September 15 (Mark 2:1-17)

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Good morning, Christ Center. It's Monday, September 15th, and we are now in the second week of our walk through the Book of Mark. Today we're gonna be reading from Mark chapter two verses one through 17. But before we begin, let's take a moment to quiet our hearts and invite the Holy Spirit to join us.

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Mark two. One through 17. When he entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and he was speaking the word to them.

They came to him bringing a paralytic carried by four of them. Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying, seeing their faith.

Jesus told the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. But some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, why does he speak like this? He's blaspheming. Who can forgive sins, but God alone. Right away, Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were thinking like this within themselves, and he said to them, why are you thinking these things in your heart?

Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven. Or to say, get up. Take your mat and walk, but so that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He told the paralytic, I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home. Immediately he got up, took the mat, and went out in front of everyone.

As a result, they were all astounded and gave glory to God saying, we've never seen anything like this. Jesus went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd was coming to him and he was teaching them. Then passing by, he saw Levi, the son of Alpha, sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, follow me. And he got up and followed him while he was reclining at the table in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples for there were many who were following him.

When the scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? And then Jesus, when he heard this, he told them it is not those who are well, who need a doctor. But those who are sick, I didn't come to call the righteous but sinners.

Interesting things happening here, pastor Joshua. We have a couple of objections to Jesus here. First, we have the objection that says he, he doesn't have the power to forgive sins. And it was, uh, that's an interesting thing by the way.

They're lowering this guy down and Jesus looks at him like he's lame. And he says, he doesn't say be the healed. He says, your sins are forgiven. Isn't that interesting? I think that Jesus was waiting for this moment. Because he is there demonstrating that he is the son of God.

First he's saying, don't tell anyone who I am to the demons. Right before that, we've read about, cast him out, they get healed, heals the leper. Don't tell anyone now. They're there and they're confronting 'em.

They're not even speaking it up. Jesus determines what's in their heart and says, what? Well, what's easier? Why are you saying I shouldn't be able to forgive sins? I'm telling you. I'm the son of man. I can forgive sins and to prove it, I'm gonna heal this guy. Yeah.

And by the way, you guys can't do either. Yeah. You guys can. Yeah. Well, I, his question to them like, yeah, it, it is almost like the audacity of someone to say, your sins are forgiven. And then Jesus is like, you think that's audacious?

Because I could also tell him, be healed and then, you know, I wonder if there's just like a pause, like, is he actually gonna do that? And then Sure enough, yes. That's a pretty good proof that this guy is who he says he is.

The next objection is that Jesus is hanging out with unclean people, essentially sinners the US and them mentality. Yeah. Why are, why is they're asking the disciples, why is he hanging out with people that we all know are the enemy?

Yeah. And Jesus hears about it and he's telling him they need me. Yeah. They, they need help. They need healing. And I think in that it, it ties into what he just did for the person that was lowered through the ceiling. That guy needed his sins forgiven and he needed to be healed. He needed both.

Yeah. And Jesus gave him both the Pharisees are upset. Their position is being threatened and the only position they really have is being separate from others who they deem less than, and Jesus is going, you guys are missing the whole point.

I'm here to heal the sick.

He's hanging out with sinners as if that's not including them as well. Exactly.

And it's almost like he's giving them an out. If you don't think you're sick, if you don't think you're in need of a savior, that's fine. You go do your thing. I'm here for those who need a savior. And this is like, you see this all throughout the gospels, the people who are who Jesus is constantly chastising are not these known sinners, tax collectors, sexual sinners. It's the people who are offended that Jesus is with these people.

Yeah. And he's, he's letting that Pharisees know you are, you're missing out on the very reason that a Messiah would come, why a doctor would come.

You don't even care that they're sinners. You don't expect that they'd become righteous. You don't care that they're sick. You don't expect that they'll be healed. Your whole ecosystem is based on them remaining exactly as they are. You don't have any love for these guys. You're upset that I've come to them.

You're missing the whole point. And. And I think that is a perennial word for all of us. God, when I look at those ideologically or relationally or physically that have wounded me or that believe something else than I do, and, and genuinely they need a savior, right? Gosh, Lord, am I loving them and hoping that you'll show up for them?

Or have I become entrenched in some way to let it be us and them? And that's plenty for me. I'm fine with that. When the Messiah comes, it'll be for me and he's gonna endorse my program and make me feel better about what I'm already doing. And does it come into my mind, God, I actually want these guys to be healed, right?

I want you to reach them. And by the way, Lord, thank you that you reach me, and I think in this position we're seeing. Them miss the whole point. Yeah. The Messiah is there for them, and the Messiah is there for, for, uh, well, there there's no room for superiority in the kingdom of God. Yeah. There just isn't.

Yeah. And, and he's confronting this again and again and again. And I think there are times when we, we might be in a much worse position than we think we are. That's clearly the case with the Pharisees. Like he doesn't go on going, yeah, you guys don't need a savior. As his ministry goes on, he goes on to say, you guys are actually in more of in need of a Savior than these guys are.

In a whole lot of ways, there's just no room for superiority we're all sick and we're all in need of the doctor. That's what I get from this.

I love that Jesus also does actually love the Pharisees. Yeah. So he's, he's still leaving the door open. And I think it's easy for us in reading the scriptures to do us and them.

It's almost like we just flipped the squi, the script. We're like, yeah, why didn't, why didn't you love those guys? You're like them. You are not even repentant. Like even in the moment of reading it, it's easy to turn the other way and essentially be like a pharisee towards the Pharisees themselves right now.

Like, yeah, you religious people, I can't stand you.

And God's going, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah. Well you remember later on when you have the Pharisee, I'm like, Lord, thank you that I'm not like these people. I forgot why I read it, but it was a book.

Uh, a guy recounting a story when he's in a church and the guy said, Lord, thank you that we're not like those pharisees who think they're better than you. Exactly. There's some real like. Some real irony. And I wanna just, even to that point, I think there probably were a lot of people who, who weren't coming from like a superiority complex, but they really were legitimately concerned.

Like, oh gosh, what about his witness? You know, we've, we've talked, again, I I, I talked a lot about the whole like appearance of evil thing and uh, I think there probably were people that were like, really concerned about that for his sake. And this is an opportunity when Jesus says, repent and believe. It's not just repent from sin. That's one. That's one part, but it's change the way you're thinking about this. The kingdom of God is here. It's different than you think, and is gonna be not just for those who look holy, but for those who have absolutely blown it and wrecked their lives, blessed her to the poor in spirit. The kingdom is here for all of these people. I, I appreciate that point you're bringing up as well. We, we do have to remember Jesus is bringing the end of an epoch and starting a new one.

This is all changing and you're gonna see, and you're gonna see how it's gonna be different.

It's gonna be different.

You wanna pray for us? Father, these words are so important. They're important when you set 'em in that moment. They're important right now. I pray for my own heart and for everyone that's with us right now on this podcast that you would give us greater humility and greater gratitude. We pray that you would help us in any us and them thinking that's happening right now. Deliver us from that. Let us return to the gratitude that your Jesus who came, you healed the sick and you forgave our sins, and we thank you that you're still doing that today.

Amen. Amen. See you guys tomorrow.