Christian Authority (Mark 2:1-12)

Jesus preached the word to them. A seemingly innocent little statement that non-the-less caught my eye. It’s not mentioned in the Matthew version but here it is in the less expansive gospel of Mark. It doesn’t say what was preached as if it were common knowledge and we should already know.

Jesus preached the word to them seems as though it might be a sermon but somehow not significant to register in content. I asked myself what I would have said if so many came near that they couldn’t even get near the door – maybe I’d say, “The kingdom of God is close to you.”

Jesus himself sent the 72 out to preach “the kingdom of God is at hand.” Perhaps that is what Jesus said but it’s hardly a preaching in itself. But then four men came to Jesus carrying a paralytic and had to lower him through the roof to get near. It must have been bedlam. So Jesus says something audacious, He says, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Talk about radical theology – so what’s going on here?

The scribes are enraged believing this a blasphemy – only God can forgive sins! Jesus continues His preaching suggesting it is easier to say than, “Arise, take up your bed and walk.” What’s with this guy who says whatever is easiest and a lame guy and he gets up and walks? You tend to wonder what this faith we have is all about when such a small mustard seed of it is enough to defy the laws of medicine and science – forgiveness of sin makes man walk? Go figure?

We need to understand this – perhaps there’s more to this world than we can see. The general understanding here is that sin made this man lose the use of both his legs. Wait a minute I’ve been there myself. January or February 1987 I briefly lost the use of all my limbs, a quadriplegic if you will for a time. At first I thought I was fainting but I remained conscious. Then I thought a maybe a heart attack but no pain of colour loss. I could still see and hear and speak.

For a few minutes God intervened in my life. He took away the use of my whole body from my neck down to teach me something absolutely vital. He taught me a lesson I will never forget in all my days. God gives life to those He chooses and if He withdraws his hand even for a moment we are rendered useless. As I was given my bodily function back again I gained the faith that, “without God I am nothing.”

I met an Australian man at church recently who gave an example of this in detail. He had a stroke and lost the use of one side of his body – at the age of fifteen. He is a Christian and said, “It changes your life in an instant...and takes a lot of getting used to.” Jesus just says, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”  How on earth do we get a handle on this?

Jesus seems to know something vital. He has said elsewhere, “I can only do what I see the Father doing.” So was Jesus seeing his Father doing something? Was He whispering knowledge and wisdom into His son’s ear? My experiences of this have been a previous vision sometimes like an unexplained picture or video that suddenly has relevance in the right situation. Alternatively a sense of presence and a word of knowledge comes when focussing on the Lord.

I had been seeing a vision of a tunnel with a steak each side of it which had relevance only when our young son became ill and a word of knowledge came; tonsillitis. Relevance came as the tunnel became an inside view of a throat and the steaks were inflamed tonsils. When I knew what the problem was I could pray for the particular issue and after the third attempt he became perfectly well again.

Shelley has had a similar experience with the same son when she was shown a vision with a shadow on his right lung. When she went to the doctor she suddenly had a word of knowledge and knew it was an infection. She told the Doctor who though raising his eye brows then confirmed the diagnosis God had given and prescribed a course of antibiotics. This reveals an interesting issue that God doesn’t mind how one is healed as long as one is set free.

If we are supposed to be anything like Jesus my experience in the Holy Spirit says Jesus at that time was both, a) aware the Father was present in love and, b) aware that the Father’s love meant God wanted to help. If we are anything like Him my experience says Jesus saw a marginalised child of God’s and brotherly love demanded freedom. Freedom comes only to captives. The way to set free a captive of Satan is through forgiveness. In unforgiveness one remains bound to the problem.

Jesus taught his disciples that they too could forgive others in Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV) “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. We pray this as part of the Lord’s Prayer all of the time.

Forgiving everyone is part and parcel of our discipleship to the Prince of Peace and worship of the God of love. So anyone who holds a grudge as Jesus said is guilty of murder in their heart.Jesus taught that love was the fulfilment of the law and if you break one you break them all.

Forgiveness is the undoing of the penalty of sin which the law exposes to us.  Jesus taught us to forgive our brother not seven times but seventy times seven and that one who is forgiven much loves much. Jesus is a radical messiah not coming as man comes to further the ideas of man but rather to challenge them in God.

In forgiving the paralytic Jesus challenged the legalistic religious leaders who had lifted not a finger to set free but had held him in his bindings. It was their view that if someone was paralytic he must have sinned against God. Though it was not always the case it seems that some things are in fact the result of sin in the person or the parents. 

According to Jesus the Prince of peace in his Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.” The religious leaders had hitched themselves to the hate wagon drawn by offense and punishment but Jesus came hitching to the love wagon drawn by forgiveness and peace. The woman found in adultery was to be stoned to death but Jesus said, “He who is without sin cast the first stone,” he asked the woman where her accusers were because no one remained. Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

Before the Treaty of Waitangi Maori had Utu, slaughtering whole tribes at times in revenge killing, but Christ came preaching love and the kingdom of God which sets free the lame, blind, deaf, demon possessed and diseased. Maori are now rid of Utu, free to live in peace with other tribes. This was a radical departure from the fallen mind and heart of vengeful man.

When we return to the kingdom mind of Christ and His Spirit enters our heart we become peacemakers and restorers of harmony though some will see us as blasphemers for it. Forgiveness is ours to give – we have that authority and those with faith can restore this once lost natural order.

In the presence of God the Father His children find restoration. This is why we attempt to establish the presence of God in our meeting with praise and fitting worship.