Moving into a new community can be difficult. Sure, meeting new people. Finding new friends. Learning the location of all the important shops and restaurants can be taxing. But the most difficult is setting up new internet service. The customer service for these places is often atrocious.
You do all the research, you figure out exactly which package fits your needs. You make the call.
“Hi, my name is Mike. I’m moving to the area and I’d like to know how much I can get this package for.”
“Thank you for calling today sir. I’d like to tell you about our special glass cleaner we sell.”
“Noooo, I don’t want that. I just want this internet package. Is it available at my address? And how much is it?”
“Wonderful, I can help you with this sir. What is your name?”
Gives name for the fourth time.
“Can I interest you in our 450 channel package. It comes with….” 15 minute spiel.
“No thank you…I just want this very specific package and that is all. Can you get that set up for me.”
“Oh, yes, sir. But first, can I interest you in….”
Grrrr…..
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When you read the story of the paralytic in Mark 2:1-12 it almost seems as if Jesus is giving us an impression of a Suddenlink employee. It’s pretty clear that the pressing need for this guy is the lack of working legs. When Jesus says to the man, “Your sins are forgiven” it feels like he’s offering him glass cleaner instead of addressing the obvious reason for his rather disruptive house call.
I’ve preached this passage a couple of times before and each time I made the point here that our issue of sin is much more pressing than the issue of a physical malady. I still think that’s theologically true—but I actually think I was guilty of imposing something onto the text that isn’t there.
What Is Jesus Doing Here?
The truth is we don’t know why Jesus tied this man’s healing to being forgiven. In fact, it’s not a common thing for Jesus to do this. Rarely do we see these two tied together. If anything Jesus is pretty adamant about untying those (see Luke 13, John 9). So why does he connect them here? Is it because he had special knowledge of this guy? Was he a notorious sinner?
We don’t know. But there is one very important thing that does tie forgiveness and healing together; namely, they are both found in Jesus Christ. And that is the issue in this text. What Jesus does here is offensive to the religious leaders in the audience.
In the mind of the religious leaders, when Jesus said he forgave this guys sins it was a power grab at best and blasphemy at worst. Priest could forgive sins. But it had to be done in the temple and after a lengthy and detailed ritual. And lowering a dude through a roof isn’t part of that ritual. And they certainly aren’t in the temple. And Jesus isn’t a qualified priest.
What this situation does is press the issue of authority. This is a primary concern for Mark in the first few chapters. Even his referring to this guy as “son” is pointing to his authority. Mark establishes Jesus as having authority over everything. And here we see that Jesus has the authority not only to heal but also the authority to forgive sins.
The same word is used in 2:10 that is used in the first chapter when it says he taught with such authority. Now he says to them—knowing their thoughts (again something only God can do), “Which one is harder. To say to someone your sins are forgiven or to say, “rise up, take up your bed and walk”? Well theologically speaking it is to forgive sin. That is the bigger issue. But what Jesus is saying here is this. “Look, I could tell this guy all day long, ‘your sins are forgiven’ and I really can’t prove it can I? You could say the same thing. But if I say to a paralyzed man, ‘get up’ go walk home. Then you can see that can’t you. If he stays on his mat then you know I’m just a big liar. But what if he gets up? If he gets up then you know that I’ve not only got the authority to raise people from a mat but I’ve got the authority to speak spiritual life into dead hearts. I’ve got the authority to forgive sins.
Jesus is establishing his authority in the realm of forgiveness and in the realm of healing. And he is showing them that it isn’t confined to temple space. His authority is far-reaching. He can heal and he can forgive even in a house which is now desperately in need of a new roof.
Conclusion
Hopefully you don’t feel too ripped off because I didn’t give you an in depth answer to the title question. But that’s kind of the point. Forgiveness and healing are combined in this narrative because they are combined in the authority of Jesus. That is the point that Mark wants us to see. This isn’t meant to give us a point about the importance of forgiveness over against the importance of physical healing (you can make that point elsewhere, but it’s not here). And this isn’t meant to give us some sort of prescription for a healing ministry—as if someone is unable to be healed because they have sin in their life. That’s perhaps a point you could make from other places of Scripture, but not here. Mark combines these for one reason—Jesus’ authority over both.
And this is tremendous news for us. It means that the Christ who died for us is the one who is in authority over our healing and over our forgiveness. Aren’t you glad that it’s the loving and gracious Jesus who will say, “your sins are forgiven”? Aren’t you glad that it’s the star-hanging, world-tilting, son of Man who is making all things new?
