WEBVTT 00:00:03.729 --> 00:00:07.919 The Bible says my king is the King of the Jews. 00:00:07.921 --> 00:00:08.769 He's the king of Israel. 00:00:09.669 --> 00:00:11.470 He's the king of righteousness. 00:00:11.650 --> 00:00:13.150 He's the king of the ages. 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:14.589 He's the king of Heaven. 00:00:14.929 --> 00:00:16.210 He's the king of glory. 00:00:16.649 --> 00:00:20.559 He's the king of kings, and he's the Lord of Lords. 00:00:21.510 --> 00:00:26.120 That's my king. 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:26.120 I wonder, do you know him? 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:31.000 My king is a sovereign king. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:31.870 No means of measure can define his limitless love. 00:00:32.439 --> 00:00:33.909 He's enduringly strong. 00:00:34.869 --> 00:00:38.259 He's entirely sincere. 00:00:38.259 --> 00:00:40.789 He's eternally steadfast. 00:00:40.789 --> 00:00:42.310 He's immortally graceful. 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:44.649 He's imperially powerful. 00:00:44.850 --> 00:00:47.590 He's impartially merciful. 00:00:47.590 --> 00:00:48.219 Do you know him? 00:00:48.549 --> 00:00:55.119 He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:55.119 He's God's son. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:57.700 He's a sinner's savior. 00:00:57.969 --> 00:01:02.609 He's the centerpiece of civilization. 00:01:02.840 --> 00:01:03.200 He's unparalleled. 00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:04.519 He's unprecedented. 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.409 He is the loftiest idea in literature. 00:01:08.411 --> 00:01:11.780 He's the highest personality in philosophy. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:17.799 He's the fundamental doctrine of theology. 00:01:20.390 --> 00:01:24.500 He's the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient savior. 00:01:25.150 --> 00:01:25.530 I wonder if you know him today. 00:01:25.900 --> 00:01:29.180 He supplies strength for the weak. 00:01:29.269 --> 00:01:30.069 He's available for the tempted and the tried. 00:01:30.069 --> 00:01:30.069 He sympathizes, and he saves. 00:01:30.069 --> 00:01:30.069 He strengthens and sustains. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:30.900 He guards, and he guides. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He heals the sick. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He cleanses the lepers. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He forgives sinners. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He discharges debtors. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He delivers the captive. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He defends the feeble. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He nurtures the young. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He serves the unfortunate. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:30.900 He regards the aged. 00:01:30.900 --> 00:01:33.390 He rewards the diligent, and he beautifies the meek. 00:01:33.390 --> 00:01:34.250 I wonder if you know him. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the key to knowledge. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the wellspring of wisdom. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the doorway of deliverance. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the pathway of peace. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the roadway of righteousness. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the highway of holiness. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 He's the gateway of glory. 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:34.250 Do you know him? 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:37.430 Well, his light is matchless. 00:01:39.109 --> 00:01:39.530 His goodness is limitless. 00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:39.530 His mercy is everlasting. 00:01:39.530 --> 00:01:39.530 His love never changes. 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:40.340 His word is enough. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 His grace is sufficient. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 His reign is righteous. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 I wish I could describe him to you, but he's indescribable. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 He's incomprehensible. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 He's invincible. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 He's irresistible. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 Well, you can't get him out of your mind. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 You can't get him off of your hands. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 You can't outlive him, and you can't live without him. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 The Pharisees couldn't stand him, but they found out they couldn't stop him. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 Pilate couldn't find any fault in him. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 Herod couldn't kill him. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 Death couldn't handle him, and the grave couldn't hold him. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:40.340 Hey! That's my king! That's my king! 00:03:25.370 --> 00:03:30.919 I've seen that dozens of times over the last couple of decades, and it never fails to move me. 00:03:30.920 --> 00:03:32.889 That was Dr. 00:03:32.890 --> 00:03:35.180 Shadrach Meshach Lockridge. 00:03:35.181 --> 00:03:37.849 If you want to find that on YouTube. 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:38.539 Dr. 00:03:38.540 --> 00:03:48.289 Lockridge-- he is the longtime pastor of-- let me get this right-- Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego, having retired in 1993. 00:03:48.290 --> 00:03:49.819 That comes from a sermon. 00:03:49.820 --> 00:03:52.759 You can understand why that sermon became so famous. 00:03:52.760 --> 00:03:55.460 That sermon was entitled"That's My King". 00:03:55.461 --> 00:03:59.120 And again, if you want to find it, that's how you search for it. 00:03:59.121 --> 00:04:00.889 "That's My King". 00:04:00.890 --> 00:04:09.030 But let me present that to you as a question this morning: Is that the picture of who Jesus is to you? 00:04:10.610 --> 00:04:13.939 Many people look at Jesus as simply a religious figure. 00:04:13.941 --> 00:04:19.819 Many people look at Jesus as the baby, meek and mild, in the Christmas manger. 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:26.870 Many people look at Jesus as the one that, at some time in their life, they have asked into their heart. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:29.329 Is Jesus your king? 00:04:30.470 --> 00:04:31.790 Is he your sovereign? 00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:37.339 Is he the one who is truly Lord who rules your life? 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:42.199 That's not just from a sermon; that is from the Gospel of Mark. 00:04:42.201 --> 00:04:53.930 That is from all of the word of God, but particularly the Gospel of Mark, and as we've been beginning and working our way through the Gospel of Mark, that's how we see Mark present him. 00:04:53.930 --> 00:04:56.689 That's how we see Jesus present himself. 00:04:56.690 --> 00:05:01.550 Chapter 1, verse 14: Jesus, what does he say? 00:05:01.550 --> 00:05:10.639 "The Kingdom of God has come near.""With my coming," in other words,"a new reign has begun, and he is the sovereign. 00:05:10.641 --> 00:05:23.779 Now that sovereign reign looked very different during its earthly phase than it will when he returns, but he is no less the king, coming in the obscurity that he came when he originally came. 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:32.120 If you're visiting with us, we are working our way through the second Gospel, the second book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark. 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:36.860 And John Andrew finished out chapter one last week. 00:05:36.860 --> 00:05:39.560 And so we begin chapter 2 today. 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:40.730 We see a shift. 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:46.339 If you've been here with us the last couple of weeks, we see a shift from chapter one to chapter two. 00:05:46.341 --> 00:06:05.360 In chapter one, what we see is Jesus coming to prominence: people beginning to notice him, crowds developing him, but now that he has the attention of the world, or at least the world around him, now, in chapter 2, we see something new. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:16.910 We see, growing throughout the rest of the Gospel, a growing hostility, a growing opposition to this one who dares to call himself king. 00:06:16.911 --> 00:06:20.329 And I think about the application today. 00:06:20.331 --> 00:06:21.829 You see what's going on in our world around us. 00:06:21.829 --> 00:06:23.959 April talked about the darkness in Europe. 00:06:23.961 --> 00:06:33.560 I think about the darkness in the United States, and the claim that he would be king, not just king of Christians, but king of all. 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:39.410 You can see the growing hostility and the growing opposition to that. 00:06:39.411 --> 00:06:42.750 That's what Mark gives us a picture of. 00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:46.100 We're going to read the first 12 verses of Mark chapter 2. 00:06:46.100 --> 00:06:54.769 I'm reading, if you're following along with me this morning, I'm reading out of the New International Version, and we begin in verse 1. 00:06:54.769 --> 00:07:01.370 "A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:12.259 So many gathered there that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them." And let me just pause there and give you a little context for that. 00:07:12.261 --> 00:07:15.500 There's a picture coming up on the screen. 00:07:15.500 --> 00:07:19.639 That's Capernaum today, and it is much smaller than it was at that time. 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:23.959 That's a picture taken from the Sea of Galilee looking down. 00:07:23.961 --> 00:07:34.939 And really, the reason I put that picture up there is if you can make it out, in about the dead center of that photograph, you see a large round object. 00:07:34.940 --> 00:07:38.060 That's actually a pavilion that's constructed. 00:07:38.060 --> 00:07:52.579 If you went to Capernaum today, you would see this large pavilion, and underneath that pavilion are the archaeological ruins of what Bible scholars believe to be the home of Peter. 00:07:52.581 --> 00:08:08.420 And that's the house that we're talking about in this text, and out of all the sites, archeological sites in Israel, this is one that archaeological scholars are pretty sure this was the house of Peter. 00:08:08.420 --> 00:08:12.170 So what you see there is what is being described here. 00:08:12.170 --> 00:08:14.000 It was a modest home. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.040 It wasn't a large home. 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:24.199 So as the crowds heard that Jesus was there, and they heard that he had this healing, miraculous ministry, they came to see him. 00:08:24.201 --> 00:08:26.000 They filled the house. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:31.519 We read so many gathered there that there was no room left, not even outside the door. 00:08:31.521 --> 00:08:43.879 They spilled outside the house into the area around the door, and Jesus, really not having prepared at that point for the crowds coming, still, he did what he continues to do. 00:08:43.880 --> 00:08:45.559 He preached the word to them. 00:08:45.561 --> 00:08:58.440 He preached that message that we've heard since the beginning of chapter 1:"God's kingdom has come near." And the response he calls for is to repent and believe in the Gospel. 00:08:58.529 --> 00:09:01.110 Well, Mark goes on in chapter 3. 00:09:01.110 --> 00:09:09.809 "Some men came as Jesus is preaching, and they brought to him a paralytic man carried by the four of them," and again, let me just stop there. 00:09:09.811 --> 00:09:22.169 We use in our English translations that word"paralytic", but the word that Mark uses in his original manuscript gives us the idea this man was probably a stroke victim. 00:09:22.171 --> 00:09:45.629 He'd had a stroke, and he was either partially, maybe just on one side, maybe fully paralyzed as a result of his stroke, and 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. 00:09:45.630 --> 00:10:06.960 "When Jesus saw their faith(the faith of the four men), he said to the paralytic man,'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now, some teachers of the law(or that's also translated'scribes'), some scribes were sitting there, thinking to themselves,'Why does this fellow talk like that? 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:20.549 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? 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:52.620 '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 up your mat, and go home.' And he, the paralytic man, got up, he took his mat, and he walked out in full view of all of them. 00:10:52.620 --> 00:11:08.340 This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying,'We have never seen anything like this.'" My outline is short, and it's pretty simple for today, but I think Mark is under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 00:11:08.341 --> 00:11:10.409 He brings together this account. 00:11:10.410 --> 00:11:13.200 I really think he's teaching us about four things. 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:18.059 I think he has something to teach us about the faith of the four friends. 00:11:18.061 --> 00:11:20.519 I think he has something to teach us about the plight of the paralytic. 00:11:21.090 --> 00:11:31.139 I think he has something to teach us about the plight, or the heart condition, of the scribes, and I think he has much to teach us about the identity of Jesus. 00:11:31.140 --> 00:11:36.149 So let's just jump right in at the beginning with the faith of the friends. 00:11:36.690 --> 00:11:44.580 Notice, in verse 5,"When Jesus saw their faith(...)" Now that's an interesting expression of Mark. 00:11:44.581 --> 00:11:47.789 What is it that Jesus saw in these men? 00:11:47.791 --> 00:11:50.789 He didn't even speak to them, from what we can tell. 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:57.970 So what did he see in these men and their actions that, for him, was a representation of faith? 00:11:57.971 --> 00:12:00.519 Because whatever they had, I want to have. 00:12:00.520 --> 00:12:01.870 I want to have that kind of faith. 00:12:01.870 --> 00:12:07.840 Well, let's look very practically at what Jesus saw that we can see in the text. 00:12:07.841 --> 00:12:15.700 First of all, he saw, or at least he concluded, that these men carried their friend, probably, a long way. 00:12:16.419 --> 00:12:21.399 They carried him, their paralytic friend, on a cot to see Jesus. 00:12:21.400 --> 00:12:33.789 Verse 2:"Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by the four of them." Jesus' reputation as as one who could heal had been spreading. 00:12:33.791 --> 00:12:40.269 We don't know if these men came from Capernaum; maybe they came from a long distance, somewhere else in Galilee. 00:12:40.270 --> 00:12:49.179 These men heard that Jesus could heal, and they have this friend, this man that they cared for, that they loved, who is paralyzed. 00:12:49.181 --> 00:13:01.450 Jesus wasn't coming to where he was, so if Jesus wasn't going to come to their paralytic friend, they determined they were going to load their paralytic friend on a cot, and they were going to bring their paralytic friend to Jesus. 00:13:01.451 --> 00:13:16.490 But after they got there, after making the journey there, they tried to get to where Jesus was, and a crowd of people jams the doorway of the house, spilling out from where Jesus is, so they can't get through to reach Jesus. 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:23.259 We'll look at the persistence that Jesus notes, even up to that moment. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:31.750 Jesus also notices, or knows, what we deduce here, they hoisted him up over the crowd to get to the roof of the house. 00:13:31.750 --> 00:13:36.159 Now again, a little bit of a contextual understanding is helpful here. 00:13:36.160 --> 00:13:40.330 Houses at that time were built mostly with flat roofs. 00:13:40.331 --> 00:13:51.549 The evenings get very hot there, and so roofs were usually built so that the occupants of the house could sleep on a hot night up on the roof. 00:13:51.580 --> 00:14:06.250 So when the house was constructed, either a stone staircase was built on the outside of the house or some kind of ladder structure was built so that the occupants of the house could get to the roof for sleeping on a hot night. 00:14:06.250 --> 00:14:11.529 So these men not only carried their friend a great distance on a cot; they negotiated their way around the crowd. 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:17.620 And can you imagine carrying a stretcher up a ladder, or at least up a steep staircase? 00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:24.370 They got their friend up to the roof of the house, and then, they dug a hole through the roof. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:31.779 Now Luke, in his Gospel, also records the same incident, and Luke adds a little bit of detail. 00:14:31.779 --> 00:14:50.799 Luke 5:19 tells us that this roof had clay tiles, and houses like this were built-- when you build the walls, you put timbers across the walls, and across those timbers they laid baked clay slabs, large baked clay tiles, in other words. 00:14:51.409 --> 00:14:55.610 They would cover the rough with these clay tiles, these clay slabs. 00:14:55.789 --> 00:15:07.669 Then, they would take wet mud and they-- wet clay, and they would cover over the slabs to seal it from the weather and to seal it from the water, and then let that dry. 00:15:07.671 --> 00:15:10.850 Well, these men, again, I don't think they came planning to go up to the roof. 00:15:11.149 --> 00:15:13.070 I don't think they had shovels or anything. 00:15:13.071 --> 00:15:15.320 We're not given any indication of that. 00:15:15.350 --> 00:15:17.000 These men get up to the roof. 00:15:17.059 --> 00:15:32.240 They dig, probably with their bare hands, through that layer of clay, and then they remove enough of the slabs to create an opening that's large enough to lower their friend through, and that's exactly what they then proceed to do. 00:15:32.389 --> 00:15:36.980 They lowered this man on his cot before Jesus. 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:38.480 Can you imagine being there? 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:40.950 Can you imagine being in the house? 00:15:40.970 --> 00:15:43.909 I don't think this happened in 30 seconds. 00:15:43.910 --> 00:15:49.070 I think, as they're there, the people, the crowd is there, and they're listening to Jesus' teaching. 00:15:49.071 --> 00:15:57.049 I think, all of a sudden, it just starts to drop down, and then pieces and bits of clay start to fall through. 00:15:57.051 --> 00:16:13.460 Maybe they thought it was an earthquake at first and then a shaft of light as the as the ceiling opens up, but then it becomes very apparent: there are people up there, and they're digging through it, and they probably had to wait a number of minutes while that hole was created large enough. 00:16:13.909 --> 00:16:18.169 Can you imagine Jesus in the middle of teaching, pausing and seeing this? 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:22.370 For Jesus is not offended by this. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.549 Jesus is not indignant about this. 00:16:25.551 --> 00:16:27.049 What does Mark tell us? 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:32.210 He saw their faith in doing this. 00:16:32.690 --> 00:16:42.049 He saw that these men were willing to remove any obstacle, even a roof, to get their friend before Jesus. 00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:45.200 And I think it's interesting for you and me today. 00:16:45.201 --> 00:16:50.090 This is the first mention of the word"faith" by Mark in his Gospel. 00:16:50.570 --> 00:16:52.519 And do you notice what it's a picture of? 00:16:52.520 --> 00:16:54.409 It's not a picture of what we feel, is it? 00:16:54.889 --> 00:16:58.850 It's not a picture of something anybody was subjectively, emotionally experiencing. 00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:01.820 It's a picture of action. 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:04.779 Not that faith does not include emotion. 00:17:04.819 --> 00:17:11.809 It does, but faith here is really what we sang after the offering today. 00:17:11.810 --> 00:17:18.799 Faith is confidence in God, that he holds the situation that we're in, in our hands. 00:17:18.800 --> 00:17:20.269 And it is the steps. 00:17:20.270 --> 00:17:21.529 It's the actions. 00:17:21.530 --> 00:17:32.210 It's the decisions that we make that put ourselves in his hands, that demonstrate our confidence that his promises still stand. 00:17:32.211 --> 00:17:40.309 So there's, I think, a picture for you and for me today about whatever we bring before Jesus. 00:17:40.310 --> 00:17:44.990 We come, maybe, like this man, with physical issues. 00:17:44.990 --> 00:17:48.019 Maybe we come with relational issues. 00:17:48.020 --> 00:17:53.039 Maybe we come with financial challenges. 00:17:53.040 --> 00:17:55.769 Faith is putting those in God's hands. 00:17:55.770 --> 00:17:57.329 It's making the decisions. 00:17:57.330 --> 00:18:01.109 It's taking the steps that say,"All right, Lord, I'm going to step out here. 00:18:01.111 --> 00:18:02.400 I'm going to put my confidence in you. 00:18:03.089 --> 00:18:23.380 "I'm going to trust that your promises still stand, that they will hold me, and I'm going to take that step, even though it may seem crazy to the people around me." Faith here is portrayed as an action, although it does include what we subjectively experience as well. 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:27.809 Well, secondly, the plight of the paralytic. 00:18:27.809 --> 00:18:34.710 I find it interesting what Jesus-- actually, I find it not interesting, I find it shocking, what Jesus says to the paralytic. 00:18:34.711 --> 00:18:37.680 This man is lowered before him. 00:18:37.681 --> 00:18:39.720 This man is lying on a cot. 00:18:39.721 --> 00:18:46.619 This man, obviously to the crowd and to Jesus, cannot move on his own. 00:18:46.621 --> 00:18:52.970 He's in physical distress, and does Jesus speak immediately to his physical need? 00:18:52.980 --> 00:19:03.839 No, he speaks to his inner need:"My son, your sins are forgiven." I find that very striking that that is how Jesus would address that. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:05.130 Now, don't buy that expression of Jesus. 00:19:05.131 --> 00:19:14.549 Don't conclude that Jesus is necessarily linking this man's physical condition to any sin that this man had committed. 00:19:14.550 --> 00:19:27.569 That was a very predominant view during that day: that physical illness, that sickness, that disability was directly related to personal sins in your life. 00:19:27.570 --> 00:19:34.380 It's very likely that the religious leaders, the scribes there, were thinking that that was the case here. 00:19:34.381 --> 00:19:38.970 But Jesus is not necessarily making that connection here. 00:19:38.971 --> 00:19:47.940 I think Jesus said this, addressing the man's sins, his inner condition, because he knows that this is not only true of this man. 00:19:47.941 --> 00:19:54.839 He knows this is true of us as well: that our greatest need is our spiritual need. 00:19:54.840 --> 00:19:57.549 We come to Jesus with our physical needs. 00:19:57.569 --> 00:20:02.339 And he sees them like he sees that man with his physical needs. 00:20:02.340 --> 00:20:09.420 We come to Jesus with our relational needs, our financial needs, our emotional needs, whatever they may be. 00:20:09.421 --> 00:20:17.160 He sees all those needs, but he sees at the heart of those needs, there's an even deeper need: Our spiritual need. 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:25.890 Even when we think about physical disability like this man had, experiencing, I find it interesting. 00:20:25.891 --> 00:20:34.710 I think we're rarely aware of how much our physical condition is influenced by the spiritual condition of our hearts. 00:20:34.711 --> 00:20:55.119 I read recently that doctors estimate that at least half the illnesses that they treat are at least aggravated by issues in the heart, by issues like anxiety, guilt, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness. 00:20:55.660 --> 00:21:11.410 Doctors say if those could be resolved, it's not like every physical condition would go away, but if those could be resolved, a lot of physical conditions would be substantially relieved, and some would go away altogether. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:17.619 So Jesus sees beyond just the immediate physical need, sees what is deep down in the man's heart. 00:21:17.621 --> 00:21:21.700 Maybe it was some of this that caused the stroke that this man had had in the first place. 00:21:21.701 --> 00:21:22.869 We don't know. 00:21:22.869 --> 00:21:22.869 Mark doesn't tell us. 00:21:24.069 --> 00:21:47.829 I think it's interesting as well that, of all the accounts that Mark had heard from the apostle Peter and decided to include in his Gospel at this point, he uses this picture of Jesus healing a paralytic, because paralysis is not just a present physical condition in this story; it's a spiritual image. 00:21:47.830 --> 00:21:53.049 Paralysis is a picture of who we are spiritually apart from Christ. 00:21:53.050 --> 00:21:56.230 We may be the healthiest person that we know. 00:21:56.230 --> 00:22:00.220 We may be the most economically secure person we know. 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:04.839 We may have relationships that other people envy. 00:22:04.869 --> 00:22:18.130 And yet, if we do not have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the condition of our heart, spiritually, is one of paralysis, because we are unable to do anything. 00:22:18.131 --> 00:22:22.269 We are unable to save ourselves. 00:22:22.270 --> 00:22:47.200 Paul the Apostle uses an image very close to paralysis to describe our spiritual condition apart from Christ in Ephesians chapter 2, when he says that"apart from Christ, before you were I came to Christ," or if you're here this morning and you have not yet embraced Christ as savior, as king, Paul says that"we are dead, dead in our transgressions and sins." That image hits me. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:54.309 I had the opportunity, the brief opportunity, for a couple of years in my twenties, to work in a funeral home. 00:22:54.310 --> 00:23:11.710 And I won't go into any detail here, but part of my duties did include transferring the bodies of deceased persons from tables to caskets or whatever was required, and it is amazing how heavy a dead person is. 00:23:11.711 --> 00:23:34.240 You can take a 200-pound person who's in a hospital bed, a live person who is in a hospital bed, but very, very sick, and as you move that person and transfer them, there's still that ability of that person, no matter how sick they are, to contribute, to help a little bit in the movement, of the transfer, of their body. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:40.539 But move a dead body, and you will know why they call it"dead weight". 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:51.500 A 200-pound dead person, moving that person is incredibly harder than it is to move a 200-pound live person, even if that person is very, very sick. 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:53.240 That's the image here. 00:23:53.720 --> 00:24:04.309 We are able to contribute nothing to our salvation, that when we are dead in our sins, when we are paralyzed in our sins before Christ, we can do nothing. 00:24:04.310 --> 00:24:06.529 We cannot move spiritually. 00:24:06.710 --> 00:24:07.970 We cannot help. 00:24:08.029 --> 00:24:11.390 We cannot assist in any way spiritually. 00:24:11.750 --> 00:24:20.119 So paralysis, death, paralysis is the picture of who you and I are apart from Christ. 00:24:20.869 --> 00:24:35.359 This man did need to be healed of the paralyzing effects of his stroke, but Jesus knows that this man, even more, needs to be healed from the paralyzing effects of his sin, and that's true of you and me. 00:24:35.390 --> 00:24:48.769 No matter how healthy or unhealthy we are physically, you and I, even more than our physical health, we need to be healed from the paralyzing effects of our sinful condition, and that only happens through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. 00:24:50.690 --> 00:24:58.009 Well third, the plight of the scribes, or I think we could even say the heart condition of the scribes. 00:24:58.010 --> 00:24:59.829 These men were religious leaders. 00:24:59.839 --> 00:25:06.769 They may have been an official delegation that was sent from Jerusalem to keep an eye on Jesus. 00:25:06.770 --> 00:25:26.180 They may have been local religious authorities that were concerned about the growing influence of this man over the people that they were supposed to be the leaders of, and as they're watching this, again, Mark describes in verse 6 that they're sitting there, they're thinking to themselves, again, they're not articulating this. 00:25:26.181 --> 00:25:28.849 They're not mumbling this, Mark says. 00:25:28.851 --> 00:25:33.109 This is going on in their thoughts, in their head. 00:25:33.111 --> 00:25:45.680 "Why does this fellow, why does Jesus talk like that?" Referring to"My son, your sins are forgiven.""He's blaspheming!" they think in their minds. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:50.089 "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" On one hand, you know, they're right. 00:25:50.089 --> 00:25:57.799 If Jesus is not God, he is blaspheming, and that's why they're scandalized, not yet believing that Jesus is God. 00:25:57.800 --> 00:26:05.779 They know from the Old Testament what you and I should know if we read the Old Testament: the only one who can forgive sins is God. 00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:15.710 A Catholic priest, if you grew up in Catholicism, all they did that they claim to be able to forgive you of your sins, ineffective. 00:26:15.711 --> 00:26:19.519 Scribes' ability to forgive sins: they didn't claim it. 00:26:19.520 --> 00:26:28.039 Even the high priest of Judaism, in Jerusalem, at the temple, did not claim to be able to forgive sins. 00:26:28.040 --> 00:26:32.180 Only God, the Old Testament says, can forgive sins. 00:26:32.181 --> 00:26:43.980 And you notice Jesus does not even say,"God has allowed me to forgive your sins." He claimed to personally, first-person be able to forgive this man's sin. 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:49.079 So, if Jesus is not God, he is blaspheming. 00:26:49.080 --> 00:26:56.130 This, theme of blasphemy, by the way, this is the first time it appears in Mark, but we're going to see that over and over again. 00:26:56.131 --> 00:27:08.940 In fact, it's going to build and build and build until we get to chapter 14, when Jesus is arrested, and he's brought to trial before the high priests, what is it that they convict him of? 00:27:08.941 --> 00:27:15.750 Chapter 14:64, the chief priest says,"You have heard the blasphemy. 00:27:15.750 --> 00:27:19.650 What do you think?" And that brought about the sentence of death. 00:27:19.950 --> 00:27:24.119 They condemned him as worthy of death. 00:27:24.121 --> 00:27:30.680 The scribes could not comprehend that this man could actually be God, God in the flesh. 00:27:30.690 --> 00:27:41.789 And I think it's such an interesting contrast between when we are closed off to who Jesus claims to be, we have the hardened attitude of the scribes. 00:27:41.790 --> 00:27:49.410 Contrast that with the attitude of these four friends who hear about this man and will do whatever it takes to get their friend to him. 00:27:49.410 --> 00:27:54.990 You couldn't have a greater contrast between the two responses to Jesus. 00:27:55.829 --> 00:27:57.509 And that's for you and for me today. 00:27:58.170 --> 00:28:01.650 You know, it is possible of course, to reject Jesus outright. 00:28:01.651 --> 00:28:11.069 And we see that happening in the world all around us, where people want no part of Jesus, people completely deny everything that he has said about himself. 00:28:11.070 --> 00:28:15.900 But it is also possible to do that in lower degrees. 00:28:15.901 --> 00:28:21.329 It's possible to say,"You know, I like the idea that Jesus has saved me, so I'm going to heaven. 00:28:21.330 --> 00:29:02.609 But this'king' part, you know, the fact that he would actually reign over my life and have authority over my life, and that I would need to live my life for him, I don't like that part so much." That is as much a rejection as rejecting him entirely, and to the degree that we do that, to the degree that we push off Jesus' claims about who he says he is, and we resist his influence over our life as Lord, as king, it has the same paralyzing effect on our hearts that we can see it having upon the hearts of the scribes here. 00:29:03.329 --> 00:29:11.640 So the condition of the scribes' hearts is not the condition-- that's the condition of fear that can happen to our hearts. 00:29:11.641 --> 00:29:28.130 Finally, the identity of Jesus: Mark does not give us the full picture of all that he's going to show us throughout his gospel of who Jesus is, but he gives us some clear indication that Jesus is who he claims to be. 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:36.900 I like, in verse 8, what we see here: Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking in their hearts. 00:29:36.901 --> 00:29:41.529 Now, I want you to think for a moment about the implications of this. 00:29:41.530 --> 00:29:54.099 Jesus not only knew the sins of that paralyzed man; Jesus knew the thoughts that were in the hearts of these scribes. 00:29:54.101 --> 00:29:56.980 Mark is not saying here that Jesus was really good at reading body language. 00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:05.529 He's not saying here that Jesus somehow heard them mumbling,,or Jesus could read facial expressions. 00:30:05.530 --> 00:30:13.569 Mark is giving us a picture here of the omniscient mind of Christ and that is who he is. 00:30:13.570 --> 00:30:16.329 That is a piece of who he is. 00:30:16.330 --> 00:30:25.210 Forget the miraculous healing, just for a moment here, and consider the implications of the omniscient mind of Christ. 00:30:25.211 --> 00:30:31.599 No matter where you stand, in regards to Jesus Christ, he knows your mind. 00:30:31.601 --> 00:30:35.289 He knows what's going on in my heart. 00:30:35.290 --> 00:30:53.829 1 Chronicles 28:9 says this:"The Lord searches all hearts, and he understands every intent of the thoughts." Whether you reject him entirely, or you reject him or resist him in part, he knows your thoughts. 00:30:53.830 --> 00:30:56.170 He knows what's in your heart. 00:30:56.171 --> 00:30:58.720 That is a picture of the identity of Jesus. 00:30:58.721 --> 00:31:09.099 We see another picture of the identity of Jesus in verse 9, when Jesus challenges them, having omnisciently perceived that this is what's going on in their minds. 00:31:09.101 --> 00:31:25.089 He challenges them with this question:"Which is easier to say to the paralytic:'your sins are forgiven', or to say,'Get up, take your mat, and walk.'" Again, that seems a bit odd, but let's just think about that from the human perspective. 00:31:25.090 --> 00:31:29.230 Which of those two phrases would be humanly easier to say? 00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:30.940 I think it's obvious. 00:31:30.941 --> 00:31:36.279 It's easier-- perhaps I had the option to say one of those two. 00:31:36.280 --> 00:31:37.720 Which which would I want to say? 00:31:37.721 --> 00:31:43.660 I'd want to say,"Your sins are forgiven," because you wouldn't be able to prove whether I'd really been able to do that or not. 00:31:43.661 --> 00:31:45.819 You wouldn't see any clear evidence of that. 00:31:45.820 --> 00:31:48.430 Whereas if I said,"I'm going to heal you. 00:31:48.431 --> 00:31:55.509 Get up and walk," you'd have evidence almost immediately of whether I could really do that or not. 00:31:55.510 --> 00:32:08.230 So Jesus, on one hand, is saying,"It is easier to say that your sins are forgiven," because there's no visible evidence of that, but Jesus doesn't stop there, does he? 00:32:08.230 --> 00:32:16.180 Jesus goes on to say,"I will provide you with evidence of my ability to forgive sins." How? 00:32:16.181 --> 00:32:31.569 By healing this man's paralysis, which you can all see, and that's exactly what he proceeds to do in verse 10:"but that you may know that the son of man has authority on Earth to forgive sins." Now again, let me pause here. 00:32:32.170 --> 00:32:42.529 This is another time where, again, we have the first term, or the first occurrence of a term that we'll see over and over again in Mark:"Son of Man". 00:32:42.529 --> 00:32:49.009 Mark uses"Son of Man" 14 times in his Gospel, and there's a lot of confusion. 00:32:49.010 --> 00:32:50.480 What does that mean? 00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:57.470 That is Jesus' favorite reference to himself, his favorite title for himself. 00:32:57.471 --> 00:33:05.240 The early church referred to him as Lord, as Savior, but Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man. 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:21.000 Out of those 14 times, three times, not one of these times here in chapter 2, but three times, Mark records Jesus calling himself the Son of Man, really to describe how one day, he's going to return in judgment. 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:25.910 And if you know Old Testament prophecy, and you may know Daniel chapter 7 is a real significant chapter. 00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:30.650 That's where this image of the Son of Man coming in final judgment is. 00:33:30.651 --> 00:33:32.720 This is not one of those occurrences. 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:44.819 Another nine of those occurrences, Mark records, as Jesus talking about himself as the Son of Man, really referencing how he's going to come, and he's going to suffer for man. 00:33:44.820 --> 00:33:51.349 He's going to come and suffer in your place and my place, which he did on the cross. 00:33:51.351 --> 00:33:54.890 And that is not one of these occurrences. 00:33:54.891 --> 00:34:12.289 The remaining two references where Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, one is right here, and the other is just a few verses later, in chapter 28, and they have to do with his authority that he has been given as the Son, as God's son. 00:34:12.409 --> 00:34:21.820 He has been given, as a man on this earth, he has been given authority on this earth, here, the authority to forgive sins. 00:34:21.820 --> 00:34:23.000 Jesus' authority: think of what that word means. 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:37.670 Authority is the right to do something, so Jesus' authority is the right to act as he does, and in this case, it is the right to act as only God can act by forgiving sins. 00:34:37.670 --> 00:34:41.449 So let me just bring this together with you as we wrap this up. 00:34:41.451 --> 00:34:46.789 What do we see of the identity of Jesus in Mark here? 00:34:46.789 --> 00:34:59.449 We see this picture of the omniscient Christ, who knows all things, who knows our hearts, who knows, even this morning, what you're wrestling with, what you're thinking of, what you're struggling with. 00:34:59.451 --> 00:35:21.260 We see in this picture of Jesus this self-identification as the Son of Man, the one who has the authority to be able to address you, wherever you are and whatever your need, and particularly the point of your deepest need, beneath all the rest of your needs, to forgive your sins. 00:35:21.260 --> 00:35:21.530 And Jesus is that one. 00:35:22.340 --> 00:35:32.690 You may know this, if you've been in church for a long time, but maybe it hasn't sunk in in a way that that the Holy Spirit working through Mark, maybe, wants to bring it home in your life today. 00:35:32.690 --> 00:35:39.340 He is the only one who can deal with your past, who can deal with your sin. 00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:41.409 He is the only one who can make it right. 00:35:41.411 --> 00:35:44.320 A pastor cannot make your past right. 00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:47.320 A counselor cannot make your past right. 00:35:47.320 --> 00:35:50.050 A priest cannot make your past right. 00:35:50.050 --> 00:35:54.159 No other religious figure can make your past right. 00:35:54.161 --> 00:36:02.980 Only Jesus has the authority on Earth to forgive sins, and he can completely forgive you of your sins. 00:36:02.981 --> 00:36:11.230 He forgives you not only have all the specific sins that you have committed; he forgives you of the ongoing sins. 00:36:11.231 --> 00:36:17.230 He forgives you of the sinful condition that produced all of those sins. 00:36:17.231 --> 00:36:43.119 And by the way, the authority to forgive is also the authority to heal, and that's exactly what Jesus goes on to demonstrate in verse 11, when he says to the paralytic,"I tell you, get up, take up your mat, and go home." Having been healed of his spiritual paralysis through the forgiveness of sins, this man is now healed of his physical paralysis. 00:36:43.121 --> 00:36:48.429 He got up, he took his mat, and he walked out in full view of them all. 00:36:49.820 --> 00:36:52.880 He is the king. 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:54.679 Is he your king? 00:36:54.681 --> 00:37:05.539 As you consider him today, wherever you are spiritually, wherever you are in life at this point, do you see him as the king that Mark presents him as? 00:37:05.541 --> 00:37:20.750 Do you see him as the Son of Man, the one who comes with the authority to forgive sins, the one who comes with the authority to heal, to heal the heart as well as the body, as well as every other area of our lives? 00:37:20.751 --> 00:37:31.250 What is it that, this morning, using that image of paralysis, that is paralyzing you spiritually, what is it this morning that may be paralyzing you relationally? 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:36.409 Paralyzing you financially, paralyzing you physically? 00:37:36.530 --> 00:37:39.139 Jesus comes, he comes as the Son of Man. 00:37:39.141 --> 00:37:40.760 He comes as the king. 00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:48.619 He comes as the one to whom all needs are ultimately, as they're laid on his feet, fully addressed. 00:37:48.621 --> 00:37:55.489 Let me lead you back as we close to Pastor Lockridge's question: do you know this king? 00:37:55.490 --> 00:37:58.039 Do you know him as this king? 00:37:58.041 --> 00:38:00.949 He is the key to knowledge. 00:38:00.951 --> 00:38:03.019 He's the wellspring of wisdom. 00:38:03.021 --> 00:38:05.269 He's the doorway of deliverance. 00:38:05.271 --> 00:38:07.429 He's the pathway of peace. 00:38:07.431 --> 00:38:10.130 He's the roadway to righteousness. 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:12.469 He's the highway to holiness. 00:38:12.471 --> 00:38:15.949 He's the gateway of glory. 00:38:15.951 --> 00:38:17.960 He's indescribable. 00:38:17.960 --> 00:38:21.110 He's incomprehensible. 00:38:21.409 --> 00:38:22.969 He's invincible. 00:38:23.150 --> 00:38:24.380 He's irresistible. 00:38:24.380 --> 00:38:24.860 That's our king. 00:38:25.519 --> 00:38:26.090 Do you know him? 00:38:26.090 --> 00:38:26.090 Let's pray. 00:38:29.809 --> 00:38:32.000 Oh Lord Jesus, we worship you. 00:38:32.300 --> 00:38:33.920 We worship you as savior. 00:38:34.489 --> 00:38:36.460 We worship as Son of God. 00:38:36.969 --> 00:38:39.010 We worship you as Son of Man. 00:38:39.610 --> 00:38:41.650 We worship you as king. 00:38:42.769 --> 00:39:04.460 Lord, there may be some here this morning who have never really encountered you as king, and I pray you'd work by your Holy Spirit, through your inspired word in the Gospel of Mark here, to reveal Jesus to them, in a way, as savior and as king, perhaps they have never experienced before. 00:39:04.469 --> 00:39:29.980 And Lord, for for those of us who've encountered you as savior and encountered you as king, I ask that you, by Your Holy Spirit, help us to come before you with whatever area of paralysis in our lives: relationally, financially, physically, spiritually, and to lay it for you, trusting in you, having faith in you as we see demonstrated in these four friends. 00:39:29.981 --> 00:39:41.739 Reveal yourself, Lord, in an increasingly greater way, that we may see you, that we may run to you, that we may depend upon you, that we may worship you. 00:39:41.740 --> 00:39:44.170 We pray, Jesus, this in your holy name. 00:39:44.170 --> 00:39:44.170 Amen.