Mark 2:1-12: Who can Forgive Sins but God Alone?

(1) Bible Study Questions

Discuss: Out of 10, what importance would most people give to having their sins forgiven? Why? Do most people think it is easy or hard for God to forgive sins?

1. Why was the room packed? (vv. 1-2)

2. What importance do you think Jesus gave to preaching the kingdom and why?

3. How do the four friends demonstrate their faith? (v. 4)

4. What does Jesus say to the paralysed man ? (v. 5)

5. Why does Jesus say this, considering why the man has been brought to him?

6. Why does Jesus declare this man's sins forgiven? (cf. Rom 4: 6-8)

7. How were the teachers of the law right in the question they ask in verse 7?

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remember your sin no more (Isa 43:25 NIV)

8. How were the teachers of the law wrong?

9. How does Jesus prove his authority to forgive sins? (vv. 9-12)

10. Who can forgive your sins?

For reflection: Do you know that your sins are forgiven? Why or why not? Why can Jesus forgive your sins?

(2) Sermon Script

Introduction: Desperate to Get to Bible Study

You’ve managed to get yourself to bible study on time. You’ve got a good feeling. You’ve even done some preparation. Found some good links and cross references. Attendance is pretty good. Bruce’s football training is called off. Jenny has even brought her friend from uni. So much so that you probably can’t fit any more in your room.

And as you read the passage, you hear footsteps above. Then a strange scraping noise directly above. And then another one. Maybe birds. Big birds.

You try and ignore it and concentrate on God’s word. And the scraping noise is replaced with thuds. But by now no-one is listening to the insightful discussion question. Then the thudding stops and you hear the sound of large power tools.

By now it is impossible to ignore the noise. You look all around. Your host has gone outside to see what all the noise is. Then he comes running in and rings the police.

By now, gyprock and plaster dust is falling all around. Your hosts living room is a mess of wood dust, chipped gyprock. And as the evening sun fills the room, a hopeful face appears above through the hole in the ceiling. ‘Is this where bible study is? I hope I’m not late!

And you immediately consider changing churches!

Farfetched? It certainly is wishful thinking that someone would go to such lengths and damage so much property because they were desperate to come to your bible study. It is a far fetched story. But I guess that is the difference between us and Jesus.

We turn to Mark Chapter 2. And we see Jesus teaching in a town near his home. We don’t know whether this house is Peter’s, Jesus’ own house, or some other friend. But in any event, when people heard Jesus was there, they flocked to him. Perhaps out of curosity. Perhaps to hear God’s word. Perhaps to be healed.

And in the midst of the crowd we see three groups. Three types of people have come to Jesus.

Three Types of People

(1) Four good mates

The first group are four good mates. We don’t know how they heard about Jesus or who they are. We don’t even know what they knew about Jesus. But we can work out a few things about them. First, they had a friend who was a paralytic, or a paralysed man. He was in need. And second, they knew enough about Jesus to know that he could help. And third, we know that they were bold to destroy someone elses roof. And for at least these three reasons, Jesus is able to make a judgment about their attitude towards him. Look at the first part of verse 5 with me.

When Jesus saw their faith… (NIV)

There is faith. A knowledge that Jesus can help. And a boldness to pursue him. That’s the four mates.

(2) A man with a bigger problem than quadraplaegia

Then there is a second group, no, really a person. That is the paralysed man. And the paralytic, or the paralysed man, comes with a need. His is an obvious and profound disability. Whether it is paraplaegia or quadraplegia, we can’t be sure. But everyone could see what his biggest problem was. Or could they? For Jesus first interest is not the man’s paraplaegia. Look at verse 5 again:

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son your sins are forgiven.' (NIV)

Jesus bypasses the obvious disability to deal with the problem of the man’s sin. And in so doing, he highlights the paralysed man’s real problem. He needs his sins forgiven. For the paralysed man has sins. And so do we. He has personally rejected God. And so have we. And so that is the man’s real problem, as far as Jesus is concerned. And that is our real problem. We have many presenting problems... unemployment, lonely, overweight, lack of money or time, unattractive appearance... but our real problem is sin. Sin wrecks life now, and if it is not forgiven, it takes a person to hell.

Well, if the room demolishers have not stopped the bible study in its tracks, Jesus’ statement to the paralysed man has.

(3) The scrupulous theologians

Which brings us to the third group present - the scrupulous theologians. For there were many experts in the bible there. They were called teachers of the law. We might think of them as careful and scrupulous theologians. And they have some thoughts regarding Jesus’ statements. Verses 6 and 7:

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves. ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? (NIV)

They were thinking, 'Jesus cannot forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins! Who does this Jesus think that he is!'

Now, I have a certain sympathy for these theologians. They may well have in mind passages like this one in Isaiah, where God says of himself:

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remember your sin no more (Isaiah 43:25 NIV)

In the matter of sin, it is God who is the offended party. Another man cannot forgive that sin. And so the teachers of the law saw the injustice of Jesus’ implicit claim to be able to forgive sins.

Imagine I was to run up the back of your car. I’m in the wrong. I have wronged you. You are the one who has suffered loss.

But imagine if a complete stranger comes along, a third party with nothing to do with the situation, and says to me. ‘That’s OK. I’m sure you won’t have to pay for it.' That would be unjust, would it not?

Who is Jesus?

That seems to be the logic that the Teachers of the law are using. And their logic is correct. Only that they misunderstand that Jesus is not a stranger to the transaction. For they misunderstand who Jesus is. Jesus is no third party. Rather, what stands behind Jesus claim to forgive sins is his claim to be the aggrieved party. The theologians were right. Only God can forgive sins. But they didn’t understand that God the aggrieved party had become man. They didn’t understand that Jesus was God who had become man

Why did he come?

And neither did they understand why Jesus had come. For Jesus’ mission was fundamentally related to our deepest need. Our sin problem. For we are not naturally good people. We are working through Mark’s gospel. As we go we will hear Jesus say that it is our hearts that make us unclean. That all manner of evils come from inside a person and make us unclean (Mark 7:20-23). We will hear Jesus declare that ‘no-one is good, except God alone’ (Mark 10:18). And that this is the reason why Jesus has come.

And that his mission is to go to the cross. For Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45) And that his death was as a ransom for us.

So, if the theologians understood Jesus, they would have known that Jesus’ coming was all about forgiveness. Jesus job is the forgiveness of sins.

Well, Jesus of course immediately knew the thoughts of the teachers of the law. So he posed them a question. Verse 9:

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 tot he paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ (NIV)

What is easier to say? 'Your sins are forgiven'? Or 'Paralysed man, walk'? In one sense, to say your sins are forgiven is easier. Some religions employ people especially to say that very thing to people. But it is another thing to have them really forgiven. It is something else to know that you have the anger of God completely removed.

Now there is no external evidence to show that you have been forgiven. There are no halos to work out those trusting Jesus from those not trusting him.

But to prove Jesus claim, he gives himself a test.

No one can make a paraplegic walk. Well, then, to show that I can do the thing you can’t see – forgive sins, I will do the thing you can see – heal the paralysed man. And he does. Verse 12:

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’ (NIV)

Who are you?

So we have been confronted with a story about Jesus. And the story asks us, ‘Who are you?’ Who do you identify with in the story? It won’t be Jesus, unless you claim yourself to be God. That’s not a good idea.

One of the friends?

Perhaps you see yourself as one of the four friends. You know some things about Jesus. You’ve heard about this Jesus. And you, like the four friends, have faith in Jesus. And you’ve got friends. You now you know enough to know that Jesus can heal their deepest problems, their sin problem. Well, let me encourage you, to be bold. You know Jesus has the truth. So maybe it means digging into some rooves to get them to Jesus. Taking risks. Perhaps those of us who have faith in Jesus need to be bold to get our loved ones to Jesus, as these men were.

The paralysed man?

Or perhaps you are the paralysed man. You have a need. You present with a problem. And it is a real need. For we all live in a broken world with broken bodies and minds. But perhaps Jesus is highlighting for you another need, a need for forgiveness. And that there is even a bigger problem - your sin problem.

Then know this, Just as Jesus healed the man’s legs. So he has authority on earth to forgive sins. Jesus really does forgive our sins. He is both God and man. God, so that he can forgive our sins. Man, so that he is our proper representative and sacrifice, who takes our punishment for our sins.

One of the scrupulous theologians?

Or thirdly, perhaps you are one of the scrupulous theologians. Perhaps you too ask, ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone’? Who is this Jesus, who makes such huge claims for himself, who claims to forgive sins and amazes crowds and gives a paralysed man the use of his legs?

Well, if this is you, come back next week. For Mark has written his gospel to answer that question. Who is Jesus, why has he come? This is no idle question. For the forgiveness of sin hangs in the balance.

Let’s pray.