Please turn in the Scriptures this morning to Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2, we'll be looking at the first 12 verses of Mark 2. The inspired and fallible Word of God. A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that He had come home. So many gathered 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 paralytic, 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. And after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 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 is what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up, take your mat and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, 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. Thus ends the reading of God's Word. Beloved in our Lord Jesus Christ, one doesn't have to look far today into Christian books, magazines, and even television shows to see the present day fascination with healings and miracles. Maybe like me, you've come across people who share with you how Pastor so-and-so touched or made a declaration against some sort of physical infirmity, backache or whatever, and it left them. When you hear that, maybe you feel like me a little uncomfortable because we really believe that those supernatural gifts ended with the apostolic era. We tend to think, am I missing something? John Calvin faced the same dilemma when somebody challenged his beliefs on miracles and Calvin was asked, where are your miracles? Calvin, of course, responded, my miracles are in the New Testament. Because, see, the New Testament miracles pointed to something beyond the physical. and why so many people today are caught up in being physically well for the present, we know that this will all end. We have to be a bit concerned about why we hear much less about the forgiveness of sin and the miracles that accompany that. See, we have a passage before us this morning that demonstrates our Lord's concern to look beyond the physical to the spiritual, the problem of the heart, the problem of sin. And what Jesus demonstrates to us in our passage this morning is that the true miracle is the forgiveness of sin and the new life that He gives to those who come to Him with a broken and contrite heart. And so what we want to briefly consider this morning are three things. First, Jesus' concern about the problem of sin. Second, Jesus' authority and power to forgive sin. And third, the new life that Jesus gives to those who have been forgiven. Now, as we consider this passage this morning, we learn from verse 1 that Jesus had entered Capernaum. From chapter 1, we read that Jesus had already been there. In fact, He had been there on the Sabbath in the synagogue, and this was the very place where Jesus had cast out a demon from a man. We read that all of them in the synagogue in Capernaum were asking, just what is this? What new doctrine is this? They had never witnessed anything like it. And it says that His fame spread throughout all of the surrounding region around Galilee. And so in chapter 2, verse 1, we read that Jesus again entered Capernaum. He finished His circuit of His early Galilean ministry, and now He was back. And what we read here is that after some days, the people heard that He was home. The text emphasizes that so many people had gathered to see Jesus, that there was no room left in this house that he had entered. Now it's important that we understand, I believe, what Mark wants us to see here, the picture that he's given. Jesus' fame had spread throughout Galilee, and when news returned, it had rapidly spread that Jesus was back in town. And so Jesus enters this house, probably the same house as Simon Peter is mentioned in chapter 1. And what we read in Luke is that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were sitting by who had come out of every town in Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. This was a great gathering, not only of the people of Capernaum, but of all of the great religious leaders of the day from all the surrounding regions. You see, through his healing on the Sabbath and other things, these religious leaders were looking to catch Jesus in a trap. Many of them had heard that he was not keeping their oral traditions. He had already healed a man on the Sabbath. And the picture that we have here is that all of these guys were sitting. The idea seems to be emphasized that they were sitting as judges waiting to see what this Jesus would do. Now, it's interesting that Mark wants us to realize that it was Jesus' desire to preach. In verse 2, we read, he preached the word to them. This is truly amazing. If you look in chapter 1, verse 38, we read that Jesus wanted to go throughout all the towns to preach. And he said, for this purpose, I have come forth. It was Jesus' purpose to preach. Preach what? the word concerning the nearness of the kingdom and the necessity of repentance and faith. And you see, Mark emphasizes that Jesus preached. In the Luke account, we read that the power of the Lord was present to heal them. Why? Because Jesus was preaching. He was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor. He was sent to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and He was doing that. See, God has given His church the preached Word to heal broken sinners. And how sad it is that in our day one of the last things people want anymore is the preached Word. We hear that our visual society, people just don't respond to the preaching anymore. But notice that this was the reason, beloved, that Jesus came forth. The ordained means by which you, the body of Christ obtains faith is through the preaching of the Word. Oh, that the church today would take notice. And so this is the picture that we have here. And think about the greatness of this event. Here are all of these people gathered together with all of these great doctors of the law who in many respects had memorized the entirety of the Old Testament. And Jesus is preaching to them. Can you imagine the anger? Here comes Jesus preaching, calling people to repentance and belief in Him. And yet, according to their traditions and their standards, this guy has never been trained in their schools. Furthermore, it's likely they knew he came from Nazareth. It has been stated, what good can come from Nazareth? And he preaches to them with authority. Not as the religious leaders do, and the people knew it. He had gained all the ears of the people. And we can imagine the antagonism against Jesus that was already in this house simply from his proclamation. Now as Jesus is preaching, in verse 3 we read that some men came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four of them. And seeing that they could not enter the house because the crowds were so great, we read in verse 4, that they literally unroofed the roof and dug through it, lowering this man before Jesus on his mat. Now the central focus of this entire passage is verse 5. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven you. In front of all of these great doctors of the law, the first thing Jesus raises to the forefront is this man's sin. This is amazing because first off, the man said nothing. The real picture that we have here is that Jesus looked right into his heart. This man's condition was terrible. The disease that plagued him has often been characterized by an extreme loss of power of motion. What happens is that the muscles are unable to function, usually resulting in some sort of injury to the brain or spinal cord that affects the motor areas. But whatever the case, the man's condition was repulsive and terrible. Now what must have been going through his mind? I mean, we at least know that the common notion of the day, Supported by Scripture is that any grievously afflicted individual must have been a grievous sinner. The people in the room would have looked upon this man in disgust. Sickness and its intensity was supposed to have indicated how bad a person was. The Pharisees may very well have been able to substantiate this with many Old Testament examples. And of course, I think we need to keep in mind here that God does reserve His right of exercising judgments on this earth. But to hold to the Jewish notion, that is not our prerogative. Jesus combated this error. We know from John 9 that somebody asked Jesus just who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind. Jesus responded, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. and I believe that's the very same case that we have here. You see, affliction and disease are often a consequence of sin on this earth and that's something we have to take very seriously. Young people, the decisions you make now with regard to how you live will affect you for later. But that's different than saying somebody has cancer, therefore he must be a wretched sinner. The fact of the matter here is that Jesus is standing in front of a room of people who really don't even believe they're sinners, who really don't even believe they need a Savior. What's interesting is that Jesus looks up and it says that He sees their faith. We don't read of them saying a word. He looks right into their hearts and can see that they believe that Jesus has the power. To heal this man. And Jesus said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven. What a pronouncement. Amazing. Because if we think about it, this is interesting. Excuse me. If you think about it, it seems so inappropriate. And maybe even irreverent to those who are watching. I mean, according to them, this man's a terrible sinner because he was a paralytic. And Jesus makes the claim to forgive his sin that at least is not immediately substantiated by him rising up. It would have seemed like an irreverent statement. But the point here is there was no proof of the pudding. We'll come back to that. But what about this man? It says something about him. Yet we don't read about anything of his thoughts or words. In fact, it may very well have been the case that he couldn't speak. Which really makes this interesting. We do know from the Matthew account that Jesus said, Son, be of good cheer. The same phrase used when Jesus went to his disciples out on the sea when they thought he was a ghost. And the idea that comes across was that this man was terrified. Here was a heart prepared by God for healing. You see, this man needed the comforting words of the shepherd. And so Jesus addresses him as Son. Son, a term of endearment and love. And what comes across by Jesus' response is that this man was deeply concerned about his sin. He may very well have held to the notion of the day that his disease was a result of him being a bad sinner. Jesus knew, whatever the case, that this man was deeply aggrieved about his condition before God. He knew something wasn't right between he and Christ. And Christ looked right into his heart. Jesus looks up to him in compassion, seeing the true intent of his heart, and he says, Son, your sins are forgiven. In a moment, Jesus had blotted out his sins forever with a simple declaration. How beautiful. Oh, our justification. When you believe there's a declaration that your sins are forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ, Jesus calls all of those who are weary to come to Him and find rest. see beloved so many in our day are going through this life walking in utter misery and shame who are in a vicious circle of their own sin never seeing a way out hopeless people are so very hungry beloved starving in our society to be released from their misery to find acceptance and to be wanted and the world today characterizes this as a loss of self-esteem society spends millions to build people up to have a positive image of oneself, to think more highly than what they do of themselves. But what is self-esteem other than an endless pursuit of false hope and a slam to the Gospel? See, the Scriptures time and time again reveal to us that in order to find true happiness and identity, we must first become broken by our sin. Find true restored identity. And of course, that's only found in Christ. Jesus said, I did not come for the righteous. In other words, I did not come for those who have a positive self-esteem, but for the sick, those who see their sin, those who are in need of the healing power of the Christ. And for those who have truly come to this point, for those who are truly broken and downcast within their souls, that throw them into the bottomless pit, Jesus says, these I will never reject. Never. Have you come before your Lord broken, in despair, guilt-ridden because of sin? Do you really believe that you're a sinner in need of the Christ? You see, I've heard it so many excuses made so many times. The Lord could never forgive me because I've done so many bad things. How arrogant. The Lord has the power to forgive the greatest of our sins. Imagine the joy that filled this man at the very moment to know that he was forgiven forever. To know that the weight of his sin that had laid heavy upon him and brought him down and down, the guilt of having to be carried by his friends. Imagine, and what was foremost upon his mind, that his sin has caused his estate. and imagine that in a moment He had been comforted by the tender words of the Good Shepherd. Take courage, son. Your sins are forgiven. And the burden was gone. This is what Jesus does, beloved. The sense of having been forgiven is the greatest release of guilt that one could ever experience. Have you known it? Why was what Jesus was demonstrating to a room full of eyes was that the paralytic, the one who was truly in need of the Christ and longed to come into His presence for healing, was the one upon whom Jesus immediately looked and received. And by true faith, was engrafted into His healing love of deliverance, engrafted into Him to receive all of His benefits, as our confession states. And notice the love of His friends who associated themselves with one whom in the eyes of society was outcast as they carried him to their Lord. Oh, how we need the covenant community. How we need to surround ourselves with other believers to be on your own apart from God's people is utter misery. And so many people choose that. And we see, what we see here, is that Jesus' primary concern was this man's sin. The physical state, although a consequence of sin, was secondary with Jesus when it comes to the spiritual state. He lifted the issue of this man's sin in front of them all. And you know God never takes sin lightly. How different that is from what we hear in our day. What we hear today is that sin is a terrible condition that we fall victim to. and then can be released from its consequences. Today, one can commit murder, rape, whatever, claim insanity, claim it's a condition they can't help, and be released from its consequences. One pastor said sin is really treated in three different ways. We simply ignore it, because if it doesn't exist, we blame it on somebody else, either on our genes or our environment, or we pretend that it really doesn't matter. But the problem is Jesus doesn't treat sin that way. In fact, He lifts it up as the foremost problem to be dealt with in front of them all. It was His greatest concern. And you know, the church has lost a sense of this today. It has become nothing more than a social institution to make people feel good, to tickle their ears with things they want to hear and not get beat up, as many say in our day, by hearing that they're sinners. God's law is scarcely read. The very standard that tells us how we're to live before Him. A sermon on sin and its consequences are far and few to be found. And the church has become a place where people come to cover up these problems of sin. We're on the front to the gospel. The gospel addresses the wretchedness of sin. And you see, beloved, the church is a place for sinners. A place of comfort for the afflicted. a place to find encouragement for our struggles of sin in this life. And if anyone can honestly say that they're not struggling with that today, the Bible says that they're a liar and the truth is not in them. The church is a place that God has given us to come and confess our sins and ask others to pray for us, not a place to hide them. The church is a place of healing from God's Word and to leave being assured as true believers that you're forgiven. You see, a true Christian fights his sin daily. That's the structure of our order of worship, isn't it? You see, because we still struggle with our sin, because we need to be reminded of God's grace, in humility we confess as believers our sin. And what do we hear every week? An assurance of pardon. Every week. Because we struggle. And yet I have to ask when that assurance of pardon is given that God promises never to remember your sin again, that as far as the east is from the west, so far as He cast out our transgressions. When you hear that, what goes through your mind? Has it become mindless? You see, with one declaration by our Lord, the man who was burdened with sin and guilt was now free. What joy must have filled his heart. That's what happens when you truly believe in Jesus Christ. When all of your resources rest upon Him. A week in and a week out, we have the privilege that as believers in Christ of hearing that our sin is pardoned. We need that reminder, don't we? If you experience the joy to know this forgiveness, sin is so serious with God that it must be punished to cross or on judgment day, it is so serious with God. Listen to His description, Psalm 58. The wicked go estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born speaking lies. Break their teeth in their mouth, O God. And yet, with such a hopeless condition, as believers and as those who have been forgiven in Christ, doesn't it make you marvel that it took the only begotten Son of God to die on the cross to free you? For those who don't believe that, The Bible calls you to do so where hell awaits. See, because of the promise, this paralytic's forgiveness was as good as done because very soon Jesus would hang on a tree and yell out, it is finished, meaning that full remission of sin would be accomplished by Him for all of His children. That's the Gospel. Now in verses 6 and 7, We read, now some of the 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? And we know what they're saying here. Leviticus 24 makes it clear that the penalty of blasphemy was punishable by death. But from their perspective, really, what did they hear? I want you to think back for just a moment with David, with his sin with Bathsheba. If you remember, the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to him, and David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. Remember what Nathan said to David? The Lord has put away your sin. Now think about this. The Lord has put away your sin, and here we have Jesus saying to the paralytic, literally, Son, forgiven are your sins. The moment Jesus spoke the words, He was pronouncing forgiveness upon the man, The Pharisees knew exactly what he was claiming. They knew of Isaiah 44, 22, which states, I have blotted out like a thick cloud your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins return to me, for I have redeemed you. Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it. They knew what we read earlier, Jeremiah 31, where the Lord said, For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more. Forgiveness of sin is attributed to God alone, and what we see in the Gospels, beloved, constantly is the emphasis of the author to show us who Jesus truly is. The eternal God who pardons sin and has come to redeem His own. And it was the paralytic's God who was standing before Him. The teachers of the law reason in their heart who alone can forgive sins except God alone. And they were right. Only God can forgive sins. And they were thinking, Either this man is a madman blaspheming or he is truly God. And, of course, they considered him to be a blasphemer. They were looking at Jesus' claim as a direct attempt to rob God of his glory. They knew well what he was claiming. Now, what's amazing is that Jesus perceived in his spirit what they were thinking in their hearts. We have no record of them saying anything. Amazing. Jesus looks right into their heart and he reads a dialogue taking place in their beings. And you see, beloved, the heart is very important, isn't it? Doesn't it demonstrate what kind of person one is? Jesus said, out of the heart perceives evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. From the heart stems everything. It's the mainspring by which actions are brought to fruition. And what we have in this passage are two types of hearts. Those who draw close to God with their lips, but whose hearts are far from him and those whose hearts are broken, contrite, in need of healing. You know, beloved, people do a wonderful job today of covering up sin to the world. But the one to whom it truly matters, our actions and our hearts are as wide open to the one who sees everything. And so Jesus, looking right into their thoughts, responds, why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the paralytic? Your sins are forgiven? Or to say, get up, take up your mat, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, I tell you, take up your mat and go home. And he took up his mat and walked out in full view of them all. And what Jesus was doing with this question was saying, all right, to show you that I have this authority to forgive sin, to show you that I am truly the Son of Man, and if that's what it takes for you to believe, this man to be restored physically, then see the miracle. Here you go. Arise, take up your bed, and walk in front of them all. The paralytic God out. This is none other than a picture of the new life we have in Jesus. That's why Paul could say, walk in the newness of life. And what Jesus does, beloved, is not only forgive your sin, but He grants a new life of freedom to live in a way that pleases Him. Sure, in their eyes, it was easier to pronounce the forgiveness of sins than heal the man. But I submit to you this morning that it was much more essential and substantially more costly for Jesus to have said, Son, your sins are forgiven. Why? Because it took Him going to the cross. See, physical healing is a wonderful thing, but it's only temporary, prolongs life that God has given, but the true healing. And what everyone should be concerned about this morning is the healing of the heart, forgiveness of sin. Do you have that? If not, should you not do as the psalmist says, for your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. See, there were really three types of people in the house that day. Those who were completely lost, the majority standing there, those who were presumptuous and thinking they were okay. And then there were those few, few who had salvation because their hope was only in coming to their Lord for mercy. This entire account demonstrates to us the compassion of our Savior. We so easily distrust, don't we? We so easily doubt the mercy of God that He has actually forgiven our sins. And He gives us this assurance today because He is the author and dispenser of His own grace. As the Son of Man, He has this authority and He is drawn near to us. This is why He could say to everyone in the room that day that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sin. Meaning that He came in His person visibly to do it. He accommodated us to show us this visibility in our weakness, that which was formerly hidden, which has been manifest through His coming on earth to forgive sin. And today, right now, you still have that set before you through the preaching and visibly every time you take of the supper. The promise of the gospel. Forgiveness of sin and eternal life. See, God says to you today, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. That's what the paralytic had before God. And he walked away in the newness of life. If you truly believe in Jesus Christ, those words, Son, your sins are forgiven, are an assurance of pardon for you today from Christ. What a reason to rejoice today so much so that you can be assured on the last day that you will hear those words. Come, you blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared before you from the foundation of the world. Amen. Oh Lord, we thank you that you have granted forgiveness, that you have given us the assurance of pardon. Show us our sin. Show us how far we have fallen but all the more lift us up and show us this gospel. Show us the open arms of our Savior graciously granting forgiveness to His people. We thank You for it and we exalt Jesus Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.