The Greater Miracle
Preaching
What Jesus Did:
The Answer To WWJD
When we read the stories from the early part of Jesus' ministry, we begin to understand why his life and ministry were so important, so significant, so different, so electrifying. Jesus was different. He stood out in a crowd. People flocked to him. He was popular.
One major reason that people came to him was because of the miracles that he performed. All four Gospels affirm that Jesus did powerful miracles. All four Gospels agree that Jesus did miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. All four Gospels present the miracles as a sign of Jesus' divine power and divine personality; a signal that the kingdom of God has come and that the kingdom of Satan has been overthrown. Because Jesus did these miracles, people realized that, at the very least, he was a powerful prophet. Some of the disciples came to understand that he was indeed the Son of God. As we look at these miracles we are reminded that our God is indeed an awesome God, that God's power is available to us, and that there is more to miracles than just the healing of physical ills.
• Have you ever witnessed an event you would call a miracle? What happened?
Jesus was at home. He had just completed an extensive circuit around the territory of Galilee and had returned home for some rest and relaxation. This was time to catch up on the mail and spend some quality time with the family. However, when the local people heard he was home, they came to visit; by the hundreds. So many gathered that there was not room for them. Why did they come? They came to listen. He was preaching and teaching. He was telling them about the kingdom of God and what they needed to do to be right with God.
Mark describes what happened on one such occasion. Some friends in the crowd think to themselves, "Now is our chance to bring our friend to Jesus and get him healed." Don't overlook the ministry of these four friends. They were committed to their friend who was a paralytic and could not be there. The most important thing you can do for your friends is what these friends did. Bring them to Jesus. These friends were so committed to the healing of their friend, they were willing to damage somebody else's property in order to get him to Jesus. I doubt that we need to resort to such drastic measures, but their actions show their commitment to their friend and their faith that Jesus could help their friend.
• Think of a friend you could bring to Jesus.
They lower their friend down in front of Jesus. Now things don't happen as we might expect. The Bible says that when Jesus saw their faith, he spoke to the paralytic and said, "Your sins are forgiven." In other healing miracles, it is usually the faith of the sick one that brings about the miracle, but here it is the faith of the friends that initiates the process of forgiveness. Our ministry as friends not only means we will bring them to Jesus, but that our faith will somehow be the initiation of their relationship with Jesus.
We see this with children as they grow up. First, they see the faith of their parents, or the lack of it. As they grow, they ride on the faith of the parents. At a certain point, they come to faith themselves. The parents' faith has served as an example and inspiration to begin their own relationship with Jesus. We see this as we pray for others. Maybe our friends don't have faith, but Jesus sees our faith in prayer, and things work out that our friends eventually have their own faith experience.
Jesus says, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." That is really odd. The presenting problem here is that this man is paralyzed. He needs to be told that he is healed, not that his sins are forgiven. Or does Jesus know something we don't? More than likely. Jesus sees how or why this man is paralyzed. There was some sin for which he could not forgive himself, or for which he did not feel God's forgiveness. It paralyzed him. Here is a poignant picture of what sin does to us. It paralyzes us. Sometimes it may be visible, as with this man. Other times it may be unseen. But sin paralyzes us.
• What sin paralyzes you?
Sin can paralyze us with guilt, with fear, with shame. Or it can paralyze us into evil as we ignore the voice of conscience. This paralyzed man had something in his past he could not let go. He needed forgiveness first, and then the healing would come. Jesus knew that. "Son, your sins are forgiven."
There is a delay while Jesus and the Pharisees engage in a short theological debate over who has the authority to forgive sins on earth. The Pharisees are perfectly correct: Only God can forgive sin, because sin is first and foremost a crime against God. What they miss is that in Jesus, God has come in human flesh. Jesus, being God, has the authority of God from the Father to forgive sins. That was the whole reason Jesus came in the first place, to seek and to save the lost, to forgive sinners, to die for our sins.
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...."
-- Mark 2:8-10 (NIV)
Which is easier to say? It doesn't matter. Talk is cheap. Words have power only when they yield results. Jesus turns to the paralyzed man and says, "Stand up, take up your mat, and go to your home." I wonder what the paralyzed man was thinking about while Jesus and the Pharisees held their mini-debate. "What did he say? My sins are forgiven? Can that be true?" Perhaps he quickly flashed to all the stories he had heard about Jesus from his friends. Perhaps he saw the faith of his friends. If Jesus could see their faith, certainly the paralytic could, too. Then he watches Jesus in action. Maybe he could intuitively sense that Jesus did in fact have the authority to forgive the awful thing he had done. At this point, even though he hasn't walked yet, this man is more healed, restored, and made whole than he has been in a long time.
• Is there a longtime hurt or sin in your life for which you need forgiveness or healing?
The most important healing we need is the healing of our wounded souls, our bruised spirits. How many times have people hurt us? How many wounds have we caused to others? Not only does sin paralyze us as humans, but it paralyzes our relationship with God. When we come to God with sin in our heart, we feel guilty and ashamed. Sometimes we feel that this sin is too great. God can't possibly forgive it. Or, perhaps it is a sin we have been fighting all our lives and never seem to get the full victory over it. We battle and we battle, and we are defeated more often than we are victorious. Do I need to name the possible paralyzers? Lust. Overeating. Alcohol. Anger. Jealousy. Greed. Fear. Anxiety. Drugs. Sex. Racism. Pride.
Paralyzed. Our spirits are wounded and in slavery. Like this man, we lie on the mat of self-pity, rationalism, and justification. We need Jesus to come and say anew to us, "You are forgiven. You don't have to be a slave to this sin. You don't need to let this paralyze your relationship with God. Your sins are forgiven."
The paralytic hears Jesus' words, "Stand up. Take up your mat and go home." A tingling begins in his legs and his arms. He feels the blood and the energy coursing through his veins and nerves and sinews and muscles and bones. The power of God has freed his spirit and now the power of God is freeing his body. He moves an arm, then a leg. He pushes himself to a sitting position. He kneels. He crouches. He stands. He walks. He walks out.
Funny how we never hear about a lot of people after they are cured. Many who were recipients of Jesus' miracles wanted to follow. Some did not. This man just followed Jesus' instructions. He walked out and went home. I want to know how he's doing. What happened when he got home?
• If you were this man, what would you have done?
Can you imagine his wife? Doing dishes at the sink, praying, and wondering why her husband has been sick all these years. She is weary of the burden of caring for an invalid day in and day out. Then she hears his voice, "Honey, I'm home." She turns around expecting to see him on that same old mat. But as she turns, there is her husband standing, walking, the mat under his arm. The dish drops to the floor and crashes into pieces as she runs to his arms and hugs this man she loves. For the first time in a long time, she gets a hug back. There is strength instead of limpness, energy and movement instead of stillness.
The healing of God's forgiveness not only frees us, but it can make a significant difference in the lives of our loved ones and friends. Forgiveness restores relationships. It frees us to keep growing as friends, as spouses and lovers, as family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. This man's family was just as paralyzed, though not physically. Now they are just as free. Did they come back to Jesus? Did they thank him? Did they follow? Did they believe?
• If you were a member of this man's family, how would you react?
Back at the house where Jesus was, a praise and worship service broke out. They were amazed and glorified God. They were amazed because the paralytic walked. They glorified God because the paralytic walked. But the greatest miracle, the most significant aspect of this story, is not the paralytic getting up and walking. It is the fact that sins can be forgiven, and Jesus is the one who can forgive us of our sins. The paralyzed man will walk for the rest of his life and then he will die of some other malady, disease, or accident. The forgiveness of sins is a miracle that endures beyond this earthly life into eternity before God.
• When was the last time God healed you? How did you thank and glorify him?
Not everybody gets healed of their physical ailments. But the miracle of forgiven sins is available to every human being on this planet. We need to be true friends to our friends and tell them about this miracle and how they can have their sins forgiven through Jesus Christ. We need to confess our sins and let Jesus forgive us, releasing us from the guilt, the shame, the paralysis. We need to remember the wonderful liberation of sins forgiven and glorify God for what he really has done in our lives. We need to follow God's example and extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us in one way or another. Forgiven sins is the best miracle anybody could receive. Let's be friends who bring friends to Jesus.
WWJD -- Make a list of your friends who need Jesus. Develop a plan to present the gospel to them.
One major reason that people came to him was because of the miracles that he performed. All four Gospels affirm that Jesus did powerful miracles. All four Gospels agree that Jesus did miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. All four Gospels present the miracles as a sign of Jesus' divine power and divine personality; a signal that the kingdom of God has come and that the kingdom of Satan has been overthrown. Because Jesus did these miracles, people realized that, at the very least, he was a powerful prophet. Some of the disciples came to understand that he was indeed the Son of God. As we look at these miracles we are reminded that our God is indeed an awesome God, that God's power is available to us, and that there is more to miracles than just the healing of physical ills.
• Have you ever witnessed an event you would call a miracle? What happened?
Jesus was at home. He had just completed an extensive circuit around the territory of Galilee and had returned home for some rest and relaxation. This was time to catch up on the mail and spend some quality time with the family. However, when the local people heard he was home, they came to visit; by the hundreds. So many gathered that there was not room for them. Why did they come? They came to listen. He was preaching and teaching. He was telling them about the kingdom of God and what they needed to do to be right with God.
Mark describes what happened on one such occasion. Some friends in the crowd think to themselves, "Now is our chance to bring our friend to Jesus and get him healed." Don't overlook the ministry of these four friends. They were committed to their friend who was a paralytic and could not be there. The most important thing you can do for your friends is what these friends did. Bring them to Jesus. These friends were so committed to the healing of their friend, they were willing to damage somebody else's property in order to get him to Jesus. I doubt that we need to resort to such drastic measures, but their actions show their commitment to their friend and their faith that Jesus could help their friend.
• Think of a friend you could bring to Jesus.
They lower their friend down in front of Jesus. Now things don't happen as we might expect. The Bible says that when Jesus saw their faith, he spoke to the paralytic and said, "Your sins are forgiven." In other healing miracles, it is usually the faith of the sick one that brings about the miracle, but here it is the faith of the friends that initiates the process of forgiveness. Our ministry as friends not only means we will bring them to Jesus, but that our faith will somehow be the initiation of their relationship with Jesus.
We see this with children as they grow up. First, they see the faith of their parents, or the lack of it. As they grow, they ride on the faith of the parents. At a certain point, they come to faith themselves. The parents' faith has served as an example and inspiration to begin their own relationship with Jesus. We see this as we pray for others. Maybe our friends don't have faith, but Jesus sees our faith in prayer, and things work out that our friends eventually have their own faith experience.
Jesus says, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." That is really odd. The presenting problem here is that this man is paralyzed. He needs to be told that he is healed, not that his sins are forgiven. Or does Jesus know something we don't? More than likely. Jesus sees how or why this man is paralyzed. There was some sin for which he could not forgive himself, or for which he did not feel God's forgiveness. It paralyzed him. Here is a poignant picture of what sin does to us. It paralyzes us. Sometimes it may be visible, as with this man. Other times it may be unseen. But sin paralyzes us.
• What sin paralyzes you?
Sin can paralyze us with guilt, with fear, with shame. Or it can paralyze us into evil as we ignore the voice of conscience. This paralyzed man had something in his past he could not let go. He needed forgiveness first, and then the healing would come. Jesus knew that. "Son, your sins are forgiven."
There is a delay while Jesus and the Pharisees engage in a short theological debate over who has the authority to forgive sins on earth. The Pharisees are perfectly correct: Only God can forgive sin, because sin is first and foremost a crime against God. What they miss is that in Jesus, God has come in human flesh. Jesus, being God, has the authority of God from the Father to forgive sins. That was the whole reason Jesus came in the first place, to seek and to save the lost, to forgive sinners, to die for our sins.
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...."
-- Mark 2:8-10 (NIV)
Which is easier to say? It doesn't matter. Talk is cheap. Words have power only when they yield results. Jesus turns to the paralyzed man and says, "Stand up, take up your mat, and go to your home." I wonder what the paralyzed man was thinking about while Jesus and the Pharisees held their mini-debate. "What did he say? My sins are forgiven? Can that be true?" Perhaps he quickly flashed to all the stories he had heard about Jesus from his friends. Perhaps he saw the faith of his friends. If Jesus could see their faith, certainly the paralytic could, too. Then he watches Jesus in action. Maybe he could intuitively sense that Jesus did in fact have the authority to forgive the awful thing he had done. At this point, even though he hasn't walked yet, this man is more healed, restored, and made whole than he has been in a long time.
• Is there a longtime hurt or sin in your life for which you need forgiveness or healing?
The most important healing we need is the healing of our wounded souls, our bruised spirits. How many times have people hurt us? How many wounds have we caused to others? Not only does sin paralyze us as humans, but it paralyzes our relationship with God. When we come to God with sin in our heart, we feel guilty and ashamed. Sometimes we feel that this sin is too great. God can't possibly forgive it. Or, perhaps it is a sin we have been fighting all our lives and never seem to get the full victory over it. We battle and we battle, and we are defeated more often than we are victorious. Do I need to name the possible paralyzers? Lust. Overeating. Alcohol. Anger. Jealousy. Greed. Fear. Anxiety. Drugs. Sex. Racism. Pride.
Paralyzed. Our spirits are wounded and in slavery. Like this man, we lie on the mat of self-pity, rationalism, and justification. We need Jesus to come and say anew to us, "You are forgiven. You don't have to be a slave to this sin. You don't need to let this paralyze your relationship with God. Your sins are forgiven."
The paralytic hears Jesus' words, "Stand up. Take up your mat and go home." A tingling begins in his legs and his arms. He feels the blood and the energy coursing through his veins and nerves and sinews and muscles and bones. The power of God has freed his spirit and now the power of God is freeing his body. He moves an arm, then a leg. He pushes himself to a sitting position. He kneels. He crouches. He stands. He walks. He walks out.
Funny how we never hear about a lot of people after they are cured. Many who were recipients of Jesus' miracles wanted to follow. Some did not. This man just followed Jesus' instructions. He walked out and went home. I want to know how he's doing. What happened when he got home?
• If you were this man, what would you have done?
Can you imagine his wife? Doing dishes at the sink, praying, and wondering why her husband has been sick all these years. She is weary of the burden of caring for an invalid day in and day out. Then she hears his voice, "Honey, I'm home." She turns around expecting to see him on that same old mat. But as she turns, there is her husband standing, walking, the mat under his arm. The dish drops to the floor and crashes into pieces as she runs to his arms and hugs this man she loves. For the first time in a long time, she gets a hug back. There is strength instead of limpness, energy and movement instead of stillness.
The healing of God's forgiveness not only frees us, but it can make a significant difference in the lives of our loved ones and friends. Forgiveness restores relationships. It frees us to keep growing as friends, as spouses and lovers, as family, as brothers and sisters in Christ. This man's family was just as paralyzed, though not physically. Now they are just as free. Did they come back to Jesus? Did they thank him? Did they follow? Did they believe?
• If you were a member of this man's family, how would you react?
Back at the house where Jesus was, a praise and worship service broke out. They were amazed and glorified God. They were amazed because the paralytic walked. They glorified God because the paralytic walked. But the greatest miracle, the most significant aspect of this story, is not the paralytic getting up and walking. It is the fact that sins can be forgiven, and Jesus is the one who can forgive us of our sins. The paralyzed man will walk for the rest of his life and then he will die of some other malady, disease, or accident. The forgiveness of sins is a miracle that endures beyond this earthly life into eternity before God.
• When was the last time God healed you? How did you thank and glorify him?
Not everybody gets healed of their physical ailments. But the miracle of forgiven sins is available to every human being on this planet. We need to be true friends to our friends and tell them about this miracle and how they can have their sins forgiven through Jesus Christ. We need to confess our sins and let Jesus forgive us, releasing us from the guilt, the shame, the paralysis. We need to remember the wonderful liberation of sins forgiven and glorify God for what he really has done in our lives. We need to follow God's example and extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us in one way or another. Forgiven sins is the best miracle anybody could receive. Let's be friends who bring friends to Jesus.
WWJD -- Make a list of your friends who need Jesus. Develop a plan to present the gospel to them.
