Anchor My Faith

Jesus Claims He Can Forgive Sin

Scripture: Mk 2:4-7; Lk 5:18

We ended the previous lesson with the house, where Jesus was teaching, overflowing with people, some of great influence, and four men carrying a paralytic, wondering how they were going to get to Jesus. ^{“Lk 5:18} They were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, ^{Mk 2:4a} [but] they could not get near him because of the crowd.” The plan was to lay the paralytic before Jesus and request that he heal him, but since Jesus was inside the house, access was restricted to the door that was now blocked tightly with people who were not about to move aside.

If these four men were patient enough, Jesus would eventually stop teaching and the crowd would leave allowing access to Jesus, but God needed the paralytic inside to provide Jesus with an important object for his teaching, ^{“Mk 2:4b} [so] they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay, [right in front of Jesus].”

These homes had flat roofs which could be easily accessed from outside, maybe by a stairway, and once on the roof, which may have been made from mud slabs backed in the sun, it would be easy to make an opening big enough to lower the bed down in front of Jesus. Construction details are not as important here as the ingenuity and determination on the part of the four men to get their friend to Jesus for healing. Are we that determined to get our friends before Jesus?

^{“Mk 2:5} When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”’ These four men were convinced that Jesus could heal their friend and Jesus sees their faith. What Jesus said and did was not what was expected. He did not touch the paralytic and say words to heal, but instead he says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” It is clear that Jesus intends to do more than heal this paralytic. Like all of us, he also had a sin problem that was greater than his health problem. Unless these sins are forgiven they will result in eternal death. Jesus quickly draws the focus to himself as the one who has the authority to forgive a person’s sin.

This comment surely will not go unnoticed by some of the spiritually educated guests in the group. ^{“Mk 2:6} Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts.” Their question would be about who can forgive sin. In their minds it clearly wasn’t Jesus, who was born and raised among them. They think, ^{“Mk 2:7} Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” They saw Jesus as a man like them and since they know that only God can forgive sins, they conclude that Jesus is blaspheming. “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” is a great truth which we see in the following verses.

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25 ESV); “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love” (Micah 7:18 ESV); “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation”’ (Exodus 34:6 – 7 ESV).

Jesus is now raising the stakes by claiming he has the authority to forgive our sins and thus he is God. Jesus has demonstrated authority in his teaching and in the miracles performed and now he claims he can forgive one’s sins. What will the people hearing him think and do?

Prayer

Father, in this lesson, Jesus made a very strong claim to have the ability and authority to forgive our sins. If he can, as claimed, then he is God! If Jesus is God, then we must believe that and surrender ourselves to him in order to obtain salvation. Father, this is a key point which has divided all humanity into two groups: those who believe in Jesus and have surrendered in obedience to him and those who oppose and thus resist him. Based on the comment Jesus made in this lesson, we have a decision to make.