Devaluing the Greater Gift for Lesser Things

Mark 2:3-5
“And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. And being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening; they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ‘My son, your sins are forgiven.'”

“WAIT JUST A MINUTE HERE!! My sins are forgiven! What about my legs? My friends have brought me all this way, dug a hole in the roof because they couldn’t get through the front door, and then they lowered me down right in front of You, and for what? For You to say, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Excuse me, Jesus, I came to be healed.”

In this story, the thoughts of the paralytic, his friends, and the crowd are unknown. So, this verbal exchange above is only a supposition on my part and an honest depiction of how I might have reacted in this scenario.

However, Jesus is keenly aware of the thoughts of the scribes at this moment. As they watched this transaction between Jesus and the paralytic, they reasoned in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone?”. Jesus then responds to the scribes’ silent criticisms in a masterful way that satisfies the healing of the paralytic and the forgiveness of sin.

“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralyzed man, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” In that day and time, sins were directly equated with illness and physical deformities. Good health was attributed to righteousness. Disease and physical afflictions were attributed to sin. That is why Jesus says to the scribes, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your pallet and walk?'” So, to show them He had the power to forgive sin, He healed the paralytic. 

A Divine Revelation

But don’t close the book yet or you will miss the hidden message between the lines of this story.  Jesus rewards the faith of the friends and the paralytic with a greater gift than what they came for. However, this gift wasn’t the physical restoration of this man’s body, but a restoration of the unseen affliction of his soul. One gift was temporal while the other gift was eternal. But did it impress the crowd when Jesus said, “My son, your sins are forgiven?” NO! Only after Jesus heals the paralytic did the crowd respond in awe and give glory to God. Is this not also true of us?

A Divine Challenge

Are we as awed by the work of salvation as we are by God’s miraculous supernatural signs and wonders? Salvation transforms our lives while satisfying the deepest need of the human heart. It also assures us of an eternity with God. Do we miss the greater, for the lesser? Do we short sale the unseen work of God for that which we can see? Where is the faith in that?

Call to Action

Beloved, salvation does make those who are spiritually lame…walk, those who are spiritually blind…see, those who are spiritually deaf…hear, and those who were spiritually dead in their sin are raised to newness of life now and for eternity. It is a free gift from God made available to all through the sacrifice of His only Son, and therefore, IT IS THE GREATEST SUPERNATURAL GIFT EVEN BESTOWED UPON MANKIND! Treasure it and work it out with fear and trembling (reverence and awe), so the world won’t miss the greatest gift of all…FORGIVENESS OF SIN!!!! Father, true forgiveness is rarely understood, even among believers. It is the greatest of gifts and it is freely available to us because of Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Help us to understand how priceless the treasure of forgiveness of sin truly is so we can forgive others in the same way You’ve forgiven us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!