded since ancient times.

Sailors would see the mast of a ship getting into a squall

and see an eerie light moving back and forth with St. Elmo's Fire.

Airline pilots today say they sometimes see it on the windscreen of their planes if they're getting into a storm.

In all cases, it means the air is charged with electricity and lightning is about to strike.

If you're a hiker, especially in those days you discard your pack, take cover,

because you could be struck with lightning.

I think this St. Elmo's Fire, this electricity in the air,

conveys something to the atmosphere in Capernaum as we come to our text this morning,

because there is a kind of spiritual fire hovering over those who jammed in that little house in Capernaum.

It's invisible, but it's palpable.

And people there could sense it.

And verses 1 and 2 give us sort of a feel for the situation.

And when he came 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.

Now, the home, most of us think, is probably that of the Apostle Peter's mother-in-law.

And when word got out that Jesus was back and staying there,

people began to show up at the door.

And almost immediately, the home in which Jesus had stayed is packed with people.

So I'm just curious.

You can imagine having heard about this rabbi, his preaching, his miracles.

Others were new bright-eyed disciples who gazed on Jesus, locked in on Jesus,

hung on his every word, watched his every move, wanted to engage him.

And then important people began to show who looked a bit edgy and nervous,

avoided eye contact with the crowds around.

And as always the case, crowds attract crowds.

And so pretty soon, it's impossible even to get to the door.

And so outside, there is dust and noise and heat and disease and jostling and crowding.

And still more people are pressing to get into that house.

If you've been to that area of Capernaum, you can picture this very clearly.

Yet with all this great crush and hubbub and noise and dust and jostling,

there are only two dominating presences.

First, as a parallel account, Luke tells us,

there were the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

It already gathered there.

It may be to the unsuspecting crowd that it looked like the spiritual life conference was taking place.

The heavyweights had come.

But in actuality, it was an investigative committee

seeing what they could get on this young rabbi.

And there is only standing room.

It tells us the Pharisees were sitting.

Now Jesus, as a rabbi teaching, would be sitting also.

So the picture you have is a packed place.

The Pharisees seated before Jesus.

Jesus seated.

Them with their suspicious looks.

Just waiting for a slip up by Jesus.

Interpersonal fire in the air.

The other presence, of course, is the Lord Jesus.

Himself calm.

Unperturbed.

In absolute control.

And it tells us he was preaching the word to them.

That is the gospel of God, according to the opening chapter,

about the nearness of the kingdom and necessity of faith and repentance.

And I, this is my opinion,

but I personally think that expectant crowd sensed the tension.

Not that they exactly knew what it was,

but they sensed that something was going to happen.

Luke's parallel account.

Luke 5.17 says about this account,

that the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

He'd been healing.

People were looking for healings.

They expected healings.

And Luke says,

the power is with him to heal.

So, the room is charged.

The relational atmosphere crackled.

And then a disturbance began.

One we all know from our childhood.

Mark continues in verses 3 and 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 the bed down on which the paralytic lay.

Now, filling in the lines,

and I think it's fair to do this with this,

is that four men struggling with the litter

on which the helpless paralytic lay

approached the friends of the pressing crowd.

We'd have to understand that their few attempts

to get through proved futile.

I think it's fair to say,

maybe they put the stretcher down,

mopped their brows,

looked around,

conferred,

and then picked up the stretcher

and moved around to the side

of the flat-roofed house.

Possibly an outside stairway existed,

as some houses did in Capernaum.

Or perhaps they ascended the roof

of another house through a stairway

and then climbed over on the other roof.

Whatever the situation,

after a lot of hauling and tugging and effort,

they got their friend on the roof,

rested for a moment to catch their breath,

and did the most astonishing thing.

They began to tear a hole in the roof.

Now the typical Galilean roof

is constructed of timbers,

as we would with roof joists today,

and then across that,

smaller timbers,

and then on top of that,

branches and leaves

and other plant matter,

and then a foot of mud on top of that.

So the typical Galilean roof

would be up to two to three feet thick.

So they're digging into this roof,

tearing into it.

You're inside the house.

Got this much roof above you.

And as they dig in,

dust begins to fall.

A little light perhaps starts to show

between the beams.

Debris would have begun to fall

fall on those as the crack widened

to the size of man.

The Bible doesn't say this either,

but I can be fairly sure

that there were some words exchanged

between those sitting below

and those tearing the hole in the roof.

And if Peter was there,

then you know there were some words exchanged

because this was his mother-in-law's house.

Then the paralytic's bed

slowly descended on ropes.

This man is a desperate,

helpless paralytic.

What a scene!

Above with the light streaming in

and dusty beams

is the stretcher descending slowly.

And below,

the Pharisees and the scribes

grimacing,

shaking dirt off their robes.

In the midst sits Jesus,

the Prince of Peace,

with the paralytic now

lowered before him.

What a scene!

And history would remember this.

The church remembers it.

We recite it again and again,

and we all know what happened.

But for a moment,

as we move into this passage,

let's concentrate on those four friends.

What about them?

You have to say,

they really loved him.

There's no way they'd be put off by the crowd.

They abused someone else's property

that they would have to repair

to get him to them.

They ignored the protests

and judgments of those around,

the indifferent crowd,

for the sake of their pathetic friend.

Say,

this kind of love,

what was it?

Well,

perhaps it was family.

Loved brother or uncle.

Maybe simply a childhood neighbor

that they played with

and knew and loved

in the Capernaum area.

But whatever,

they loved him.

So whatever happened today,

whether it was healing

or rejection,

whatever,

he was a very rich man

because he had something

people pay millions for,

culturally today,

and can't buy.

They have friends like that.

And so,

because of the love

of their four friends,

something was going to happen

in his life that day.

Their remarkable love

is paired with something

I think is even more remarkable

and that's their faith.

There was no way

that they would have gone

to such outrageous extremes

of action

if they did not implicitly believe

that Christ could heal them

and would heal them.

I mean,

a wavering faith

would have demurred.

Perhaps,

when they were hoisting

the stretcher up on the roof

and began to tear through the roof

and a wavering,

one of the guys could have said,

you know,

you'll have to finish this yourself.

I've got some other things to do.

But they truly believed.

And the faith

was not a vague,

passive thing

like so many imagine it,

subjective thing.

It was

persistent.

When they got their friend

on the roof,

there was no stopping them.

They didn't say,

well, the door's closed.

I guess this isn't God's will.

They didn't leave them there either.

They didn't leave them

to a committee.

He'd still be there.

And Jesus loved this.

In fact,

he lauded this kind of action

in an enigmatic saying.

And perhaps you've heard this saying

and wondered,

really,

what is the thrust of this saying?

It's a saying that is recorded

in Matthew 11,

where it says,

from the days of John the Baptist

until now,

the kingdom of heaven

has suffered violence,

and the violent

take it by force.

When those

four determined

men

tore through the roof,

they took the kingdom

by violent,

determined,

graced force.

the kind of force

that unleashes

God's power.

It's the kind of thing

that Jesus loves.

It is the kind of force

that

sent missionaries

out by the droves

in the

19th century

all over the world.

It drives

foreign missions today.

It drives

pioneer missions today.

It drives

those that will go

and spend

the time

in a culture

that is very

difficult to understand

that perhaps

doesn't want them

so they can share

the gospel.

That's taking

the kingdom

by force.

It's a beautiful thing

and Jesus loves it.

And in taking

the kingdom

by force,

they were all

so creative.

There are undoubtedly

people standing around

saying,

why didn't we

think of that?

Reason

they didn't

think of that

is that they

didn't love

like that

or believe

like that.

And their faith

was sacrificial.

Somebody had to

pay for the roof

and someone would.

But price

wasn't a consideration.

And

perhaps

you're new

to the fellowship

of this church

and you wondered

what it is

to put your faith

in Christ.

And there's a

snapshot here

and it's about

action.

Gospel Mark

tells us

faith's not just

knowing the facts,

it involves

action.

And so the faith

of those four

friends meant

that no one

could keep them

from bringing

their pitiful

friend to Jesus.

They just

found a way

around the

callous crowd

and the roof

they just

ripped it off.

If you were

to put this

in the context

of contemporary

life it would

be like

you heard a

chainsaw start

up on the

roof and

then a

blade came

through the

roof and

then sawdust

began to

fall.

It is a

beautifully

graced

violent act

to get them

to Jesus

because they

believed.

now as

Christians

speaking to

the choir

this morning

we believe

that Jesus

is the only

person who

can change

our lives

forever.

Is that

what we

believe?

I think

that's why

we're here.

We believe

that Jesus

is the only

person who

can change

our lives

forever.

He's the

only one

who can

meet our

deepest

needs.

We believe

that He's

our only

hope.

And we

passionately

believe that.

That's why

we're here.

I just

want to say

if you're

here today

because some

friends have

invited you

and may

even pestered

you to be

here.

It's because

you have

faithful

friends and

you are

a blessed

person with

true friends

who love

you.

If you

want to

step back

the real

paralytics

were the

Pharisees

and scribes

in contrast

to the

four

treasure

bearers

they're

just

sitting

there.

Even

if they

are there

to find

something

on Jesus

they could

have

certainly

welcomed

the man

down

had a

prime

exhibit

and

helped

things

but you

find

they're

just

sitting

there

indifference

criticism

and of

course

the Lord

Jesus

saw

everything

more

clearly

than we

do

so he

decided

and this

is it

in this

charged

electric

moment

with a

paralytic

before him

to make

a point

and what

Jesus

said

and what

Jesus

did

is

absolutely

shocking

it's a

bolt of

lightning

as he

said

to the

paralytic

my

son

your

sins

are

forgiven

you

say

shocking

yes

for

two

reasons

first

because

your

sins

are

forgiven

is so

irrelevant

here's

a guy

pathetic

paralytic

in

aching

desperation

brought

to Jesus

lowered

down

before him

and Jesus

says

my

son

your

sins

are

forgiven

I mean

everyone

in the

room

could see

what his

greatest

need

was

and it

wasn't

that

you know

thanks a lot

Jesus

I didn't

come here

for a

sleight

of hand

take me

home

well

that's

not what

happened

but if

Jesus

is the

son of

God

we'd

better

listen

carefully

because

he never

indulges

in

irrelevancies

when

Jesus

looked

down

at

this

man

he saw

his

many

needs

he saw

shriveled

appendages

arms

and legs

a

man

who

surely

felt

himself

a

burden

to

others

a

man

who

is

aching

prisoner

of his

body

but he

looked down

on that

pitiful

man

he saw

his

greatest

need

which

was

the

forgiveness

of

sins

and

when

he

went

beyond

that

man's

surface

need

to

his

greatest

need

he

addressed

the

need

of

every

person

in

that

room

it's

possible

that

that

paralytic

could

have

been

a

notorious

sinner

it's

unlikely

to be

notorious

because

his

condition

mitigated

against

doing

what are

considered

to be

the

big

bad

sins

adultery

and theft

and

abuse

or murder

they're

beyond

him

he

couldn't

do

the

big

bad

stuff

but

Jesus

point

is

clear

sin

is

not

just

about

our

actions

it's

about

our

hearts

and

the

fact

is

he

may

have

been

the

biggest

sinner

at

Capernaum

because

he

still

had

this

but

his

spiritual

need

was

far

more

desperate

than

his

physical

need

and

if

he

cured

the

man

of

paralysis

maybe

he's

midlife

he could

have had

20 or

30

years

of

health

alleviate

decades

of

misery

but

when

Jesus

forgave

the

man's

sins

he

delivered

him

not

only

from

his

sins

but

in

eternity

apart

from

God

from

hell

itself

!

it

would

be

a

beautiful

thing

if

you

never

considered

this

maybe

even

if

you

know

the

story

to

understand

that

what

Jesus

says

is

your

greatest

need

is

not

an

education

or

a

spouse

or

your

health

it

is

the

forgiveness

of

your

sins

that

is

the

greatest

need

of

every

person

in

this

room

now

that's

shocking

what

Jesus

did

but

Jesus

further

shocks

here

for a

second

reason

and

this

is

it

is

it's

what

he

says

about

himself

tells

us

in

verses

6

and

7

now

some

of

the

scribes

were

sitting

there

questioning

their

hearts

why

does

this

man

speak

like

that

he's

blaspheming

who

can

forgive

sins

but

God

alone

you

see

the

scribes

knew

their

Bibles

they

were

horrified

because

he

was

making

the

appalling

claim

that

he's

God

according

to

Bible

and

they

knew

their

Bibles

sin

is

essentially

and

ultimately

against

God

we

see

this

clearly

in the

life

of

King

David

who

understood

this

when

after

sinning

with

Bathsheba

in

adultery

and

Uriah

in

homicide

he

cried

out to

God

in

repentance

I

know

my

transgressions

and

my

sin

is

ever

before

me

against

you

only

have

I

sinned

and

done

this

evil

in

your

sight

all

sins

whether

against

others

anything

else

are

ultimately

against

the

holy

God

who

alone

can

forgive

sin

so

when

they

heard

this

they

knew

that

he

was

claiming

to

be

God

incarnate

there

was

no

doubt

about

it

and

that

deserved

death

and

of course

from the

shock

on their

faces

and

the

disgust

on their

faces

he

knew

exactly

what

was

going

on

in

their

minds

and

so

you

read

in

verses

8

and

9

and

immediately

Jesus

perceiving

in his

spirit

that they

thus

questioned

within

themselves

said

to

them

why

do

you

question

these

things

in

your

hearts

which

is

easier

to

say

the

paralytic

your

sins

are

forgiven

or

to

say

rise

take

up

your

bed

and

walk

so

which

is

easier

well

I

think

from

ground

level

I

think

it

would

be

much

easier

to

say

your

sins

are

forgiven

than

to

say

rise

take

up

your

bed

and

walk

from

ground

level

I

mean

there

have

been

billions

spent

by

research

communities

today

to

solve

the

miseries

of

paralysis

with

very

little

to

show

far

easier

to

say

your

sins

are

forgiven

no

one

can

check

that

no

one

knows

but

does

anyone

have

the

temerity

to

go

tell

Johnny

Erickson

Tata

who is

just

about

my

age

today

and

has

been

paralyzed

since

she

was

a

teenager

from

the

neck

down

take

up

your

bed

and

walk

I

don't

think

so

God

can

do

it

but

I

don't

think

so

but

here

what

Jesus

does

shocks

again

and

it's

like

lightning

he

says

in

verses

10

through

12

but

you

may

know

the

son

of

man

has

authority

on

earth

to

forgive

sins

he

said

to

the

paralytic

I

say

to

you

rise

pick

up

your

bed

and

go

home

and

he

rose

and

picked

up

his

bed

and

went

out

before

them

all

so

they

were

all

amazed

and

glorified

God

saying

we

never

saw

anything

like

this

now

I

just

want

us

to

step

back

for

a

!

this

is

not

some

television

healing

this

is

an

immediate

healing

of a

man

fully

paralyzed

who's

been

paralyzed

for

some

time

the

paralytic

crooked

bones

straightened

and assumed

tendency

his

tendons

flexed

and

stretched

his

atrophied

muscles

inflated

his

sagging

skin

became

taut

and

at once

he

rolled

off

his

bed

and

stood

illuminated

by a

dusty

shaft

of

light

radiating

from

the

hole

above

in

full

glowing

health

and

then

bent

down

took

up

his

bed

hoisted

it

high

in

his

shoulder

and

strode

joyfully

through

the

parting

throng

that

once

blocked

his

way

out

into

the

sunlight

where

his

four

faithful

friends

joined

him

now

I

think

they

were

likely

leaping

and

hooping

it

up

I

mean

these

are

Hebrews

they

know

how

to

rejoice

now

listen

very

closely

for

Jesus

it

was

an

easy

thing

to

say

take

up

your

bed

and

walk

that's

nothing

just

a

thought

just

a

mental

emanation

from

Jesus

and

it's

done

and

the

power

goes out

to

heal

him

without

any

diminution

of

his

power

his

infinitude

!

remains

infinite

it's

nothing

for

Jesus

to

do

that

it

was

easy

but

the

hardest

thing

of

all

was

to

say

my

son

your

sins

are

forgiven

because

that

meant

his

death

on

the

cross

in

the

garden

and

this

is

just

the

14th

chapter

of

Mark

it's

just

a

few

chapters

following

the

prospect

is

so

horrific

that it

tells us

in

verses

33

through

36

of

Mark

14

and

he

began

to

be

greatly

distressed

and

troubled

and

he

said

to

them

my

soul

is

very

sorrowful

even

to

death

remain

here

and

watch

going

a little

farther

he

fell

on

the

ground

and

prayed

that

if

it

were

possible

the

hour

might

pass

from

him

and

he

said

Abba

Father

all

things

are

possible

for

you

remove

this

cup

from

me

yet

not

what

I

will

but

what

you

will

and

when

the

hour

came

he

did

it

by

dying

the

lowest

death

of

all

even

death

on

a

cross

in

retrospect

the

apostle

Paul

described

the

whole

thing

in

15

words

in

the

Greek

a

few

more

in

the

English

in

2nd

Corinthians

5

21

when

he

said

for

our

sake

he

that's

God

the

father

made

him

Jesus

to

be

sin

who

knew

no

sin

so

that

in

him

we

might

become

the

righteousness

of

God

now

listen

very

closely

Jesus

was

sinless

through

all

his

33

years

as

he

knew

no

sin

and

he

remained

sinless

as

he

became

sin

for

us

so

Christ

became

sin

while

remaining

inwardly

and

outwardly

impeccable

he

became

sin

he

became

sin

and

on

those

three

dark

hours

on

good

Friday

his

heart

so

to

speak

became

a

sea

which

poured

the

mountains

of

our

festering

sin

so

in

those

three

hours

the

loathsome

mass

of our

corruption

poured

over

him

there

on

the

cross

our

sins

were

focused

on

Christ

as

he

bore

the

fiery

wrath

of

God

having

become

a

curse

for

us

Galatians

3

13

so

that

Jesus

the

incarnate

son

in

full

lucid

consciousness

writhing

like an

impaled

serpent

in the

gloom

and

this

is

it

took

your

sins

and

my

sins

with

a

unity

of

understanding

that

only

the

incarnate

son

could

have

a

unity

of

understanding

and

the

weight

of

pain

that

no

one

can

fathom

we

cannot

fathom

the

horror

of

this

he

did

the

hardest

most

painful

thing

ever

done

in

time

and

eternity

to

say

my

son

my

daughter

your

sins

are

forgiven

I

mean

that's

the

point

this

children's

story

as we

think

of

becomes

very

intense

at this

point

and

his

death

means

he's

committed

to

forgiving

you

as you

turn

to

him

us

preachers

always

can find

something

to quote

from

Spurgeon

and

if you

want a

cosmic

imagination

here it