Mark 2:1-12 "Authority To Forgive"
Man’s deepest need is not for fairness, but for forgiveness.
In Mark we see Christ’s authority to forgive sin.
In this passage we shall see:
- The faith of the paralytic’s friends.
- The compassion of Christ.
- The dealing with the root cause of all misery.
- A call to obedience to the word of Christ.
The Action Of The Friends (Mark 2:3-4)
We see several things in the action of the friends:
- We notice that they had a faith born out of need.
- Their faith produced fruit in them. The fruit of works.
It cost these men to get their friend to Jesus. It cost them:
- The time to carry him to the house.
- The effort to carry him to the roof of the house.
- The trouble to tear up the roof and let him down.
- The favor of the people below.
- The money to pay for roof repair.
It made their faith visible to Jesus and to any who saw it.
A visible faith is a faith that works.
The Answer Of Christ (Mark 2:5)
Christ notices all sincere faith.
Throughout the Gospels, wherever Jesus came upon people who displayed faith, He commended that faith.
Christ saw their faith and had compassion on them. He went to the real source of this man’s problem. He forgave his sin.
The Attitude Of The Scribes (Mark 2:6-7)
The scribes had an inclination toward unbelief.
Here was the scribes’ logic:
- Here is a man proclaiming to forgive sins.
- Only God can forgive sins.
- Only God can know if sins are forgiven.
- It cannot be verified by man.
- Is Jesus saying He is God?
They murmured in their hearts against Jesus. This is always the outcome of unbelief.
The Authority of God (Mark 2:8-11)
Notice the authority of God, Jesus response to their unbelief:
- He challenged their unbelief.
- He exhibited His authority to forgive by healing this man.
True discipleship is our love being manifested in the visible commitments we have to Christ.
The Amazement Of The Crowd (Mark 2:12)
Notice the healing and its effect.
- Obedience to the command of Jesus was necessary.
- The crowd was amazed.
