Celebrating the Wrong Miracle - Mark 2:1-12

A very wise man once said, “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up” (Solomon, Ecclesiastes 4:1). Out of all the treasures in this life, if you are blessed to have a few true soulmates, then you are truly a rich person. There are times in life where it might feel as if a friend is all we have. In those times, a friend may be all we need.

In Mark 2 we read the story of such a man and such friends. We do not know the name of the man nor the name of his four friends. We only know that he was helpless — a crippled paralytic — and that they were helpful. The story takes place on the banks of the Sea of Galilee in a village called Capernaum. Jesus spent much time in this small fishing village and had actually just called his first followers on those rocky shores — fishermen — brothers, Andrew and Peter, and brothers, James and John.

Jesus began his public ministry there in Capernaum and he did so with quite a flair. In Mark 1 we read that Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath and “began to teach.” The text reveals that Jesus’ teaching was abruptly interrupted by a man possessed of a demon. Jesus causes quite a fuss by not only healing the man, but by doing so on the Sabbath and in the synagogue. At this point, and crucial to our story, the news of Jesus spreads throughout the region and when the Sabbath is over people begin to bring the ill and infirm to Jesus for healing.

By this time everyone in the region had heard the news of Jesus so, when Jesus entered Capernaum a few days later and began to teach from inside one of the local houses, a small group of four friends decided to carry their paralytic friend to Jesus. They loaded him on his mat and each grabbed a corner and began their journey to Jesus. Upon arriving, they saw that the house was so packed that there was no room for them to approach Jesus, not even on the outside. Undeterred by the apparent obstacles, they somehow lift their paralytic friend to the roof of the house. After removing some of the roofing material, they lowered their friend right into the center of the crowd. This was an obvious show stopper and the text reveals that when Jesus saw the faith of these four friends he said (surprisingly, and probably a little unsatisfactorily, if you were the paralytic or one of his friends) “your sins are forgiven.”

Now, there were present at this gathering members of the religious establishment — “teachers of the Law.” They were obviously skeptical and a bit bemused at Jesus’ proclamation. They found it both conveniently shady and abso

lutely heretical. They scoff at the scene and think to themselves, “a paralytic is lowered through the roof, unquestionably searching for healing, and Jesus tells him, ‘your sins are forgiven.’ Yea right, we are not buying your convenient and unverifiable claim to forgive sin.”

Quid pro quo

Quid pro quo means, “this for that.” Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he spoke the phrase, “Your sins are forgiven.” He also knew exactly how the religious leaders would respond. He knew that they would be skeptical and would find his unverifiable miracle disingenuous. With that knowledge in hand, he baited a hook, cast his line, and waited for the religious leaders to take their big bite. They did, and he set the hook with a penetrating question: “What is easier for me to say to the paralytic, ‘Yours sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, take your mat 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 tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’” In reality Jesus pulled a “this for that” moment. He performed the first miracle to feed the doubts of the religious leaders and to peak their attention. He performed the second to prove He had authority to perform the first. This was a “I’m going to do this so that you will know I can do that” moment.

Celebrating the Wrong Miracle

When we think of this story we always think of it in terms of a physical healing. As a matter of fact, in every version of the Bible I referenced, that is how the story is titled, “Jesus Heals a Paralytic.” I think, however, that we are celebrating the wrong miracle. In the story, Jesus only performed the second miracle so that he could prove that he had the authority to perform the much more important first, the forgiveness of sins. There is a lesson here for us all. I do not know what all ailments you may face in this life, or perhaps, might be facing right now. Perhaps you, or someone close to you, has received a devastating diagnosis. I do not claim to know the who, why, or when of God’s miracles. I do know, however, that the greatest miracle he can perform for you is not a temporal one. It is an eternal one. It is not a momentary healing of a momentary ailment; it is an eternal healing of an eternal ailment. You see, it is true that the paralytic was healed. It is also true that one day in the future, like the rest of humanity, he died. At that point, it was only the first miracle that made any real difference. I don’t know what ails you today and I do not want to minimize the real suffering of anyone. I do know, however, that the healing Jesus wants to give you — is dying to give you — is an eternal healing. A healing of the paralysis called sin. In the end, that is the only miracle that will matter for us.

If God be for me, who or what can be against me,