Mark 2

A man who displays the power to reverse the effects of the fall in miracles of healing will quickly attract a crowd. The reason is that many people suffer in this world. We can cope with that fact best at a distance. When trouble strikes a friend or a family member, then we can easily be surprised by the imminence of facts that we have always known; that there is much pain all around us, and that this ugliness may come to us and may even overwhelm us. It is then when we begin to wonder, "Why me, Lord?" But if a man could reverse the curse upon this created order with a simple word, we would long for his touch, and be thankful for his attention to our deepest needs. That is why the crowds form around Jesus wherever He goes. That is why four people dismantle a roof to bring their paralyzed friend on a mat in front of the face of Jesus.

It is here in Capernaum that our Lord begins to connect human misery with sin in His message to the crowd. They want the limbs of their friend to work. He announces that his sins are forgiven. Some of the people in the crowd took offense at these words. In our day, any connection between suffering and sin could be easily seen as an offensive message. This despite the fact that all those who suffer deeply seem to wonder about what sins they have committed that led to such pain or loss. There is no way for anyone to answer that kind of question in his own mind. It is an inquiry that is beyond us. Though we all ask the question, we are also offended by it, because we do not wish to consider what our sins have done to contribute to the volume of misery in our lives. This was not the concern of those who were offended by the words of Jesus that day so long ago. They were bothered by the suggestion that this Healer could actually declare the forgiveness of sins. It seemed too much for a man to say. Jesus demonstrated His authority to overturn the curse by adding some other words, since He knew their objections to His pronouncement concerning the root problem of humanity. He said, "Rise up, and walk!"

Jesus has the capability to address sin, the root cause of our troubles. He also has the capability to heal those problems that are the consequences of sin as these have overtaken this fallen world. He did not need to wait for paralysis or pain to present an opportunity to display the glory of His Word. He could call sinners to a life of godliness even if trouble still seemed far away from them. He demonstrated that by calling a man from his tax booth, a place where he probably cooperated with the Roman authorities in extorting funds from his neighbors. Jesus called sinners to be disciples, and they followed Him. He ate with them, and again some people were offended. Christ knew the extent of the sin problem in creation, and He came as a divine Physician to overturn the disease. But there were some who imagined that they were well.

They were content, at the moment, with a religion that was outward, ceremonial, and powerless over the matters that trouble the human race. They had a spirituality of fasting to demonstrate humility before men, and scrupulous washings to show forth purity before those who would notice. Yet if the curse touched them too closely, who can doubt that they would have turned to the man who could bring life and health to a person in need? Jesus had brought something new, something that God had spoken of through the prophets. This was a time for celebration. The Lord of glory had sent the one Bridegroom to purify and save His beloved people, His bride. Yet as long as the curse seemed far enough away, some men preferred the old ways to the message and power of the real Messiah.

When God had created the world, He left us with us with a testimony regarding His intention to provide the fullest rest and healing to His people. Part of that testimony came in a weekly day of rest. The entrance of sin and judgment into the cosmos through Adam removed the perfect Sabbath far away from our reach. How could we ever get to the ultimate Sabbath, that perfect time which is also a perfect place, a higher place where God dwells and where God rests? It would only happen when the Lord of the Sabbath came down from that place to bring the power of Sabbath to us through His righteousness, His death, His resurrection, and the declaration of His Word, a Word that announced to beleaguered and weak people the forgiveness of their sins.

This Word came with the authority of the true Son of David. Long ago, David had been pursued by a man who insisted that no one else could be King except him, no matter what God had said or done. Saul was enraged with the successor that God had chosen, a young man he had come to see as a usurper to his throne and his greatest enemy. Yet God preserved the life of David and his band of men, even providing food for them from the resources of bread that were only for the priests to eat.

Now the long-expected Son of David would soon lay aside the entire period of levitical ceremonial rules in order to establish a long-anticipated new order of divine healing and perfect Sabbath. He alone had the authority to end the preparatory period of the Law, for He alone would fulfill the Law, and would destroy the foundation of punishment against us, a foundation resting upon Adam's sin, the sins of all humanity, and the righteous judgment of a just God. He alone had the power and wisdom necessary to build a new order where righteousness would reign and where the best kind of rest and joy could be ours. This Son of David has come. He is the Lord of the Sabbath, and He has brought us life. Our sins are forgiven. Rise up, and walk!