WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:09.519 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.840 This morning's reading is from the Gospel according to Mark, as printed in your liturgies, Mark 2.1 to 2.11. 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:43.640 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come. 00:00:44.380 --> 00:00:52.620 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 00:00:53.620 --> 00:00:58.179 Some men came, bringing him a paralyzed man carried by four of them, 00:00:58.179 --> 00:01:03.460 since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd. 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:10.219 They made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowering the mat the man was lying on. 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:14.680 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:17.400 Son, your sins are forgiven. 00:01:20.579 --> 00:01:25.219 Now some of the teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves, 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:28.459 Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming. 00:01:29.179 --> 00:01:31.039 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.620 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this is what they were thinking in their hearts, 00:01:36.739 --> 00:01:37.480 and he said to them, 00:01:38.039 --> 00:01:39.519 Why are you thinking these things? 00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:43.400 Which is easier, to say to this paralyzed man, 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:44.319 your sins are forgiven, 00:01:44.739 --> 00:01:47.840 or to say, get up and take your mat and walk? 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:53.500 But I want to show you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. 00:01:54.020 --> 00:01:55.320 So he said to the man, 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:59.200 I tell you, get up and take your mat and go home. 00:02:00.020 --> 00:02:03.820 He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. 00:02:04.460 --> 00:02:07.159 This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:09.620 We have never seen anything like this. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:11.780 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:13.800 Praise to you, O Christ. 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:15.740 Well, good morning, Christ Church. 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:17.659 My name is Andrew, one of the pastors here. 00:02:18.180 --> 00:02:19.340 And I'm super thankful. 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:22.360 Jonathan and I are super thankful to not have to preach today. 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:25.580 I want to just announce that we have a guest preacher coming. 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:26.800 His name is Jesse Robinson. 00:02:27.420 --> 00:02:31.360 He comes from the prestigious Westminster Theological Seminary 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:33.620 that me and Amy studied at. 00:02:34.340 --> 00:02:37.760 And, yeah, Jesse is a pastor now in Castro Valley. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:41.080 He just moved here from Virginia, what, four months ago now. 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:45.400 What I love about Jesse is we could bond over burritos and Tim Keller. 00:02:46.120 --> 00:02:49.460 And Jesse and his wife both have degrees in counseling, 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:51.740 and you should know that he's actually finishing his Ph.D. 00:02:52.100 --> 00:02:56.280 at the University of Virginia on the biblical counseling movement. 00:02:57.140 --> 00:02:59.640 And a special thing about Jesse, though, 00:02:59.640 --> 00:03:02.900 is he's really an answer to prayer for myself, for Chelsea. 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:05.719 He's pastoring the church where we were once members, 00:03:06.160 --> 00:03:10.160 where we started dating, where a lot of our friends are still worshiping. 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.400 So we're just happy to have this ministry partnership, this connection, 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:16.280 and looking forward to hearing this word from you, Jesse. 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:17.879 So I'm going to invite you up. 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:19.280 Thanks, Jesse, for being with us today. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:26.840 Good morning. 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:31.120 It is good to be here with you at Christ Church in Berkeley. 00:03:31.120 --> 00:03:35.719 So, as Andrew said, my name is Jesse Robinson. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:42.659 We are newly moved from Charlottesville, Virginia, where we were for eight years. 00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:48.200 I'm actually a Texan, a Texan by birth and disposition. 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:52.599 My wife is a Californian. 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:54.080 She went to Berkeley. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:59.640 And I found that Texas probably has the most state pride of any of the states. 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:05.460 But I've also found that California has the most provincialism of any of the states. 00:04:06.020 --> 00:04:09.340 When I first told my wife, hey, there's this place called University of Virginia, 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:11.660 Charlottesville, I said, what's that? 00:04:12.320 --> 00:04:12.680 What's that? 00:04:12.760 --> 00:04:14.120 It's not on the West Coast. 00:04:14.200 --> 00:04:14.960 It's not in California. 00:04:15.820 --> 00:04:22.420 So anyway, she's continued this provincialism that California is the promised land. 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:28.080 And so we are thrilled to finally move back to the promised land. 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:30.280 So it's good to be here. 00:04:31.280 --> 00:04:37.939 An important thing you should know about me, I have a physical disability called cerebral palsy. 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:45.180 That leaves me with bad balance, a strange gait, and a good sense of humor. 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:48.180 Although my wife would disagree about that. 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:54.459 But one of my favorite verses in Scripture is about actually weakness, right? 00:04:54.560 --> 00:05:00.939 That weakness is one way that God expresses his love and grace for us. 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:01.939 That he makes us weak. 00:05:02.019 --> 00:05:04.379 That in our weakness, he is strong. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:06.759 And so that's some of my hope this morning. 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:11.500 Christ Church, you're in the middle of a sermon series on the Gospel of Mark called 00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:14.060 Deny Yourself and Follow Me. 00:05:14.060 --> 00:05:18.480 So you're looking at the call of discipleship that Jesus issues us. 00:05:19.660 --> 00:05:23.280 This morning we were looking at Mark chapter 2, verse 1 through 12. 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:28.780 And this is one of the first healings that Mark does, that Jesus does in Mark. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.399 So let's look at what it tells us about Jesus. 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:34.480 If you're a note taker, here is kind of the thesis. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.139 Here's the message that God's Word gives us. 00:05:38.139 --> 00:05:52.560 Whatever the obstacles, come to Christ who truly heals us with his grace. 00:05:52.899 --> 00:05:56.479 We're going to look at the desperate demand first for healing. 00:05:56.599 --> 00:05:58.439 The desperate demand for healing. 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:00.680 The provocative grace for healing. 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:04.339 And then the sacrificial authority for healing. 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:07.879 Desperate demand, provocative grace, and sacrificial authority. 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:09.959 Oh, before we do that, would you pray with me? 00:06:11.539 --> 00:06:17.180 Oh, Father in heaven, we do come to you because you've come to us first. 00:06:18.139 --> 00:06:22.139 And we pray that your Spirit would come and anoint your Word. 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:26.139 Lord, I am nothing, we are nothing, but you are everything. 00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:30.199 And so would you feed us with nothing less than Jesus. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:32.319 And would you heal us, oh Lord. 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:34.079 In Christ's name we pray. 00:06:34.379 --> 00:06:34.759 Amen. 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:34.879 Amen. 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:37.259 So let's jump into the story. 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.839 First, the desperate demand for healing. 00:06:42.039 --> 00:06:49.199 Mark's writing style is like a Michael Bay movie, but without the sexualization and high color saturation. 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:51.480 It's action-packed, right? 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.279 It goes from scene to scene. 00:06:54.259 --> 00:07:00.860 Jesus appears on the scene in Mark, and immediately he says he's preaching and teaching and healing. 00:07:00.860 --> 00:07:01.540 Immediately. 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:04.199 That's Mark's signature word. 00:07:05.340 --> 00:07:09.120 And his healing ministry immediately evokes a response. 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:14.340 He does a couple of healings, and then the whole region is on his doorstep. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.699 Look at verse 12 on your bulletin or in your Bibles. 00:07:18.860 --> 00:07:25.280 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door. 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:29.739 People are traveling from all over for healing. 00:07:30.579 --> 00:07:31.259 They're desperate. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:34.039 And we can understand this, right? 00:07:34.059 --> 00:07:37.839 In a world without the Americans with Disabilities Act, right? 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:39.439 ADA or social services. 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:48.660 To be disabled or diseased most often meant poverty, maybe starvation, social stigma. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:57.720 Maybe there's some single mother who suffers or her child suffers from something, and they hear, 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:01.860 hey, there's a healer in town or in the next town. 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:06.360 And she thinks, this might be my only chance, right? 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:09.180 We understand the demand for healing. 00:08:10.180 --> 00:08:11.759 We still have that even today. 00:08:12.840 --> 00:08:21.340 In 2004, Howard Stab, a 53-year-old self-employed contractor, learned that he had a leaking valve 00:08:21.340 --> 00:08:24.020 in his heart that required repair. 00:08:25.060 --> 00:08:28.620 And the doctors told him, untreated, this could kill you at any moment. 00:08:28.620 --> 00:08:35.399 To repair it at the nearby hospital in North Carolina, where he lived, would cost the uninsured 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:37.299 Stab $200,000. 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.039 He couldn't afford it. 00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:47.120 So after researching his options, Stab flew all the way across the world to a private hospital 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.220 in India to get the life-saving surgery. 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:55.139 He risked it, all for healing. 00:08:55.779 --> 00:08:56.840 And he's not alone. 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:59.680 This medical tourism, right? 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:01.680 Going somewhere to get medical help. 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:07.860 The CDC reports that millions of Americans do medical tourism every year. 00:09:08.460 --> 00:09:11.500 That is the desperation for healing. 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:17.300 The text gives us little details about the foreman carrying the paralyzed man. 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:22.080 We presume they're friends, partly by the desperation to get him to Jesus. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:26.860 It says in verse 4, they can't get him to Jesus because of the crowd. 00:09:27.560 --> 00:09:29.879 So they come up with an ingenious solution. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:34.740 If they can't do anything about the crowd, let's fix the house. 00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:39.500 Roofs in the ancient Near East were easily accessible. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:44.980 They were used like decks, like we use decks to eat meals, to do laundry, to cool down. 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:51.580 And so verse 4, it says, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it. 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:57.120 The Greek text actually hints at a massive demolition project. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:01.060 The Greek is literally, they unroofed the roof. 00:10:01.740 --> 00:10:02.940 Okay, they unroofed the roof. 00:10:03.139 --> 00:10:03.720 They're digging. 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:10.080 And you can just imagine what underneath, what Jesus and the crowds are experiencing, right? 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:12.920 I've preached through a lot of distractions before. 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:19.180 You've got your kids crying, your wandering teenager who goes to the bathroom at least four times in 30 minutes. 00:10:20.220 --> 00:10:22.620 But here, like, the ceiling is falling. 00:10:23.480 --> 00:10:25.759 You can imagine, like, dust first coming onto Jesus. 00:10:27.040 --> 00:10:29.580 And then all of a sudden, like, there's light, right? 00:10:29.620 --> 00:10:30.180 The sound. 00:10:31.940 --> 00:10:33.560 That is the desperation. 00:10:34.280 --> 00:10:37.160 That these four felt for healing. 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:51.559 In the last 60 years, U.S. expenditures on health have risen from 5% of the GDP to 17, 18, even 20% of our GDP. 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:54.399 The demand for health. 00:10:54.959 --> 00:10:55.980 Why do we do that? 00:10:56.059 --> 00:10:57.819 Why are we paying so much money? 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:00.519 Now, I don't want to get into the politics of health care, right? 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:03.100 But it says, have you asked that? 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:07.860 Like, what does it tell us, the fact that we want health so bad? 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:12.960 There's even a presumption, right, that we should be healthy. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:14.980 That we want health. 00:11:16.040 --> 00:11:17.220 Have you ever asked that? 00:11:17.940 --> 00:11:20.899 We have an innate desire to be healthy, to feel good. 00:11:21.560 --> 00:11:22.220 But why? 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:27.980 And we could draw all sorts of sociological insights about the modern mushrooming of health care. 00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:32.820 But what strikes me is actually how biblical this instinct is. 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:35.300 The presumption of health. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:37.879 Christianity speaks to this. 00:11:37.960 --> 00:11:41.279 It says that God, the creator, originally made us healthy. 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:45.080 We were made for health, to be whole. 00:11:46.420 --> 00:11:50.860 But then in the rebellion against him, sickness and death began to enter in. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:53.019 In other words, sickness is not natural. 00:11:53.019 --> 00:12:00.860 And so there's this impression that, like we have this standard that somehow that good health is what I'm living for. 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:02.539 Or I should have. 00:12:03.819 --> 00:12:04.100 Right? 00:12:04.179 --> 00:12:07.679 No one is really a relativist when it comes to their health. 00:12:09.579 --> 00:12:14.579 And scripture returns to that original standard over and over in the theme of healing. 00:12:15.539 --> 00:12:18.139 God never rebukes the desire for healing. 00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:22.860 He clarifies over and over again that he is the healer. 00:12:23.340 --> 00:12:27.799 But he never shames someone or rebukes them for their desire for healing. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:29.580 In fact, he invites it. 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:35.819 The psalmist, Psalms, over and over again, invite us to pray the prayer of healing. 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:37.000 Psalm 6-2. 00:12:37.159 --> 00:12:41.220 Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 00:12:41.220 --> 00:12:47.940 Christianity sometimes gets a bad wrath for being anti-body or anti-the physical. 00:12:48.540 --> 00:12:49.899 Which is just plain wrong. 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:50.940 Right? 00:12:51.420 --> 00:12:53.840 We serve in our faith. 00:12:54.180 --> 00:12:55.920 We believe that God took up the body. 00:12:56.680 --> 00:13:00.899 In the incarnation that Jesus is God in the body. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:05.220 And the resurrection of Jesus is the crux of everything. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:06.000 Right? 00:13:06.040 --> 00:13:07.820 That he came back in a body. 00:13:08.620 --> 00:13:10.940 That is the value of the physical. 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:18.360 That's what motivated the Christians in the Middle Ages to start hospitals. 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:19.460 Right? 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:22.340 That's a Christian invented because we value the body. 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:24.279 We value healing. 00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:26.860 We're desperate for it. 00:13:27.779 --> 00:13:29.340 And we see this in our story. 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:32.620 These four men, we see how God honors this. 00:13:32.680 --> 00:13:32.800 Right? 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:34.620 These four men have been reckless. 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:38.700 They've caused damage to personal property. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:40.720 And what did Jesus do? 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:42.019 Look at verse 5. 00:13:42.060 --> 00:13:43.019 What does Jesus call it? 00:13:43.480 --> 00:13:43.759 It says, 00:13:43.940 --> 00:13:45.960 When Jesus saw their faith. 00:13:46.920 --> 00:13:49.600 Jesus looks at this desperation for health. 00:13:50.060 --> 00:13:51.600 And he calls it faith. 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:53.120 Faith. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:55.200 Let me ask you. 00:13:55.879 --> 00:13:57.460 Where does it hurt? 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:00.620 Where do you need healing? 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:03.560 And it might not be physical. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:11.799 Google reported in 2021 that searches for how to heal were at an all-time high. 00:14:12.460 --> 00:14:13.360 How to heal. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:16.419 And it went on to report, quote, 00:14:16.500 --> 00:14:19.320 We looked inward, asking the big questions like, 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:20.580 How to be yourself? 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:22.000 And what is my purpose? 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.220 In other words, like, we need healing. 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:26.460 And it's not just physical. 00:14:27.539 --> 00:14:29.059 So where do you need healing? 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:30.740 Is it depression? 00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:32.700 Is it addiction? 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:33.860 A relationship? 00:14:34.620 --> 00:14:35.259 Your family? 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:40.059 Our God is a God who invites us. 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:46.159 Invites us to be desperate and to come to him with everything that afflicts us. 00:14:47.240 --> 00:14:49.460 That's the desperate demand for healing. 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:53.639 Let's go to our second point, the provocative grace for healing. 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:55.580 Verse 5 again. 00:14:55.660 --> 00:14:58.879 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:00.980 Son, your sins are forgiven. 00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:05.580 Now, this is not how we expect this story to go, right? 00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:11.259 We expect, I mean, these men have literally moved to earth to get their friend to Jesus. 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:14.180 And then Jesus looks at him and says, 00:15:14.280 --> 00:15:15.340 Your sins are forgiven. 00:15:16.680 --> 00:15:17.200 What? 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:21.540 But it's provocative on so many levels, right? 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:27.460 Jesus seems to be socially oblivious to the expectations that come into. 00:15:27.560 --> 00:15:29.620 It's like, don't you see what this man needs? 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:32.460 Why else is it provocative? 00:15:33.400 --> 00:15:34.460 Well, it's kind of offensive. 00:15:35.540 --> 00:15:40.800 The Jews had a kind of karmic theology about disability, right? 00:15:40.860 --> 00:15:45.220 That either disability was God's punishment for the parent's sin, 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:49.720 or it was punishment for some future sin that you would commit. 00:15:50.779 --> 00:15:54.660 So Jesus, are you blaming this paralyzed man for his disability? 00:15:55.680 --> 00:16:00.340 This kind of behavior would not be permitted as PC behavior in Berkeley. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:06.000 Finally, it's terribly presumptive and even weird. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.500 Forgive my sins? 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:10.840 Who do you think you are? 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:17.440 Jesus' presumption to forgive actually fuels the conflict of the rest of the story. 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:22.779 And there is this strangeness of the Gospels that just rings with authenticity, right? 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:24.399 Like, this had to have happened. 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:26.039 No one could have thought this up. 00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:27.899 So what's going on? 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:29.139 What is Jesus doing? 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:32.799 He's doing triage on this man. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:37.839 He's saying paralysis is not the primary problem. 00:16:38.599 --> 00:16:39.759 It is sin. 00:16:40.719 --> 00:16:43.939 And I know that's a provocative word, sin. 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:50.219 But biblically speaking, sin is living against the grain of how you are meant to live. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:53.919 It means living against God, living without God. 00:16:54.019 --> 00:16:56.000 That is what sin is. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:03.240 And in a broad sense, the Scriptures say that all suffering came from this root sin. 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:07.980 That once we disobeyed, once we rebelled against God, that everything went wrong. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:09.859 Sickness came in. 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:15.680 So at the root of suffering, broadly, is this sin problem. 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:21.980 And so if Jesus is going to heal this man, he has to go to the root, to the sin. 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:27.299 It would be like you going to the doctor for a stomachache, right? 00:17:27.339 --> 00:17:34.180 He could treat that symptom with a painkiller, but to do nothing else would not be doing due diligence. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:35.680 What if you have stomach cancer? 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:38.839 What if there is something behind the symptom? 00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:46.400 Jesus is offering this man not only symptom relief, but true healing. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:51.079 And you can imagine the paralyzed man's narratives. 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:56.099 Like, if I just had a whole body, then I would make it. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:17:59.039 Then I'd be happy or whole. 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:03.819 You know these fill-in-the-blank ambitions, right? 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:09.019 Like, if I just did this, or if I just had this, then my life would be set. 00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:12.660 I'd just score that job or write this book. 00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:18.100 But Jesus knows that that is wrong thinking. 00:18:18.620 --> 00:18:19.720 That that will not free him. 00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:23.560 Mere physical healing is not going to fix this man's problems. 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:27.900 Jesus knows, and we know, that this will not work. 00:18:28.560 --> 00:18:33.340 That these things that we put our hope in, these identities, to heal us, right? 00:18:34.180 --> 00:18:36.180 What do we look to to heal us? 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:37.400 Is it accomplishment? 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:38.380 Is it relationship? 00:18:38.380 --> 00:18:38.820 Relationship. 00:18:39.380 --> 00:18:41.920 Jesus knows that these will not work. 00:18:42.360 --> 00:18:44.000 They will not save you. 00:18:44.360 --> 00:18:46.200 In fact, they enslave you. 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:50.640 Anything other than Jesus is going to enslave you. 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:54.220 When I was a teenager, I hated my disability. 00:18:54.860 --> 00:19:01.120 I grew up in a small town of Texas where the show Friday Night Lights might as well be a reality show. 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:05.119 Like, that's how I can't watch that show because it's real. 00:19:05.419 --> 00:19:05.779 It's real. 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:10.739 And I wanted to play football so badly. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:14.719 It was like the measure of manhood in my town. 00:19:15.379 --> 00:19:22.619 I dreamed of being able-bodied and playing for the Dallas Cowboys, who were beating the 49ers at the time. 00:19:24.399 --> 00:19:25.659 Then I'd make it. 00:19:25.979 --> 00:19:27.059 Then I'd make it, right? 00:19:27.879 --> 00:19:29.379 But do you hear the enslavement? 00:19:29.380 --> 00:19:40.020 I wanted healing so I could prove myself in able-bodied ways, serving the cultural idols in my community, right? 00:19:40.100 --> 00:19:42.060 Physical prowess, popularity. 00:19:43.340 --> 00:19:48.840 This paralyzed man could have had his body restored and remained enslaved. 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:57.279 But by forgiving his sins, Jesus frees him from this narrative of self-salvation. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:58.839 Stop. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:01.319 You need me as a healer. 00:20:01.419 --> 00:20:02.359 I am your healer. 00:20:02.679 --> 00:20:05.799 And what you need most is forgiveness. 00:20:07.159 --> 00:20:07.639 Reconciliation. 00:20:08.359 --> 00:20:12.099 What you need is God, who is healing. 00:20:12.099 --> 00:20:15.099 This is the provocative grace of Jesus. 00:20:15.579 --> 00:20:19.079 He comes into our lives and we say, hey, I need your help with this. 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:20.719 And Jesus says, oh, no, no, no, no, no. 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:23.839 There is something way deeper that we need to work on. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:29.799 Even though God invites our desperate demand for healing our presumption, 00:20:30.159 --> 00:20:35.199 he also retains the right to tell us what's truly wrong with us. 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:39.500 And not only that, but to heal it. 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:41.920 Do you see the grace of Jesus? 00:20:42.200 --> 00:20:44.240 This young man didn't even ask for it. 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:48.740 And Jesus says, son, your sins are forgiven. 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:51.360 Jesus heals him. 00:20:52.059 --> 00:20:54.200 And that's the difference between Orthodox Christianity 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:57.940 and all the wacky health, wealth, and prosperity cults out there. 00:20:57.940 --> 00:21:00.640 That God welcomes our desires for health, 00:21:01.039 --> 00:21:05.740 and yet he does not always heal us in the way we want. 00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:06.900 Right? 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:11.559 You all know Garth Brooks? 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:12.460 It's Berkeley, right? 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.980 You all know Garth Brooks, the most famous country singer ever? 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:22.700 He has this very theologically sophisticated song called Unanswered Prayers. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:26.580 And the whole gist of it, I mean, you get it from the title. 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:31.399 The whole gist of it, right, is that sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers, 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:32.919 and that's actually his grace. 00:21:33.299 --> 00:21:36.740 Because we do not know what we truly need. 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:44.240 So true healing is this forgiveness of sins. 00:21:44.379 --> 00:21:48.059 This provocative grace of Jesus goes to the very heart of this man 00:21:48.059 --> 00:21:50.119 and gives him what he truly needs. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:51.960 Let's look at our third point. 00:21:52.699 --> 00:21:55.259 A sacrificial authority to heal. 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:57.039 Now look at verse 6. 00:21:57.140 --> 00:22:00.420 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there thinking to themselves, 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:02.960 why does this fellow talk like that? 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:04.440 He's blaspheming. 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:07.039 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:22:08.259 --> 00:22:09.359 Now they're not wrong. 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:14.400 The Hebrew Scriptures have two primary categories of forgiveness. 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:15.279 Right? 00:22:15.339 --> 00:22:17.019 The first is a matter of person to person. 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:20.259 If I sin against you, then I need to make restitution, 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:23.940 ask your forgiveness, and you have the right to forgive me. 00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:27.180 But that's not what Jesus is doing here, right? 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:29.480 He's giving a general forgiveness. 00:22:30.620 --> 00:22:31.360 A general forgiveness. 00:22:31.600 --> 00:22:33.220 And that's only God can do. 00:22:33.840 --> 00:22:38.980 That's what the whole sacrificial system of Mosaic law was set to do. 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:41.519 The sin offering was a prayer for forgiveness. 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:45.779 God alone was the one who could give you absolution, 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:47.820 give you forgiveness in your life. 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:50.899 God speaks in Isaiah 43, 25. 00:22:51.339 --> 00:22:56.679 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake 00:22:56.679 --> 00:22:58.939 and remembers your sins no more. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:03.859 So when the teachers of the law see Jesus forgive sins, 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:06.740 they rightfully understand what he just did. 00:23:07.679 --> 00:23:10.659 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:12.039 That's right. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:15.500 And Mark is a brilliant employer of irony. 00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:17.660 It's the teachers of the law, 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:20.140 those who are going to oppose Jesus the most, 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:22.480 who actually see what he's doing. 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:23.799 They get it. 00:23:24.180 --> 00:23:24.819 They get it. 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:27.319 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:23:27.579 --> 00:23:29.180 That's Jesus' point. 00:23:29.859 --> 00:23:33.539 He is making a claim that he is God. 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:38.079 Now, up to this point in Mark's gospel, 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:40.240 Jesus has not named himself. 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.599 And that's why this story is so important. 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.319 This story is, he's naming himself. 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:49.359 And we see this in verse 10, 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:51.279 which is the climax of this whole story. 00:23:51.700 --> 00:23:51.920 He says, 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:54.140 I want you to know that the Son of Man 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:57.220 has authority on earth to forgive sins. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:58.920 He says, this is who I am. 00:23:58.960 --> 00:23:59.700 I've been healing. 00:24:00.220 --> 00:24:01.059 I've been preaching. 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:02.420 But this is who I am. 00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:03.779 I am the Son of Man. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:06.660 And that's a messianic title that comes from Daniel. 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:09.720 He's claiming, I am the Messiah. 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:14.000 And I want you to know that I am the one who has authority. 00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:19.080 The point of this passage is actually not the healing. 00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:20.400 It's the revealing. 00:24:21.040 --> 00:24:23.340 It's the revealing of Jesus' true identity, 00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:24.660 his authority. 00:24:26.320 --> 00:24:27.980 And that's why he heals. 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:29.980 The Greek text reflects this. 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:32.440 In verse 10, it's more like this. 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:34.779 But that you may know that the Son of Man 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:36.440 has authority on earth to forgive sins. 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:38.740 And then he says to the paralytic, 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:39.940 Rides. 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:42.320 He says, in order that you should know this, 00:24:42.360 --> 00:24:43.600 I'm going to heal this man. 00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:46.400 The healing validates the revealing. 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:49.160 Authority. 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:53.740 Jesus is showing us who he is at his core. 00:24:54.600 --> 00:24:55.900 One commentator explains, 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.259 the characteristic of Jesus 00:24:57.259 --> 00:25:01.259 that left the most lasting impression on his followers 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:04.320 and caused the greatest offense to his opponents 00:25:04.320 --> 00:25:05.960 was his authority. 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:08.120 his sovereign freedom 00:25:08.120 --> 00:25:10.300 and magisterial authority. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:12.240 Do you feel that authority? 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:15.140 I think we see it also in the scriptures. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:17.120 I'll just remark, right? 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:18.820 Jesus shows up. 00:25:19.080 --> 00:25:20.360 He is casting out demons, 00:25:20.580 --> 00:25:21.940 correcting teachers of the law, 00:25:22.360 --> 00:25:24.180 forgiving the sins of strangers, 00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:27.720 cavalierly bossing a paralyzed man 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:29.120 to rise up off the mat. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:32.219 No wonder the crowds in verse 12 marvel. 00:25:32.939 --> 00:25:34.039 This amazes everyone. 00:25:34.219 --> 00:25:34.679 And they said, 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.639 we have never seen anything like this. 00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:38.859 That's the authority of Jesus. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:42.199 He does this all by his word. 00:25:42.899 --> 00:25:43.819 He speaks. 00:25:44.479 --> 00:25:45.859 And things are happening. 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:48.659 The authority of Jesus. 00:25:49.759 --> 00:25:50.500 It carries. 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:51.619 He is supreme. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.819 He is the one that presumes to be in charge. 00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:57.059 G.K. Chesterton, 00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:59.700 the clever early 20th century British journalist. 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:01.139 He was raised, 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:01.879 not as a Christian, 00:26:02.019 --> 00:26:04.039 but with these sentimentalized portraits 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:05.359 of the liberal Jesus. 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:06.559 Kind of gentle, 00:26:06.919 --> 00:26:07.859 like a good guy, 00:26:08.179 --> 00:26:08.819 a philosopher, 00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:09.819 but not really God. 00:26:09.939 --> 00:26:11.980 Like he's a good philanthropist. 00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:14.399 But he was actually Jesus' authority 00:26:14.399 --> 00:26:16.859 that led Chesterton to faith. 00:26:17.339 --> 00:26:17.899 He writes, 00:26:17.900 --> 00:26:20.480 Instead of looking at books and pictures 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.620 about the New Testament, 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:24.120 I looked at the New Testament itself. 00:26:24.860 --> 00:26:26.259 And there I found an account, 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:28.300 not in the least of a person 00:26:28.300 --> 00:26:30.120 with his hair parted in the middle, 00:26:30.740 --> 00:26:32.420 or his hands clasped in a peel, 00:26:33.060 --> 00:26:34.800 but of an extraordinary being 00:26:34.800 --> 00:26:36.580 with lips of thunder 00:26:36.580 --> 00:26:39.500 and acts of lurid decision, 00:26:40.080 --> 00:26:41.340 flinging down tables, 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:43.100 casting out devils, 00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:45.540 a being who often acted 00:26:45.539 --> 00:26:47.119 like an angry God 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:49.299 and always like a God. 00:26:49.779 --> 00:26:51.000 That is Jesus. 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:53.059 That is his authority. 00:26:54.639 --> 00:26:55.779 Friends, honestly, 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:57.980 you have to do business 00:26:57.980 --> 00:26:59.980 with Christ's authority. 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:01.639 Who is he? 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:03.299 Who is he? 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:04.680 Have you done business 00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:05.940 with his authority? 00:27:06.299 --> 00:27:08.539 Either he was insanely narcissistic, 00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:10.539 strange, weird, 00:27:10.819 --> 00:27:11.980 or he was God. 00:27:11.980 --> 00:27:15.000 But what did Jesus do 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:15.740 with that authority? 00:27:16.740 --> 00:27:17.759 What did he do with it? 00:27:18.860 --> 00:27:20.420 Jesus answers the concerns 00:27:20.420 --> 00:27:21.140 of the teachers 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:22.099 with a question. 00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:22.940 Look at verse 9. 00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:24.920 Which is easier, 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:27.160 to say to this paralyzed man, 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:28.000 your sins are forgiven, 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:29.539 or to say, 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:30.019 get up, 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:30.880 take your mat, 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.559 and walk? 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.519 Now on the face of it, 00:27:33.559 --> 00:27:35.660 the story seems to prove 00:27:35.660 --> 00:27:36.339 that the healing 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:38.279 is the harder task, right? 00:27:38.420 --> 00:27:39.519 It's not that difficult 00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:41.099 to say your sins are forgiven. 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:43.439 But who can heal? 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:44.579 Like, who has the power 00:27:44.579 --> 00:27:45.000 to heal? 00:27:46.159 --> 00:27:46.399 Right? 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:48.199 Jesus uses the physical healing 00:27:48.199 --> 00:27:50.240 to confirm his authority. 00:27:51.699 --> 00:27:53.279 But like many questions 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:54.299 that Jesus gives us, 00:27:54.539 --> 00:27:55.779 it's a bit of a trick question, 00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:56.259 isn't it? 00:27:57.559 --> 00:27:59.679 Because what will it cost Jesus 00:27:59.679 --> 00:28:02.339 to declare your sins are forgiven? 00:28:03.439 --> 00:28:04.859 It will cost him his life. 00:28:05.879 --> 00:28:07.659 He will go to the cross, 00:28:08.839 --> 00:28:10.019 suffer and die 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:11.139 for the authority 00:28:11.139 --> 00:28:12.940 to say your sins are forgiven. 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:15.879 The beauty of Christ's authority 00:28:15.879 --> 00:28:17.099 is that even if, 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:19.039 even as it is supreme 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:19.799 and sovereign, 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:21.980 it is also sacrificial. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:23.879 Later on in Mark, 00:28:23.960 --> 00:28:25.480 Jesus elaborates on his authority. 00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:26.500 In Mark 10, 42, 00:28:27.180 --> 00:28:28.660 he teaches his disciples 00:28:28.660 --> 00:28:29.599 and he says to them, 00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:30.759 you know that those 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:31.859 who are considered rulers 00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:32.599 of the Gentiles 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:33.660 lord it over them, 00:28:33.859 --> 00:28:34.779 and their great ones 00:28:34.779 --> 00:28:36.460 exercise authority over them, 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:38.279 but not so with you. 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:40.680 For even the Son of Man 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:41.960 came not to be served, 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:43.079 but to serve 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:45.460 and to give his life 00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:46.879 as a ransom for many. 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:48.059 He says, 00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:48.960 I want you to know 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:49.720 the Son of Man 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:50.980 has authority on earth 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:52.039 to forgive sins 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:53.700 because he will sacrifice 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:54.619 his life 00:28:54.619 --> 00:28:56.000 for that authority, 00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:57.259 for you. 00:28:59.720 --> 00:29:00.160 Now, 00:29:01.079 --> 00:29:02.399 what about physical healing? 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:03.680 We need to come back to this, right? 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:05.440 We've talked about this true healing 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:06.660 that we need of forgiveness, 00:29:07.140 --> 00:29:07.779 and I really think 00:29:07.779 --> 00:29:08.799 this is where Christianity 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:10.460 really covers everything 00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:13.580 because we all know 00:29:13.580 --> 00:29:14.940 that someday 00:29:14.940 --> 00:29:16.100 this paralyzed man 00:29:16.100 --> 00:29:18.019 is going to die, right? 00:29:18.120 --> 00:29:19.200 Someday he's going to die. 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:19.980 He didn't live forever. 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:21.519 And so this healing 00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:22.560 was only temporary. 00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:24.259 And yet, 00:29:24.360 --> 00:29:25.400 what Jesus does 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:26.500 in his resurrection 00:29:26.500 --> 00:29:28.460 is he promises us 00:29:28.460 --> 00:29:29.039 a world, 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:30.060 his authority, 00:29:30.259 --> 00:29:31.240 where he is seated 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:31.839 on the throne 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:32.859 and he will restore 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:34.319 all things. 00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:36.099 That your bodies, 00:29:36.740 --> 00:29:37.539 your souls, 00:29:37.859 --> 00:29:39.099 that if you put your faith 00:29:39.099 --> 00:29:39.660 in Jesus, 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:41.160 that he will ultimately 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:41.980 restore them. 00:29:42.220 --> 00:29:43.220 The picture we get 00:29:43.220 --> 00:29:45.140 in Revelation 21 and 22 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:47.079 is the whole cosmos 00:29:47.079 --> 00:29:49.200 being healed by Jesus. 00:29:49.380 --> 00:29:50.420 That is his authority. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:52.620 It first sacrifices 00:29:52.620 --> 00:29:53.819 and serves 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:55.940 and then it sanctifies 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:56.880 and redeems 00:29:56.880 --> 00:29:57.660 and restores. 00:29:59.339 --> 00:29:59.640 Now, 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:01.520 to close, 00:30:01.600 --> 00:30:02.200 I want to speak 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:03.300 about the nature of faith 00:30:03.300 --> 00:30:04.180 and some obstacles. 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:05.880 Some of us have 00:30:05.880 --> 00:30:06.840 an intellectualist 00:30:06.840 --> 00:30:07.920 conception of faith. 00:30:08.620 --> 00:30:09.440 Faith is believing 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:10.759 in propositions, right? 00:30:10.820 --> 00:30:11.980 Do you believe in God 00:30:11.980 --> 00:30:12.440 is really, 00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:14.100 do you believe in a God? 00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:15.700 Do you believe he exists? 00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:17.259 And that's not bad. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:19.580 Faith does have content, 00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:21.720 but faith is also personal 00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:23.020 and active. 00:30:24.860 --> 00:30:26.100 What do I mean by that? 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:27.540 Verse 5, 00:30:27.600 --> 00:30:28.180 look at verse 5. 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:29.540 When Jesus saw their faith, 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:30.340 this is actually 00:30:30.340 --> 00:30:31.180 the first mention 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:32.020 of the term faith 00:30:32.020 --> 00:30:32.820 in Mark's gospel. 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:34.000 And how does he 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:35.080 demonstrate faith? 00:30:35.960 --> 00:30:37.420 What is their faith 00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:38.060 that he sees? 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:40.480 It was his desperation 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:42.300 to get to Jesus. 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:44.940 One commentator says, 00:30:45.340 --> 00:30:46.420 faith will, quote, 00:30:46.540 --> 00:30:47.700 remove any obstacle, 00:30:47.900 --> 00:30:48.740 even a roof, 00:30:48.840 --> 00:30:49.660 if necessary, 00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:51.140 to get to Jesus. 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:54.380 Faith is going to Jesus. 00:30:54.380 --> 00:30:56.180 So here's my question. 00:30:56.320 --> 00:30:57.240 What are the obstacles 00:30:57.240 --> 00:30:58.520 that are keeping you 00:30:58.520 --> 00:30:59.900 from Jesus? 00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:03.400 Now, we see several obstacles 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:04.060 in the story. 00:31:04.600 --> 00:31:06.300 The first is the crowds. 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:08.160 In Mark's gospel, 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:10.300 the single one attribute 00:31:10.300 --> 00:31:11.100 of the crowds 00:31:11.100 --> 00:31:12.700 is that they obstruct 00:31:12.700 --> 00:31:13.920 access to Jesus. 00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:15.920 I actually share 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:16.860 that view of crowds. 00:31:17.340 --> 00:31:18.420 They also annoy me, 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:19.420 and they tend to obstruct 00:31:19.420 --> 00:31:20.180 my access. 00:31:20.180 --> 00:31:22.000 And they bring out, 00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:23.480 I don't get to Jesus 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:24.320 when I see a crowd. 00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:25.539 I usually go the other way. 00:31:27.080 --> 00:31:29.680 But maybe other people 00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:31.320 are barriers to your faith. 00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:33.039 Right? 00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:34.720 Maybe it's what the crowds 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:35.600 might say of you 00:31:35.600 --> 00:31:36.759 if you did believe. 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:39.000 Maybe you've coasted 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:40.640 on being in the crowd. 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:42.660 You've never been bold enough 00:31:42.660 --> 00:31:43.740 to step out 00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:44.180 and deal personally 00:31:44.779 --> 00:31:45.600 with Jesus. 00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:47.659 You cannot be healed 00:31:47.659 --> 00:31:48.539 until you come 00:31:48.539 --> 00:31:49.859 face to face 00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:50.439 with Jesus. 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:52.699 The next obstacle 00:31:52.699 --> 00:31:54.740 is the paralyzed man's 00:31:54.740 --> 00:31:57.039 immobility. 00:31:57.559 --> 00:31:58.659 He can't get himself 00:31:58.659 --> 00:31:59.079 to Jesus. 00:32:00.139 --> 00:32:00.579 And actually, 00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:02.219 paralysis is an excellent 00:32:02.219 --> 00:32:02.619 metaphor 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:04.219 for our spiritual state 00:32:04.219 --> 00:32:04.859 without God. 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:07.039 We cannot move ourselves 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:07.919 towards God. 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.759 But look at God's grace. 00:32:10.179 --> 00:32:11.439 He provides friends 00:32:11.439 --> 00:32:13.119 to carry the immobilized 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:13.879 man to Jesus. 00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:15.800 faith requires 00:32:15.800 --> 00:32:17.060 asking each other 00:32:17.060 --> 00:32:17.720 for help. 00:32:18.040 --> 00:32:19.560 It is deeply personal 00:32:19.560 --> 00:32:20.720 but at the same time 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:22.420 it is always communal. 00:32:23.380 --> 00:32:24.440 It's always dependent 00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:25.700 on others. 00:32:27.560 --> 00:32:28.020 And friends, 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:29.560 faith requires 00:32:29.560 --> 00:32:30.680 asking for help. 00:32:31.400 --> 00:32:32.320 And prayer is the 00:32:32.320 --> 00:32:33.100 primary way 00:32:33.100 --> 00:32:34.480 that we carry others 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:35.760 to Jesus now. 00:32:36.580 --> 00:32:38.140 So ask for prayer. 00:32:39.120 --> 00:32:39.840 That's how you get 00:32:39.840 --> 00:32:40.800 around this obstacle. 00:32:41.820 --> 00:32:42.640 And did you catch 00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:43.220 how the man 00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:44.059 didn't say anything 00:32:44.059 --> 00:32:45.039 when Jesus forgave him? 00:32:45.660 --> 00:32:46.579 He doesn't repent 00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:47.799 or confess his sins. 00:32:48.180 --> 00:32:49.620 He just shows up 00:32:49.620 --> 00:32:52.120 and Jesus forgives him. 00:32:53.380 --> 00:32:54.240 And I think God shows us 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.299 that faith is actually 00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:56.360 a gift from God. 00:32:57.400 --> 00:32:58.059 That even when we 00:32:58.059 --> 00:32:59.180 don't know what to say, 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:00.220 that all we have to do 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:01.880 is ache in his direction 00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:04.140 and Jesus will answer us 00:33:04.140 --> 00:33:04.920 and meet us. 00:33:04.920 --> 00:33:08.259 some of you are looking 00:33:08.259 --> 00:33:08.880 inward 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:10.539 to conjure up faith. 00:33:11.279 --> 00:33:11.680 You think, 00:33:11.820 --> 00:33:13.039 I've been struggling 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:13.300 with this. 00:33:13.360 --> 00:33:14.300 I don't know how to believe. 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:15.580 Stop. 00:33:16.380 --> 00:33:17.660 Look up and out. 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:18.660 Look at Jesus 00:33:18.660 --> 00:33:19.940 and ask him 00:33:19.940 --> 00:33:21.019 for the faith to believe. 00:33:21.840 --> 00:33:23.120 He is where faith is. 00:33:24.400 --> 00:33:24.840 Finally, 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:25.900 the last obstacle 00:33:25.900 --> 00:33:27.240 is the scribes' righteousness. 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:28.640 They know all 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:29.400 the right answers. 00:33:30.140 --> 00:33:31.400 They were the theologians. 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:33.440 that they're more invested 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:34.600 in knowing about God 00:33:34.600 --> 00:33:36.480 than knowing God himself. 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:38.900 And they miss God 00:33:38.900 --> 00:33:40.800 standing in their midst. 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.640 They miss a miracle. 00:33:44.840 --> 00:33:45.440 Friends, 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:47.080 whatever it is, 00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:48.160 whatever the obstacles 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:49.880 get to Jesus, 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:51.340 he is the one 00:33:51.340 --> 00:33:52.680 with true healing. 00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:54.880 One last thought. 00:33:55.380 --> 00:33:56.040 How do you know 00:33:56.040 --> 00:33:57.200 if you've gotten to Jesus? 00:33:58.660 --> 00:33:59.620 It's the marvel 00:33:59.620 --> 00:34:00.720 and worship 00:34:00.720 --> 00:34:02.680 look at verse 12. 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:03.880 Right before verse 12. 00:34:04.200 --> 00:34:05.039 The paralyzed man 00:34:05.039 --> 00:34:05.920 picks up his mat 00:34:05.920 --> 00:34:06.600 and says, 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:07.480 they walked out, 00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:08.260 he walked out 00:34:08.260 --> 00:34:09.460 in full view of them all. 00:34:09.699 --> 00:34:10.880 And this amazed everyone. 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:12.039 And they praised God 00:34:12.039 --> 00:34:12.800 saying, 00:34:12.920 --> 00:34:14.039 we have never seen 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:15.599 anything like this. 00:34:16.639 --> 00:34:17.059 Friends, 00:34:17.179 --> 00:34:18.119 wherever you are 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:19.220 in your spiritual journey, 00:34:20.039 --> 00:34:21.460 if you get to Jesus, 00:34:21.960 --> 00:34:22.960 if you encounter 00:34:22.960 --> 00:34:24.119 the living God 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:25.220 who has authority 00:34:25.220 --> 00:34:26.000 over everything, 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:27.900 this is how you come away. 00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.340 You come away 00:34:29.340 --> 00:34:30.659 marveling at God's 00:34:30.659 --> 00:34:31.719 goodness for you 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:32.799 and his healing. 00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:33.879 That's what healing is. 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:35.119 You coming away 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:36.000 and saying, 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:38.159 isn't God wonderful? 00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:40.359 Isn't he beautiful? 00:34:41.759 --> 00:34:42.659 When you walk away 00:34:42.659 --> 00:34:43.259 worshiping 00:34:43.259 --> 00:34:44.299 light on your feet, 00:34:44.859 --> 00:34:45.699 your legs, 00:34:46.299 --> 00:34:47.119 your crippled legs 00:34:47.119 --> 00:34:48.159 straightened 00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:50.239 with joy in your heart, 00:34:50.619 --> 00:34:51.759 that is the healing. 00:34:51.899 --> 00:34:52.759 That's when you know 00:34:52.759 --> 00:34:54.519 you've gotten to Jesus. 00:34:55.099 --> 00:34:55.920 Would you pray with me? 00:34:55.920 --> 00:34:58.099 Oh, Father in heaven, 00:34:58.900 --> 00:35:00.820 we do come to you 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:02.539 and we ask 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:03.599 that you would heal us. 00:35:04.860 --> 00:35:05.780 Heal us, oh Lord. 00:35:07.300 --> 00:35:08.320 Heal us in our 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:09.880 physical ailments. 00:35:11.079 --> 00:35:11.539 Heal us 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:13.800 in our emotional, 00:35:14.200 --> 00:35:15.559 our mental struggles. 00:35:16.380 --> 00:35:17.099 But most of all, 00:35:17.139 --> 00:35:18.139 we pray you would heal us 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:18.720 spiritually. 00:35:19.860 --> 00:35:21.079 You would restore us to you 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:21.599 and that you would 00:35:21.599 --> 00:35:22.699 give us life, 00:35:23.500 --> 00:35:23.980 oh Lord. 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:25.819 And give us 00:35:25.819 --> 00:35:27.119 nothing less than Jesus 00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:28.400 that we may 00:35:28.400 --> 00:35:29.500 walk out of here 00:35:29.500 --> 00:35:31.639 marveling and praising God 00:35:31.639 --> 00:35:32.719 and saying, 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:33.579 we have never seen 00:35:33.579 --> 00:35:34.579 anything like this. 00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:35.719 In Christ's name, 00:35:35.719 --> 00:35:36.159 Amen. 00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:36.279 Amen.