STUDY THEME: ONE SOLITARY LIFE: THE LIFE OF JESUS  3-04-01
UNIT 4: NO ONE ELSE LIKE JESUS; "BRINGING OTHERS TO JESUS
MARK 2:1-12; MATTHEW 9: 1-8; LUKE 5: 17-26
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO MARK 2.

The new unit we begin today is entitled "No One Else Like Jesus", and
refers to the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, was and is unique in every
way. As the Son of God He existed in eternity past before the world was
created. He also created the world and everything in it. As the Son of
man, He was born of a virgin into this world; He came to die on a cross
so He could pay for our sins; He arose from the dead; He alone is the way
of salvation; He will return in power to judge everyone. Each aspect of
Jesus' life pointed to His relationship with the Father as God's Son and
the only hope for humanity. Jesus' uniqueness was demonstrated time and
again in His earthly ministry through His miracles, teachings, and
sinless life.

In this four lesson unit of study we will focus on four passages about
Jesus' life and teachings that explain to us more about Him and our
responsibility in serving Him as His disciples.
In today's lesson from Mark 2 Jesus forgives a man of his sins before
healing him of paralysis. This lesson will help us bring others to Jesus
through our words and actions.
In next Sunday's lesson from Luke 6 Jesus teaches us the true meaning of
love. This lesson will help us act in love toward those who mistreat us. 
In the March 18 lesson Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee and
heals a demoniac. This lesson will help us depend on the compassionate
Christ. 
In the fourth lesson March 25 Jesus feeds thousands of people with only
five loaves and two fish. This lesson will help us make ourselves and all
we have, available for service to Christ.

The Biblical setting for today's lesson is:
1. The man Jesus healed of paralysis had no hope of ever being able to
walk again until Jesus came into his life. 
2. Jesus performed this miracle in Capernaum, a small town on the
northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.  
3. This miracle occurred early in Jesus' Galilean ministry when large
crowds were still following Him. 

I have prayed hat this unit will strengthen our faith that there is no
one else like Jesus. He stands alone in His power to make people, whole,
His demands for exemplary living, His compassion, and His ability to
magnify our gifts to Him. Today's lesson should help us mature as
Christ's followers by bringing others to Jesus through our words and
actions. In the last verses of Mark 1 the author omits Jesus' inaugural
address in the Sermon on the Mount which Matt. gives in Matt. 5, 6, and
7, but instead tells how Jesus healed a leper. He instructed him to say
nothing to anyone. However the leper went out and spread the news so that
Jesus could no longer openly enter Capernaum but was outside in deserted
places; and people came to Him from every direction. After some days He
returned to Capernaum and our lesson begins.
1. PLEASE READ MARK 2: 1-5.

After Jesus had completed His tour of the synagogues He returned to
Capernaum, His tour center. In this scene Luke writes that there were
Pharisees and doctors of the Law (Scribes) sitting in the house seeking
how they might trap Jesus in word or deed. The house is probably the
house of Peter and Andrew as Jesus usually stayed in their house when He
was in town. Jesus later told a would be follower, "Foxes have holes, and
birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His
head." We conclude that just as Jesus made Capernaum the base city for
His ministry, so did He make the home of His two disciples His temporary
residence while there. 

When the people heard that Jesus was in the house in Capernaum they
filled up the inside of the house and spilled out onto the street. Jesus
often had great crowds following Him early in His ministry. Notice how
Jesus responded. He did not complain about having no privacy. Instead He
seized the opportunity and preached the word unto them. Mark 1:14-15
gives a summary of His preaching during those days.

Tom and Gloria Thurman, IMB missionaries to Bangladesh, learned about
privacy. They have an "open-door" policy. All visitors-Christian, Hindu,
or Muslim-are welcome to their unlocked home. And visitors come at all
hours of the day and in to the night-for advice, for help, or just to
talk. In their early days as missionaries, they savored a quiet time
together in the morning to drink their coffee. One morning a visitor
came. "I was annoyed that he hadn't even gotten to finish our
devotional," recalls Gloria. Then I got to thinking. Those men had left
their home about 4:30 that morning to walk there, and they were going to
walk back home and work in the field. The Lord used that to help me see
that it's not always 'my time'."

While Jesus was speaking to the crowd, something happened that most
speakers would have resented as an intrusion or interruption. While Jesus
was speaking part of the roof began to fall in front of where He was.
Since the people were packed in, the debris n doubt began to fall on some
of them. Something was happening on the flat roof of the house. Jesus saw
the faces of men looking through the large hole in the roof. Then a bed
or mat was slowly lowered in front of Jesus. On it was a man who was
unable to walk. Vs. 3-4 tell us what had happened. 

The man on the bed was sick of the palsy. He was a paralytic. We don't
know exactly what his medical condition was, except that it had so
disabled him that he was dependent on others for mobility. He was borne
or carried by four. When they arrived, others had come earlier and filled
up the house and spilled onto the street. The four men saw no way to
force their way through the mob while carrying the bed or mat. Luke 5:19
says, "Because of the multitude, they went upon the house top." Houses of
that time in Galilee had flat roofs and usually had an outside stairway
leading to the roof. 

William Barclay wrote: "The roof itself was built like this. First, beams
were laid from wall to wall, perhaps three feet apart. Timber was usually
scarce and the beams had to be sparingly used. Then the spaces between
the beams were filled with close-packed reeds and rushed and the branches
of thorn bushes. This was filled up and covered over with mortar; and
then the whole was topped with a covering of marled earth." 

They uncovered the roof where He was and let down the bed wherein the
sick of the palsy lay. All of this activity could not have escaped the
notice of the people inside the room. We are not told this, but Jesus
probably stopped what He was saying and waited for the man to be lowered
before Him. We are told that Jesus saw their faith. He readily saw what
these men had done to get their sick friend to Him.  

What were the components of such faith? Their actions must have come from
a combination of concern and faith. We are not told whether they were
relatives, friends, or neighbors; but they must have been concerned
enough about the condition of the sick man and they must have cared
enough for him to go to all this trouble to bring him to Jesus. They also
must have believed that Jesus could heal him. Jesus saw their faith and
love in action. He also realized how they had worked together to do what
one alone could not have done. He realized that they refused to give up
in spite of the obstacles of he crowd and the roof. Thus their faith was
in Jesus; was an expression of their love for the needy man; and was
cooperative, persistent, and bold. 

They could have given up when they realized that they could not get
through the crowds. Instead, they went on the roof, dug through the roof,
and lowered him. This took boldness because of the many risks. Believers
today need to have these qualities of love and faith if we are to bring
people to Jesus. These men had faith in Jesus, His power to heal and to
save. They were not carrying their friend to an experiment.

Jesus did not view this an interruption but as an opportunity. Some of
His greatest teachings and miracles happened when He was interrupted in
something He was doing. His usual practice was to help the person or
people who came for help. We who serve the Lord today must see so-called
interruptions as opportunities.

Who was include dint he words WHEN JESUS SAW THEIR FAITH? Obviously the
expression included the four men who carried their friend. Did it also
include the sick man? I believe that it did. He would not have risked the
humiliation without some faith. Also, Jesus forgave his sins. Jesus
sometimes healed people without faith, but can you think of anyone whom
He forgave without faith? Of course not!

In Jesus words, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee", the term son is a warm
word for "child" or "son." makes clear that the paralytic-like everyone
else-was a sinner. We are not told whether his sins had led to his
sickness, but many students believe that this is inferred from the way
the incident is described. If so, true healing had to begin with
forgiveness of his sins. Even if his sins had not caused his sickness,
Jesus' words show that sin is the basic problem of humanity. True life
cannot begin until sins are forgiven by the Lord. 

The O.T. gives three powerful analogies of forgiveness. Isa. 1: 18 says,
"Forgiveness is like having sins as red as blood made as white as snow".
Ps. 103: 12 says, "Forgiveness is like having our sins removed as far as
the east is from the west." Micah 7:19 says, "Forgiveness is like having
our sins thrown into the depths of the sea." The N.T. sees forgiveness as
one way to describe salvation. The word is from the areas of human
relations and of business. In human relations, forgiveness removes or
sets aside the hurt inflicted by someone so that fellowship is restored.
In business, it means canceling a debt. Forgiveness of sin is something
that takes place at the throne of God, and secondly, in the heart of man.
Now I can sing:    
Forgiven, I've been forgiven; God has looked beyond my sin,
Saved me from what I might have been, Gave me a new life within,
I'm forgiven by His grace."

Jesus statement, "Son, your sins are forgiven," probably shocked and
confused everyone present-from various perspectives and for different
reasons. The four friends and the paralytic expected Jesus to heal, not
to forgive. Jesus obviously was more concerned about the man's spiritual
condition than about his body. Did Jesus see a connection between the
man's illness and a specific sin? While all suffering has resulted from
sin's entry in to the world, not all suffering can be connected with
specific sins.  

said the man's sins had been forgiven-already an accomplished fact. What
is people's greatest need? Healing or Heaven? Physical wholeness or
spiritual health? Both are desirable. God wants us to be whole. Sin
separates us from Him, and without repentance and fish in Christ, it
separates us from God forever in hell. Jesus spoke to the paralytic's
greatest need: a right relationship with God through the forgiveness of
his sins. He said the man's sins had been forgiven-already an
accomplished fact.

The faith of these determined men was rewarded infinitely more than they
could have imagined, and the paralyzed man hadn't even been healed yet!
But he had been forgiven. He would be in God's kingdom forever. But you
say, "I'd rather see my loved one healed than forgiven.   

An evangelist came to our church and observed our intercessory prayer
ministry. He said, "I see you spend much more time praying to keep sick
folks out of heaven than you do praying to keep lost people out of hell."
I find myself doing that, yet Jesus saw forgiveness of sin as primary to
healing. 

2. PLEASE READ MARK 2: 6-7.

Not everyone in the crowd rejoiced with the paralytic whose sins had been
forgiven. In attendance were some teachers of the law called scribes, and
they had not come to learn from Jesus. Jesus' popularity had begun to
attract those doubters, skeptics, and critics whole lifelong vocation had
been to study the law-the written law and its oral interpretation-and to
teach it to the people. Instead of participating in and enjoying the
event, they were thinking of themselves (literally, "dialoguing in their
hearts") and had been looking for an opportunity to challenge Jesus''
view of the law and its oral interpretation. In other words, to check out
His credentials as a teacher.

The office of scribe began with Ezra in the book of Nehemiah. Their
influence continued to increase down to the time of Christ. They were
given seats in the Sanhedrin and were held in very high esteem. There is
a sad text in Mark 3:6, which says "And the Pharisees went out, and
straightway with the Herodians took counsel against Him (Jesus), how they
might destroy Him."

Mark did not report that the scribes spoke their objections when Jesus
pronounced the paralytic forgiven. We easily can see their disrespect in
their reference to Jesus as this fellow. They questioned Jesus' right to
speak as He did. The critics took their reasoning to the most dangerous
conclusion: "He's blaspheming!" Today criminal and injurious forms of
speech include sacrilege, profanity, and slander. In biblical days,
blasphemy meant that someone cursed or reviled God's name. Literally, the
term blaspheme means "to speak reproachfully." The O.T., in Lev. 24:13-16
prescribed death by stoning for the offender. Jesus solemnly warned in
Matt. 12:31-32 that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. In
addition, Mark wrote in Mark 14:64 that in Jesus trial before the
religious leaders, Jesus was accused of blasphemy, which led to His
illegal conviction and transfer to the Roman authorities.

The reason the scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy was the premise, "Who
can forgive sins but God alone?" Since God is the One who we have
offended by our sinfulness, He alone can forgive us the penalty that sins
deserve. The problem with the teachers of the law was that they failed to
recognize who Jesus was. Because they did not acknowledge His deity, they
failed to understand that as God the Son, Jesus too had the authority and
power to forgive sins. The teachers' accusation against Jesus is the
ultimate irony: they claimed that the "Forgiver" could not forgive. Here
we have the perfect man, Jesus Christ, severely opposed by the religious
leaders of His own nation. Remember that Christ healed the man in answer,
not to the unbelief of the scribes, but to the belief of the man and his
bearers. He would have healed him if the scribes had not been there.

They had heard Jesus say that the paralytic was forgiven of his sins, and
they reacted with a  scripturally correct premise. They knew their
Scriptures well and accurately believe that only God can forgive sins.
The scribes' logic was: God alone can forgive sins; Jesus pronounced the
paralytic forgiven; thus Jesus blasphemed because He was not God. The
possibility that Jesus was God never entered their minds. If a person
accepts the scribes' assumption that Jesus was a mere man who claimed
God's prerogatives, he or she might arrive at their conclusion. The basic
conflict concerned Jesus' deity. They thought they had caught Him
blaspheming. So let's get on 
with the stoning.

3. PLEASE READ MARK 2: 8-12.

Although the religious leaders had been "thinking to themselves," they
may as well have been thinking out loud. Jesus read them loud and clear:
Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their
hearts. Jesus' knowledge of other peoples' thoughts is yet another
manifestation of His supernatural power in this story. Jesus knew even
the thoughts of His enemies. He confronted their arrogance by
demonstrating His ability to know their thoughts. (Why are you thinking
these things?). He then asked the Jewish teachers a problem question:
Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven," or to
say, "Get up, take your mat and walk"? 

There more to this question than one may suspect on the surface. The
context indicates that forgiving is easier than healing, since healing
could be verified and forgiving could not. Evidence would be available to
show whether someone had really been healed, but no evidence would be
available for forgiveness. Of course, God is capable of forgiving and
healing, and this is precisely the point Jesus was making about Himself.
He too could forgive and heal. 

Jesus then healed the paralyzed man (supposedly the harder act): that you
may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
Jesus commanded the man to get up, take your mat and go home. The
evidence of healing was now available, for the paralyzed man took his mat
and walked out in full view of them all. Everyone saw that the paralyzed
man had been healed, so they should accept Jesus power to do the easier
act of forgiving. Jesus used the phrase of the Son of Man as a messianic
title of authority taken from Daniel 7:13-14. The phrase occurs numerous
times in the Four Gospels, and it is always on the lips of Jesus as a
reference to Himself. Jesus reference to the Son of man's authority on
earth points to His heavenly origin, for He existed in heaven with the
Father before coming to earth to provide forgiveness.

A theological irony may be involved in this passage. Are all things
equally easy for God? It is tempting to say yes, since God is omnipotent.
He has the power to do anything and everything, and from this perspective
all things are equally easy for God. But this issue needs to be revisited
regarding the doctrine of forgiveness. Healing a person is simply a
matter of God's exerting divine power to effect the cure. Healing can
take place for anyone at any time. Forgiveness is not so easy.
Forgiveness was very costly for God, for it cost Him the life of His Son.
 
of His Son. 

Forgiveness brought great pain to God, for it demanded a moment of
separation between the Father and the Son when the Son took on the sins
of the world on the cross. In fact, without the death and resurrection of
Christ, forgiveness would not be a matter of easy or difficult-it would
be impossible. The book of Hebrews says in Heb. 9:22, "Without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." 

The reaction of the crowd was both understandable and typical. They had
just seen Jesus heal someone that no medical expert would have even tried
to heal. And Jesus did so with such ease! Just a few words and the man
was up walking around like everyone else. Little wonder then that the
man's healing amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, We have never
seen anything like this! 

We can only imagine the dramatic scene. The people knew the man's
affliction. Then they saw him walking under his own power. A miracle had
occurred, clearly verified by everyone. The phase full view indicated
that everyone present witnessed and confirmed the wonderful healing,
including the scribes. The man's bed once had been used to carry him, but
now he carried his bed! We envision the clapping, cheering crowd parting
for him as he left the room. Surely his friends raced down the roof's
steps and joyfully embraced their friend. Their faith had been rewarded. 

In John 7:46 people said they never had heard anyone speak as Jesus did.
The healing of the paralytic caused people to realize that divine power
was present and active among them. They praised God -a normal reaction.
In his classic book "Mere Christianity" C.S. Lewis pointed out that you
must make your choice concerning Jesus. Either this Man was and is the
Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. We should add "As
Christians, we need to commit ourselves to Jesus as Lord and then seek to
bring others to Him.  

We to should be awed by the power of Jesus-not just His power to heal but
even more by His power to forgive. This is why He came in to the world.
Jesus miracles served one main purpose-to authenticate His claims as the
Messiah and Savior of the world. Since Jesus could do such things, surely
He must be the Savior as He claimed. We as Christians should make telling
people about our powerful Savior a priority, for only in Him can lost
sinners find forgiveness from the holy God of the universe. 

NEXT SUNDAY FROM LUKE 6 JESUS TEACHES US THE TRUE MEANING OF LOVE.   
A.V. Daugherty                                                           
   3-04-01

Someone has pointed out that what took place in is lesson is a good
pattern for a church service:
1. Christ was there. 2. Crowds were there. 3. Christ was preached. 4.
Caring was demonstrated. 5. Critics were there. 6. Cure took place 7.
Conclusion: God was praised.