The Healing of the Paralytic
Transcript
Good morning, my name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. We're going to be in Matthew 9 today. The first eight verses you can go ahead and flip there. We're going to be on page 475. If you don't have a Bible, and the blue Bible is on page 475, you can follow along with us.
But we do encourage you to follow along as you walk through this story today. When I was in seminary, my wife and I both worked for an organization called Community Life. It is a Christian non-profit that the goal, if you know some of the folks who have done apartment life in our church, it's very similar. The goal is that you would put Christians in apartment complexes, and they would help develop the community through events, through connecting neighbors to neighbors, neighbors to what's happening in the community as a whole. And you would develop the community and use that as a means for mission, that you would make disciples through being a team on site and living there.
And my wife and I did that for a couple of years. And then a couple of years later, my boss, he said, I want to make you the regional director over Louisville and eventually over our Memphis region. So I oversaw those regions. And it was my job to help make sure that teams were accomplishing what we set out to do. And every year we do this once a year retrain, refocus training. And there's one year that we did it.
You have a bunch of different sections in the training that we're doing. We're refocusing a lot of the things that we work on in the program. And one of them is just refocusing on making disciples, asking how is that going? How are we reaching people? What does that look like? And one year in particular, there was a team that got hired not long after we were hired as a team.
And I had watched over the next few years as they started to get more into some different preachers. They started to detach a little more from their church. They wanted to see more of their apartment complex as their church. They got more into social justice. And I watched this transformation slowly start to happen. And then this one year that we did this retrain, refocus, we got to this section on making disciples.
They just kind of came out and said, I don't think we're actually called to make disciples. I don't think we're called to actually share the gospel with people. I think our main calling as Christians is to really love the people in our apartment complexes. To serve them. To care for them. And it got heated.
Because one of our other teams, they were a couple that was a missionary on the mission field. They came back and were here for a few years. And they were working with us. And they just fired back and said, you can't be serious. No, the Bible says we're clearly called to make disciples. We're clearly called to share the gospel.
What point is helping people if they're going to spend an eternity in hell apart from Jesus? And it just got heated. And what was happening there was that there were different people that were arguing for what they thought the heart of God was. What they thought the gospel was. And it was a reflection of a greater debate that has happened in the American church over the last 100, you know, 120 years. There's been a growing movement amongst Christians to ask the question, should we be caring for others or should we be sharing the gospel?
Should we share the good news or should we share our lives and share meals and serve the poor? That has been a debate that has raged on over the last 100 years. And because everything right now in culture is at a fever pitch and everyone gets crazy about literally everything, right now is the most heated I think it has ever been. And today we get to look at a story that speaks to this. We get to look at another miracle that Jesus performs and actually see how it applies to this debate. And the actions of Jesus will actually give us a picture of how we should respond and what the heart of God looks like.
So let me pray and then we will jump into the story. Father, I thank you that you love us. I thank you that you give us a story like this to teach us. God, I pray that you would help us listen. And that you would change hearts. We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Alright, so. Verse 1. So last week we saw Jesus was in this region called the Gadarenes. It's a region that has more Gentiles, non-Jewish people. He gets in a boat.
He actually comes back to more of his home base where there are more Jewish people. And anytime he's in a more Jewish region, the crowds come to see him. I mean, Jesus is the most popular person in the land at this point. So when he comes, the people come out in droves. And we see that part of this group that has come to see him is a man, a paralytic, who's on a mat. And we learn from Mark's gospel that it's four men carrying him on a mat, on a bed, to come and meet Jesus.
Now, paralytic is a pretty broad category. There are some people who have paralysis that they can do more, that they can function more, that need less help. There are other people that need more help. It's a pretty broad category. I learned quite a bit about just disabilities in college when I spent a summer in Myrtle Beach with our campus ministry. I lived with three other roommates.
And one of my roommates had cerebral palsy, which is a genetic muscular disorder. And, you know, he came down and his parents brought him. This is kind of a big deal for him to spend his first summer away from home like this. And they just said he's going to need help. And he did. He needed help, you know, getting ready for the day, you know, transportation to and fro.
And I learned a ton from this guy. His name is Mike. Just about humility, just about his outlook on life. It was such a blessing to spend a summer with him. But I also learned a little bit about our culture and how we respond to disabilities.
That our culture, for the most part, actually does a somewhat decent Job of making accommodations for disabilities. We have government programs. We have building codes. We have parking codes that show up. And I saw a little bit of how that worked. And I would say we're pretty good as a culture.
But I also learned we've got a long way to go. Just this summer and being with them, certain bathrooms we would go to. And it just wasn't very conducive to someone who had disabilities. That we'd be in certain restaurants. The way they were laid out, it was hard to get a walker into certain places. So I learned that we had a long way to go to make accommodations for those who are disabled.
But as a whole, our culture right now probably is one of the better times in history to actually struggle with and have disabilities because of all the accommodations that we make. That is very different than this culture. And this culture didn't have wheelchairs, didn't have certain government programs. They did not make a lot of accommodations for the disabled. You had to hope that you had family or friends that would take care of you. And if that was not the case, you would spend your life begging in the streets.
So outside of just the fact that this culture didn't make a lot of accommodations for those who were physically disabled, there's also a social stigma attached to it. There was a belief that if you had some type of disability, that something you did wrong, that something that your parents did wrong, that your bloodline must be cursed. And I got to see a little bit of what this looks like. There's still parts of the world where this is still a thing. When we were in Egypt this summer on our mission trip, we got to know a pastor named Pastor Jurgis. His entire ministry is devoted in that region of Egypt to helping reach people with disabilities.
Because in their culture, if you have a disability, it is stigmatized. Your family hides you away. They put you in a part of the house and they don't want anyone to know that you exist. So these people spend 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 years in hiding. 40 years of not being taken care of well. Because the thought process is that if the village, if the other people know that we have someone with disabilities, they're going to think there's something wrong with our bloodline, therefore we're not going to be able to marry off the rest of our kids, which is very important in their culture.
So these people would spend their lives heading away, thinking that they were a problem. And this pastor would spend his time putting his ear to the ground, figuring out maybe this family actually has someone that is disabled. He would be invited into their home. He'd get to know the parents. They would act like that they don't have anyone in their home that would be disabled. And he would either do one of two things.
He would lead the parents to Christ and change their perspective on their child, or he would finally have access to go and meet the individual. He'd share the gospel with them and help them see that they are beautifully and wonderfully made in the image of God, that they have value and worth. It was an incredible ministry to see in action. But it also was a little bit of a picture of how socially stigmatized disabilities are, and really what this paralytic would have been facing his entire life. Not just the challenges of being paralyzed, but also the stigma of being in a culture that looks at you like this.
But we can at least tell one thing specifically about this individual. There are at least just four people in his life that care. Four people that get him on a mat and bring him to Jesus. Verse 2, it says, And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed, and when Jesus saw their faith... I'm going to pause there for a moment. This is the Cliff Notes version of the story in Mark's gospel.
We get a demonstration just more of what their faith looked like. These four men put this paralytic on a mat. They carry him for what could be miles. They get to a house where Jesus is teaching, and the crowds have so filled up the house, so filled up the outside of the house, they don't have access to Jesus. So they climb up on top of the roof.
Pull him up on top of the roof with him. They cut a hole in the roof, and they lower him so that he can be in the presence of Jesus. Which this is an aside. This is the main point of the story. But what a cool picture.
I get so convicted when I read this story. They do whatever it takes to make sure that he can be in the presence of Jesus, that he can meet Jesus. Man, what would it look like if we as a church would move heaven and earth, we would do whatever it takes to have friends, neighbors, coworkers, family members, we would literally cut holes in the roofs of houses so that people could meet Jesus. Not the main point of the story. It's an awesome demonstration of their faith. And Jesus recognizes this.
This is when Jesus saw their faith. He said to the paralytic, Take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven. Now this is different. This is different than how Jesus has responded throughout most of these healing stories. He has been healing people left and right.
That is the reason why the crowds have come out to see him. He has a reputation for healing all kinds of people. And that makes sense that they would come and see him if you told me that there was a doctor in the area that could heal back problems. It's like, no, no, he doesn't treat them. He will literally heal them. I would be like, where is he?
And I know some other people in our church that struggle with back problems. They would be getting in their car and we would go and we would see him. And if he saw us and he said, all right, I'm so glad you're here. Let me tell you something. Your anger is forgiven. The sin is forgiven.
I'd be a little thrown off too. It's like, bro, I thought you were going to heal. My suffering. The crowds are a little bit thrown off. This is a different response than he has given thus far. And it really throws off the religious leaders.
In verse 3 it says, And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, This man is blaspheming. The scribes are a part of the religious leadership in Israel. And they say he is blaspheming. He is dishonoring the name and the character of God. And if you understand a little bit of Old Testament law, Their response is not completely off base in some respect. Because forgiveness of sins was a process.
In the Old Testament law, there was an entire sacrificial system that was set up. The sacrifices were to be done in a very specific manner. And if the priests did this in a very specific manner, And if the people had repentant hearts, Of all of this lined up, Then the sacrifice would be accepted. The animal sacrifice would be accepted. And forgiveness would happen. Jesus bypasses all of that.
He says, Your sins are forgiven. And they are floored. That he would actually say this. Which means, Either, Jesus is crazy For what he just said. Or, He believes that he is really God. Either he is crazy or he is God.
Because only God has the power To forgive sins. Which is why we say, When other religions that take the Bible and say That Jesus didn't believe he is God. It's like over and over again. No, he absolutely It is displayed. He is God. And in verse 4 it says, But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, Said, Why do you think evil in your hearts?
Now there's a couple of clues here That point to the divinity of Jesus. Firstly, The scribes said themselves, That's a way of saying they thought it. They thought, This Jesus is blaspheming. Blaspheming. Jesus knows their thoughts, Reads their thoughts back to them. If anyone can read your thoughts And articulate them back to you With that kind of clarity, It's a clue that something miraculous is happening.
Another clue we get from the text here That is showing the divinity of Jesus. This is the third miracle in a row. Chet was setting this up a few weeks ago. These miracles happen in sets of three. This is the third miracle in a row. It shows the power and the divinity of Jesus.
A couple of weeks ago, We got to see Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. And he displays his Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Creative power, And tells a storm to stop. Last, we got to see his power over, Not just creation, But the spiritual realm, As he casts out demons, And demons shudder in the face of him. And this week, We get to see that Jesus has power To forgive sins. And the people, Man, they've been so, I mean, Put yourself in their place. They had to be so excited About Jesus coming and healing.
I mean, this paralytic has spent years, Possibly his entire life, Not being able to walk, All the social stigma attached to it. But Jesus addresses a deeper need. The people are spiritually broken. They are broken. He addresses that first to show A need forgiveness of sins. It's understandable that it might be A little bit thrown off.
Because that's what we do as humans. It's our nature. The physical needs that we have, They're the most in front of us. It's the most pressing. It's the ones we feel the most. And it's human nature for us To just want to see those get met first.
Because it's human nature Just to see what's right in front of you. I've learned a thing about children. They are like velociraptors. They're fine Until they start opening doors. And then it gets dangerous. Our son learned how to open doors A few months back.
And They're outside playing in the backyard. We have a fenced-in backyard. And my daughter comes. And she says, Bridgers! That's our son. Bridgers!
Bridgers! And either she said the gate Or we made the connection That he had gotten out of the gate. We used to have gates That were unlocked Because my daughter was never adventurous. We now have locks. I run out the door. Dead sprint.
I look left. I see the gates open. And I see my son. And he is ten feet from the street. He's going to walk into the street. So I grab the closest thing to me.
I grabbed a rock. And I hit him right in the back And dropped. Now I ran and scooped him up. Brought him back. I was like, Son, you can't do this. I showed him the gate.
I'm trying to show him You can't. This is dangerous. You can't go out here. He's a toddler. This is right in front of him. This is, of course, Open the door.
Oh, the street. I want to walk into the street. He doesn't see the danger Of what's ahead. And we get older And we get wiser. But that's human nature.
We see what's right in front of us. The most physical needs. We don't understand The spiritual nature of things And how dangerous it is. For us, We don't acknowledge The spiritual reality That our souls are eternal. Jesus gets that. And he addresses this.
He says, Your sins are forgiven. And when the scribes Think this to themselves, Jesus addresses it. Verse 5. He says, For which is easier To say, Your sins are forgiven Or to say, Rise and walk. But that you may know The Son of Man Has authority on earth To forgive sins.
He then said to the paralytic, Rise, Pick up your bed And go home. And he rose And went home. When the crowd saw it, They were afraid. And they glorified God Who had given such authority To men. I love Jesus. I love his response In situations like this.
Because the first thing he does Is he flexes on the scribes. He says, Which is easier? To say, Your sins are forgiven. Or to say, Rise, Get up. And then he uses This very physical healing, This very physical demonstration To show The spiritual reality Authority has Over sins. That you would know That authority Over sins.
And this man, I want us to miss this. He does actually address The physical. This man has probably Been dreaming. Dreaming. Of what it would be like To actually be able to Stand. To be able to Walk.
And he Strengthens His legs. Gets up. Takes a step. He's healed. All the stigma. All the shame.
All the pain. Gone. And he picks up his mat. And I would like to think He skipped home. I would like to think That he went home And he danced In front of friends And family After years Of not being able To walk. And the crowds See this And they're afraid.
Because they recognize What the disciples Have been recognizing. This is no mere Man. Something Much bigger Is happening.