What the Scribes Got Right

This is the First Mustang Pulpit Podcast, a podcast of the weekly preaching and teaching at First Mustang.! Thank you for joining us. While you are finding Mark 2, just a few things I want to remind you of.

First of all, tonight we've got our evening service at 5 o'clock. This will be our last evening service of this semester, and we'll pick that back up in August.

But tonight is a special time together. We'll sing together and have a church conference at the beginning, voting on some recommendations from our finance team. And then we'll spend some time in the Word.

And as a part of our evening service, we are going to be showing our love and appreciation for Jeff and his family as we celebrate today the Leduc's 10 years of ministry here with us.

When we finish that service tonight, we are all going to then head down to the gym and have a time of reception for them. The gym looks amazing.

It looks really, really good. If you haven't already walked through it, you'll see it tonight. But we're going to go down to the gym. We'll do some things to honor the Leduc family.

You'll want to be there to be a part of that, and your presence will be very important to show your appreciation for their ministry. We'll do some fun things with them, and then we've got some cake and punch and things down there that we want you to be able to take part in.

So please plan to be back at 5 o'clock tonight for the service. Plan to stay down in the gym for a few minutes afterwards. If you're able to, I encourage you to bring a card just to express your appreciation.

If you put a gift card of some kind in there, it would be a great way to be able to show your love for them. So make sure and be here tonight at 5 o'clock. As Jeremy mentioned, next Sunday we kick off our summer schedule.

So what that means is starting next Sunday, everybody goes to Sunday school at 9. Everybody goes to church at 10.30. It's always a really exciting season for our church.

It takes a week or two to get used to it, especially for this group because you're flip-flopping the order that you do things in. But it's a lot of fun to have the entire church together. We're going to have a lot of extra chairs set out all throughout the summer so we can fit both services in here.

But you'll want to make sure and be here. It is a real thrill to get to spend these coming weeks together. And you get to see people that you don't normally see in worship, get to know hopefully some new members in our church as well as those who go to the other service who have been around for a while.

So just make sure and make note of that. We also, at this end of the year, we've got a number of ministries that are coming to an end that take place during the school season.

And I just want to say publicly how grateful I am for those who lead the number of ministries that take place during the school year with Awana, with Parents' Day Out, with Quest, with our kids' choirs.

All these ministries have such great leaders and such great servants and teachers and volunteers have done an amazing job of ministry again this school year. And we are so thankful for them.

You saw Jeremy come up to do the prayer. You may have wondered where he went. He's our new associate pastor. We hired him about two months ago. Works with our college ministry. John's got him this week playing drums.

So he was back behind the drums. And now he is in church. And then he's going to play the drums. He's going to go teach college Sunday school. And then next week, you're doing music for John, I think. So we just kind of play spin the wheel on what Jeremy's doing this week.

But we appreciate you leading in that way. And good to... He led music with our youth ministry, Wednesday Night Elevate. So we're trying to get our money's worth out of him. So we appreciate all the many things that you do.

He's leading our... He and his wife, Chelsea, teach and lead in our college ministry. And they're doing a great, great job with our college students. You'd be surprised to see and know how many college students we have a part of that ministry.

Great, great things happening in our college ministry. We're really excited about all the Lord is doing there. And if you heard last week, you saw we had 27 seniors that are graduating. And they've got a tremendous ministry to go into if the Lord leaves them here.

So lots of great things that are going on. We are walking the gospel of Mark. And we've come to chapter 2 with a very familiar story. This is one of the stories that you likely read and learned about when you were a kid.

It's a story that's used often with Vacation Bible School and children's events and all those kinds of things. But I hope that its familiarity will not keep you today from hearing with fresh ears and a sensitive spirit what the Lord would want us to learn from Mark 2.

Let me read it for you to get it in front of our minds today. Mark 2 verse 1 says, When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so 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 to the paralytic, 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. 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.

As we walk through this event together, let me just give you three headings to write down to help you to catch not only the flow of the story, but also what I think will be some helpful applications for you from the story.

First, ministry requires focus. Ministry requires focus. Remember the setting. Jesus has, in chapter 1, He's been in the synagogue teaching.

He has cast out demons. He has healed Peter's mother-in-law. He has then gone to other desolate places to preach. And in chapter 2, He has now come back to Capernaum.

This is His headquarters of His ministry up in the area of Galilee. Remember, Jesus is from Nazareth, about 20 miles from here. And at this part of His public ministry, this becomes His home here in Capernaum.

Kephar Nahum is what the area was called. It means the village of Nahum. Nahum means compassion. And Jesus has come back to the headquarters of Capernaum after some days, and it says it was reported that He was home.

Jesus has been out preaching the gospel, because that's what He was called to do. He stayed focused on His ministry. Remember from earlier studies, the disciples wanted Him just to stay right there, because Capernaum was white hot.

He had done these miracles, and cast out demons, and healed the sick, and the people were enthralled with Him. And Jesus said, I've got to withdraw to pray, and then I've got to go to other towns to preach the gospel, because that's what His focus was.

He's now come back, and as He comes back, He's right back to preaching, because that's what He was to do. This is a good reminder of us, that we've got to stay focused on what the Lord has given us to do.

And remember, the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy, that when you preach the Word, sometimes it is in season, and sometimes it's out of season. Sometimes you preach the Word, and people respond, and sometimes you preach the Word, and it just seems like it's going nowhere.

Sometimes you're sharing the gospel, and you're seeing people repent, and come to faith in Christ, and sometimes you share the gospel, and it seems that all you get is rejection. Sometimes you serve in ministry, and you see fruit from that ministry, and you get encouraged, because you can see and discern all the ways the Lord is at work, and other times, you're just as faithful, just as prayerful, work just as hard, and there's nothing visible to show for it.

But remember that ministry requires focus. We must stay committed to what God's called us to do. And we see that in the very life of Jesus.

He was a preacher, and whether he is in Nazareth preaching, and getting around a town, or whether he is in Capernaum preaching, and drawing large crowds, his focus stays on his mission.

It tells us that there were many gathered together there. This is verse 2. So there is no more room, not even at the door. Nobody can get in. It's very crowded.

All these people have come in to see him, and to hear him, and the reports of what he has done have gone out, and people who were there the last time he was here, many of them saw the miracles, and certainly heard the stories about it, and so everyone is crowding in.

There's no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. Again, this is what Jesus did.

He was a preacher. He came to declare the truth. He is talking to the gathered crowd there about sin, and salvation, and what it means to be the Messiah.

He's talking about the kingdom of God. He's talking about the doctrine of who God is, and what the truth is about who he is as the Son of God.

This is a great encouragement, I think, to us, that we are to stay focused on what God has given us to do. Just keep doing the work of the gospel.

It's true, on this day, Jesus is preaching, and there are so many people there, there's no more room. But it's just as true that on the cross, he's still going to preach the gospel and declare the truth, and there's nobody who wants to be near him.

You just stay focused on what God's called you to do. Sometimes as you teach your family, you see fruit in your children, and you're encouraged by it. Other times, you teach your children, and it seems like it's just going nowhere.

Stay focused on teaching your children. Sometimes you minister to the people God's put under your care to disciple, to teach, or to evangelize, and you look at their life, and you see spiritual growth, and you just say to yourself, I can't wait to do this again next week.

And other times, you work just as hard, just as prayerful, and you look around and you think, would anybody even notice if I didn't show up next week? Stay focused on your ministry.

Jesus kept preaching the truth. Sometimes the crowds loved it, and sometimes the crowds wanted to kill him. Sometimes the crowds were numerous, and sometimes he was by himself with just a few followers.

But Jesus was a preacher. He came to declare the kingdom of God was here in his coming, and that salvation is found in no other name but the name of Jesus.

And so we must stay focused on what God has given us to do. Ministry requires focus. Let me show you a second thing, that our challenges require friendships.

Our challenges in life require friendships. Look at the end of verse 2. It says 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.

So while Jesus is teaching, this packed house, probably back at the same house where Peter and his mother-in-law had been, just earlier where Jesus had healed the mother-in-law, the house is packed, and every little nook and cranny in that first century home is filled with bodies, and people are at the door, and people are outside looking in, trying to listen, trying to see what is going on.

And to the scene comes these four men carrying on some kind of bed, on some kind of pallet, a paralyzed man.

Their thought, no doubt, was we can get our friend to Jesus because they know that Jesus can heal. He's already been doing that. He's been healing the sick.

He's been casting out demons. People have seen it. People in this town have experienced it. The word has gone forth, and so these men who love and care about their friend, no doubt, have this idea, let's get him to Jesus so Jesus can heal him.

Well, as they begin to make the way to the home, they see and can hear the crowds, and they notice there's a lot more people here than we realized. And so they go to the front door expecting, assuming, that because they're carrying this man on the pallet, surely the people at the door will just back out of the way and let them get this paralyzed man to Jesus.

But it says in verse 4 that they could not get near him because of the crowd. Nobody's moving. Nobody's budging.

These people say to themselves, we got here first. We got here early. We claimed this spot. I'm not getting out of the way. And maybe for others, they think to themselves, I would get out of the way if I could, but they're so pressed in so tightly, you can't even move and re-situate yourself if you wanted to.

And so the friends have a choice to make. Do we just take him back home? We can't get him inside.

It's too crowded, too many bodies. Do we just hold off outside and wait? And maybe when Jesus finished with the preaching and people begin to disperse, then we can get to him.

But remember, when Jesus had been here earlier in chapter 1, after he preached and after he healed, when all the crowds left, what did Jesus do? Well, he slipped out and it was dark and he was there praying.

And so the men must think to themselves, if we try to wait, it may be that when Jesus finished, he's going to slip out somewhere again and pray and we'll miss him.

If we take our friend back home, he doesn't get healed. So they've got a choice to make. And what they do is something you're familiar with but a bit strange.

Verse 4, when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. When they made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.

Now, when you're six years old, you hear that story, you think, what a neat story of friendship. When you're 36 years old, you think, who's going to pay for the damages?

And how did that work? And what about the people in the house that the debris falls on? And somebody owns that home who is not real enthralled that somebody just cut out a hole in the roof.

And what if it rains that night? And what if they make a hole where Jesus isn't there standing and the hole was for nothing? And what if they lower the man and it hits somebody and somebody gets hurt and then they're going to sue the homeowner because somebody got hurt?

I mean, all these other things come into our mind and it's not just this simple, cute story. There actually are quite a few dynamics that we need to understand of what's going on.

I think it's also worth noting that the friendship these men display is something for us to consider.

I think you see a few characteristics of godly friendship here that's worth our emulation. One is they are obviously compassionate. I mean, these men are willing to take their friend on a pallet, on a mat, on a stretcher, on a bed and carry him down the road.

I think it's good when we have compassion on our friends. I think it's good for us to understand that true friendship is not just about what you can do for me, that it's about how can I serve somebody else.

They had compassion on him. They had diligence. They weren't easily turned away. In fact, what they would have done is homes in the first century, many of them would have had a staircase on the outside of the house.

Remember, a first century home would be quite different than ours. It would have had a flat roof. They would have had some kind of barricade up on the top of the roof because that's where people would go for conversation in the evening.

It would be a little bit cooler up on the roof. It was extra space for the family and for their friends. Most homes would have a staircase on the outside. These would not be high-rise kind of homes.

They would have been low-ceiling homes. They probably had to take the man on the pallet and figure a way to climb the stairs to get to the flat roof and how to get him up there.

Not every home would have had a staircase. Most did. Not all did. But the homes would have been pretty close together. And so it could be that this home didn't have a staircase. The one next door did. They would have climbed up that staircase and then had to go from roof, jump over to the other one and figure out how to do that without anyone falling and getting the man on the stretcher across the roof.

However the look would have been, it required great diligence to do it. It took sacrifice. I mean, somebody did have to pay for the repairs.

Somebody is going to have to make sure that this hole that gets torn out is fixed. I mean, everybody who was there watching this scene is no doubt, by the time you get to the end of it, they're amazed, they're astounded, they're in awe.

All those words are there. Everybody eventually goes home, but you got a homeowner sitting there going, hey, that was really great, Jesus, what about this hole? Well, it takes some sacrifice because somebody's got to pay for that.

The paralytic has no income. He wouldn't be able to have income. The friends who were compassionate are going to have to be the same friends who are sacrificial and take care of the damage.

They're also willing to risk. This is a very risky endeavor they're doing. Who knows how the homeowner will respond? Maybe the homeowner is not at all interested in the healing of the man.

Maybe he's completely going to be fixated on the damage and the repairs and maybe Jesus isn't going to appreciate having his preaching interrupted. The men don't know how this is going to go.

This is a risky endeavor. Let me just encourage your hearts, brothers and sisters, that true friendship always involves sacrifice and it always involves risk.

It does. There may be friendships where you give and you give and you give and you give and you feel like you don't get much in return.

There may be people who are quick to ignore you and yet when they need something quick to call you. There may be friendships where you feel like it costs you a lot to be their friend.

but learn from these four friends here who were compassionate and diligent and sacrificial and took a risk.

Sometimes that's just what friendship demands. the Bible says in verse 4 because they couldn't get near him they go to remove the roof above him to make an opening and then let him down on the bed.

So here's what it would look like. You go up the staircase on the outside you have a flat roof home and the homes of that day the roofs would have been long wooden beams laid out in parallel lines and then in between the wood beams you would take things like thatch and reeds and pitch and branches and dried mud and pack it all together and you would make that about a foot thick all the way across the roof.

You would then get tile and lay tiles there with all the branches and the reed and the dried mud all together the roof of the house could be about two feet thick.

So the men are up on the top of this flat roof and what they would have to do is begin to peel back the tile and peel back the reeds and the branches and the dried mud and the dirt and begin to dig through all of that.

The text says in verse 4 they removed the roof literally that translation would be they unroofed the roof. There's a roof and there's not a roof.

Where there was a roof there's now a hole. They unroofed the roof. And while Jesus is teaching what happens is you begin to hear the noise of people walking above you and then you begin to hear the noise of debris being pulled back of tiles being loosened of reeds and branches being torn apart of dirt and dried mud that's compacted being pushed aside and then you begin to not only hear the sounds but you begin to have debris falling in the house.

And the light from outside begins to come inside the home. And whatever's going on and remember Jesus is there teaching he's preaching to them and his preaching is interrupted when not only the sounds of the friends and the sights of the roof being undone and torn apart now these friends apparently likely take some fishing line that probably would have been left out laying out on the roof because they would have had to have dried out their fishing ropes so they probably took the ropes that were laid out on top of the roof from fishing and used them to tie around the bed and they've got to lower the bed.

How big was the hole in the roof? It doesn't tell us but it had to be big enough to drop the man you're not going to take a paralyzed man and hang him by his feet and just dangling so it's a pretty big sized hole it's a pretty big disturbance and while Jesus is teaching here comes the man lowered down you've got Jesus who is focused on his ministry you've got the paralyzed man learning the importance of friendship and then third we get the lesson that our sins require forgiveness our sins require forgiveness verse 5 when Jesus saw their faith he said to the paralytic son your sins are forgiven now again stop for just a minute don't be too quick to jump to the end just because you've heard the story a hundred times don't miss all the detail of what's going on here

Jesus saw their faith how could he do that because Jesus knows the hearts of people we remind you from John 2 Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and he needed no one to bear witness about man for he himself knew what was in man that's John 2 24 25 Jesus knows the hearts of people now don't be too quick to slide off that truth because that same truth can bring great relief and great conviction Jesus knows your heart which means if your heart is pure and your motives are right and 10,000 people call you a liar don't worry about it

Jesus knows your heart if you are sincere and you're doing your best to live your life before the Lord in a God honoring way and you're trying to live your life in a way that honors the Lord Jesus Christ and somebody else wants to belittle you or mock you look I know that hurts but don't worry about it Jesus knows your heart other men may question your motives because they don't know what's really inside you but Jesus knows the heart of men be comforted in knowing that even if somebody tells you you're not worthy or you're not essential or you're not successful or you're not any good or you're no longer needed here whatever it may be just understand Jesus knows the hearts of men and he sees what other people do not see and you define your life by who he is and the truth of his word and what he knows to be true of you but

I've got to also make sure you see the other side of that same coin that it may be that other people have been fooled by you you may have convinced people you're something you're not you may be going through some kind of religious charade everybody in your class thinks you're legit everybody in your ministry thinks your heart is genuine but Jesus knows the hearts of men he will not be fooled so if you find yourself today in a situation where you feel like you are living your life before the Lord in worship and in faith if nobody else sees be encouraged God sees!

if you are living your life and you're not truly trying to please him but everybody else thinks you are my friend repent of that because God knows that too so Jesus sees their faith he sees what's on the inside he knows what's going on that other people don't know but notice how strange this is in verse 5 why are the men there they want their friend healed why is the paralytic there he wants to be healed that's why they brought him to Jesus that's why they climbed up the roof that's why they tore away all of the dirt and twigs and leaves and all that made up the tiles of that roof that's why they're there so that their friend can be healed so that the paralyzed man can walk that's what they were seeking and yet

Jesus sees something in them that we don't know he sees their faith and he says son your sins are forgiven now I want you to notice no physical healing has taken place yet you need to see this because if you don't really love the Lord Jesus and if you don't understand the awfulness of sin and the sweet sound of hearing that your sin has been forgiven at this point it's going to sound like that's wonderful but I want to walk what Jesus shows us is that the paralyzed man greatest need was not physical restoration that's not his greatest need it's to have his sin forgiven what

Jesus blesses the man with first is the most important thing in this man's life he must have his sin forgiven and so many times in our world today people see Jesus the exact opposite maybe if I go to church a little bit and maybe if I serve in the church a little bit and maybe if I give to the Lord financially a little bit then he can give me what I need most which is a job a house a spouse fill in the blank in other words if we're not careful people tend to think the spiritual may open the door to the greater need Jesus says it's the exact opposite of that this man's greatest need your greatest need is to have your sin forgiven and so

Jesus says son your sins are forgiven now watch this in verse six now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts why does this man speak like that he is blaspheming just a quick note on the scribes the scribes were a group that arose around the time of Ezra in the Old Testament they copied the law they interpreted the law they taught the law they were the scholars Luke tells us the Pharisees were also there the Pharisees were a group that originated about the second century BC so about 200 years ago are when the Pharisees started their name means the separate ones it was a group that opposed the Greek culture infiltrating Judaism they weren't priests they were laymen and so you've got the scribes there and the Pharisees that are there now it's interesting a few things here in verse six some of the scribes were sitting there you know that's strange to me because it's standing room only there's so many people crowded in there inside and at the door that you couldn't even get a man that was paralyzed said

Jesus it was standing room only and yet in the standing room only there's still the group that is seated because they were that esteemed if they would have given up their seats and stood up could they have fit a few more people in I mean imagine that a tornado is coming through Oklahoma and you've got your storm shelter and in your comfortable chair you can fit four of you in that storm shelter and this big storm is coming and you've got two of your kids that say hey mommy daddy we need in there and you say yeah but if we stand up we lose our seats yeah but you could get more people in there yeah but we'd lose our seats well what do you do let me help you with what you do you stand up this isn't a hard decision you put the seats aside you make room for more people but the scribes are sitting there and it says they're questioning in their hearts why does he speak like this speak like what what jesus said that set them off was he said son your sins are forgiven and the scribes said jesus is a blasphemer because who can forgive sins other than god alone now this they got right the scribes are generally painted in negative context in the gospels including here but they did get this part right only god can forgive sin when jesus says son your sins are forgiven the scribes say how dare you only god can do that and they are exactly right which tells us that jesus is unmistakably saying he is god it's astounding how many people want to say well jesus was he was a good man he was a prophet he was a teacher some would even say he was a miracle worker but but he wasn't god and you say well then why don't you just call him a liar and people want to say well jesus never claimed to be god let me tell you what's interesting his opponents had no question about what he was claiming here those who hated him understood clearly what jesus was claiming jesus says i can forgive your sin the scribes say no no no only god can do that if you say you forgive sin you're making yourself to be god make no mistake jesus absolutely is claiming to be god and in the scribes defense they got that part right only god can forgive sin and at verse eight and immediately jesus perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned!

them said to them why do you question these things in your hearts here's what's interesting you're the scribe you see jesus say your sins are forgiven you buck up against that because only god can forgive sin and you don't believe jesus is god and now jesus who you don't believe is god reads your heart and your mind so perfectly he's going to give voice to the silent thought in your head you should have figured this out this man who cast out demons and this man who heals also knows exactly what i'm thinking before i even say it but a hardened heart refuses to repent now let's go back for just a minute to the paralyzed man and the friends they're saying jesus this guy's getting kind of heavy we've been holding these ropes for a while and the paralyzed man is there on the bed and there's been not a word about physical healing yet but jesus saw their faith there is something more important than physical healing and it's to have your sin forgiven and i just want to say to you friends today that the physical needs you have in your life you need a job you need a new car you're looking for someone to marry that loves the lord your loved one is sick and you're praying for their healing those things are real and you should pray for those things and we agonize in prayer for those things and there is nothing wrong at all with crying out to the lord for your physical needs nothing wrong at all with that just remember there is something even greater that if your sins!

are forgiven you already have the greatest blessing you could ever receive and so Jesus says to the men here in verse 9 which is easier is it easier to say to the paralytic your sins are forgiven or is it easier to say rise take up your bed and walk now put yourself in the scribes position for just a minute what's your answer which is easier is it easier for Jesus to say your sins are forgiven or is it easier for Jesus to say rise take up your bed and walk there is an answer to this riddle and the answer is it's easier to say your sins are forgiven because there's nothing objective there to prove if it happened or not the harder thing is to say take up your bed and walk because if you're not really

Jesus the man's not going to be healed and now everyone's going to know you're a fraud so Jesus tells the scribes and those who are listening if I just say your sins are forgiven some of you are going to question do I really have that authority what's even harder to do not more important but harder is to tell a paralyzed man who can't walk fold up your pallet walk home you're forever healed of this paralysis so Jesus says in verse 10 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 what Jesus will do is he's going to heal the paralyzed man and absolutely it's an act of compassion but remember the miracles of

Jesus always serve a greater purpose the greater purpose is for people to know he really is God so he says so you can know I have the authority to forgive sins I have that authority to do this it's not the word dunamis power it's the word exousia authority I have have the right I have the prerogative it's not just that I have the ability I have the divine right to forgive this man's sin and the scribes say only God has that authority and Jesus says yes only God does Jesus makes it clear here that those who believe in Christ have forgiveness from

God it's amazing Jesus says that authority is his he says I want you to know that I am telling him to rise and walk so you have objective proof of who I am so when I say your sins are forgiven you have valid reason to believe and he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all so they were amazed and glorified God Luke adds they were filled with awe the word awe is phobos we get our

English word for phobia for fear they were stunned and they said we never saw anything like this this is not just a cute children story about some friends making a hole in the roof this is Jesus saying I am God and if I pronounce you forgiven all authority in heaven declares you righteous my friends this is the good news of the gospel do you believe in him do you love him are you trusting in him would you today believe in who the Lord Jesus is confess with your mouth that

Jesus is Lord believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead and you will be saved wait not one more day today today will not but he will like that he will see can them but he will see your job can see fathers there can see there can see there he can see there can see there can see there not there can see fathers fathers they can see fathers fathers up look fathers fathers We even see fathers fathers same fathers fathers connect fathers away ways areas fathers King х èabe