If you would open up your Bibles, please, to your pew Bibles, to page 995 or to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, 1-12.
We started the Gospel of Mark last week, and we continue our way through.
This past May, many people witnessed the coronation of King Charles III to be the King of England.
And if you're familiar with British monarchy, you know that King Charles' kingship is not an absolute monarchy.
He doesn't have all authority.
Rather, the British monarchy is a constitutional monarchy.
It's Parliament calling the shots.
Which means, King Charles is, by and large, a figurehead position.
A very prized, highly traditional, very expensive figurehead position.
A lot of this.
For many people, both non-Christians and Christians,
Jesus Christ, the God-King, is treated as a figurehead position.
Important in some ways.
Traditions, yes.
We have a real knack for reducing Jesus to a figurehead in our lives.
What do you think?
How do you relate to Jesus?
Thinking about your life, do you treat Him as a figurehead?
Or are you acknowledging Him for who He is?
And are you coming under His loving and real authority in your life?
Can you point to areas where you're saying,
Yeah, I'm beholding Him.
Yes, I'm bowing to Him.
Yes, I'm obeying Him.
You know, the difference between a figurehead king and a fully functional reigning king is authority.
Authority is the right to act on behalf of another person.
It's the right to give orders.
It's the right to make decisions on behalf of other people.
It's the right to require obedience.
Parents exercise authority over children.
Judges exercise authority in the courtroom.
Bosses exercise authority over employees.
Even doctors exercise authority with their patients.
And this morning, we will see the surprising authority of the Son of Man.
Jesus Christ.
God's King.
And it is good news.
Because coming under the loving, authoritative reign of Jesus is good for us.
How do you change?
How do you change from living as if Jesus is just a figurehead to living with Jesus as He truly is?
The God King who reigns over all.
Well, you behold His authority and you bow to His authority.
You've got to take Him seriously.
You can't sentimentalize King Jesus into some kind of peripheral figurehead status.
This morning, we get a big dose of the authority of Jesus.
So here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to walk you through Mark chapter 2 verses 1 through 12.
And there are some surprising twists and turns in this passage.
I'll bring it to a point and then I'll apply it to two groups of people.
Non-Christians in the room and Christians in the room.
So, let me set the scene.
Last week, we learned that Jesus, that Mark is setting out to demonstrate that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Pastor Zach provided a weekly update that points out the beginning of Mark and the end of Mark.
Both bookend Mark with these confessions of Jesus as the Son of God.
And so the whole book of Mark is to demonstrate that Jesus is God King.
After Jesus comes on the scene, the first thing He says is,
Hey, because the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.
From there, in chapter 1, we see some interesting things.
Jesus calls His first disciples, Simon and Andrew, James and John.
And then in verses 35 through 39, there's this really interesting interaction between Peter and Jesus
in which Jesus says in verse 38,
Hey, the reason why I came is to preach.
But for the rest of chapter 1, we see Jesus healing people.
21 through 28, healing a man of an unclean spirit in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
29 through 31, He heals Simon's mother-in-law.
32 through 34, He heals a bunch of people with diseases and casts out demons from His house in Capernaum.
40 through 40 and 45, Jesus heals this leper.
He cleanses him by healing him because leprosy made him unclean.
He couldn't be with God's people.
And Jesus healed them, cleansed them.
And surprise, surprise, all throughout chapter 1,
you've got these mobs of people gathering around Jesus,
primarily because He's healing people.
Which leads us into now Mark chapter 2, 1 through 12.
Hear God's Word.
And when He returned to Capernaum after some days,
it was reported that He was at home.
And many were gathered together so that there was no more room,
not even at the door,
and He was preaching the Word to them.
And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men.
And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd,
they removed the roof above Him.
And when they had made an opening,
they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
And when Jesus saw their faith,
He said,
Son, your sins are forgiven.
Now some of the scribes were sitting there,
questioning in their hearts,
why does this man speak like that?
He is blaspheming.
And who can forgive sins but God alone?
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His Spirit
that they thus questioned within themselves,
said to them,
Why do you question these things in your hearts?
Which is easier to say to the paralytic,
your sins are forgiven,
or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk.
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins,
He said to the paralytic,
I say to you, rise, pick up your bed,
and go home.
And He rose,
and immediately picked up His bed,
and went out before them all,
so that they were all amazed,
and glorified God,
saying,
We never saw anything like this!
In verses 1-5,
we have this surprise declaration by Jesus.
I mean, He makes a really surprising statement.
In verse 1,
He just got back from some kind of like ministry tour
in kind of the Galilee, Capernaum area,
and He comes back home,
and word spreads,
He's home!
What I love about that,
is it just gets to the humanity of Jesus.
He's probably renting a place in Capernaum.
It's where He was.
He had an address.
People knew where to find Him.
Verse 2,
again, there's this kind of like
overwhelming response.
It's a little surprising.
Many were gathered together
so that there was no more room,
not even at the door.
Jesus' house in Capernaum
was packed with people.
We see the same thing in 1-33,
just people showing up at His house.
They've heard that He's a healer,
and they're bringing with Him
people to be healed.
And it's in verse 3
where things start getting interesting.
It ratchets up.
And they came,
bringing to Him a paralytic
carried by four men.
So four men show up
carrying a fifth man on a bed,
a paralytic,
which at least means
He couldn't walk.
And they're carrying Him
to Jesus' house in Capernaum.
But let me ask you,
so far with what we know
leading up to Mark 2, 1-12,
these four men are bringing
this paralytic to Jesus
for what reason?
To heal Him.
I mean, these four guys
want their friend
to be fully restored,
to have his body fully restored
so that he can walk again.
You know, there are a lot of people
in this room right now
who are experiencing
a similar longing,
maybe for yourself
or somebody else,
whether by disease
or by age.
You're not seeing
like you used to see.
You're not hearing
like you used to hear.
Your body's not functioning
like it used to function.
And there's a longing.
I want to be made whole.
I want everything to work.
We can all relate with that.
In verse 4,
we have another development.
These four guys
are industrious guys.
It's a little bit of a surprise.
These four men
show up to Jesus' house.
There's like a giant house party
going on.
They can't get in.
And so like,
okay, what do we do?
And they go up
onto the roof of the house.
Now,
in 21st century
Kenosha area,
roofs
have shingles,
some kind of like
roof wrap,
then kind of
some plywood decking.
And so it's not like
you can just kind of
put your fingernail on there
and pull something up, right?
First century Capernaum,
the buildings were made
out of different things.
It's an arid place.
And so how it was set up
is there was a living area
in a house,
and then on the outside
there was a stairwell
leading up to the roof,
which was actually
functionally like a patio.
And so these guys say,
okay, we can't get in.
Let's go up the stairs
to the roof,
and they rip open
the roof.
Surely there's support beams
in there,
but you're just making it
out of stuff that's around.
So sticks,
brush,
mud,
stucco-y like stuff,
so you can pull it off.
So like,
we're going to drop them in.
You've got to admire
their initiative.
And so they drop them down.
They make a big enough opening
for them to lower
their friend in.
And again,
what is everybody expecting?
For Jesus to heal them.
Surprise.
Look what Jesus does.
Verse 5.
And when Jesus saw their faith,
He said to the paralytic,
rise,
take up your bed,
and go home.
No.
Son.
Your sins
are forgiven.
Now, if you were to ask
the paralytic at that time,
hey, um,
what were you thinking
at that moment?
He'd probably say,
well, I didn't know
what to say.
I was kind of like,
thanks, Jesus, I think.
Thanks for forgiving me.
But I really wanted to walk.
Or maybe,
maybe let's say
you were one of the
four and I was with you
on the roof.
We just dropped
our friend in.
We hear Jesus say,
son, your sins
are forgiven.
Do you know what
I would ask you?
What did He say?
Is He moving?
I mean,
we would all
have been surprised
in an underwhelming
sense,
wouldn't we?
Forgiveness?
we want our friend
to walk.
I'm guessing most people
in Jesus' house
that day
were thinking that
the paralytic's
greatest need
was to walk.
Not Jesus.
At this moment,
Jesus addressing
that paralytic,
His greatest need,
all of our greatest need,
His need for forgiveness
of sins.
It's our sins
that separate us
from God.
It's our sins
that provoke God's wrath.
It's our sin
that has caused
such difficulty
in our own lives
and the lives
of others.
This morning,
you came into
this sanctuary.
What did you come in
thinking was your
greatest need today?
New Jordans?
Cancer?
Tucking away 15%
every year
for retirement?
Moving up the ladder
of your career?
Behold your King.
And He is saying
our greatest need
is the forgiveness
of our sins.
Surprise!
God,
He throws His curveball
at us,
but He's not done
with surprises.
If you now
would look at
verses 6-9,
we're going to see
a surprising insight
from the Son of Man.
So He's just kind of
said,
okay,
Son,
your sins are forgiven.
And then the story
takes another term
because look at
verse 6.
Someone is there,
the scribes.
Now,
some of the scribes
were sitting there
questioning in their hearts,
why does this man
speak like that?
He's blaspheming.
Who can forgive sins
but God alone?
Now,
the scribes,
if you're not familiar,
were the Jewish
religious professionals
of the day
and more likely
than not,
they're there
not just to be like,
oh,
let's get some
really good teaching
from Jesus.
They're more like
arms crossed,
kind of like,
okay.
they would have been
like the doctrine
and morality police
of the day.
So they're checking out
what Jesus is saying,
arms crossed,
making sure that
He measures up.
And at the moment
that Jesus says,
Son,
your sins are forgiven,
that just got
their attention.
They're sitting there
thinking in their minds,
why does this man
speak like that?
He's blaspheming.
Who can forgive sins
but God alone?
Why does this man
speak like that?
A man.
What is he saying
that for?
Blasphemy
is a false claim
to be God.
Or,
it's a false claim
to do something
only God can do
and by making that claim,
you're claiming to be God.
So,
blasphemy
is a false claim
to be God.
And they are saying
in their hearts,
why is this guy
saying this?
It's blasphemous.
He's claiming to be God
because he just said
this guy's sin
is forgiven.
And then they say,
who can forgive sins
but God alone?
That is a true statement.
Only God can forgive sins
that have been committed
against Him
and every sin we commit,
whether against Him
directly
or against somebody else,
is always against Him.
Who can forgive sins
but God alone?
So,
here's what's interesting.
So,
Jesus
has this paralytic
dropped in front of Him
and instead of healing Him,
He says,
your sins are forgiven.
And then we learn
from these scribes
that that's like
a major faux pas
because He's
seemingly being blasphemous.
But make no mistake,
Jesus is intentionally
making a God-sized claim.
And then in verse 8,
there's more surprise.
And immediately Jesus,
perceiving in His spirit
that they thus questioned
within themselves,
said to them,
why do you question
these things in your hearts?
Why do you question
my authority
to forgive this man's sin
in your hearts?
subtle
but profound.
Jesus
knows
what they're thinking.
He's reading them.
Not their faces,
their hearts.
What's inside them.
That's something
that only God can do,
friends.
And so,
from this surprise
insight,
Jesus confronts them.
Why do you question
my authority
to forgive this man's sin?
And then He says to them,
hey, which is easier?
You tell me.
Which is easier?
For me to say
to this paralytic,
your sins are forgiven,
or to say
to this paralytic,
rise,
take up your bed
and go home.
Which one's easier?
It seems like Jesus is
kind of backing Himself
into a corner
a little bit here.
What is He doing?
What's easier?
Is it easier
to say to someone,
your sins are forgiven,
what you can't see,
or say to someone,
hey,
rise,
take up your bed
and walk?
What you can see.
One doesn't obligate you
to anything,
the other does.
So it is easier
to say that your sins
are forgiven
because there's no way
to prove it.
And Jesus is showing them that.
He's admitting
that His declaration,
Son,
your sins are forgiven,
would be difficult to prove,
easier said than done.
But Jesus,
He's working the room.
Jesus has everyone
in the room
right where He wants them.
He's intentionally
raising these things.
He's intentionally pitting
what He said
about forgiveness
to what He said
about causing this guy
to stand up and walk.
He's intentionally
put them at odds.
Behold your King.
He's in control.
He's using this moment
for His purposes.
Which brings us now
to verses 10 through 11.
A surprising statement
of His authority.
So Jesus has been setting up
a mic drop moment.
In verse 9,
He's just said,
okay,
what's easier
to say this guy's forgiven
or to tell him
to get up and walk.
We're like,
oh,
it's easier to say,
hey,
your sins are forgiven.
You can't prove it.
But if you tell him
to get up and walk,
you've got to show that.
And so in verse 10,
look what He says.
But that you may know
that the Son of Man
has authority on earth
to forgive sins.
So He's answering
their blasphemy question.
Who is this guy?
Does He know
He's blaspheming?
Only God can forgive sins.
Jesus is like,
yeah?
Yeah?
That title,
Son of Man,
is the first time
it's used in the Gospel
of Mark.
It's used a total
of 14 times
in the Gospel of Mark.
And the Son of Man
is a very important title.
Just as the Son of God
is a very important title,
the Son of Man
is a very important title.
And so the first one
we see is here.
It's the Son of Man
has the authority
to forgive sins.
If you flip now
to the end of chapter 2,
verse 28,
the Son of Man,
Jesus is speaking of Himself,
is saying,
the Son of Man
is Lord even of the Sabbath,
which is a claim
of authority
over the Sabbath day,
which only God can make.
And then,
as you get through
the Gospel of Mark,
Jesus starts referring
to Himself
as the Son of Man
in 8.31,
He starts teaching
His disciples
that the Son of Man
must be given up,
He'll be killed,
and on the third day
be raised from the dead.
Chapter 9,
verse 31,
same thing.
The Son of Man
is going to be killed
and on the third day
raised from the dead.
Chapter 10,
verses 33 and 34,
the Son of Man
will suffer,
be killed,
and on the third day
will rise.
Chapter 10,
verse 45,
the Son of Man
did not come to be served,
but to serve
and to give His life
as a ransom for many.
See the connection
between the Son of Man
and the saving work
of Jesus?
So what,
where is this title
coming from?
Did Jesus just make it up?
If you flip back
in your Bibles,
in your pew Bibles,
it's on page 884,
it's Daniel chapter 7,
this is where the title
comes from,
the Son of Man,
and it is phenomenal.
Daniel's a prophet
and he's prophesying
in chapter 7,
verses 13 and 14.
Let me read you
what he says.
I saw in the night visions
and behold,
with the clouds of heaven
there came one
like a Son of Man.
That's the title.
Son of Man.
And he came to the
Ancient of Days,
God the Father,
and was presented
before him
the Ancient of Days,
and to him,
the Son of Man,
was given
dominion
and glory
and a kingdom
that all peoples,
nations,
and languages
should serve him.
Kiss the Son.
His dominion
is an everlasting dominion
which shall not
pass away
and his kingdom
one that shall not
be destroyed.
You see,
this title,
the Son of Man,
is a kingly title,
a messianic title.
It's the title
of the Son of God
who would come
and set up
a kingdom
to reign forever
and would be
indestructible,
comprised of people
from every tongue,
time,
every tongue,
tribe,
and nation.
It's a big deal.
Jesus is saying,
I'm that guy.
Every time the word
Son,
or that phrase
Son of Man
comes up,
you're to be thinking
Daniel 7,
13,
and 14.
Every time
it's used.
The thing is,
and this is
the crazy
upside down
kingdom of God,
the crazy thing is
that the
Son of God,
the Son of Man
is going to
establish
His forever
and indestructible
kingdom of people
from all nations
through suffering,
through the giving
of His life
on the cross,
and by being
raised from the dead.
That's how He's
going to establish
His kingdom.
And so when Jesus
is talking here
about an authority
given to the
Son of Man,
it's the God-man,
the God-king,
who's going to
establish a kingdom,
a forever kingdom
of those who will
forever be forgiven,
that you may know
that the Son of Man
may have authority
on earth
to forgive sins.
Who can forgive sins
but God alone?
And Jesus is saying,
that's right!
Because I'm the Son of Man.
God in the flesh.
Establishing the forever
kingdom of God.
And so then He turns
to the paralytic.
He's like to the scribe,
so that you may know
that I'm the Son of Man.
He turns to the paralytic
and says,
rise.
Take your mat.
Go home.
This is
an astounding claim
of Jesus
that He is the Son of Man.
The surprising
authority
of the Son of Man
is that He can
forgive sins.
And what's even more
surprising is
He can forgive sins
because He's actually
God in the flesh.
And what's even more
surprising is that
He can forgive sins
because He's God
in the flesh
and He died for sinners
like you and me.
authority.
That's a compelling
kind of authority.
Leveraged in love.
What happens?
212.
A surprise walkout.
We read,
and He, the paralytic,
rose
and immediately
picked up His bed
and went out
before them all
so that they were
all amazed
and glorified God
saying,
we never saw
anything like this.
Everyone in the house,
everyone packed
in Jesus' house
witnessed what
just happened.
The arms
crossed
scribes,
the four guys
up on the roof
still,
they're like,
huh?
And everybody
else in the room,
do you know
who else got to see it?
You did.
This is a historical
account
of the Son of Man
and it's here
so that you can
see Him.
You can behold
your King.
You can see
His authority.
You can ponder
what this means.
Here's what just
happened.
By demonstrating
His authority
to heal the paralytic,
what you could see.
Jesus just
proved
His authority
to forgive sin
what you can't see.
He just
refuted the claim
of blasphemy.
He just said,
no.
I'm legit.
I'm the real deal.
Yes,
only God
can forgive sins.
And yes,
I am that God.
I'm the Son of Man.
I am the Son of God.
Because Jesus
is God,
He has authority
to forgive sins.
But the people
in the house
kind of
missed that point
to be honest with you.
They're amazed
at this guy
that got up
when
the miracle
was actually
to demonstrate
who Jesus is.
The Son of Man.
So it's a
surprise walkout,
but what is
surprising still
is
they don't seem
to understand
who they're
in the presence of.
God in the midst.
Who wants
to forgive sins.
I think if they
understood
what just happened,
I think someone
would have said,
forgive me too.
Forgive me too.
who?
Apparently
they don't think
that their greatest
need is forgiveness
of their sins.
So what is
the point of this?
What is the point
of Mark chapter 2
1 through 12?
In a general sense,
it's to behold
your King.
To see Jesus.
Jesus.
I mean,
we've seen
this incredible
response to Jesus.
I mean,
mobs of people
are coming after him.
We've seen
a surprise declaration.
Instead of him
healing somebody,
he says,
your sins are forgiven.
Instead of,
you know,
him kind of
ignoring
what the scribes
were thinking,
he knew exactly
what they were thinking.
The surprise
insight.
He knows
what's going on
in their hearts.
He knows
what's going on
in your hearts.
Surprise authority.
Who can forgive
sins but God alone?
The Son of Man can't
because he is God.
The surprise walkout.
This divine healing
of the paralytic
evidences
the divine forgiving
of the paralytic.
So the point is,
behold your King.
Jesus in all of
His authority
can forgive sins
because He's fully God.
So you behold
His authority
and then you bow
to His authority.
Which means for us,
we must stop
acknowledging Jesus
just as a figurehead
and start revering
Jesus as our
all-authoritative King.
in two weeks time
on our
10th anniversary
as a church.
Do you know
what I get to preach on?
I get to preach on
the end of Mark chapter 4
and all of chapter 5.
And what it is
is story after story
of Jesus'
comprehensive authority
over all things.
How do you stop
living as if
Jesus is a
mere figurehead?
And you behold
Him
in all
His authority
and you bow
to Him
confessing Him
as your King.
Earlier I said
that
to come under
the loving
authoritative reign
of Jesus
is good news.
And you might be thinking
well how is that good news?
That doesn't sound
good news to me.
Because the same
Jesus,
the Son of Man
that we're
seeing here,
He's alive
and He has
full authority
to forgive
all of your sins.
All of them.
The authority
by which Jesus
spoke to the paralytic
Son,
your sins are forgiven
is the same authority
in which Jesus
can say to you,
Child,
your sins
are forgiven.
Now if you're wondering,
He forgives
not simply because
He's the Son of God
God's King.
That's essential.
The basis of His
forgiveness
is not just that
He's the God King
but that He died
in the place
of sinners.
He paid
the price
for our sin.
That's the King's
ransom.
By His ransom
payment,
He is gathering
people from
every tongue,
tribe,
and nation
into a new
people.
The kingdom
of the saved
on earth.
So,
let's apply this.
If Jesus
has defined
authority to
forgive your sins,
what does that mean
for you if you're
non-Christian?
Well,
if you're a
non-Christian
in the house,
God's
what's clear here
is that your
greatest need
according to
Jesus,
according to
God in the flesh,
is the forgiveness
of your sins.
Your sin
has separated
you from God.
Your sin
has provoked
the just wrath
of God
and He will be
just and glorified
to pour that out
on you for eternity.
But you do not
have to pay
for your own
sin because
this King
has died
for you.
All you need
to do
is to cry out
to King Jesus
for forgiveness.
You don't
have the
authority
to forgive
your own
sin
against God.
Only God
has that
authority.
So you must
admit to Him
you've been
sinning
against Him
and then
admit to Him
in the same breath
oh you only
can forgive me.
And when you
do that
for the very
first time
you become
a Christian.
You become
a follower
of Him.
And so you
can pray it
in a prayer
like this.
You say
something to
the extent
of Lord
Jesus,
King
Jesus,
will you
forgive me
of all my
sins that
I have
committed
against you?
The ones
I know,
the ones
I don't
know,
and will
you bring
me into
your kingdom,
the kingdom
of the saved,
and completely
forgive me
and I will
gladly live
under your
authority for
the rest of
my life.
There you
go.
That's it.
That's how
it starts.
Does anyone
in the room
want to become
a Christian
today?
It starts
with beholding
your king
and then
bowing to
him for the
first time,
confessing him
as your
Lord.
Well,
what does
this mean,
this authority
of Jesus
over sin
to forgive
sin?
What does
this mean
if you're
a Christian
in the
room?
Follow me.
It means
two things.
Number one,
if Jesus
has authority
to forgive
all of your
sins,
Christian,
and he
paid for
all of your
sins on
the cross,
Christian,
and Christian,
all of your
sins have
been fully
forgiven.
Period.
If you
are regularly
haunted by
the condemning
ghosts of
past sins,
you speak
to those
ghouls,
the words
of your
king from
the cross,
it is
finished.
He paid
for that.
It's no
longer
over my
head.
There is
therefore
now no
condemnation
for those
who are
in Christ
Jesus.
It's
because he's
the authoritative
king.
Christian,
you need
not despair
over your
past sins
because the
forgiveness of
those is not
dependent on
you.
It's dependent
on the
son of man.
his authority
is finished
work.
It's done.
Behold your
king.
Bow to your
king.
Boast in
your king.
Secondly,
in light of
his authority
to forgive
your sins
and in light
of his
comprehensive
authority over
all things
you'll see in
two weeks,
Jesus.
It's time to
turn from
living as if
Jesus is just
a figurehead.
And to
start bowing
to Jesus
day after
day as
your all
loving,
all authoritative
king over
all.
You just
behold him
and you bow
to him
day by day
and you say
today,
King Jesus,
I live
for you.
Let me
wrap it up.
King Jesus
is no
mere
figurehead.
He's not
just waving.
He's
reigning.
He's the
all authoritative
God king,
the son of
man who
is building
right now
his forever
indestructible
multinational
church.
this morning
you saw the
surprising
authority of
the son of
man to
forgive sins.
And you're
going to see
his authority
on display
again and
again.
Because he
is the son
of God.
He is our
king.
It's good
news.
Behold
your king
and bow
to him.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
you are the
king of the
upside down
kingdom and
you by your
mercy and
grace have
brought us
in.
Thank you
Lord Jesus
for forgiving
our sins.
We trust in
authoritative
pronouncement
that it's
done.
And we
are free.
Free from
being condemned.
Free from
the lies.
Free from
the fear.
God,
would you
help us
now to
live the
balance of
this day
in light of
who you
are.
In your name
we pray.
Amen.