The Surprising Authority of the Son of Man

If you would open up your Bibles, please, to your pew Bibles, to page 995 or to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, 1-12.

Mark 2 · chapter mention

We started the Gospel of Mark last week, and we continue our way through.

This past May, many people witnessed the coronation of King Charles III to be the King of England.

And if you're familiar with British monarchy, you know that King Charles' kingship is not an absolute monarchy.

He doesn't have all authority.

Rather, the British monarchy is a constitutional monarchy.

It's Parliament calling the shots.

Which means, King Charles is, by and large, a figurehead position.

A very prized, highly traditional, very expensive figurehead position.

A lot of this.

For many people, both non-Christians and Christians,

Jesus Christ, the God-King, is treated as a figurehead position.

Important in some ways.

Traditions, yes.

We have a real knack for reducing Jesus to a figurehead in our lives.

What do you think?

How do you relate to Jesus?

Thinking about your life, do you treat Him as a figurehead?

Or are you acknowledging Him for who He is?

And are you coming under His loving and real authority in your life?

Can you point to areas where you're saying,

Yeah, I'm beholding Him.

Yes, I'm bowing to Him.

Yes, I'm obeying Him.

You know, the difference between a figurehead king and a fully functional reigning king is authority.

Authority is the right to act on behalf of another person.

It's the right to give orders.

It's the right to make decisions on behalf of other people.

It's the right to require obedience.

Parents exercise authority over children.

Judges exercise authority in the courtroom.

Bosses exercise authority over employees.

Even doctors exercise authority with their patients.

And this morning, we will see the surprising authority of the Son of Man.

Jesus Christ.

God's King.

And it is good news.

Because coming under the loving, authoritative reign of Jesus is good for us.

How do you change?

How do you change from living as if Jesus is just a figurehead to living with Jesus as He truly is?

The God King who reigns over all.

Well, you behold His authority and you bow to His authority.

You've got to take Him seriously.

You can't sentimentalize King Jesus into some kind of peripheral figurehead status.

This morning, we get a big dose of the authority of Jesus.

So here's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to walk you through Mark chapter 2 verses 1 through 12.

Mark 2:1–12

And there are some surprising twists and turns in this passage.

I'll bring it to a point and then I'll apply it to two groups of people.

Non-Christians in the room and Christians in the room.

So, let me set the scene.

Last week, we learned that Jesus, that Mark is setting out to demonstrate that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Pastor Zach provided a weekly update that points out the beginning of Mark and the end of Mark.

Both bookend Mark with these confessions of Jesus as the Son of God.

And so the whole book of Mark is to demonstrate that Jesus is God King.

After Jesus comes on the scene, the first thing He says is,

Hey, because the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.

From there, in chapter 1, we see some interesting things.

Jesus calls His first disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and John.

And then in verses 35 through 39, there's this really interesting interaction between Peter and Jesus

in which Jesus says in verse 38,

Hey, the reason why I came is to preach.

But for the rest of chapter 1, we see Jesus healing people.

21 through 28, healing a man of an unclean spirit in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

29 through 31, He heals Simon's mother-in-law.

32 through 34, He heals a bunch of people with diseases and casts out demons from His house in Capernaum.

40 through 40 and 45, Jesus heals this leper.

He cleanses him by healing him because leprosy made him unclean.

He couldn't be with God's people.

And Jesus healed them, cleansed them.

And surprise, surprise, all throughout chapter 1,

you've got these mobs of people gathering around Jesus,

primarily because He's healing people.

Which leads us into now Mark chapter 2, 1 through 12.

Mark 2 · chapter mention

Hear God's Word.

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,

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.

And who can forgive sins but God alone?

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 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 that they were all amazed,

and glorified God,

saying,

We never saw anything like this!

In verses 1-5,

we have this surprise declaration by Jesus.

I mean, He makes a really surprising statement.

In verse 1,

He just got back from some kind of like ministry tour

in kind of the Galilee, Capernaum area,

and He comes back home,

and word spreads,

He's home!

What I love about that,

is it just gets to the humanity of Jesus.

He's probably renting a place in Capernaum.

It's where He was.

He had an address.

People knew where to find Him.

Verse 2,

again, there's this kind of like

overwhelming response.

It's a little surprising.

Many were gathered together

so that there was no more room,

not even at the door.

Jesus' house in Capernaum

was packed with people.

We see the same thing in 1-33,

just people showing up at His house.

They've heard that He's a healer,

and they're bringing with Him

people to be healed.

And it's in verse 3

where things start getting interesting.

It ratchets up.

And they came,

bringing to Him a paralytic

carried by four men.

So four men show up

carrying a fifth man on a bed,

a paralytic,

which at least means

He couldn't walk.

And they're carrying Him

to Jesus' house in Capernaum.

But let me ask you,

so far with what we know

leading up to Mark 2, 1-12,

these four men are bringing

this paralytic to Jesus

for what reason?

To heal Him.

I mean, these four guys

want their friend

to be fully restored,

to have his body fully restored

so that he can walk again.

You know, there are a lot of people

in this room right now

who are experiencing

a similar longing,

maybe for yourself

or somebody else,

whether by disease

or by age.

You're not seeing

like you used to see.

You're not hearing

like you used to hear.

Your body's not functioning

like it used to function.

And there's a longing.

I want to be made whole.

I want everything to work.

We can all relate with that.

In verse 4,

we have another development.

These four guys

are industrious guys.

It's a little bit of a surprise.

These four men

show up to Jesus' house.

There's like a giant house party

going on.

They can't get in.

And so like,

okay, what do we do?

And they go up

onto the roof of the house.

Now,

in 21st century

Kenosha area,

roofs

have shingles,

some kind of like

roof wrap,

then kind of

some plywood decking.

And so it's not like

you can just kind of

put your fingernail on there

and pull something up, right?

First century Capernaum,

the buildings were made

out of different things.

It's an arid place.

And so how it was set up

is there was a living area

in a house,

and then on the outside

there was a stairwell

leading up to the roof,

which was actually

functionally like a patio.

And so these guys say,

okay, we can't get in.

Let's go up the stairs

to the roof,

and they rip open

the roof.

Surely there's support beams

in there,

but you're just making it

out of stuff that's around.

So sticks,

brush,

mud,

stucco-y like stuff,

so you can pull it off.

So like,

we're going to drop them in.

You've got to admire

their initiative.

And so they drop them down.

They make a big enough opening

for them to lower

their friend in.

And again,

what is everybody expecting?

For Jesus to heal them.

Surprise.

Look what Jesus does.

Verse 5.

And when Jesus saw their faith,

He said to the paralytic,

rise,

take up your bed,

and go home.

No.

No.

Son.

Your sins

are forgiven.

Now, if you were to ask

the paralytic at that time,

hey, um,

what were you thinking

at that moment?

He'd probably say,

well, I didn't know

what to say.

I was kind of like,

thanks, Jesus, I think.

Thanks for forgiving me.

But I really wanted to walk.

Or maybe,

maybe let's say

you were one of the

four and I was with you

on the roof.

We just dropped

our friend in.

We hear Jesus say,

son, your sins

are forgiven.

Do you know what

I would ask you?

What did He say?

Is He moving?

I mean,

we would all

have been surprised

in an underwhelming

sense,

wouldn't we?

Forgiveness?

we want our friend

to walk.

I'm guessing most people

in Jesus' house

that day

were thinking that

the paralytic's

greatest need

was to walk.

Not Jesus.

At this moment,

Jesus addressing

that paralytic,

His greatest need,

all of our greatest need,

His need for forgiveness

of sins.

It's our sins

that separate us

from God.

It's our sins

that provoke God's wrath.

It's our sin

that has caused

such difficulty

in our own lives

and the lives

of others.

This morning,

you came into

this sanctuary.

What did you come in

thinking was your

greatest need today?

New Jordans?

Cancer?

Tucking away 15%

every year

for retirement?

Moving up the ladder

of your career?

Behold your King.

And He is saying

our greatest need

is the forgiveness

of our sins.

Surprise!

God,

He throws His curveball

at us,

but He's not done

with surprises.

If you now

would look at

verses 6-9,

we're going to see

a surprising insight

from the Son of Man.

So He's just kind of

said,

okay,

Son,

your sins are forgiven.

And then the story

takes another term

because look at

verse 6.

Someone is there,

the scribes.

Now,

some of the scribes

were sitting there

questioning in their hearts,

why does this man

speak like that?

He's blaspheming.

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

Now,

the scribes,

if you're not familiar,

were the Jewish

religious professionals

of the day

and more likely

than not,

they're there

not just to be like,

oh,

let's get some

really good teaching

from Jesus.

They're more like

arms crossed,

kind of like,

okay.

they would have been

like the doctrine

and morality police

of the day.

So they're checking out

what Jesus is saying,

arms crossed,

making sure that

He measures up.

And at the moment

that Jesus says,

Son,

your sins are forgiven,

that just got

their attention.

They're sitting there

thinking in their minds,

why does this man

speak like that?

He's blaspheming.

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

Why does this man

speak like that?

A man.

What is he saying

that for?

Blasphemy

is a false claim

to be God.

Or,

it's a false claim

to do something

only God can do

and by making that claim,

you're claiming to be God.

So,

blasphemy

is a false claim

to be God.

And they are saying

in their hearts,

why is this guy

saying this?

It's blasphemous.

He's claiming to be God

because he just said

this guy's sin

is forgiven.

And then they say,

who can forgive sins

but God alone?

That is a true statement.

Only God can forgive sins

that have been committed

against Him

and every sin we commit,

whether against Him

directly

or against somebody else,

is always against Him.

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

So,

here's what's interesting.

So,

Jesus

has this paralytic

dropped in front of Him

and instead of healing Him,

He says,

your sins are forgiven.

And then we learn

from these scribes

that that's like

a major faux pas

because He's

seemingly being blasphemous.

But make no mistake,

Jesus is intentionally

making a God-sized claim.

And then in verse 8,

there's more surprise.

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?

Why do you question

my authority

to forgive this man's sin

in your hearts?

subtle

but profound.

Jesus

knows

what they're thinking.

He's reading them.

Not their faces,

their hearts.

What's inside them.

That's something

that only God can do,

friends.

And so,

from this surprise

insight,

Jesus confronts them.

Why do you question

my authority

to forgive this man's sin?

And then He says to them,

hey, which is easier?

You tell me.

Which is easier?

For me to say

to this paralytic,

your sins are forgiven,

or to say

to this paralytic,

rise,

take up your bed

and go home.

Which one's easier?

It seems like Jesus is

kind of backing Himself

into a corner

a little bit here.

What is He doing?

What's easier?

Is it easier

to say to someone,

your sins are forgiven,

what you can't see,

or say to someone,

hey,

rise,

take up your bed

and walk?

What you can see.

One doesn't obligate you

to anything,

the other does.

So it is easier

to say that your sins

are forgiven

because there's no way

to prove it.

And Jesus is showing them that.

He's admitting

that His declaration,

Son,

your sins are forgiven,

would be difficult to prove,

easier said than done.

But Jesus,

He's working the room.

Jesus has everyone

in the room

right where He wants them.

He's intentionally

raising these things.

He's intentionally pitting

what He said

about forgiveness

to what He said

about causing this guy

to stand up and walk.

He's intentionally

put them at odds.

Behold your King.

He's in control.

He's using this moment

for His purposes.

Which brings us now

to verses 10 through 11.

A surprising statement

of His authority.

So Jesus has been setting up

a mic drop moment.

In verse 9,

He's just said,

okay,

what's easier

to say this guy's forgiven

or to tell him

to get up and walk.

We're like,

oh,

it's easier to say,

hey,

your sins are forgiven.

You can't prove it.

But if you tell him

to get up and walk,

you've got to show that.

And so in verse 10,

look what He says.

But that you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins.

So He's answering

their blasphemy question.

Who is this guy?

Does He know

He's blaspheming?

Only God can forgive sins.

Jesus is like,

yeah?

Yeah?

That title,

Son of Man,

is the first time

it's used in the Gospel

of Mark.

It's used a total

of 14 times

in the Gospel of Mark.

And the Son of Man

is a very important title.

Just as the Son of God

is a very important title,

the Son of Man

is a very important title.

And so the first one

we see is here.

It's the Son of Man

has the authority

to forgive sins.

If you flip now

to the end of chapter 2,

verse 28,

the Son of Man,

Jesus is speaking of Himself,

is saying,

the Son of Man

is Lord even of the Sabbath,

which is a claim

of authority

over the Sabbath day,

which only God can make.

And then,

as you get through

the Gospel of Mark,

Jesus starts referring

to Himself

as the Son of Man

in 8.31,

He starts teaching

His disciples

that the Son of Man

must be given up,

He'll be killed,

and on the third day

be raised from the dead.

Chapter 9,

verse 31,

same thing.

The Son of Man

is going to be killed

and on the third day

raised from the dead.

Chapter 10,

verses 33 and 34,

the Son of Man

will suffer,

be killed,

and on the third day

will rise.

Chapter 10,

verse 45,

the Son of Man

did not come to be served,

but to serve

and to give His life

as a ransom for many.

See the connection

between the Son of Man

and the saving work

of Jesus?

So what,

where is this title

coming from?

Did Jesus just make it up?

If you flip back

in your Bibles,

in your pew Bibles,

it's on page 884,

it's Daniel chapter 7,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

this is where the title

comes from,

the Son of Man,

and it is phenomenal.

Daniel's a prophet

and he's prophesying

in chapter 7,

verses 13 and 14.

Let me read you

what he says.

I saw in the night visions

and behold,

with the clouds of heaven

there came one

like a Son of Man.

That's the title.

Son of Man.

And he came to the

Ancient of Days,

God the Father,

and was presented

before him

the Ancient of Days,

and to him,

the Son of Man,

was given

dominion

and glory

and a kingdom

that all peoples,

nations,

and languages

should serve him.

Kiss the Son.

His dominion

is an everlasting dominion

which shall not

pass away

and his kingdom

one that shall not

be destroyed.

You see,

this title,

the Son of Man,

is a kingly title,

a messianic title.

It's the title

of the Son of God

who would come

and set up

a kingdom

to reign forever

and would be

indestructible,

comprised of people

from every tongue,

time,

every tongue,

tribe,

and nation.

It's a big deal.

It's a big deal.

Jesus is saying,

I'm that guy.

Every time the word

Son,

or that phrase

Son of Man

comes up,

you're to be thinking

Daniel 7,

13,

and 14.

Every time

it's used.

The thing is,

and this is

the crazy

upside down

kingdom of God,

the crazy thing is

that the

Son of God,

the Son of Man

is going to

establish

His forever

and indestructible

kingdom of people

from all nations

through suffering,

through the giving

of His life

on the cross,

and by being

raised from the dead.

That's how He's

going to establish

His kingdom.

And so when Jesus

is talking here

about an authority

given to the

Son of Man,

it's the God-man,

the God-king,

who's going to

establish a kingdom,

a forever kingdom

of those who will

forever be forgiven,

that you may know

that the Son of Man

may have authority

on earth

to forgive sins.

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

And Jesus is saying,

that's right!

Because I'm the Son of Man.

God in the flesh.

Establishing the forever

kingdom of God.

And so then He turns

to the paralytic.

He's like to the scribe,

so that you may know

that I'm the Son of Man.

He turns to the paralytic

and says,

rise.

Take your mat.

Go home.

This is

an astounding claim

of Jesus

that He is the Son of Man.

The surprising

authority

of the Son of Man

is that He can

forgive sins.

And what's even more

surprising is

He can forgive sins

because He's actually

God in the flesh.

And what's even more

surprising is that

He can forgive sins

because He's God

in the flesh

and He died for sinners

like you and me.

authority.

That's a compelling

kind of authority.

Leveraged in love.

What happens?

212.

A surprise walkout.

We read,

and He, the paralytic,

rose

and immediately

picked up His bed

and went out

before them all

so that they were

all amazed

and glorified God

saying,

we never saw

anything like this.

Everyone in the house,

everyone packed

in Jesus' house

witnessed what

just happened.

The arms

crossed

scribes,

the four guys

up on the roof

still,

they're like,

huh?

And everybody

else in the room,

do you know

who else got to see it?

You did.

You did.

This is a historical

account

of the Son of Man

and it's here

so that you can

see Him.

You can behold

your King.

You can see

His authority.

You can ponder

what this means.

Here's what just

happened.

By demonstrating

His authority

to heal the paralytic,

what you could see.

Jesus just

proved

His authority

to forgive sin

what you can't see.

He just

refuted the claim

of blasphemy.

He just said,

no.

I'm legit.

I'm the real deal.

Yes,

only God

can forgive sins.

And yes,

I am that God.

I'm the Son of Man.

I am the Son of God.

Because Jesus

is God,

He has authority

to forgive sins.

But the people

in the house

kind of

kind of

missed that point

to be honest with you.

They're amazed

at this guy

that got up

when

the miracle

was actually

to demonstrate

who Jesus is.

The Son of Man.

So it's a

surprise walkout,

but what is

surprising still

is

they don't seem

to understand

who they're

in the presence of.

God in the midst.

Who wants

to forgive sins.

I think if they

understood

what just happened,

I think someone

would have said,

forgive me too.

Forgive me too.

who?

Apparently

they don't think

that their greatest

need is forgiveness

of their sins.

So what is

the point of this?

What is the point

of Mark chapter 2

Mark 2 · chapter mention

1 through 12?

In a general sense,

it's to behold

your King.

To see Jesus.

Jesus.

I mean,

we've seen

this incredible

response to Jesus.

I mean,

mobs of people

are coming after him.

We've seen

a surprise declaration.

Instead of him

healing somebody,

he says,

your sins are forgiven.

Instead of,

you know,

him kind of

ignoring

what the scribes

were thinking,

he knew exactly

what they were thinking.

The surprise

insight.

He knows

what's going on

in their hearts.

He knows

what's going on

in your hearts.

Surprise authority.

Who can forgive

sins but God alone?

The Son of Man can't

because he is God.

The surprise walkout.

This divine healing

of the paralytic

evidences

the divine forgiving

of the paralytic.

So the point is,

behold your King.

Jesus in all of

His authority

can forgive sins

because He's fully God.

So you behold

His authority

and then you bow

to His authority.

Which means for us,

we must stop

acknowledging Jesus

just as a figurehead

and start revering

Jesus as our

all-authoritative King.

in two weeks time

on our

10th anniversary

as a church.

Do you know

what I get to preach on?

I get to preach on

the end of Mark chapter 4

Mark 4 · chapter mention

and all of chapter 5.

And what it is

is story after story

of Jesus'

comprehensive authority

over all things.

How do you stop

living as if

Jesus is a

mere figurehead?

And you behold

Him

in all

His authority

and you bow

to Him

confessing Him

as your King.

Earlier I said

that

to come under

the loving

authoritative reign

of Jesus

is good news.

And you might be thinking

well how is that good news?

That doesn't sound

good news to me.

Because the same

Jesus,

the Son of Man

that we're

seeing here,

He's alive

and He has

full authority

to forgive

all of your sins.

All of them.

The authority

by which Jesus

spoke to the paralytic

Son,

your sins are forgiven

is the same authority

in which Jesus

can say to you,

Child,

your sins

are forgiven.

Now if you're wondering,

He forgives

not simply because

He's the Son of God

God's King.

That's essential.

The basis of His

forgiveness

is not just that

He's the God King

but that He died

in the place

of sinners.

He paid

the price

for our sin.

That's the King's

ransom.

By His ransom

payment,

He is gathering

people from

every tongue,

tribe,

and nation

into a new

people.

The kingdom

of the saved

on earth.

So,

let's apply this.

If Jesus

has defined

authority to

forgive your sins,

what does that mean

for you if you're

non-Christian?

Well,

if you're a

non-Christian

in the house,

God's

what's clear here

is that your

greatest need

according to

Jesus,

according to

God in the flesh,

is the forgiveness

of your sins.

Your sin

has separated

you from God.

Your sin

has provoked

the just wrath

of God

and He will be

just and glorified

to pour that out

on you for eternity.

But you do not

have to pay

for your own

sin because

this King

has died

for you.

All you need

to do

is to cry out

to King Jesus

for forgiveness.

You don't

have the

authority

to forgive

your own

sin

against God.

Only God

has that

authority.

So you must

admit to Him

you've been

sinning

against Him

and then

admit to Him

in the same breath

oh you only

can forgive me.

And when you

do that

for the very

first time

you become

a Christian.

You become

a follower

of Him.

And so you

can pray it

in a prayer

like this.

You say

something to

the extent

of Lord

Jesus,

King

Jesus,

will you

forgive me

of all my

sins that

I have

committed

against you?

The ones

I know,

the ones

I don't

know,

and will

you bring

me into

your kingdom,

the kingdom

of the saved,

and completely

forgive me

and I will

gladly live

under your

authority for

the rest of

my life.

There you

go.

That's it.

That's how

it starts.

Does anyone

in the room

want to become

a Christian

today?

It starts

with beholding

your king

and then

bowing to

him for the

first time,

confessing him

as your

Lord.

Well,

what does

this mean,

this authority

of Jesus

over sin

to forgive

sin?

What does

this mean

if you're

a Christian

in the

room?

Follow me.

It means

two things.

Number one,

if Jesus

has authority

to forgive

all of your

sins,

Christian,

and he

paid for

all of your

sins on

the cross,

Christian,

and Christian,

all of your

sins have

been fully

forgiven.

Period.

If you

are regularly

haunted by

the condemning

ghosts of

past sins,

you speak

to those

ghouls,

the words

of your

king from

the cross,

it is

finished.

He paid

for that.

It's no

longer

over my

head.

There is

therefore

now no

condemnation

for those

who are

in Christ

Jesus.

It's

because he's

the authoritative

king.

Christian,

you need

not despair

over your

past sins

because the

forgiveness of

those is not

dependent on

you.

It's dependent

on the

son of man.

his authority

is finished

work.

It's done.

Behold your

king.

Bow to your

king.

Boast in

your king.

Secondly,

in light of

his authority

to forgive

your sins

and in light

of his

comprehensive

authority over

all things

you'll see in

two weeks,

Jesus.

It's time to

turn from

living as if

Jesus is just

a figurehead.

And to

start bowing

to Jesus

day after

day as

your all

loving,

all authoritative

king over

all.

You just

behold him

and you bow

to him

day by day

and you say

today,

King Jesus,

I live

for you.

Let me

wrap it up.

King Jesus

is no

mere

figurehead.

He's not

just waving.

He's

reigning.

He's the

all authoritative

God king,

the son of

man who

is building

right now

his forever

indestructible

multinational

church.

this morning

you saw the

surprising

authority of

the son of

man to

forgive sins.

And you're

going to see

his authority

on display

again and

again and

again.

Because he

is the son

of God.

He is our

king.

It's good

news.

Behold

your king

and bow

to him.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus,

you are the

king of the

upside down

kingdom and

you by your

mercy and

grace have

brought us

in.

Thank you

Lord Jesus

for forgiving

our sins.

We trust in

authoritative

pronouncement

that it's

done.

And we

are free.

Free from

being condemned.

Free from

the lies.

Free from

the fear.

God,

would you

help us

now to

live the

balance of

this day

in light of

who you

are.

In your name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.