5 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Leviticus 19-20
Mark 2:1-17

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Mark 2:8-11 (CSB): “Right away Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were thinking like this within themselves and said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 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.'”

Reflecting on God’s Word

In Capernaum, the same city we looked at yesterday, Jesus was in “the house.” We assume that this is referring to Peter’s house. Since so many people were coming to Him to be healed, the house was filled with people. Some desperate friends of a paralyzed man wanted to get him to Jesus so they somehow got onto the roof of Peter’s house and removed the tile from the roof so that they could lower their friend on a mat through the hole in the roof.

We know that this man’s deepest need was not his paralysis but his sinful heart condition. So, when Jesus looked at him and his friends, He saw they were broken over their sins and ready to trust in Jesus to make them right. How do we know this? Because of what Mark told us in his account of this event.

Mark 2:5 (CSB): “Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.'”

The religious folks were watching and immediately grew irate! “How dare Jesus say He has the authority and power to forgive this man’s sins. Only God can do that!”

In response to their indignation, Jesus responded with the words in the verses I have chosen for today. He started by asking them a question: “Which is easier to do: to forgive the man’s sinful heart condition or heal the man’s paralysis?”

If we were those religious leaders, we might say: “It’s easier to say that you will forgive his sins because there would be no evidence one way or the other that his sins were actually forgiven. It would be harder to say that you could heal him because such words would demand proof – can the man get up and walk?”

But, actually, it was harder to forgive the man’s sins. Why? Because that forgiveness would be made possible by Jesus’ death on the cross.

Given this information, Jesus DID the harder thing. He forgave the man’s sins. But the people thought healing the man was harder. That’s why Jesus proceeded to heal him. Doing so would make it clear to them that He had the authority to forgive sins (what they perceived was the easier thing to say).

Mark 2:9-11 (CSB): “‘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.'”

As we apply this story to our lives, I wonder if we would agree with those 1st-century folks and say that it is easy for Jesus to forgive us. I wonder if we tolerate too many sins in our lives because we believe that we can simply go to Jesus, yet again, for the same sins that we keep whimsically repeating because we think it was easy for Him to provide us with the forgiveness we seek.

Friend, if you ever begin to take Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins too lightly, just look to the cross. Close your eyes and see Him there on the cross, suffering God’s judgment and wrath, taking the punishment we deserve so that we might be forgiven. Let that thought cause you to think twice before sinning yet again.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to forgive you for any unconfessed sin in your life.
  • Ask God to help you feel the weight of what Jesus did to make you right in God’s eyes.
  • Ask God to help you despise sin because every sin you will ever commit had to be placed on Jesus.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus’ ability to offer forgiveness before He went to the cross, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“How could Jesus say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ before He died on the cross?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Polk City, Florida (fbcpolkcity.com)