6 Minute Read + Scripture readings
Today’s Bible Reading:
Today’s Bible Verse(s):
“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.’”
Mark 2:9-11 (CSB)
Reflections on Today’s Bible Verse(s):
In the verses that I chose for today, we hear Jesus asking some critical scribes a question. On its face, we may be tempted to answer quickly – and get the answer wrong. So, let’s look at it.
Jesus saw a man who had something desperately wrong with his body. The man wasn’t mobile. And Jesus, having compassion on him, realized that this man’s deepest need wasn’t his broken body; it was his lost soul. So Jesus, as God in the flesh, forgave the man of his sin debt against a holy God.
The scribes blew a gasket when He said that! They wanted to rip Jesus’ head off! They reasoned that no one has the ability to forgive sins accept God, and they refused to acknowledge that Jesus was God with skin on.
So, Jesus looked those scribes in the eye and asked them a question: “What’s easier? To forgive a man of his sin debt against a holy God or to heal his broken body?”
If we aren’t careful, we will say that the easiest thing would be to say that his sins are forgiven. We might be tempted to join the scribes in thinking that it is much harder to miraculously fix a broken body with a word.
If we think that way, we need to look at the cross. We need to realize what it took for us to be forgiven of our sin debt against a holy God. It cost Jesus’ His life! It cost Him, for about 33 years, His rights and privileges in Heaven as God the Son (see Philippians 2:5-11).
Do you know what a reminder of the cross and what Jesus did for us should do within us? It should spur on unspeakable gratitude! It should create a song in our heart when we realize just how much the God of the universe loves us and what lengths He was willing to go to bring us to Himself.
You, my friend, are loved! That’s the message of John 3:16, isn’t it? God loved us so much that He did the infinitely hard thing to save us! Thank Him for it today.
John 3:16 (CSB): “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Lord Jesus, thank You so much for the love that You have for me. Thank You that you did the infinitely hard thing by leaving Heaven, living a perfect life, dying on the cross, and rising from the dead, so that as I trust in You I can enjoy You in this life and for the rest of eternity. It’s in Your wonderful Name that I pray this prayer, Amen!
Matt’s Musings 