Faithful Friends and a Forgiving Saviour

Okay, let's begin our worship this morning by singing to God's praise. We're singing in Psalm 47,

the Sing Psalms version, Psalm 47, page 62. We can sing the whole of this psalm together,

verse 1 to 9. On nations clap your hands and shout. Let joyful cries to God ring out. How

awesome is the Lord most high, great King who rules the earth throughout. We'll stand to sing

the whole of this psalm to God's praise.

Let joyful cries to God ring out. How awesome is the Lord most high, great King who rules the earth throughout.

He has sung to believe and read. The nations who have been a foe.

The nations who have been a foe. In blessing, Jacob, whom he loved, our heritage.

The nations who have been a foe. In blessing, Jacob, whom he loved, our heritage.

of the nations who have been a foe. In blessing, Jacob, whom he loved, our heritage.

of the nations who have been a foe. In blessing, Jacob, whom he loved, our heritage.

in blessing, Jacob.

of the nations who have been a foe. In blessing, Jacob, whom he loved, our heritage.

of the nations who have been a foe. In blessing, Jacob, whom he loved, our heritage.

A heritage for us, he chose.

One dance on earth with shouts of joy,

the Lord now in the trampled sight.

Sing praise, sing praise to God most high,

to God our King let praise abide.

For God is King of all the earth,

sing sounds of praise to Him alone.

For crucifixions from on high,

He sets upon His holy throne.

The victor's call, the nations come,

To yield themselves to England's court.

To Him belong the shields of air,

Exalted with me is the Lord.

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Now let us pray.

Our gracious Father in heaven,

we come before you with much thanksgiving today

for your goodness to us and you,

for every blessing that is ours in Christ,

for the blessing of your word as we open it up

and as we sing your praise,

and the blessing that there is in learning from your word

and even learning your word,

as we have already mentioned about the memory verse

that the young ones are learning.

We thank you that together we can learn these words

and seek to understand them,

the wonder of the Lord who is our shepherd

and the way He shows us His goodness

in bringing our wandering steps back to His way

and leading us in the straight paths of righteousness

and all that is to reveal and to display His great name.

We thank you that there is so much to encourage us in these words,

that we have in Jesus one who is over us

and one who is with us.

He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords,

and yet He is also one who the Bible describes as a friend

who stays closer than any brother.

And we thank you for all of these truths

that we find in your word,

and we pray to know it together,

that as the young ones go through to the Twinnies,

the Sunday school, the Bible class,

that together as they learn around your word there,

that they will be built up by it.

Encourage us through it.

Encourage those who are teaching,

Lord, be with them and help them.

And help us all together to be a prayerful people

for all of us as a family together,

from the youngest to the oldest,

that you would remember us in all our different needs.

And we do thank you that you know us by name,

and we pray that we will know you by name,

that we will come and praise the name of Jesus and you today,

and give all praise and glory to you,

as we thank you for all you do for us.

And we ask all the forgiveness of our sins,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Just a word to the young ones,

before you go out through next door to the hall.

What a beautiful day it is today,

and has been the last few days.

It's so good to see the sun shining.

I'm just thinking today about our names.

We all have a name.

I'm sure, hands up if you have a name.

Everybody's here.

All your hands should go up.

Everyone here has a name.

And we've all got a name,

and the amazing thing is that Jesus knows us all by name.

He knows our names as well.

I often forget people's names.

I've mentioned it before.

I'm hopeless at trying to remember people's names.

But Jesus, he doesn't forget anybody's name.

He remembers every one of us,

and he knows us all by name.

And our names are very important.

They're our identity.

They mark us out as to who we are.

And we need our names for different things.

For example, this week I was phoning a company about a bill,

and they had to ask me questions

so that my identity would be confirmed by them.

So they asked, what's your name?

And I had to give them my name.

And then they asked, what's your account number?

I had to give them my account number.

What's the first line of your address and your postcode?

You had to go through all this process

of them finding out and confirming who I am.

And very often we have to do that.

And there's other places we might have to do it as well.

For example, you might need one of these.

A passport.

If you're flying away, maybe even going abroad,

you need a passport.

There are people at the desk.

They need to know who you are.

So you have to give them your passport,

and you present it.

And your passport has a picture of you.

Thankfully, you can't see my picture.

It's too far away.

But they'll look at it,

and they'll confirm that it's you.

And they often say to me, that can't be you.

You look far too young to be that person in the picture.

But we have to identify ourselves.

Or maybe if the police pull you over,

and they stop you,

they ask for your driver's license

so they can identify who you are.

So there's all kinds of different ways

we have to be identified,

to tell people who we are.

But when we come to Jesus,

he already knows who we are.

So what do you think is more important?

It's more important that we know who he is.

And this morning,

as we're looking in the Gospel of Mark together in the service,

we're going to be thinking about the identity of Jesus,

who he is,

and why that's important to us.

He knows us by name,

every one of us.

But when the day comes,

a day will come when he will come back to this world,

and we all have to come before him.

And he'll call us by name.

But he'll ask us,

well, who am I to you?

There's a passage in Mark chapter 8.

Mark 8 · chapter mention

It mentions a question that Jesus asks of the disciples.

He says,

all these people are talking about who I am.

They're saying,

I could be Elijah,

I could be one of the prophets.

But he turns to the disciples and says,

but what about you?

Who do you say that I am?

And it's Peter who replied,

you are the Christ.

You are the Christ.

You are Jesus Christ.

He recognized who he was.

He identified with him.

And that's the key for ourselves today as well.

Jesus knows us.

And as we have to come to him,

we have to know who he is.

And he speaks to us through his word.

And we learn about who he is.

And not just a name.

He is Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

He is the one who came to save us from our sins.

He is the one who came because God loves us so much

that he sent Jesus into this world to be our Savior.

That's who Jesus is.

And may he be that to us all,

that we would see that he is the Christ,

that he is Jesus,

the Son of God.

And that by putting our trust in him,

we are identifying with him.

And he loves us in that special way.

And that we would love him with all our hearts.

So let's find our identity

and know who Jesus is

and be part of his great family.

Well, we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together now.

Let's pray.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we're going to sing again.

Our second singing is in Psalm 130

in the Scottish Psalter.

Find this on page 421.

And we're going to sing the whole of this psalm.

Psalm 130, page 421.

A great psalm of crying out to God

and finding that assurance

of his presence with us

and his great redemption towards us

as it's describing.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cried.

My voice, Lord, do thou hear.

And to my supplications' voice

give an attentive ear.

So we'll stand to sing the whole of this psalm

to God's praise.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cried.

My voice, Lord, do thou hear.

And to my soul,

the nations' voice

give an attentive ear.

Lord, who shall sound his love, O Lord,

to smile at me with thee?

For you, O Lord, the nations' voice

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We can turn together now to read God's word in the Gospel of Mark.

Mark chapter 1, taking up our reading at verse 40.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

And we're reading into chapter 2.

Mark chapter 1, taking up our reading at verse 40.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

You'll find this around page 1009 of the church Bibles.

Like I say, we're reading into chapter 2.

And chapter 2 in particular is where our focus is going to be as we see these friends bringing a paralytic friend to Jesus that he might make him well.

And the wonderful blessing was that not just was he healed physically, but he was reminded of the greatest gift of all, the forgiveness of sin.

We take our reading in chapter 1 at verse 40.

And a leper came to him, imploring him and kneeling, said to him,

If you will, you can make me clean.

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him,

I will be clean.

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once and said to him,

See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof to them.

But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news,

so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but he was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

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.

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.

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

My son, your sins are forgiven.

Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts,

Why does this man speak like that?

He is blaspheming.

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

And immediately Jesus perceived 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 to the paralytic,

Your sins are forgiven,

or to say,

Rise, take up your bed, and walk?

But that you may know that 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 immediately 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.

And so on.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

Well, we'll again engage in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord, our gracious God,

as we come reading your word together,

we thank you for the very power that there is in your word.

We thank you that as we read there,

we see Jesus gathered together with a large crowd,

and he was preaching the word to them,

a reminder to us of the importance

of being gathered around the word of truth,

and to hear what you as Lord and God are saying to us,

to recognize that this is no ordinary word,

no ordinary book,

but this is a book that gives life,

that reminds us of where life is found,

and the hope that there is in Jesus Christ,

hope that is there for all who will call upon him.

And we thank you for the great example that we have read of,

of the longing that there was to be with Jesus,

of the longing that there was there to be near him.

And yet, as we will see as we read into this passage,

that there are those who are so loving towards him,

and yet there are others who question him and doubt him,

and seek to condemn him.

And that is the world in which we live today as well.

We thank you that your word is still powerful,

and it is active,

it is mighty to save.

And we thank you for every way that is bearing fruit

to all ends of the earth.

We thank you that that is a promise in your word,

that as it goes out,

it never returns empty or void,

but accomplishes every purpose for which you send it forth.

And so we ask that blessing on your word here today,

that it would go out with that same power,

and that today it would return to you,

accomplishing much,

accompanying your word.

May your spirit be with us.

May your spirit,

Holy Spirit,

open our hearts to receive your word,

and to rejoice in it.

And that even today,

there would be rejoicing in heaven,

over one sinner who repents.

And we ask,

Lord,

that that would be true for us here,

as it might be true for many,

who gather around your word this day,

throughout our town,

throughout our communities,

our islands,

our nation,

and the world.

We thank you that your word goes out to all ends of the earth.

And we pray,

Lord,

that your kingdom will come in power.

And so hear our prayers,

O Lord,

as we offer them up through the name of our Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ,

that one who is the Son of God.

We thank you for what we read of our Lord Jesus in this passage,

and throughout your gospel of Mark,

and also throughout your whole word of truth.

We thank you that it points us constantly towards our greatest need of all,

that forgiveness of sin.

And so we confess our sin anew to you today,

asking forgiveness for them all,

for our sins that we,

in our thoughts,

in our words,

and in our actions,

and even in our inaction,

the things that we omit and do not do.

Lord,

pardon us,

we pray.

And hear us,

Lord,

as we cry out to you.

May we come,

even as the beggar at the side of the road,

who cried out to Jesus,

Jesus,

Son of David,

have mercy on me.

May that be our cry today,

that you would have mercy upon us.

Have mercy upon us as a people.

Remember us,

Lord,

in all our different needs.

We especially remember those who are mourning today,

as we hear of bereavement in our own midst,

as a congregation,

and in our communities around us as well.

Lord,

we do pray for your comfort,

thankful for the Holy Spirit,

who is the comforter.

And may that spirit surround those who are mourning today,

Lord,

that they would know in their grief and in their sorrow,

they would know the love of Jesus,

the one who is there for them,

the one who is with them.

Lord,

we do pray for those who are unwell in hospital,

or confined to their homes,

those who are going through different trials at this time,

as we hear and see so many things going on around us.

We think of work circumstances around us,

and we see people struggling financially because of lack of employment,

or uncertainty of employment.

We do pray,

Lord,

for a blessing upon us as a community here,

to see you provide for us,

Lord,

to provide work,

to provide for our homes and our families,

to provide us with wisdom and instruction from you,

to provide for those who are leaders over us,

Lord,

to give them wisdom,

to give them help,

to give them your spirit,

to lead and to guide,

to rule wisely,

to rule our people as a nation,

O Lord,

with the wisdom of your word and your truth.

We do pray,

Lord,

that there will be a turning to you in the midst of the avenues of power in

Westminster and Holyrood,

and a royal family as well,

Lord,

we pray and commit them to you as well,

asking for your blessing over our king and the queen and the family as well,

Lord,

that they would know your blessing upon them,

and that they would know what it is to rule wisely as well.

We pray that for our world too,

when we see the turmoil around us,

the uncertainty that surrounds us day by day,

the tragedies that are so often before our eyes,

there are so many things going on,

when we think of the Middle East and the Ukraine and the Far East,

and so much that we see in our screens,

but there's so much that's hidden from us as well.

The persecution of your people,

the suffering of people far and wide,

and yet nothing is hidden from you.

You know us by name,

you know each one,

and Lord,

we pray,

have mercy upon us,

draw us close to yourself,

have pity on us,

and make your face to shine upon us,

that we would see your blessing on us as nations of this world.

Hear our prayers,

Lord,

continue with us,

be with us in the week ahead,

and all that it entails,

as we seek to honour you,

and serve you,

in our homes,

in our families,

in our workplaces,

and as a congregation of your people,

and as a wider church as well.

May you lead us,

and guide us,

in these days,

we remember our young people,

as they will meet this coming Saturday,

and in Renes,

for the big free rally.

We thank you for all the work of the camps,

over the summer,

and we pray for your blessing,

to continue to come upon the young ones,

who attended,

and for a blessing on their day together,

God willing,

this week ahead.

Watch over us,

and we pray,

guide us by your spirit,

and hear us in all our prayers,

as we ask all,

in the name of our Lord and Saviour,

Jesus Christ,

and for his glory.

Amen.

Before we turn back,

to look at our passage in Mark,

we'll sing again,

this time in Psalm 103,

the Scottish Psalter version,

page 370,

Psalm 103,

Psalms 103:13

verse 13.

We'll sing down to verse 18.

Such pity as our father hath,

and to his children dear,

like pity shows,

the Lord to such,

as worship him in fear,

for he remembers we are dust,

and he our frame well knows,

frail man,

his days are like the grass,

as flower in field,

he grows.

We'll sing from verse 13,

down to verse 18,

and we stand to sing,

and we stand to sing to God's praise.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen, O praise.

Well, we can turn back to our reading in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2.

Mark 2 · chapter mention

We're looking at this section from verse 1 down to verse 12,

where Jesus heals this man who was brought to him on a stretcher,

a paralytic man brought to him by his friends.

But when we see what Jesus says to them in verse 5,

it kind of leaves the people astonished, I think, in many different ways.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

My son, your sins are forgiven.

Who is Jesus?

That's the question that we start with today.

Who is Jesus?

How do you answer that question?

Do you answer it from a personal point of view

when you're able to say who he is to you?

Do you answer it in a general kind of way when maybe you've heard about Jesus

and you try to explain who he is from history or from what you've heard over the years?

Well, we're thankful that God has given us his word

because it is his word that answers that question for us.

And in the Gospel of Mark,

who is Jesus is the kind of question that you see being answered from the very beginning to the very end.

And Mark's Gospel in the first verse gives us a great answer of who Jesus is.

It says there in verse 1,

There is an answer of who Jesus is.

He is the Son of God.

Is that how we know him?

Is that how the people in Mark's day knew him?

Some did.

Some did.

But as we see, others didn't.

And others wouldn't accept Jesus for who he is.

But who is Jesus to you today?

Well, as you go through the Gospel of Mark,

you find, as Mark is writing,

he's revealing to us the identity of Jesus in amazing ways.

As from the very outset in chapter 1,

you see Jesus starting to perform miracles.

You see him teaching in ways that leave people astonished,

astounded as to the kind of teaching that they're hearing,

teaching like they've never heard before.

So there's this sense of astonishment,

this sense of bewilderment about who Jesus is.

You see at the end of chapter 1 that Jesus had to go out into the open places

because even towns couldn't receive him

because such numbers were coming.

It says they were coming from every quarter.

They were hearing about the things that Jesus was doing

and the miracles that he was performing

and the teaching that he was giving.

And they were astonished.

And they wanted to know who is this Jesus.

But it was more than just his miracles,

more than just his teaching.

As you go through the Gospel of Mark,

you see Jesus begin to say he came to suffer.

He came to give his life as a ransom for many.

The Son of God came to give his life on the cross.

And as you come to the end of the Gospel,

that's what you see, the death of Jesus.

But then on the third day, he rose again.

So this is the Jesus that Mark is showing us in his Gospel.

But who is Jesus to us today?

Do you see his identity?

Do you see who he is?

And do you identify with him?

Do you identify with him?

So Mark's Gospel moves so quickly.

There's a sense of just moving from one place to another so quickly.

There's a lot going on.

And in chapter 2, as we come to this section,

you see that after being out and about,

large crowds following him,

he's returned to Capernaum,

the place that's called home.

And as he's gathered here in a home,

there's a large crowd that's already started to gather.

And they're coming probably to see

the kind of things that Jesus has already been doing.

See more miracles.

Hear more teaching.

He's there teaching the Word to them.

But now he's going to reveal his identity

and who he is in terms of another reason

that he came into this world.

For the forgiveness of sin.

He came because he has so much more to offer

than just miracles and healing.

He has salvation.

He has the offer of eternal life.

He is the Son of God.

So what does Christianity have to offer to us today?

What does Christ have to offer to us today?

It's more than just coming to hear words.

It's more than just gathering in a fellowship together,

enjoying the friendship of one another.

What would you offer to someone

who you're inviting to come to church?

Would you say,

come and find a friendly group of people?

Come and find a nice fellowship where we can have a cup of tea

or a cup of coffee together.

Come and find a break for yourself in the day,

a place to come.

Is that all that we would have to offer?

Well, you see,

what Jesus shows here is the priority of his ministry.

And he shows his priority as these group of men

bring a friend who is a paralytic.

He's unable to walk.

He'd have been shunned by society in this day,

but he had friends around him.

And what they wanted was to bring their friend to Jesus.

And that's the greatest thing that we have to offer

here today to our people.

As we gather together,

as we invite others to come in,

we have an invitation to come to Jesus.

To Jesus.

And to be friends in the same way

as these ones who carried this paralytic to Jesus were.

Doing anything and everything

to bring our people to see Jesus.

and to hear the message of the great message

of forgiveness of sin that is on offer.

Is that the kind of friends and friendship

that we are showing to those around us today?

Are we friends in that true sense of the word

where our longing is for others to come

and see the friend who is Jesus

and to know him as Lord and Savior?

There was an article a number of years ago

that offered a prize

for the best definition of a friend.

Best definition of what a friend is.

And a number of people,

thousands of people sent in their answers

as to what this would look like,

what this was.

And the winning answer was this,

a friend is the one who comes in

when the whole world has gone out.

A friend is one who comes in

when the whole world has gone out.

It's someone who is there.

And that's the kind of friends

that this man had.

When the rest of society

would so easily abandon anyone

who was a burden,

anyone who was a burden on them

as a family or as a community,

you think of the blind beggar

later on in the Gospel of Mark

who was outside the town

begging at the side of the street.

He was shunned.

And so were many

who had problems,

physical, mental,

all these kinds of problems.

They were shunned.

But here you see

the true beauty of friendship.

Friendship and the longing

to help

and to bring their friend to Jesus.

And so are we these kinds of friends.

And how do we see Jesus today?

How do we identify Jesus today?

And how do we identify with him?

So there's three things

I want us to see in this passage.

The first thing is the faithful friends,

those who bring the paralytic in.

Then we see the faithless crowd.

How many of the crowd

were just lacking faith

and even just rejecting

and shunning Jesus.

But then we see the wonder

of the forgiving Savior.

So the first thing is

the faithful friends.

Jesus has just returned

from the desolate places

that we see at the end

of chapter one

where many were coming

from every quarter

to hear him

and to see him

doing many miracles

and different things.

But now he's returned

to Capernaum.

And as he has returned,

we see in verse two,

many were gathered together

so that there was

no more room in the home.

And he was there

preaching the word to them.

So you can just picture this.

A large crowd

is gathered in this home

and the house is full

so that even at the door

there's no room to get in.

It's impossible to get in.

There's just people everywhere.

And into this setting

come these four men

carrying a paralysed friend.

And they're determined

to get him to Jesus.

And they're looking for any way

to get him to Jesus.

And they're not going to give up.

They're not going to stop

until they can bring him to Jesus.

They have this faith.

They have this faith

that they know that Jesus can help.

Jesus can help their friend.

And so they're determined

to come to Jesus.

And so they look for every opportunity

to find a way in.

And they're bringing him to Jesus

that they might heal him.

Believing that he is able to help.

And is that the belief

that we have today?

You know, when you know

the Lord Jesus in your own heart

and you're talking to someone else,

inviting them to come

and hear about Jesus,

do you believe it?

Do you believe what you're saying?

Do you believe with all your heart

while you're presenting Jesus

as to who he is?

As to the power that he has?

Still today,

he has this power

to forgive sins.

And you notice that

as these men bring their friend,

the paralytic, to Jesus,

and when they manage

to dig down through the roof

and they manage to lower him down,

and Jesus sees their faith,

what does he say

to the paralytic?

He says in verse 5,

My son, your sins

are forgiven.

And you might think to yourself,

well,

surely they're going to be disappointed.

They've brought him

because he's not able to walk.

And yet,

this is the response

that he gives.

My son, your sins

are forgiven.

You get no hint

of disappointment here.

It's like this wonder

of his teaching

is just awestruck.

Your sins

are forgiven.

And this resonates

in the room

in different ways.

There are those

who are friends of Jesus

who hear this

and are amazed

at the offer

of forgiveness of sins.

But there are others,

as we'll see in a moment,

who just see this

as an abomination.

They see this

as just so wrong

in what he's saying.

How dare he say this

that he might forgive

the sins

of someone.

But as we're inviting

people

to Jesus,

surely that's the most

important thing

for us.

That they would know

Jesus saying,

your sins

are forgiven.

Because there is

the greatest peace.

There is the greatest

blessing

that anyone

can receive.

It may not be

that healing comes.

We see here it does.

But even as we're

inviting people

to Jesus,

there may not be

a physical healing.

But the greatest

thing they can receive

is the forgiveness

of sin.

That is what matters.

Because that is what

counts

for eternity.

So we are to be

faithful friends

inviting people

to Jesus,

to invite

all

to Jesus.

These faithful

friends,

Jesus sees them.

And what does he see

in them?

He sees

their faith.

He sees

their faith

in verse 5.

When Jesus saw

their faith,

he saw

their faith,

he saw their

determination

to come

to him.

How does

Jesus

see you?

How does he

see your faith?

Do you have

that faith

today?

How does he

see others

around us

today?

The wonder

of how Jesus,

he doesn't condemn

them for bringing

this paralytic.

He doesn't condemn

them later on

for bringing

children as many

do.

You see,

it's so often

that Jesus,

he doesn't matter

who comes.

It doesn't

matter who

they are.

They all need

to hear

the same

message.

They are all

precious to

him.

A couple of

years ago,

there was a

very moving

series of

adverts put

on the

television about

the NHS.

And they were

trying to

highlight the

stigma of

addiction and

trying to

break the

stigma.

And the

adverts were

powerful.

They were

moving.

And in one

of the

adverts,

there was

a woman

sitting in

her room

at home.

Obviously

she was an

actor,

but you

can just

picture this

in so

many people's

lives.

Broken

by drug

addiction.

And the

woman was

just speaking

about her

issues.

And it

was the

last words

that were

so powerful

when she

was saying

about how

others would

see her.

She was

saying,

like,

you won't

feel I'm

worth the

time of

day because

I have a

drug problem.

That's how

she would

expect to

be seen

by others.

Is that

how Jesus

would see

her?

Or would

Jesus see

her as

someone who

needs

forgiveness

of sin?

The way

Jesus sees

all of us.

We all

have our

problems.

We're all

unworthy.

And yet

Jesus looks

on us and

has that

longing that

we would

know the

forgiveness

of sin.

these

friends,

they don't

come wondering

if Jesus

can do

it.

They come

in faith,

knowing the

power that

Jesus has

and the

power that

leads to

the forgiveness

of sin

because there

is the

identity of

Jesus that

they know.

The identity

that we see

at the

beginning of

the gospel

in chapter

1,

verse 1,

the beginning

of the gospel

of Jesus

Christ,

the Son

of God.

They have

faith and

they are

faithful friends

bringing their

friend to

Jesus who

is able to

forgive.

And so may

we have that

faith too.

And may we

have that

faithfulness in

bringing others

to see the

wonder of

Jesus who

can forgive

sins.

So we are

the faithful

friends.

Secondly,

then we have

the faithless

crowd.

There are

those in

the crowd

who doubt

who Jesus

is.

They don't

see the

identity of

Jesus as

the Son

of God.

It says

there in

verse 6,

some of the

scribes were

sitting there

questioning in

their hearts,

why does this

man speak like

that?

He is

blaspheming.

Who can

forgive sins

but God

alone?

So they're

sitting there,

they're grumbling

as you see it

so often in

the gospel as

people are

seeing Jesus

and especially

those who

were in

position of

authority,

in position

of power.

They saw

Jesus as

a threat

to themselves

and they

were probably

claiming the

Old Testament

scriptures,

scriptures like

Isaiah 43

Isaiah 43:25

verse 25

where God

says,

I, even

I, am

he who

blots out

your transgressions

for my own

sake and

remembers your

sins.

No more

that God

alone is

able to

forgive sin.

And so

who is

this?

Who is

this intruder?

Who is

this man

Jesus who

claims to

be able to

forgive sins?

He is

blaspheming,

they say.

Who can

forgive sin

but God

alone?

And they

are right,

only God

can forgive

sin.

But they

miss the

identity of

who Jesus

is.

That he

is Jesus

Christ,

the son

of God.

He is

God

incarnate.

He is

God who

has come

down to

us in

the person

of Jesus

Christ.

And yet

they see

him as

a threat.

They

didn't get

what they

wanted from

him.

They

didn't get

what he

expected

from him.

He was

taking

their

authority,

so he

saw

them

as a

threat.

And there's

a number

of occasions

in the

scriptures

where you

find when

people

didn't get

what they

wanted from

Jesus,

they turned

away.

If they

found things

too difficult,

they turned

away.

A great

example is

in the

Gospel of

John at

the end

of chapter

6,

verse 60

through to

verse 71.

It says

many of the

disciples turned

away because

they found

his teaching

too difficult.

They turned

away.

And that's

the time

when Jesus

turned to

the disciples

and said,

will you

also go

away?

And Peter

had that

great response

to whom

else can

we go?

You have

the words

of eternal

life.

They knew

the importance

and the

identity of

Jesus.

You alone

have the

words of

eternal

life.

The

troubles of

this world,

they'll be

there,

but you

have a

greater

purpose.

You have

a greater

power and

authority

than

anything

else

in this

world.

But many

turned away

faithless,

not believing

the identity

of who

Jesus

was.

And it's

amazing how

people can

come into

a church

and go

away because

they don't

get what

they want.

I've seen

it over the

years in

different ways.

I remember

once some

people coming

into a

church and

they were

wanting to

hear Gaelic

singing.

singing.

And when

they came

in and

asked if

there was

Gaelic

singing,

they heard

that there

wasn't

that day,

they went

away.

What was

important was

the singing.

They missed

out on the

gospel.

Another time,

some people

came in

looking and

asking if

there was

going to

be food

served in

church.

And when

they heard

that it

was just

a cup of

tea and

a biscuit

afterwards,

they went

away.

They didn't

wait for

any other

service.

They missed

out on the

gospel.

gospel.

What's

important to

them wasn't

who Jesus

is,

it was

their own

needs.

And that's

the danger

for ourselves

as well,

that we put

ourselves

first and

our own

desires,

our own

needs first

and not

the needs

of knowing

Jesus as

the Son

of God.

And it's

amazing when

you look at

Capernaum

here.

Capernaum,

a place where

Jesus did

so much in

his earthly

ministry.

so much

teaching.

He was

there preaching

the word

to them.

And they

saw all

of these

things

happening.

And yet

so many

still remained

hardened and

unconverted.

And it

stands as a

warning to

us today.

In the

gospel of

Matthew,

Capernaum is

used as a

warning.

In verse

23 of

chapter 11,

it says,

And you,

Capernaum,

will you be

exalted to

heaven?

You will

be brought

down to

Hades.

For if the

mighty works

done in you

had been

done in

Sodom,

it would

have remained

until this

day.

But I tell

you that it

will be more

tolerable on

the day of

judgment for

the land of

Sodom than

for you.

What's he

saying there?

He's saying

you have seen

the blessings,

the presence

of Jesus,

the preaching

of Jesus,

and you've

turned away.

So it will

be more

tolerable on

the day of

judgment for

the land of

Sodom.

And there's a

warning for us

in that today as

well.

That passage in

Matthew when there's

that warning is

just before it

says about Jesus

having all

authority and

saying,

Come to me,

all you who

labor and are

heavy laden,

and I will

give you rest.

It's to find

rest in

Jesus.

And it's a

warning to us

today because of

the blessing of

the gospel in

our midst.

The gospel has

been present in

our island for

a few generations

now.

The blessing of

having the word

preached and yet

so many will say

no, not for

me.

It will be more

tolerable on the

day of judgment

for the land of

Sodom than for

you.

That's the stark

warning.

that the

faithless people,

there's a warning

there that

salvation is

found in

Christ alone.

We need

forgiveness of

sins and this

is found in

Christ alone.

Somebody once

said, where God

places a full

stop, let no

man put a

question mark.

And if you look

at that in the

context of this

passage in verse

five, Jesus

sees this faith of

these men and

says to the

parletic, your

sins are

forgiven.

Full stop.

Your sins are

forgiven.

But what do the

scribes say in

verse seven?

Why does this man

speak like that?

He is blaspheming.

Who can forgive

sin but God

alone?

There's a

question mark.

They're questioning

who this Jesus

is.

there's a doubt

there.

But if he said

it, if he's able

to say your sins

are forgiven,

that's it, full

stop.

People will come

to church with

doubts and

questions and

worries and

fears.

We have to say

there's a full

stop.

When you put your

trust in Jesus,

your sins are

forgiven.

They are cast

into the depths

of the sea.

There is

redemption

found in

Jesus.

Well, there's a

faithless crowd.

Let's not be

found in the

midst of them.

But the final

thing we want to

see here is the

forgiving

Savior.

As I say, Mark

moves so quickly

and when you come

into chapter two,

it's amazing how

much has already

happened.

Where Jesus is

showing his

authority already,

his authority

over people.

In verse 16,

he calls the

first disciples,

he says,

follow me and

I will make you

fishers of men

in verse 17.

And they leave

everything and

follow him.

He has this

power, he has

this authority.

And then

immediately they

start to see

his power and

authority.

He heals a

man with an

unclean spirit.

He goes on to

heal many.

Then he

preaches in

Galilee.

Then he

cleanses a

leper.

There's so

much going

on already

here.

He's showing

authority in

so many

different ways.

But now we

see his

greatest

authority.

That he is

able to

forgive sin.

And when you

look at verse

nine through

to verse

twelve in

chapter two,

Jesus says,

which is

easier to say

to the

paralytic,

your sins

are forgiven,

or to say,

rise, take up

your bed and

walk.

But that you

may know that

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 they

both happened

together.

He was able

to walk and

he knew

forgiveness of

sin.

What was

more important?

Surely the

forgiveness of

sin.

sin.

It's

wonderful that

he was

healed.

But the

greatest gift

of God is

salvation in

Jesus Christ.

It's the most

important thing

that we need

to hear.

And that's

what Mark is

showing us

throughout his

gospel.

The identity

of who Jesus

is.

Beginning in

that first

verse of

chapter one,

the beginning

of the gospel

of Jesus

Christ, the

Son of

God, to

seeing here

in verse

12, the

response.

They were

all amazed

and glorified

God, saying

we have never

seen anything

like this.

In chapter

four, verse

41, as they're

caught in the

storm and

Jesus calms

the storm,

the disciples

were filled

with great fear

and said to

one another,

in verse 41,

who then is

this, that

even the wind

and the sea

obey him?

There's this

identity of

Jesus being

revealed over

time.

Who is this

that even

the wind and

the waves

obey him?

Then you

come into

chapter eight

and there's

all this

discussion going

on.

Who is

Jesus?

Some are

saying Elijah

or one of

the prophets,

but Jesus

turns it on

his head and

says, but

who do you

say that I

am?

And that's

the question

today, our

identity of

Jesus.

Who is he?

Well, Peter

answered in

chapter eight

verse 29,

you are the

Christ.

You are the

Son of God.

So this

revelation is

there through

his word.

And then you

come to

chapter 15,

on the cross,

on the

crucifixion,

and it's

almost like

it just comes

full circle.

Jesus

revealing,

Mark saying

to us,

this is the

beginning of

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ,

the Son of

God.

In chapter

15,

verse 39,

you have the

Roman centurion

looking on,

and what does

he say?

He says,

truly,

this man

was the

Son of

God.

This is

who Jesus

is.

There's a

Jewish

proverb that

says,

a friend

is one

who warns

you.

Well,

Jesus came

to warn

us.

He came

to warn

us.

In chapter

1,

verse 15,

the time

is fulfilled,

the kingdom

of God

is at

hand,

repent,

and believe

in the

gospel.

Believe

in Jesus

Christ,

the Son

of God.

We don't

see him,

but we

hear him.

He is

preaching

to us

today.

He is

the one

who is

able to

say,

your sins

are forgiven.

He is

the one

who is

able to

make you

well.

But you

say,

I can't

see him.

How can

I trust

him?

Well,

he sees

you,

and that's

what counts.

There's a