Sermon #6 Series:
Mark
Title: Four Fantastic
Friends
Text: Mark 2:1-12
Readings: Office: Auditorium:
Subject: Our Lord’s Ministry At
Capernaum
Date: Sunday Afternoon - January 5, 1996
Tape # T-26
Introduction:
The title of my message this afternoon
is Four
Fantastic Friends. You will see why when we read the text. Blessed
is the person who has just one friend like the four the man in our text had.
Mark 2:1-12 "And again he
entered into Capernaum after some days;
and it was noised that he was in the house.
(2) And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no
room to receive them, no, not so much
as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. (3) And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which
was borne of four. (4) And when they
could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he
was: and when they had broken it up,
they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. (5) When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
(6) But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in
their hearts, (7) Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can
forgive sins but God only? (8) And
immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within
themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? (9) Whether is it easier to say to the
sick of the palsy, Thy sins be
forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? (10) But that ye may know that the Son
of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the
palsy,) (11) I say unto thee, Arise,
and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. (12) And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth
before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying,
We never saw it on this fashion."
Without any introduction, I want to
show you four very important lessons
from these verses. May God the Holy Spirit, whose words we have read, be our
Teacher today. May he be pleased to take the things of Christ revealed here and
show them to us, effectually applying them to our hearts, that we may both be
instructed in grace and that we may be enabled to worship our God.
I. The first obvious
lesson to be learned from these verses is that Those Who Live Under But Do Not
Believe The Gospel Are The Greatest And Most Blameworthy Of All Sinners in The
World.
This is a truth that is strikingly
illustrated by the history of Capernaum. No other place in Palestine enjoyed so
many displays of our Lord’s miraculous power, so much of his presence, or so
many words of instruction from his lips as the city of Capernaum. After he left
Nazareth, our Master dwelt at Capernaum (Matt. 4:13). Capernaum was the
headquarters of his ministry. His sermons were often heard there. His miracles
were performed there. He was both well-known and very popular there. The people
of Capernaum gathered in great crowds to see him and to hear him. They were
astonished at his power, dazzled by his words, and awed by his Person.
Mark 2:1-2 "And again he
entered into Capernaum after some days;
and it was noised that he was in the house.
(2) And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no
room to receive them, no, not so much
as about the door: and he preached the word unto them."
These would be very delightful things
to read were it not for one sad, sad fact: - Nothing that our Master said or did seems to have had any lasting,
spiritual effect upon the hearts of the people at Capernaum.
Isn’t that amazing? The men and women
of Capernaum lived under the bright, dazzling, noonday brilliance of the Sun of
Righteousness. Yet, they were unconverted. Rather than being melted to
repentance, they were hardened against Christ by their spiritually barren
familiarity with him.
It was against this city that our Lord
Jesus pronounced his heaviest curse and condemnation.
Matthew 11:23-24 "And thou,
Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if
the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it
would have remained until this day. (24) But
I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the
day of judgment, than for thee."
Hear
these things and be warned. Never was there a people so highly favored as
the men and women of Capernaum. Never was there a people more hardened against
the gospel. Never was there a people more severely condemned by our God. Let us
beware of walking in their steps!
The same gospel which is a savor of life unto life to those
who believe it, is a savor of death unto death to those who believe it not! The
same fire that melts the wax hardens the clay. None are so hardened as those who are gospel hardened. From such
hardness may God be pleased to keep us by his grace.
II. The paralyzed man in our text shows us the second very important lesson. Great
Afflictions, Trials, and Sorrows Are Often The Forerunners of Great Blessings.
Mark 2:3-5 "And they come
unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. (4) And when they could not come nigh
unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had
broken it up, they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay. (5) When
Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee."
I do not for a moment doubt that this
poor, impotent man spent many hours in every day of his miserable life asking,
“Why did God do this to me? If there
is a God in heaven, if he is good and wise and gracious, why did he give me
these bum legs and mangled feet?”
Neither do I doubt for a moment that from this day forward,
he never ceased to thank God for that lifelong trouble which at last brought
him to Christ and brought the forgiveness of sin to his soul! He would never
have been brought by his friends to the Master had he not been in such a
miserably helpless condition.
“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform.
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill,
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread,
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense;
But trust Him for His grace.
Behind the frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour.
The bud may have a bitter taste;
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain.
God is His on interpreter
And He will make it plain.” - William
Cowper
Children of God, the paths of our lives are well ordered; for they are ordered by
our heavenly Father, who is too wise to err, too strong to fail, and too good
to do wrong.
III. Thirdly, we learn from the behavior of this man’s friends that Faith
In A Mighty God and Savior Produces Diligence In The Use of Means.
Look at verses three, four, and five again.
Mark 2:3-5 "And they come
unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. (4) And when they could not come nigh
unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had
broken it up, they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay. (5) When
Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee."
The Holy Spirit does not tell us who
these men were, where they lived, or what their occupations were. We know
absolutely nothing about them except these five
things.
A. They had a
friend who was in need of mercy.
B. They believed
that the Lord Jesus Christ could heal their friend of his terrible paralysis.
C. They brought
their needy friend to the place where Christ was working miracles of mercy.
D. They were not
deterred by obstacles, hindered by difficulties, or put off by problems.
E. They saw their
friend saved by the Son of God.
These four men, Bros. Faithful Fred,
Witnessing Willie, Praying Perry, and Diligent Dan, got what they wanted. Their
friend was cured, both physically and spiritually. God honored their labors of
love which were the fruit of their faith.
Mark 2:5 "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick
of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."
IV. The fourth lesson
taught in this passage is the fact that There is One Man, Only One Man In All The
Universe Who Has Power on the Earth to Forgive Sins and Speak Peace To The
Hearts of Men.
Mark 2:6-12 "But there
were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, (7) Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? (8) And immediately when Jesus
perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto
them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? (9) Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say,
Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
(10) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to
forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) (11) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way
into thine house. (12) And
immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch
that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this
fashion."
The Son of Man, our Lord Jesus Christ,
has power on earth to forgive sins, because he who is the Son of man is also
God the Son.
·
No angel can forgive
sins.
·
No mere man can
absolve the guilty. No Pope! No Priest!
·
No Church or
denomination can pardon the guilty.
·
Not even God himself
can forgive sins apart from Christ.
·
Only the God-man
could obtain the forgiveness of sins for us and grant forgiveness to us.
Christ is the
Fountain opened for cleansing from sin. I point you to the Fountain; but I cannot
forgive your sin or even pronounce you forgiven. Only Christ can do that. We
must go to Christ, go directly to Christ, and go to Christ alone for
absolution. He is our only Priest, our only Mediator, our only Advocate, our
only Way to the Father.
·
God’s justice demands
satisfaction. Only Christ could give it.
·
God’s holiness
demands perfect righteousness. Only Christ could give it.
·
Our guilty
consciences demand the same, both righteousness and satisfaction. Only Christ
can quieten the guilty conscience.
Application: I
hope that we will each apply the things taught in these verses to our own
hearts.
1.
Let us pay for grace that we may profit by the privileges
God has given us.
2.
Let us learn to look upon our trials as forerunners of God’s
blessings.
3.
May the Lord God give us the kind of grace and faith
exemplified in these four fantastic friends.
4.
Let us ever give thanks to God for Christ, our sin-atoning,
great High Priest and Advocate, and go to him constantly for the forgiveness of
our sins.
Amen.