“When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.“ And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.”

Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ” Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “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.” And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” And He went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.”

Mark 2:1-12

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Back in the spring semester of 2000, I was a sophomore religion major at Olivet. One of my classes was Preaching and Worship with Dr. Bill Bray.  As part of that class all of the students were divided into four groups, each assigned a liturgical function in which we would lead the class in a service; wedding, funeral, Communion, and Baptism.  I was in the baptism group.  Our group met to discuss our responsibilities. Because I was the only one in my group who had experience preaching, I was asked to prepare a sermon.

I agreed readily.  The church that I grew up in had a strong emphasis on baptism so I figured I could put together a sermon relatively easily.  I knew that baptism was about declaring one’s own faith publicly.  “An outward sign of an inward change,,” as my pastor would say often.   So I had my sermon ready to go without having to do much work.  I figured though, that I should probably practice some of the sermon preparation education I had received in that course.  So instead of just finding a verse or two that supported my ideas about baptism, I set about studying the usage of the word “faith” in the New Testament.

It was while studying the word faith that I ran into the passage from Mark that we read a few minutes ago.  I was searching for a text that would support my premise that Christians were baptized when their individual faith grew strong enough, they experienced salvation, and wanted to make their individual faith known to all around them.  And that’s exactly why I’m still stuck on this verse 16 years later.  Because it challenged everything I thought I understood about faith, salvation, and what it means to be the church.

In this narrative found in the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, we have Jesus healing several people in chapter 1.  He is being swarmed by crowds to the point that he needs to stay out of the cities to find some quiet time.  Upon his return to Capernaum, word got out Jesus was in town. So Mark 2:2 informs us that the crowd was gathered in a house.  There was a paralyzed man who was lowered in through the roof to meet Jesus.

In my understanding of Christianity and the Gospel at the time, the narrative would go something like this:

The paralyzed man begged his friends to take him to Jesus.  He knew he needed Jesus and he knew what Jesus could do for him. His faith was strong and because he believed, Jesus saw the faith of the paralyzed man and healed him.  Everyone marveled at what Jesus could do for someone when they had a lot of faith. That narrative summarized my understanding of the gospel at that point based upon my experiences growing up in the church.

The problem is that narrative is not what the bible says happened.  The Bible doesn’t say anything about whose idea it was to carry the paralytic to see Jesus.  Nor does it speak anything about the level of faith of the paralyzed man or that he believed in Jesus.  It really doesn’t.  I’ll even give you a moment to check for yourself. (go ahead and check. I’ll wait)   Mark 2:5 became a verse I have wrestled with since that moment many years ago where I had to go back and check for myself.

“And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ” Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark‬ ‭2:5‬ ‭NASB‬‬

 Their faith.  

Whose faith?

 The four men carrying him. Sure.  

The gathered crowd?  Potentially.

The language isn’t 100% clear.  What is clear is that Jesus wasn’t responding to the paralytic man’s faith.

At least not his faith alone.

A Change of Plans

So at this point my sermon on an individual’s faith decision leading to forgiveness and healing was out the window.  But what happens next challenged my understanding of the gospel altogether.  Jesus didn’t heal the paralyzed man immediately.  When Jesus saw their faith, He forgave his sins.  The paralyzed man didn’t confess faith or ask for forgiveness.  The faith of some people in Capernaum led to Jesus forgiving the individual’s sins.  This was not the individualistic gospel message that I had heard and believed. The way I saw it I only had two choices; ignore this text and go on believing what I had believed. Or accept the fact that a community of faithful people acting out of love for their neighbor could result in forgiveness and healing for that neighbor. 

I couldn’t in good conscience ignore something I felt God had revealed to me, but I also knew that one text wasn’t enough to draw definitive conclusions.  So I went looking for other examples of someone’s faith bringing healing and forgiveness to others.  And I found them.

• Matthew 8;  A Roman soldier asks Jesus to heal a servant.  Jesus heals him
• John 4: an official asks for Jesus to heal his son. Jesus heals him
• Mark 9: Jesus heals a son possessed with an impure spirit.

Then there are stories of Jesus raising dead people like Lazarus and Jarius’ daughter where those healed obviously couldn’t proclaim faith of their own (because they were dead).

It became quite clear that healing and forgiveness wasn’t just about “me and God” but that the faith and obedience of others could have redemptive results.  

So back in 2000 I changed my sermon from baptism being only a celebration of a believers faith, to also include a celebration of the redemptive results of the church being faithful to the calling placed upon it.  A faithful community had shared and become good news for a person of new faith.

A Faithful Community

What that means for you today is that if you are a follower of Jesus, most likely there was at least one person in your life whose faith and obedience to a call invited you to a place of healing.  Someone whose faith and love of God was not just about them, but was about you too.  Can you think of that person?  

Take a minute and think of someone whose faith carried you close to Jesus even when you couldn’t or didn’t want to go.  Are you thinking of that person? Take a moment and reflect upon how their faith influenced your life

We not Me

If this “seeing their faith” idea sounds foreign to you, don’t worry. It did to me too. We are part of a very individualistic culture.  We emphasize merit; Getting what we deserve as individuals. I have spent a great deal of time wrestling with the implications. Here is one thing I can tell you from my studies; This is not a foreign idea to God.

Exodus 19:6

⁶ and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”

Exodus 19:6

This is what God told Moses on mount Sinai about Israel. This wasn’t God talking to religious superstars or the special leaders.  This was a message to a group called Israel.  God wanted the entire nation to be holy for the purpose of being priests.  

What do priests do?  

They stand in the presence of people on behalf of God and they stand in the presence of God on behalf of people.

So putting that all together: God wants Israel to be a people whose purpose is to serve others on God’s behalf.  This is what Israel was called to do.

Israel was not faithful to this calling and the Old Testament is the story of Israel telling God “No!” in response to this verse in Exodus.

But God didn’t give up on this mission.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1 Peter 2:9

This was Peter writing to multiple churches in the Roman Empire that were facing various levels of persecution.  The Church is the continuation of the mission to which God called Israel.  Peter was telling Christians who were experiencing difficulty because of their faith that they are Priests in their communities; there to mediate grace unto their neighbors.

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I know at this point I might be giving you some biblical whiplash; quickly moving from Jesus to Moses, to Peter.  I promise there is only one more move.

From Peter to you.

Part of being a child of God is bearing God’s image in places where God is needed.  We are a people that have been called together in order to be sent out again.  That is good news to a world that is desperate for redemption, forgiveness, and healing.  But you might not be thinking that it is good news for you.  

I remember being in youth group as a high schooler and hearing messages about sharing our faith with our friends.  I was always choosing the “share by being an example” method instead of actually getting involved in other’s spiritual matters.  I understand the reluctance in sharing faith with others.

But right now, there is someone at your work, school, neighborhood, or in your family that needs healing.

• They may be completely unable to go to Jesus.
• They may not know Jesus.  
• They may refuse to engage in religious activities.
• They may be angry with God and refusing to seek Him.

 There is a growing population of people who have no affiliation with a church and no plans to ever go to a church. One of those people might be your friend.  

God has a plan to bring healing to that individual.  That plan involves you.  

The Good News for you is that God has sent His Spirit that brings both gifts and fruits that enable you to bring healing and redemption into the lives of others in the same way that the 4 friends carried that paralytic man to Jesus and his sins were forgiven.

There were these friends that knew Jesus and knew a friend that needed Jesus. They went out of their way to arrange a meeting.  Let us take a few moments to pray silently  that we would be obedient to God’s will and calling in our lives.  What joy those friends must have experienced seeing their paralytic friend forgiven and restored by Jesus.  Their faith caused them to act and it was visible to Jesus. It led to healing and forgiveness.  

May our faith in Christ bring peace and redemption into a broken and hurting world.

May our obedience to that which we’ve been called lead to grace and forgiveness being received by those neighbors that God has commanded us to love.

 May His Spirit fill us so that we are moved in His ways and not our own.

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