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7/20 Reading Portions: Judges 3; Acts 7; Jeremiah 16; Mark 2
Mark 2:9
“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?”
NEITHER
Jesus was no mere man. He was the God-Man. When Jesus told the paralytic that His sins were forgiven (Mark 2:5), the scribes thought Jesus had blasphemed, since only God could forgive sins (Mark 2:6-7). Jesus certainly proved that He was the God who can forgive sins because He was the God who could heal the paralytic so He could obey Christ’s command to rise and walk (Mark 2:8-12).
Now, I’ve mentioned many times in our devotionals that while the earthly work of the Lord Jesus was filled with healings to prove and corroborate His ministry as Messiah, every healing also was a gospel witness of that which could only be accomplished by Messiah. Sin has made us spiritually deaf, so Christ must open our ears to the gospel. Sin has made us spiritually blind, so Jesus must make us see His truth. Sin has made us spiritual lepers, so Jesus must make us clean. We are spiritually dead in sins and trespasses, so Jesus must raise us from the dead. Likewise, sin has made us spiritual paralytics— that is, we are paralyzed when it comes to forgiving others. In our verse today, Jesus asks the scribes,
“Which is easier to say?”
For mere men who are descendants of fallen Adam, it would not be easy for us to say “Rise and walk” to one who was paralyzed. We do not possess the power. Also, apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we will find it hard to forgive men who have sinned against us. The scribes themselves were paralyzed when it came to forgiving others because their religion of justifying themselves by their good deeds and “service” to YHVH God, made them arrogant— esteeming themselves better than others (Luke 18:11-12).
The Lord Jesus Christ came to walk the righteous life that you and I cannot possibly walk. Yes, by God’s grace in Christ, in the strength and power of Christ’s might (Eph 6:10), can we keep the command of…
…forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:13
Which, then, is easier to say? For mere men, apart from the grace of God in Christ— neither.