Our Greatest Need

Have you ever done something ridiculous to get into a concert, see a movie, or a show? I know I never have...

 

In Mark 2, Jesus has a gathering and admission is limited. Jesus had already gained such notoriety that news of his return home spread like wildfire, and people gathered from all over Capernaum. I imagine there were people of all walks of life there, but we are told that teachers of the law were among them. 

A group of men had a friend who was paralyzed and couldn't walk. The crowd was too thick to carry a paralytic through. They knew that Jesus could heal him, so they did something crazy. They removed the roof, and lowered the paralytic down from above. 

Jesus immediately does something surprising. He tells the man "your sins are forgiven." Well, thank you Jesus, but that's not really why I'm here. I don't know if you noticed, but my legs don't work. Meanwhile, the scribes complain about about this. They know that only God can forgive sins. Jesus can see that they are murmuring amongst themselves, so he decides to give a little demonstration. He tells the paralytic to rise, pick up his bed, and go home. So he does. Everyone that was standing around Jesus was amazed. They had heard of this man who could heal others, but they just witnessed it before their eyes. 

What was the paralytic's greatest need? The problem that Jesus chose to address first. The problem of sin. This story illustrates that Jesus did, indeed have the ability and authority on earth to forgive sins, and that forgiveness of sins is more important than healing any physical ailment we might have. It was Jesus' most important mission when he came to earth!

Many feel like we no longer need forgiveness of sins. There are those who teach that once we become a Christian, we no longer have to worry about sin. Some say that we no longer have the ability to sin ("non posse peccare" in the language of Augustine of Hippo). Some say as long as we don't violate the Ten Commandments or do anything TOO wrong, we haven't sinned. Well, yes and no. We don't have to constantly worry about obtaining forgiveness for every mistep, and God's grace covers me, but that doesn't mean I can just go about living life how I want. Paul says that we shouldn't continue in sin that "grace may abound." We are called to repent of our sins, but we need forgiveness continually because we can never live up to perfection. For example...  

Read Mark 12:28-31

What are the 2 greatest commandments? Love God, Love your neighbor. 

What would your life look like if you followed these commands completely? Would it look the same as it does right now? Can you say you've followed these perfectly your entire life, or even the past year, or even the past week? 

So, if you cannot say "yes", then you've sinned. You've violated the GREATEST commands, and you have need of God's forgiveness. So, as we go through this next few days, let us think on these two commands and follow them to the best of our abilities. 

Have a good day! 

Jeff Griffith