WEBVTT 00:00:00.740 --> 00:00:08.839 Good morning, church. We are reading Mark 2, verses 1 to 12. 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:18.039 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 00:00:19.339 --> 00:00:26.580 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door. 00:00:26.580 --> 00:00:29.620 And he preached the word to them. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:35.159 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 00:00:36.259 --> 00:00:43.740 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it, 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:47.600 and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:52.260 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:55.039 Son, your sins are forgiven. 00:00:55.039 --> 00:01:00.899 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:04.000 Why does this fellow talk like that? 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:07.900 He's blaspheming. 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:10.900 Who can forgive sin but God alone? 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:17.219 Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts. 00:01:17.219 --> 00:01:18.480 And he said to them, 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.179 Why are you thinking these things? 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:24.920 Which is easier to say to the paralyzed man, 00:01:25.179 --> 00:01:26.319 Your sins are forgiven? 00:01:27.079 --> 00:01:30.840 Or to say, Get up, take your mat and walk. 00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:39.540 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:41.659 So he said to the man, 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:42.900 I'll tell you, 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:46.300 Get up, take your mat and go home. 00:01:46.920 --> 00:01:51.659 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. 00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:53.579 This amazed everyone, 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:55.719 And they praised God, saying, 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.379 We have never seen anything like this. 00:01:59.079 --> 00:01:59.500 Amen. 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:03.899 Let's pray together as we come to look at God's word. 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:04.299 Let's pray. 00:02:08.699 --> 00:02:13.460 Heavenly Father, how we ask now that you might speak to us through your word. 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:21.460 Thank you that we're gathered here not to listen to my good ideas or anyone else's good ideas, 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:22.540 but to listen to you. 00:02:23.520 --> 00:02:26.460 So be gracious to speak to us, we pray. 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:28.280 In Jesus' name. 00:02:29.140 --> 00:02:29.520 Amen. 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:38.680 I wonder if you could ask God one question and ask him to do something for you, 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:40.939 what is it that you would ask him to do? 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:44.680 What would you ask that God did for you? 00:02:45.740 --> 00:02:48.379 Perhaps you'd ask him to provide for you financially. 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:55.139 Maybe to heal your body from a particular disease that you are struggling with. 00:02:55.900 --> 00:02:59.579 Maybe you would ask him to protect your family from danger. 00:03:01.579 --> 00:03:05.419 Maybe you would ask if he could sit your GCSE exams for you. 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:11.019 Well, all of those are worthy things, 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:14.379 maybe except for perhaps taking your GCSEs for you. 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:19.159 But what I want you to see in Mark chapter 2 with me this morning 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:24.039 is that the answer that Mark gives to that question is very different to any of those. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.259 See, Mark has placed these two stories together, 00:03:27.799 --> 00:03:30.680 verses 1 to 12 and then verses 13 to 17, 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:34.819 to show us that given the chance to ask God for anything, 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:40.840 then the thing that we should be asking for is not health or safety or success. 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:48.120 No, Mark thinks that our most urgent need is forgiveness. 00:03:48.920 --> 00:03:49.520 That's what he thinks. 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:56.259 What we really need, says Mark, is exactly what Jesus can give you, which is forgiveness. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:59.659 Now, I want to return to that idea in a moment, 00:03:59.740 --> 00:04:02.800 but to kind of build up to it and to show that that comes from here, 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:05.599 I want to just spend a few moments retelling the story. 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:08.859 So, open the passage again if you've closed it, look down with me, 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:10.319 and let's work our way through it. 00:04:10.780 --> 00:04:15.259 In verse 1, you find Jesus returning home to Capernaum. 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:21.100 And the same thing happens in Capernaum as happened when he left in chapter 1, verse 33, 00:04:21.659 --> 00:04:25.120 which is that in his house, the whole town turns up. 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:27.740 But this time, they don't seem to wait by the door. 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:30.040 Perhaps someone left the door open or something. 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:32.860 And now they are rammed inside the home. 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:35.800 And in verse 2, Jesus is preaching to them. 00:04:36.900 --> 00:04:38.300 Again, I don't want you to miss this. 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:41.080 We spent time on this last week, so I'm not going to go into it in great detail. 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:44.080 But notice that while in chapter 1, verse 33, 00:04:44.780 --> 00:04:49.540 it was Jesus' healing which brought people to the door of the house. 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:53.720 Now it's Jesus' preaching which is cramming the house full. 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:57.720 Jesus is not a magic show, right? 00:04:58.120 --> 00:04:59.379 He's not just a do-gooder. 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:05.899 Jesus is here with something to say, a message to preach, good news to hear. 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:07.500 And that's what's happening here. 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:11.719 Then, as he's crammed into this house with all these other people 00:05:11.719 --> 00:05:13.459 and he's preaching to them and teaching them, 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:17.379 four friends turn up with their paralyzed companion on a mat. 00:05:18.100 --> 00:05:20.040 They are hoping to get him to Jesus, 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:22.659 which is what you were doing with sick people in Capernaum, 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:24.719 back in chapter 1, verse 33. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:27.000 But this time, there's a challenge. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.459 Because as they get there, it's obvious they are not getting through the front door. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:33.639 So they come up with a plan B. 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:38.599 Interestingly, the men, according to verse 5, if you look at it, are called men of faith. 00:05:39.419 --> 00:05:42.219 Not, I don't think, as a statement of their salvation, 00:05:42.419 --> 00:05:47.240 but rather a statement of their determination to get this guy to Jesus. 00:05:47.419 --> 00:05:50.959 Here are a group of guys that might not know very much about Jesus, 00:05:51.099 --> 00:05:55.639 but what they do know is that Jesus can help their friend. 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:57.579 And so they're going to get him there. 00:05:57.819 --> 00:05:58.319 Come what may. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:03.000 Verse 4, these men dig a hole in the roof. 00:06:03.719 --> 00:06:06.019 It's obviously an odd scene to us, 00:06:06.099 --> 00:06:07.539 but I guess it's not that hard to imagine. 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:09.680 If you've ever seen a picture of a first century home, 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:12.659 this is not a pitched roof with Welsh slate on it, 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:15.779 nor is it the zinc roof that Ray made on the hall behind us. 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:18.959 No, this is a flat roof made out of mud. 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:23.159 But I guess for those in the house, 00:06:23.259 --> 00:06:25.539 they would hear it before they saw it, wouldn't they? 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.319 Maybe you live in a flat and you've got a noisy person living upstairs. 00:06:29.459 --> 00:06:31.259 That's the kind of thing that they would have been hearing. 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:36.699 A thudding on the roof and then the dust and the dirt eventually falling down on them. 00:06:37.159 --> 00:06:40.120 A small hole appears, sunlight starts coming through, 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:42.779 and then a stretcher-sized hole, 00:06:42.979 --> 00:06:46.079 and a man on a mat lowered right in front of Jesus. 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:52.539 Now, I know this is impossible to do because Mona's just read the story, right? 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:53.459 And you know what happens next. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.659 But if we could pause the video there, 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:58.979 I think then we'd get a sense of the shock of the story. 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:02.579 You see, I wonder what you would expect to happen next. 00:07:04.419 --> 00:07:06.719 I mean, if you were the homeowner, right, you'd be shrieking. 00:07:07.099 --> 00:07:10.659 Yeah, you'd, you know, oh my goodness, that's my roof, right? 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.299 But what about everybody else? 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:19.160 I think this is, we're meant to see this is not what we would be expecting Jesus to do 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:21.500 with this paralyzed man on a mat in front of him. 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:24.780 Last time Jesus was here in this house, 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:27.819 everybody who came to him who was sick and in need, 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:29.580 they were healed instantly. 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:30.639 He healed them all. 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.600 And so you would be surprised that Jesus doesn't do that here in this story. 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:36.560 Play the video, 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.300 and you hear him say in verse five, 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:41.780 son, your sins are forgiven. 00:07:43.220 --> 00:07:45.120 Most of the people like us, I think, are shocked. 00:07:45.280 --> 00:07:47.780 They are waiting for Jesus to heal this guy's paralysis. 00:07:48.540 --> 00:07:51.199 But the teachers of the law are not shocked like us. 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:52.639 They are scandalized. 00:07:52.980 --> 00:07:56.420 Not so much because of Jesus' priority of forgiveness, 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:59.579 but rather because of the audacity to assume that he can forgive sins. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:00.980 Look down at verse seven. 00:08:01.780 --> 00:08:03.300 Why does this fellow talk like that? 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:04.800 He is blaspheming. 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:07.460 Who can forgive sins but God alone? 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:11.259 I want to suggest to you this is really important. 00:08:11.420 --> 00:08:14.060 And so I'm going to try and give you an illustration of what's going on. 00:08:15.580 --> 00:08:18.439 Illustrating an illustration of a story is really a bad idea, 00:08:18.520 --> 00:08:19.680 but I'm going to try and do it anyway 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:21.939 to try and help you unpack what's going on. 00:08:22.900 --> 00:08:26.420 Imagine for a moment that you arrive on the scene of a terrible car accident. 00:08:26.420 --> 00:08:30.300 And you're there with two friends, okay? 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:32.980 One friend is a paramedic, 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:35.300 and the other friend is a psychiatrist. 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:39.560 And the three of you go and approach this terrible car accident 00:08:39.560 --> 00:08:41.680 that you have noticed happen. 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:45.180 Your paramedic friend has obviously seen all this before, 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:47.200 you know, blood and guts and injuries. 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:49.060 He knows what that's like. 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:50.379 He knows how to treat them. 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.960 And your psychiatrist friend also knows a lot about car accidents. 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:56.639 They spend a deal of their time 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.420 working with people who've had terrible car accidents 00:08:59.420 --> 00:09:01.600 and are now suffering with some form of PTSD. 00:09:02.660 --> 00:09:04.780 They can't get the kind of replays out of their mind, 00:09:04.860 --> 00:09:06.920 the deep trauma and the flashbacks, 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:08.400 wounds that never seem to heal. 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:12.340 A psychiatrist spends like hours and days and years 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:13.440 treating some of these people 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:16.160 with no promise of any cure at the end of it. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.040 Now the three of you get to the scene of the car accident, 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:23.019 and the driver of the car is obviously injured. 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:25.899 They're trapped under the steering wheel, 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:28.319 and there's a bad bleed on their head, 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:30.179 which urgently needs attention. 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:32.960 And as you arrive at the scene, 00:09:33.079 --> 00:09:35.299 your paramedic friend comes into their own, 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:36.620 and that's just what you were expecting. 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:38.519 But what they do next shocks you, 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:40.419 because they come to the person in the car accident, 00:09:40.819 --> 00:09:42.559 and instead of doing anything about the blood 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:44.019 pouring from their head or the legs 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:45.240 trapped underneath the steering wheel, 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:47.179 they say in a loud voice, 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:48.819 trauma be gone, 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:51.319 depression be gone, 00:09:52.079 --> 00:09:53.739 anxiety go away, 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:57.919 the replays in your head don't have them anymore. 00:09:59.359 --> 00:10:00.159 And what are you thinking? 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:01.679 Well, you're thinking, 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:02.719 goodness me, the guy's bleeding. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.179 Come on, do something about it. 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.239 And what's your psychiatrist friend thinking? 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:08.479 Don't be ridiculous. 00:10:08.579 --> 00:10:09.079 You can't say that. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:09.859 It doesn't work like that. 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:12.419 It's way more complicated than that. 00:10:13.340 --> 00:10:14.620 If you could do it like that, 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:15.680 I would be out of a job. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:17.620 Trauma is, 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:19.419 well, it takes years to heal, 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:20.220 and great skill. 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:23.139 Now, in Mark 2, 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:25.759 Jesus is the paramedic, yeah? 00:10:26.560 --> 00:10:28.539 He is the one who everybody knows 00:10:28.539 --> 00:10:29.740 can heal lame people. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:30.919 He's been doing it all along. 00:10:31.220 --> 00:10:32.680 Everybody knows that's what he does. 00:10:34.100 --> 00:10:36.580 But he seems to miss the need of the man 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:37.639 to be able to walk again, 00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:39.659 and instead pronounces his forgiveness. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:43.180 And the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:44.779 they are the specialists. 00:10:45.060 --> 00:10:46.419 They're the psychiatrists, if you like. 00:10:46.680 --> 00:10:48.659 They're the specialists in forgiveness of sin. 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:49.980 If you have a sin problem, 00:10:50.060 --> 00:10:51.120 you go to the teachers of the law, 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:51.740 to the Pharisees, 00:10:51.800 --> 00:10:52.539 and you go to the temple. 00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:53.759 They will sort it out. 00:10:53.800 --> 00:10:54.360 It takes years. 00:10:54.440 --> 00:10:55.019 It takes hours. 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:57.399 It takes sacrifices after sacrifices 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:58.340 after sacrifices. 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:00.019 And they look at this, 00:11:00.060 --> 00:11:00.720 and they don't say, 00:11:01.060 --> 00:11:02.600 Jesus, you've missed his most urgent need. 00:11:02.600 --> 00:11:04.039 They say, Jesus, how ridiculous. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:07.779 You can't call his forgiveness out like that. 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.600 It takes a great deal of effort 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:11.799 to forgive anybody's sin. 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:14.879 It takes God to forgive sin. 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:16.919 This is way above your pay grade, Jesus. 00:11:17.019 --> 00:11:19.039 You're a healer, not a forgiver. 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:22.799 What I love about this story, really, 00:11:22.959 --> 00:11:26.620 is that they accuse Jesus of blasphemy in verse 7. 00:11:26.819 --> 00:11:29.360 And what happens next in verse 8 in Mark's gospel? 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:31.220 Well, look down at it. 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:32.960 Look what happens in verse 8. 00:11:34.300 --> 00:11:37.580 Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit 00:11:37.580 --> 00:11:40.940 that this is what they were thinking in their hearts, right? 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:44.060 You know, they accuse Jesus of blasphemy 00:11:44.060 --> 00:11:44.840 and claiming to be God. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:46.320 In the next verse, Mark proves to you 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:47.660 that's exactly who he is, right? 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:49.420 He hears what they're thinking. 00:11:50.259 --> 00:11:51.460 You know that's what God is like. 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:52.740 That's why you pray in your head, 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:54.800 because you know that God alone 00:11:54.800 --> 00:11:56.240 hears what's going on in your head. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.960 So Mark proves Jesus' divinity 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:03.200 and then sets about proving 00:12:03.200 --> 00:12:05.879 that forgiveness is not above Jesus' pay grade, 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:08.460 but that he absolutely has the credentials 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:10.779 to forgive the paralyzed man. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.019 And so he proves that he has done 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:15.159 the difficult thing in providing forgiveness, 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:18.379 which is easy to say, but is hard to prove, 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.060 by doing the harder-to-say thing, 00:12:21.180 --> 00:12:22.620 the easier-to-see thing, 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:24.879 which is healing this man's legs. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.659 And so in verse 11, Mark says that Jesus said to the man, 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:30.340 I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home. 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:32.019 And he got up, took his mat, 00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:33.939 and walked out in full view of them all, 00:12:34.659 --> 00:12:36.379 amazed everyone. 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:38.460 And they praised God, saying, 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:40.779 we have never seen anything like this. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:43.000 Now, if that's right, 00:12:43.039 --> 00:12:44.340 if I've understood the story rightly 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:45.659 and have retold it to you correctly, 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:47.500 that means this story's about two things, yeah? 00:12:47.779 --> 00:12:49.740 One is the priority of forgiveness, 00:12:49.980 --> 00:12:52.419 and the other is Jesus' power to forgive, yeah? 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:54.399 Jesus comes on the scene, 00:12:54.439 --> 00:12:56.179 and he sees this man's most urgent need 00:12:56.179 --> 00:12:56.839 is his forgiveness, 00:12:57.339 --> 00:12:59.000 and I have the power to do it. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.379 The priority and the power of forgiveness. 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:04.939 And that, then, is underlined in the next five verses, 00:13:05.139 --> 00:13:06.899 as Jesus, we're told, 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:09.559 hangs out with tax collectors and sinners. 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:11.439 Let me just read these verses to you. 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:12.519 Look down at verse 13. 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:14.979 Once again, Jesus went out beside the lake. 00:13:15.059 --> 00:13:16.719 A large crowd came to him, 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:18.279 and he began to teach them. 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:20.000 As he walked along, 00:13:20.339 --> 00:13:22.220 he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, 00:13:22.319 --> 00:13:23.959 sitting at the tax collector's booth. 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:26.819 Follow me, Jesus told him. 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:29.360 And Levi got up and followed him. 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:32.519 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:35.379 many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:36.879 and his disciples, 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:38.620 for they were many who followed him. 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:40.279 When the teachers of the law, 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:41.799 who were Pharisees, 00:13:41.939 --> 00:13:44.019 saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:45.120 they asked his disciples, 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:48.299 why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:50.419 On hearing this, 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:51.399 Jesus said to them, 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:53.060 it's not the healthy who need a doctor, 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:54.419 but those who are ill, 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:55.879 I've not come to call the righteous, 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:56.560 but sinners. 00:13:57.460 --> 00:13:59.139 My priority, says Jesus, 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:01.419 is to hang out with those who need me. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:02.679 Those are sinners. 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:05.399 And I have the power of a doctor 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:07.840 over the power of sin. 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:12.200 Jesus says, 00:14:12.200 --> 00:14:14.300 the sickness of sin is my priority. 00:14:14.540 --> 00:14:16.200 I'm the doctor with the power to heal. 00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:18.900 Now, let's just spend the rest of our time then 00:14:18.900 --> 00:14:20.960 thinking about this priority of forgiveness 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.320 and Jesus' power over forgiveness. 00:14:24.800 --> 00:14:27.740 Let's think firstly about priority. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:28.840 Priority. 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:31.680 It would be a real mistake, wouldn't it, 00:14:31.700 --> 00:14:33.379 to think that Jesus is not compassionate 00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:35.200 towards the physical needs of this man 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:36.980 or of anyone, right? 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:39.180 The Gospels are super clear to you 00:14:39.180 --> 00:14:41.140 that Jesus is full of compassion 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:43.120 for people in physical need. 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:45.799 He is moved to feed the crowd, 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:46.620 to heal the sick, 00:14:46.699 --> 00:14:47.799 to liberate the oppressed. 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:51.500 But what Jesus is able to see more clearly 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:54.159 is the horror of our sin 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:55.259 and its consequences. 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:57.259 And so that is his priority. 00:14:57.980 --> 00:14:59.919 So that the lame man on the mat in front of him 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:02.340 needs forgiveness more than he needs healing. 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:04.059 You know, 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:06.200 in a world where paralysis like his 00:15:06.200 --> 00:15:08.159 would have basically rendered him poor, 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:09.939 in constant need of help 00:15:09.939 --> 00:15:11.819 and in financial need as well, 00:15:12.199 --> 00:15:15.299 he is told that forgiveness is his greatest need. 00:15:16.579 --> 00:15:18.639 Now, what is it about sin 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:21.019 that means Jesus would say it's his priority? 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:23.899 Let me just try and show you two assumptions 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:24.539 in the story, 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.159 which I think get unpacked later in Mark's Gospel. 00:15:27.339 --> 00:15:29.559 So notice firstly that his assumption here, 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:30.959 and this is why it's his priority, 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:33.019 his assumption is that sin is internal, 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:34.579 not external. 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:37.100 Notice that the man on the mat 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:40.299 was incapable of most of what we would call sin. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:40.899 Yeah? 00:15:41.819 --> 00:15:44.519 He was probably capable of some kind of grumpiness, 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:45.059 for sure. 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:46.679 Perhaps he could complain bitterly. 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:50.059 But if sin is essentially an external action, 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:53.100 then this man has probably been saved 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:54.799 from mostly sin, right? 00:15:56.259 --> 00:15:57.919 The man couldn't commit adultery. 00:15:58.699 --> 00:16:00.419 He couldn't steal and run off with anything. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:01.720 He couldn't murder a man. 00:16:01.720 --> 00:16:03.580 He couldn't run a business and defraud his workers. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:05.460 He could hardly do anything. 00:16:05.920 --> 00:16:07.720 And so Jesus' assumption here 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:11.360 is that sin is not so much the external actions, 00:16:11.560 --> 00:16:14.700 but the internal heart of each of us. 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:18.420 There is a more serious internal problem 00:16:18.420 --> 00:16:22.000 than even the external visible problem 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:23.080 that this man has. 00:16:24.500 --> 00:16:26.920 If you turn over a few pages to Mark chapter 7, 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:29.779 you will see this underlined by Jesus. 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:31.839 Mark chapter 7, verse 20. 00:16:32.699 --> 00:16:34.620 Here Jesus is surrounded by the Pharisees 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:37.459 who are so keen on keeping themselves away 00:16:37.459 --> 00:16:39.639 from sort of sin that's on the outside, 00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:42.659 things that would get them dirty with sin. 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:44.779 They kind of ceremonially wash 00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:46.259 to try and keep it at a distance. 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:48.439 And in Mark 7, verse 20, 00:16:48.579 --> 00:16:49.639 Jesus says this to them. 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:50.100 He says, 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:51.779 it's what comes out of a person 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:52.779 is what defiles them. 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:56.579 Defilement, spiritual uncleanness, 00:16:56.580 --> 00:16:58.120 is inside and it comes out. 00:16:58.500 --> 00:16:59.680 For it is from within, 00:17:00.180 --> 00:17:01.480 out of a person's heart, 00:17:01.580 --> 00:17:02.740 the evil thoughts come. 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:05.380 Sexual immorality, theft, murder, 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:07.500 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:10.579 lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:13.500 These are sins of the heart, says Jesus. 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:16.559 They come from inside and defile a person. 00:17:17.600 --> 00:17:20.500 Adultery is a thought before it's an action. 00:17:20.500 --> 00:17:23.700 In other words, 00:17:24.099 --> 00:17:25.960 don't worry so much about the gremlins 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:27.740 on the outside getting you. 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.279 No, the danger of the contamination of sin 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:33.599 is the internal problem of the heart. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:36.359 Sin is in you and comes out of you. 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:38.559 No one, you know, 00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:40.380 no one makes you angry, do they? 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:42.420 You might say that to your husband 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:43.839 or your wife or your friend 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:44.500 or your sibling. 00:17:45.299 --> 00:17:46.460 You've made me angry. 00:17:46.599 --> 00:17:47.779 They haven't made you angry. 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:50.119 The anger is inside of you 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:51.759 and they've only exposed it. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:54.759 You might be physically incapable 00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:57.720 of running riot like this paralytic, 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:00.420 but the truth is sin is in our heart 00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:01.660 and we can't get rid of it. 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:05.240 Can I just ask you if I can, 00:18:05.379 --> 00:18:07.920 just really simply and honestly, 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:11.119 have you seen that truth about yourself yet? 00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:14.839 It's really difficult to persuade anybody 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:16.359 that Jesus is good news 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.119 unless you're willing to accept this news first, 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.799 that sin is an internal problem in each of us 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:25.159 coming out in a variety of different ways 00:18:25.159 --> 00:18:27.139 and none of us are immune to it 00:18:27.139 --> 00:18:28.500 and none of us are better than anyone 00:18:28.500 --> 00:18:32.319 because we all have the same struggle internally. 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:35.240 You know, without knowing that, 00:18:35.299 --> 00:18:36.639 Jesus will make no sense to you. 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:40.439 I read a book a few years ago 00:18:40.439 --> 00:18:42.819 that the author thought he could prove this, right? 00:18:42.819 --> 00:18:46.460 He could prove to you that the sort of, 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:50.419 the horrors of indwelling sin with a silly story. 00:18:51.059 --> 00:18:52.759 He told a story about him and his wife. 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:54.799 They'd been married for 40 years. 00:18:55.679 --> 00:18:57.720 Both of them loved ice cream. 00:18:58.379 --> 00:18:59.859 So one of the things that they would love to do 00:18:59.859 --> 00:19:01.039 is sit down in front of the TV 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:02.279 with a bowl of ice cream. 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:05.359 And because he was a loving, generous husband, 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:07.460 he would get up and go to the kitchen 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:10.200 and open the freezer and get the ice cream out 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:12.059 to take the two bowls of ice cream to them 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:13.819 so they could sit and, you know, 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:15.220 enjoy ice cream in front of the TV. 00:19:16.500 --> 00:19:18.460 He said, do you want me to tell you and prove to you, 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:21.000 he said, that sin dwells in our hearts? 00:19:21.859 --> 00:19:25.059 What am I doing as I walk back to the TV 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:26.960 with two bowls of ice cream in my hand? 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:29.000 I'm weighing them. 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:31.759 Because although she's the love of my life 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:33.620 and we've been married for 40 years, 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:37.039 how dare she get a gram more of ice cream than me, right? 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:39.340 And we're all like that, aren't we? 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:41.960 We are so wired for ourselves 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:44.680 that even with the person that we would say 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:46.779 we would love and give our lives for them, 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:50.380 we don't even want them to get a smidge more ice cream than us. 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:53.640 Sin is internal. 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:56.160 It's the cancer of the soul. 00:19:57.040 --> 00:20:00.380 And Jesus' priority is based on this assumption 00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:02.779 that sin is an internal invisible disease. 00:20:03.660 --> 00:20:06.740 But the second reason that dealing with sin is Jesus' priority 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:08.580 is because of where sin takes us, yeah? 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:12.740 So sin is Jesus' priority because it's internal and invisible, 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.480 but also because of where sin takes us and where it leads to. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:18.200 You know, like I said, 00:20:18.259 --> 00:20:20.320 Jesus is not ignorant of the man's suffering. 00:20:21.040 --> 00:20:23.519 He's not ignorant that being a paralytic in the first century 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.839 was even more miserable than it is at any other time in history. 00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:29.019 You know, this guy was toast. 00:20:29.639 --> 00:20:30.700 His life was awful. 00:20:31.619 --> 00:20:33.920 Dependent on others, excluded from social settings, 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:35.940 never able to go to temple worship. 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:38.980 It's why his friends are so desperate to get this guy healed. 00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:42.620 And so Jesus' silent assumption here 00:20:42.620 --> 00:20:46.960 is that there is a suffering greater than the suffering of paralysis, 00:20:47.559 --> 00:20:51.240 poverty, dependence on friends, exclusion from the temple. 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:52.880 Do you see this? 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:55.460 It's like the paramedic and the psychiatrist in our illustration. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.000 Both of them know that the suffering of ongoing trauma 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.360 is worse than a bang on the head. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.539 The head will heal. 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:05.379 The trauma will not. 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:11.339 And so here the suffering of paralysis will last only as long as this man lives. 00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:16.199 But Jesus knows that the suffering of sin will last longer than that. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:20.879 Sin is an internal problem, an internal problem, 00:21:21.179 --> 00:21:27.240 with an eternal destiny, consequence, suffering. 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:27.319 Right? 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:32.240 Jump forward in your Bible to Mark chapter 9, and let me show you this. 00:21:32.940 --> 00:21:34.740 Mark chapter 9 and verse 43. 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:38.120 Mark chapter 9, verse 43. 00:21:40.779 --> 00:21:44.940 Jesus, again, just showing the seriousness of sin and why it's his priority. 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:48.299 It's an internal problem, but it has eternal consequences. 00:21:49.039 --> 00:21:49.700 He says this, 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:52.640 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:21:57.480 It's better for you to enter life maimed than to go with two hands into hell, 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:59.240 where the fire never goes out. 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:02.420 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. 00:22:02.820 --> 00:22:06.660 It's better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 00:22:07.100 --> 00:22:09.660 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.500 It's better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye 00:22:12.500 --> 00:22:14.660 than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 00:22:15.020 --> 00:22:20.259 where the worms that eat them do not die and the fire is not quenched. 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:25.440 Those verses put it very starkly, don't they? 00:22:25.980 --> 00:22:31.200 Unforgiven sin, sin that's not dealt with, will take us to hell. 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:33.700 That's why it's Jesus' priority. 00:22:34.879 --> 00:22:37.079 Jesus doesn't give you many details, does he, about hell. 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:40.059 He tells you enough to know that it's real and it's terrible. 00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:45.160 He says that being in hell is worth cutting off your limbs now 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:47.160 in order not to be sent to hell. 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:50.100 But of course you know and he knows, doesn't he, 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:53.320 that you can't avoid hell by chopping your hands off or your legs off 00:22:53.320 --> 00:22:54.440 or plucking your eyes out. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:56.300 Because where does sin come from? 00:22:56.840 --> 00:22:58.060 From our hearts. 00:22:58.540 --> 00:22:59.860 It's inside of us. 00:23:00.900 --> 00:23:05.820 But his point is that the suffering of hell is worse than the suffering of this life with no hands. 00:23:06.940 --> 00:23:08.080 As bad as that would be. 00:23:09.259 --> 00:23:11.360 But he's also clear about his eternity, isn't he? 00:23:11.360 --> 00:23:13.019 It's an unquenched fire. 00:23:13.019 --> 00:23:18.480 Again, not because hell is literally a fire, but because it's the burning justice of God, 00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:21.599 a pure holiness meeting impure sinfulness. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:27.240 So that the suffering of this world, if you like, is the restrained brokenness 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:30.700 that comes from God excluding Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. 00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:34.039 And then our world unravels, doesn't it? 00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:36.839 As we are excluded from the presence of paradise. 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:45.659 And then hell is the full force of God's justice, eternally removed from God's blessing. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:51.939 You know, of course sin is Jesus' priority because sin is an unseen eternal problem 00:23:51.939 --> 00:23:54.019 with eternal consequences. 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:59.759 Jesus really cares about the suffering of this life, temporary suffering. 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:03.119 But he cares even more about eternal suffering. 00:24:06.619 --> 00:24:10.740 Let me say to us as a church, we've got to keep a hold of this, right? 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:15.000 It's so easy for Christians to lose sight of this. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:18.839 We begin to sort of assume the gospel and, you know, 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:23.339 and assume that really it's the needs that we can see which are the worst. 00:24:24.859 --> 00:24:28.000 We see that for ourselves and for others outside. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.859 We live in a city, don't we, where we are surrounded by physical need. 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:35.700 Need that we should be full of compassion for. 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:39.359 We should be showing practical love for our neighbors in need. 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:42.079 And I'm sure as a church that we could do better at that. 00:24:42.140 --> 00:24:43.759 And I want us to do better at that. 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:50.299 But we also need to care about the eternal suffering of every single soul in our neighborhoods. 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:57.480 Destined to hell without Christ because of their internal problem of sin. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:01.720 You know, hell is not invented by the church to control the masses. 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:06.759 No, Jesus is the clearest on hell of any of the scripture writers. 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:10.519 Jesus warns because he knows it's real. 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:12.720 And so forgiveness is his priority. 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:19.059 Jesus' forgiveness is his priority, okay? 00:25:19.299 --> 00:25:23.019 It's his priority because sin is eternal and internal. 00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:28.759 It's also really good news that in our passage, Jesus has the power to forgive sin. 00:25:28.839 --> 00:25:29.980 That's our second point, power. 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:39.200 Now, given what you've seen about sin, it should be outrageous to you, right, that Jesus can claim to forgive sin. 00:25:40.019 --> 00:25:44.759 The teachers of the law are right to be scandalized and right to see it as a claim to divinity. 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:47.319 What is Jesus claiming here? 00:25:47.319 --> 00:25:56.519 If what we've seen about sin is right, if Jesus is a doctor that can heal a sinner's need, then Jesus is essentially making two claims, isn't he? 00:25:57.240 --> 00:26:05.960 One claim is that Jesus is making is that he has the power to reach internally in you and transform you. 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:06.720 Yeah? 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:14.339 Jesus is saying, I can reach into your very soul and transform you from being a sinner into being a saint. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:15.500 That's what he's claiming. 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:16.399 Nothing less than that. 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:28.160 And at the same time, he is also claiming that the eternal consequences of sin in hell, he can bear that punishment for you to free you from it. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:37.900 He is claiming both inner transformation of the believer and the removal of the fair and just consequences before a holy God. 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:40.500 That is an incredible claim. 00:26:41.040 --> 00:26:44.019 Jesus says, I can change you and I can deal with hell. 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:49.039 This is the big problem that all religions and worldviews face. 00:26:49.139 --> 00:26:55.220 You know, I know that you think or I think perhaps that the biggest problem in the world is to answer why does a good God allow suffering? 00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:55.519 Yeah? 00:26:55.900 --> 00:26:57.599 We've heard that question a hundred times. 00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:01.700 People ask it all the time and it is a really good question and we want to wrestle with it and everything. 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:03.619 It's not the most difficult question. 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:13.359 The most difficult question if you believe in the existence of a good and holy God is how can that God ever, ever live with people like you and me? 00:27:13.959 --> 00:27:14.839 That's the problem. 00:27:15.739 --> 00:27:18.719 And religions answer it in all sorts of stupid ways. 00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:23.380 Oh yeah, that holy God, he'll live with me if only I pray. 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:25.880 If only I attend church. 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:33.339 He won't notice that I have this deep internal problem with sin and selfishness that's so deep that I weigh ice cream. 00:27:34.160 --> 00:27:34.900 Don't be ridiculous. 00:27:36.180 --> 00:27:38.319 Oh yeah, no, I'm not going to eat pork anymore. 00:27:38.319 --> 00:27:41.759 And then God will allow me into his holy presence. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.799 It's ridiculous, isn't it? 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:49.659 We're like drowning men and women clinging onto matchsticks hoping that they're going to float enough to save us. 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:54.960 And Jesus says, no, I've got a lifeboat for drowning people. 00:27:56.099 --> 00:27:58.179 Look back at verse 9 for a moment. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:01.099 I think Jesus' question here is actually rather hard to answer. 00:28:01.500 --> 00:28:07.759 Which is easier to say to this paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven, or to say get up, take your mat and walk? 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:08.400 Which one's easier? 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:15.940 You see, the words, your sins are forgiven, are not actually very easy for Jesus to say, are they? 00:28:19.019 --> 00:28:23.259 As Jesus says to that man, son, your sins are forgiven, what is he saying? 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:26.180 I'm going to die for you. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:29.440 It's not an easy thing for Jesus to say at all, is it? 00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:35.500 He knew that to forgive that man's sin, he would have to go to the cross. 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:40.019 He would have to take on the role that all those Old Testament sacrifices pointed to. 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:45.380 He would have to be at the Passover feast hung up as a sacrifice for sin on the cross. 00:28:45.779 --> 00:28:54.299 Literally taking on himself the hearts of sinful men and women and bearing hell for their sin. 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:58.640 Exclusion from the presence of the Father who loved him. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:04.900 You know, Mark is super clear that Jesus dies on the cross under the judgment of God for the sins of his people. 00:29:05.040 --> 00:29:06.360 It's dark when he dies. 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:09.500 He cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:29:10.560 --> 00:29:16.120 He is punished with hell of God's absence so that we can be forgiven and enjoy the joy of his presence. 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:22.279 And because Jesus did that, because he went to the cross and bore our guilt and our shame, 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:30.179 he can now take you by the hand and say, son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:38.619 I'm going to give you a new heart that loves the Lord, that loves me, that longs to live for me, 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:42.659 that's not riddled with selfishness, but is riddled with worship. 00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:50.139 A heart that wants to love me, live for me, lay itself down for others. 00:29:50.739 --> 00:29:54.459 And yes, this side of glory will still drag around our old sinful hearts. 00:29:55.219 --> 00:29:56.699 They're mortally wounded, aren't they? 00:29:56.719 --> 00:29:58.019 But we still have them with us. 00:29:58.439 --> 00:30:04.119 One day they'll be destroyed forever because Jesus took the hell of my judgment so I might have the joy of his life. 00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:10.359 Listen, brothers and sisters, I know many of you this morning have been Christians for a very long time. 00:30:12.379 --> 00:30:19.899 If that's you this morning, please don't ever forget that Jesus has met your greatest need on the cross. 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:23.679 I know what this is like because I've sat where you're sat, right? 00:30:24.059 --> 00:30:27.799 And I know that the thing that's on your mind is always the trouble in your life. 00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:31.399 It's always the thing that's going on that's causing you anxiety. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:32.859 Maybe it's the thing you'll face tomorrow. 00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:34.399 Maybe it's the job you're applying for. 00:30:34.500 --> 00:30:36.699 It's the poor health that you're struggling with. 00:30:37.099 --> 00:30:41.599 Well, listen, this is the logic that the Bible makes about those kind of things. 00:30:42.599 --> 00:30:51.659 If God has given you Christ for your greatest need, how much more along with him will he not give you everything that you need 00:30:51.659 --> 00:30:55.079 and take you to glory to be with him? 00:30:56.019 --> 00:30:58.919 Brothers and sisters, that's the truth of the gospel, isn't it? 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:06.500 Jesus has solved your internal, eternal problem by dying in your place on the cross. 00:31:06.880 --> 00:31:08.720 Son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. 00:31:08.820 --> 00:31:09.420 I love you. 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:19.220 I know there are others in this room this morning who are still under the illusion that your sin is not that serious and so Jesus is not that important. 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:25.200 And if that's you, can I plead with you to listen carefully to this story? 00:31:26.360 --> 00:31:31.400 Jesus is the doctor who says that sin has serious consequences. 00:31:31.400 --> 00:31:34.820 And whatever it is that you have now, right? 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:38.660 Maybe you don't have a sickness problem. 00:31:38.759 --> 00:31:39.720 You're not suffering with that. 00:31:39.780 --> 00:31:40.759 Maybe you're not poor. 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:44.960 Maybe you've got the life that you really dreamed of. 00:31:45.340 --> 00:31:47.140 Listen, without Christ, you have nothing. 00:31:47.140 --> 00:31:56.200 Because you have an internal problem with an eternal consequence, which outshadows anything that you might have in this world or this life. 00:31:57.900 --> 00:32:02.220 We started with this question, if you could ask God to do one thing for you, what would it be? 00:32:03.860 --> 00:32:06.100 We're ending with a question that God's asking us. 00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:09.220 God in Christ asks you this. 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:14.759 He says, I'm a doctor for people who are sick with sin. 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:17.279 I can see that you're sick. 00:32:17.880 --> 00:32:19.079 Will you let me heal you? 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:22.660 Let's have a moment of silence to pray in our hearts. 00:32:23.299 --> 00:32:24.940 And I'll pray and then we'll sing together. 00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:56.400 What then shall we say in response to these things? 00:32:57.819 --> 00:33:00.519 If God is for us, who can be against us? 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:05.860 He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. 00:33:05.859 --> 00:33:11.019 How will he not also along with him graciously give us all things? 00:33:12.059 --> 00:33:16.000 He will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen. 00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:19.259 It's God who justifies. 00:33:19.879 --> 00:33:21.359 Who then is the one to condemn? 00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:23.379 No one. 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:29.059 Heavenly Father, how we thank you that the Lord Jesus has met our greatest need. 00:33:30.039 --> 00:33:31.039 Paid for our sin. 00:33:31.979 --> 00:33:33.619 Transformed us from the inside. 00:33:33.619 --> 00:33:37.279 Given us himself that we might know you. 00:33:37.979 --> 00:33:38.639 Love you. 00:33:39.419 --> 00:33:40.739 And live our lives for you. 00:33:41.479 --> 00:33:42.539 Thank you for Jesus. 00:33:43.679 --> 00:33:44.199 Amen. 00:33:44.579 --> 00:33:44.819 Amen. 00:33:44.819 --> 00:33:44.979 Amen.