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Matthew 9.1-8; Mark 2.1-8
This is a story of heroic friendship,
risk-taking,
forgiveness,
the power of brotherhood
the compassion of Jesus,
and radical healing.
Frankly, there is something for everyone in this. As you recall, things were starting to heat up when last we saw Jesus, approached by demoniacs, (end of Matthew 8), seeking relief from torture from within. Jesus set the men free.
Jesus was brilliant. Not just his teaching, but his understanding of people. Forgiveness comes before healing—our first takeaway.
Because Mark includes more information in his account, here is the story from his gospel: “When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”1 Mark 2.1-8
What happened here? Four men carried their paralyzed friend to the place where Jesus was teaching, hoping that, based on the stories they had heard about him—how he had restored sight to the blind, healed the centurion’s servant from afar off … well, if the stories were true, what people were saying-- then, their friend would walk home, rather than them carrying him.
To say they were determined to get their friend to Jesus was an understatement; they were going to get him help--they were going to do their level best to see that he had a shot at new life, freedom to walk and work and experience what it even felt like to embrace another, and be embraced! The overflow crowd did not dissuade them. Imagine it with me—they set the fellow down outside the house—and made their way to the roof to cut a hole in it; then they went back down and got their paralytic friend, carried him up, and lowered him down right smack-dab in front of Jesus while he was teaching.
As someone who has done quite a lot of teaching, and in front of sizable groups, I can picture this interruption to Jesus’ teaching, (while we do not know what his subject matter was on that day). Frankly, it puts a smile on my face as I think of what it might have been like, what Jesus thought, what the other folks thought.
But instead of taking him by the hand, and telling him to stand, Jesus forgives him of his sin! Whaaat?
While Jesus’ tactic might seem unusual to Bible readers today, it was not unusual at all to the people of the day. This is another one of those instances where it is highly valuable to know about the customs of the time and place in which this event took place. Jesus began by telling him that his sins were forgiven, because in Palestine it was a universal belief that all sickness was the result of sin, and that no sickness could ever be cured until sin was forgiven. Rabbi Ami said, "There is no death without sin, and no pains without some transgression." Rabbi Alexander said, "The sick arises not from his sickness, until his sins are forgiven." Rabbi Chija ben Abba said, "No sick person is cured from sickness, until all his sins are forgiven him." This unbreakable connection between suffering and sin was part of the orthodox Jewish belief of the time of Jesus.2
But is that not still true today? Sin causes sickness. Sins committed, and sins committed against us, lead to dis-ease, and they break down our bodies. Those who are weighed down by guilt, those who harbor bitterness from un-forgiveness, those who have been abused, or feel abandoned or kicked aside … those whose sins have lodged deep within them, sometimes without cognitive awareness, will struggle for healing and wholeness, perhaps even a lifetime.
Friend, search your heart … ask God to search your heart, and allow him to set you free of that which you have pushed down within. Seek help from a friend or another, if needed. Jesus knew, Jesus knows--that first comes forgiveness of sins, then physical and mental healing. Brilliant.
Christine
1 – Mark 2.1-8
2 – William Barclay |
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