A Lesson in Forgiveness

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed 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 say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home."  And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" - Mark 2:1‭-‬12 ESV

Rev. Travis Drake

An Unexpected Moment v1-4

You are at this house with this new rabbi. He's teaching at this small house. A single room house is where this is happening. But there is major demolition, the roof is being ripped apart overhead. The roof is being pulled apart in this house which is crowded and packed tight. And a paralytic man is being lowered through the hole in the roof. What a spectacle. This man would have been the center of attention with Jesus. 

Also consider that health ailments was considered a judgement from God. The paralyzed man was considered a sinner in that cultural day and age. 

An Unexpected Healing v5

The friends of this paralyzed man have dismantled the roof of this house full of people. There is an audacity to this act. Jesus understood that they had faith in Him. The friends did not speak. They did not ask for healing. But they knew Jesus could.

Jesus knew that they wanted their paralyzed friends to be healed. But Jesus had other plans, He responds to the burden of sin. Jesus was meeting not only the physical need, but spiritual. God was generous beyond their request. Jesus wanted to fix more than the physical body, He wanted to fix the soul for eternity.

Not only that, but Jesus addresses the unspoken judgement. Jesus says the man's sins are forgiven. In the face of all the people, the past sin, and history... Jesus forgives us of all our sin. This is the authority of Jesus.

An Unexpected Lesson v6-11

There are those who don't believe Jesus. The scribes are skeptical. Jesus reads their thoughts and calls them out. They never voice it aloud. The scribes had come to judge Jesus, but instead they find Jesus evaluating them...

Jesus is about more than physical healing. He is here to take on the paralyzing effect of sin in our lives. He has a more difficult goal than simple physical restoration. Jesus came to forgive sin. The scribes considered that only God could forgive sin. Jesus never refuted that logic. This is Jesus' declaration of being God. 

The result v12

And the paralyzed man walks. Everyone was amazed. This getting up and walking was proof of Jesus' power. Jesus has forgiven his sin and healed his body. God has made him whole, body and soul. Jesus paid for this on the cross. All of those who follow Jesus are being made whole body and soul. Not only that, but these shameful things, like paralysis, can be turned into praise for God. This is the hope of the Christian. 

Walk in obedience to Christ (respond in faith to God)

Walk with new power (Christ made this man walk, can He also not heal us of sin)

 -Forgiveness (we will forgive as we have been forgiven)

 -Confession (there is no more condemnation, repent fully)

Walk away from shame and the lies of sin (we are new creations, fully forgiven by God most high)

The Significance of Desolate Places

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, "Everyone is looking for you." And he said to them, "Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out."  And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean."  And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them."  But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.

Mark 1:35‭-‬45 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Jesus heads out to a Desolate place for power and protection

Jesus had just done busy ministry and immediately afterwards, he left for a desolate place to pray. For us, when things get busy, prayer is often one of the first things to go. But that is not what Jesus does, his busy life of ministry drove Jesus to pray. If Jesus needed prayer, then how much more do we need to pray?

“Sometimes we think we are too busy to pray. That is a great mistake, for praying is a saving of time.” - Charles Surgeon

Why is prayer to be considered time saved?

When we are in tune with God, we act in tune with kingdom purposes. Jesus goes to pray in quiet places so that he can talk with the Father.

The disciples come find him and ask where he had gone, since everyone in the city was looking for him. Jesus tells them that they are moving onto another town. Jesus could've stayed and healed everyone, but He does not. The miracles were only to point out and bring authenticity to Jesus' teachings. But Jesus had taught enough, there was enough for the people of that town to decide on the gospel and whether Jesus is the Messiah.

Do we go to God during times of comfort and success? Do we only go to God when we need something? A sign of a Christian going in the right direction is a gnawing to be alone with Jesus. If you don't have that, don't feel guilty, don't add another item to your to do list. Consider that God desires to be close. If we fall asleep in prayer, it is like when a child falls asleep in a parent's lap. God honors the heart His child.

The leper runs into the crowd. There were strict rules for lepers. They were exiled from family, friends, and any community. They could not go to the temple to worship. They lived alone likely with other lepers. This leper risks the outage of the crowd to approach Jesus. He was desperate. He cries out for Jesus to heal. He says that if Jesus is willing, he could be made clean. And Jesus touches this leper and heals him. Jesus could've just spoken and healed, but instead Jesus touches this unclean man. He wanted to. 

So it is with us, Jesus can make us clean. He can bring us back into a new relationship with family & friends. He can heal us of our uncleanness and bring life back into our hearts. But more than that, note how the passage ends. The leper was restored in the city... But Jesus was unable to enter the city, he was stuck out in the desolate places. Jesus had traded places with the leper. So it is with the gospel, Jesus takes our sin and restores.

The Goal of Reconcilation

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." - Revelation 7:9‭-‬17 ESV

Rev. Russ Whitfield

The church has a scene in this book of Revelations. We have a role to play. While we are here on Earth, we are rehearsing for the final chapter. There will be a final showcase at the end for God.

Missions is not the end goal, it is a process. The end goal is not given as a maxim or phrase. It is a scene. 

Perceiving the goal

We don't usually do quiet times in this book. It a bit difficult... With dragons and all. But there's a couple things that will help us to understand and enjoy this book. John was stuck in the isle of Patmus to assure the church. While he's there, God gives him a vision. The first thing John saw was a diversity of people. Not just countries, but people groups, ethic groups, even down to tribal distinctions. Even in glory, ethnic distinctions are not erased but glorified. 

What does this mean for the church? We should hold cultural church norms lightly. New believers should not need to assimilate to join the church. The scene in glory is not a generic group of people. 

This is a unique idea... Diversity in unity. The church is called to unity in diversity. This was given to the church as a vision from God. This is a promise/assurance that this will be done. The church was going to encounter difficulties in bringing people to Christ. Not only in saving, but in bringing these new groups into the church.

The problem is not seeing race and racial differences. It is in sinful excluding and denigrating those who are different. This scene paints distinctiveness of the body of Christ. We are not to be color blind, but we are to see and respect and be curious of these differences.

Next we see the the people praising and worshipping God. Why is this worship? Consider the vision of Jesus glorified given in the first chapter:

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last,  and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Revelation 1:12‭-‬18 ESV

The people were overwhelmed with this God. He was the reason for unity. There is no bickering over worship styles. There is no church politics. Jesus is at the center because He has removed all the sin that divided them. This diverse multitude was dressed in white robes. This meant that they were clean. We need to be cross centered in order to be cross cultural. The palm fronds represent victory. The mission is won, press on. There will be trials and difficulties, but God's mission will win. So, church, press on. The goal is a diversity of people in doxology.

Pursuing the goal

When we pray the Lord's prayer, we are praying for God's kingdom as pictured in Revelations. But we are not to just tolerate those who are different. Jesus did not die for tolerance. Christians are called to more. We are called to love. Not only that, we are called to love our enemies. We are called to a greater ethic. We are not powered by willpower and personal strength/conviction. We are powered by the love of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The church is a sampling of the final glory of eternity. It should point us to the entree... the second coming of Christ. 

Application

Friendship with those unlike us.

Make time for people who are different. These friendships can have impacts that we never see coming.

Sunday worship

Sunday worship is not about just us. It is to edify those around us. We aren't to dumb down worship, but to explain why we confess, pray, and repent.

Life's rhythms

Consider what our life's rhythms. Who do we make time for. Are there people we can befriend that we are overlooking? Ask God to open our eyes and use us to pursue the cross cultural worship of God.

Forgiveness and reconciliation

"Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.  When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.  So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'  And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.  But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.'  So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'  He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.  When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.  Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'  And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." - Matthew 18:23‭-‬35 ESV

Russ Whitfield

There's a show called The Undercover Boss. The CEO is disguised with mustaches, wigs, and makeup. They then go to work in their company. Then the boss is revealed at the end. The employees are then rewarded or punished for their actions. 

Jesus is our Undercover Boss. He is disguised in the world. We will also be there at the final episode when Jesus calls us all to account. Whether to reward or judgement.

The comfort in God's judgement

Jesus will come again... As judge. He will sit on his throne, not as a meek lamb, but as a King upon the throne.

"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Daniel 7:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13‭-‬14 ESV

The kingdom of Israel was living under the oppression of the Roman empire. This nation was looking forward to God's judgement. How is this so? Why do we fear judgement in this day and age? The people of the ancient world understood that justice and judgement were two sides of the same coin. Judgement meant that God cares about the poor, the oppressed.  They lived within corrupt systems. The judges would only be heard if bribes were given. And the poor cannot afford the bribe, so their case will never be heard. We don't have to deal with that in this day and age. If we live lives in relative prosperity and comfort, we don't see the need for judgement. It is felt most by those who have witnessed horrible vile evil. Those who have been oppressed and violated... They long for judgement... For justice.

The challenge in God's judgement

God separates the sheep from the goats. They are admitted or excluded based on how they treated Jesus. The surprise was that Jesus was disguised among the poorest and neediest of the disciples. Jesus is so close to those who follow Him that he takes their treatment personally. How you treat your friend... Is how you treat Jesus. How you treat your spouse is how you treat Jesus..  How you treat the covenant children of the church is how you've treated Jesus. These are simple things. Giving water, food, clothing. These are sins of omission... Simple good neighborly love undone. 

So then, what shall we do? Try harder? We look more like goats than sheep. Jesus is our sheep. He lived the perfect life as a sheep for us. Then he transforms us to be more like his sheep. Then we will see our brother as Jesus. We will see the stranger in our midst as Jesus. Jesus takes our treatment of our neighbors, especially fellow believers, personally. 

So then we should wake up each day not thinking of what we need to do. But rather what who we will become... Are we treating those around us with the love that God calls for? This is the evidence of a life touched by grace. If we cannot find Jesus in the poor man by the church door, we certainly won't find him in the cup inside the church.

The Urgency of Reconciliation

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'  "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,  I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'  Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'  Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." - Matthew 25:31‭-‬46 ESV

Rev. Russ Whitfield

Everyone has debt. Maybe not student loans, maybe not credit card debt, maybe not a mortgage... but we all owe a debt of sin to God. Very similar to the federal debt forgiveness program for student loans, God has a debt forgiveness program as well.

Kingdom principle of forgiveness

Right before our current passage, Jesus is describing how relationships handle sin. There must be a confrontation, then forgiveness. Hence why Peter's question. Jesus says 77 times of forgiveness. Why 77? There's a story of lemek from the old testament, a descendent of Cain who spoke of vengeance. He killed for someone striking him. He murdered multiple people in return for a killing. It was the idea is unlimited vengeance. Jesus replaced that idea with unlimited forgiveness. 

Then the story was of the servant of 10,000 talents. A talent is the largest sum we could imagine. 10,000 is the largest number that was namable in the Roman language. This is hyperbole. The amount is basically incalculable, astronomical. This amount was larger than all the money in circulation at the time. The servant pleads for more time. But it was clear that there was no way this servant could repay, even given several lifetimes. The King forgave his debt. The King had to take the loss. 

So it is of us. The cross tells us of our great debt of sin. It also speaks of God's grace, love, and forgiveness of our debts. 

Saint Augustine: "I want you to be forgiven because I've caught you begging for pardon. Before the end of the day, you will be in need of forgiveness."

The servant who was forgiven goes and does the unspeakable. He goes to another servant and chokes him for some denari. This is a small sum. The fellow servant repeats the same thing the servant had spoken to the King. But the servant was thrown in jail for his small debt. 

The King has rewritten the life of his servant with the forgiveness. But the servant condemned his fellow to the fate that the King's forgiveness had spared him. The servant acted as if the King's life changing act of forgiveness had never happened.

Kingdom practice of forgiveness

Jesus taught that unforgiveness was heretical. Christians are more likely to practice unforgiveness rather than forgiving. How was the wicked servant busted? The other servants were watching. So it is with Christians now. The ungracious, impatient, & judgmental behavior of those within the church tells others what the King, God, is like. Does the way you relate to others speak of God's tenderness, graciousness, patience, & mercy.

Application

Stop nursing minor injuries, resentment, grievances, and grudges. It will grow our bitterness to full maturity.

Jesus calls this servant... Wicked. He doesn't use that word often. This is despicable behavior.

We need to practice this at home with our spouses, family, kids, and roommates. We need to practice confession and repentance. This prepares is to forgive others. We need to recognize the flow of the need for pardon... So then we can present it to those around us.

We need to name the tender mercies of God. 

We need to forgive as an event. Then we need to forgive as the sin comes back into our hearts and minds. We need to daily resist the sinful desire for revenge.

Forgiveness is not about self care. It is not man centered. It is God centered. Today's culture sees forgiveness as weakness. It is counter cultural. 

A different kind of authority

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"  And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. - Mark 1:21‭-‬34 ESV

Rev. Ryan Egli

Mark is a very action packed gospel. Like Die Hard, Fast and the Furious, or other action movies, things are happening to quick succession. 

3 scenes and a postscript... All pointing to the authority of Jesus. It is a different kind of authority

Teaches with authority

Jesus goes to this little town called Capernaum. It's a blue collar town. You can smell the fish, the sea and birds. It's just 20 miles from Jesus' hometown, Galilee. He's a local boy. We don't know what he taught, but we know how the locals reacted. They were astonished. Jesus taught differently from the scribes. The scribes were educated and considered the religious leaders of the town. Locals depended on the scribes to show them how to behave and think about God. Most of the local scribes taught based on the authority of other more prominent teachers. Much like how today's preacher's refer to John Piper, Tim Keller, and such... That is how most scribes taught. But Jesus did no such thing, He taught as one who knew more than these scribes and prominent teachers. He taught as one who understood the word.

Casts out demons with authority

Jesus meets a demon-possessed man. The demon recognizes Jesus. Demon speaks truth about Jesus. He is from Nazareth. He had the power to destroy demons. Jesus tells the demon to be silent and to come out of this man. The demon has no option other than to do as Jesus commands. We can be distracted by the main point. We can be demon possessed? How do we do exorcisms? How does possession happen? But the main point is that Jesus has power of a different caliber. Jesus' fame spreads through the area.

Heals with authority

Jesus meets a woman ill with a fever. The fisherman was commanded to follow Jesus earlier. They are pulled into this frenzy of activity. The reaction of the locals and the rising fame of the rabbi. So one of these disciples suggests they go to his home and rest for a bit. Maybe he forgot his mother in law was sick. He brings them over and Jesus goes to her. He lifts her by the hand and she's healed. Simon Peter's mother in law was well again and immediately begins to serve Jesus. 

Postscript and key takeaways

After Jesus has done these things, the Sabbath had ended. And because it was over, the locals grabbed their sick and brought them to Simon Peter's home. And Jesus healed them. So what are we to do with this? 

We have a Savior who has power over sickness. We have a Messiah who knows the way to life. Jesus controls even demons. The authority of Jesus should encourage and humble us. He is very God and very human. He had great power and authority, but he instead of abusing it, he used it on our behalf. 

If you know Jesus, then we are sent out. Because of Jesus' power and authority, we are sent to meet the sick, the afflicted, and downtrodden. Our homes should be like Simon Peter's house in Capernaum. They should be a place where people can meet Jesus and find healing, forgiveness, and encouragement.