Before I begin the devotional, a quick program note...More often lately, I feel like I'm in the position of having to apologize for missing a day on these posts. This is because my implicit promise to all of you is that I would publish these devotionals five days a week. While that remains my goal, I do want to stipulate that sometimes I will not be able to make good on that and I will miss a day. I'm working at giving myself some grace when that happens and not feeling pressure to use my off-days to make up posts I miss. I'm asking you to give me that grace as well. I thank you in advance.
Mark 2:1-12 - A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
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 this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
This is not just another healing story. There are several places in this gospel where Mark says something to the effect, “and Jesus healed many people.” But it’s important to pay attention when we encounter a healing story with all the details, for the details hold truth that Mark is trying to point out.
So in this remarkable story, Jesus is speaking to a house so jammed full of people that no one can get in or out. So the four men carrying the paralyzed man realize that the only way they are going to get to Jesus is to lower their friend through the roof. They do just that, and as they do, Jesus says something very peculiar. Or maybe to be more precise, he DOESN’T say what we would expect in this case. He doesn’t say, “you’re healed,” to the paralyzed man.
Instead, “he says, “your sins are forgiven.”
This ruffles some feathers, but we’ll come back to that in a minute. Why would Jesus forgive the sins of a man in need of healing? Could it be that the healing the man needed would come from first being freed from the guilt that had literally paralyzed him? I have read of many people who have been healed of physical ailments and diseases after finding a way to reconcile and redeem the mistakes of the past. In some cases, it was the afflicted person finally being released from the guilt of the past. In other cases, it was the afflicted that found a way to forgive something in the past that seemed impossible to forgive before. In both types of situations, the spiritual healing of the past led to physical healing in the present.
Back to the ruffled feathers. The religious leaders present at this event take issue with Jesus’s authority to forgive sins. Their objection that only God can forgive sins is valid. Jesus knows this and He addresses it by something else only God can do – He heals the paralyzed man. More accurately, he tells the man that has already received healing to get up and walk.
The crowd responds by saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
By “this,” they don’t mean the healing of someone. For they have already seen Jesus heal many before this day. The reason the house is packed full of people is that Jesus has already gained a huge following by healing many people. What the crowd is amazed by is not the healing, but that the healing that came through the forgiveness of sins.
Here’s something even more amazing. We have this same power when we forgive. Sometimes, the brokenness of the past literally takes up residence in our bodies, sometimes even festering into diseases and/or other physical maladies. Let me be clear; I am in no way willing to claim that all illness and physical brokenness can be traced to unforgiveness. But I have simply seen cases where this is the case. Mark is telling us about one such instance today. So when we are able to let go and forgive, it has the potential to bring restoration and health beyond just our spirit and emotions.
Question: Is it possible that brokenness in your past has taken up residence in your body?
Prayer: Jesus, sometimes we know in our heads that you have offered us forgiveness, but for whatever reason, we have not been able to accept that gracious gift. Help us let go and allow the healing to begin. Help us share the healing power of forgiveness with each other.
Prayer Focus: Pray for the people of Cuba who are right now experiencing a dangerous hurricane.
Song: Set Me Free – Casting Crowns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2HwtWLokSc
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