Jesus did two amazing things in a story recorded in Mark 2: He healed a paralyzed man and He forgave his sins. Jaded believers might say, “Yeah, that’s what Jesus does.” Those who don’t believe might say, “Nice story. Maybe he healed, maybe he didn’t, but no one needs forgiveness of sins – there’s no such thing as sin.” Either point of view shows believers how truly amazing Jesus’ actions were.
A paralyzed man: he could do nothing for himself and was completely dependent upon family and friends to meet even his most basic needs. I once saw a man with no arms at a gas station. He had just come out of the restroom with a friend, who then lit a cigarette for the man with no arms and placed it in his mouth. As I watched, I realized what else the friend must have done for the man in the preceding moments. To be able to be that kind of servant was truly amazing (but then to light up for him – really?). The paralyzed man in Mark 2 had friends, too: men who were willing to do whatever it took to seek healing for their friend. I have heard sermons that focus on the friends and their actions as an example to us to do whatever we can to bring people to Jesus – good point.
But when Jesus encountered the man, he did not initially address his physical need. Mark 2:5 notes, “And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” Jesus responded to the faith of the man and his friends and met the man’s greatest need – to be forgiven as a sinner. Only after Jesus sensed the lack of faith in the Pharisees did he heal the man: “’Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk?’ But so 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, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.’” Jesus met the greater need first, then to display His authority, met the lesser need.
I don’t believe Jesus was tying the need for forgiveness of sin to the need for healing, i.e., the man’s paralysis was caused by his sin. I simply believe Jesus’ most natural response to faith was to forgive. God responds to our faith and He wants to forgive us. Remember, God created us in His image to be in a perfect relationship with Him. He wants to have that relationship back and that requires our faith and confession and His forgiveness … as often as necessary.
We tend to focus on the lesser needs in our lives. If I became paralyzed, or someone I love did, I would be crying and pleading for healing. Of course, I would consider that to be an incredibly great need. But paralysis is an extreme; if I had an annoying cold, I would still be asking for healing. There is nothing wrong with asking God for healing, but are we overlooking the greater need? How often does our sin drive us to fall on our knees before a righteous God and plead for forgiveness? Too often our prayers for forgiveness are really prayers of acknowledgment. When we say, “Lord, please forgive me,” we’re really saying, “Yep, I messed up – sorry about that.” Isaiah, faced with the glory of God, could only say, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” God’s response to this recognition of sin was to send and angel to touch Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal from the altar in front of the Lord who said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:5-7) Isaiah’s paramount need was to be cleansed and forgiven and he knew it. I don’t know that I always know this at a deep, passionate level.
We still need healing, but more than just physical healing. Many of us are paralyzed. We are paralyzed when we need to take action to make a decision; paralyzed when we need to seek freedom from an addiction; paralyzed when we need to share the good news with others; paralyzed when we need to help when we see those who need help. This is healing, too. We need to “pick up our pallets” and take steps.
As for those who don’t believe in sin, that’s probably a topic for another post, or several posts. I would guess that even those who say there is no sin believe in moral law at some level, e.g., it is nearly universally accepted that it is wrong to kill and wrong to steal. If something is considered bad, then it implies that there is good. If there is good and bad, that is moral law, and that implies a lawgiver. And doing something bad shows a need for forgiveness. Unfortunately, in our fallen world, many people don’t recognized the need for forgiveness from either vantage point: to forgive or to be forgiven. Which takes us back to the need for healing.
I am grateful for this story from Mark’s gospel. It reminds me that no matter how unfair the world seems, how awful our problems are, and how different our perspective is from God’s, God knows what we truly need and offers it to us. It doesn’t necessarily erase the problems – Jesus didn’t have to heal the paralytic – but it meets the greatest need we have. “Son, your sins are forgiven” – powerful words, indeed.