The Opposition Begins, Pt. 2

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When Jesus showed up in the first century, people couldn’t ignore Him. His words carried weight, His miracles defied explanation, and everyone wanted to know what would happen next. Pastor Nick Gatzke takes us to a shocking scene when four friends lowered a paralyzed man in front of Jesus; and His response was not what they expected.

Of course, we know that Jesus would lay down his life for his friends, for you, for me, for those who do what he commands, who put their faith in him. But here’s something to consider. What does your love make you willing to do for a friend who doesn’t know Jesus but needs to know him? I mean, it’s striking to me. I look at my own life and I know the lives of many of us. We might be willing to meet a friend that we enjoy and pay for their meal. We might be willing to buy a friend that we know and love an expensive gift. And for those that we’re really close to, we might even be willing to lay down our life for theirs. But at the same time, we might not be willing to take them to the Savior. Maybe we’re scared to do it. Maybe we don’t want to risk being offensive to the person that we love. But take an example from these four faithful friends who are friends full of faith.

Exercise great faith in the Lord and great love for your friend and bring them to Jesus.

According to the CDC, every day about 10 people die in the U.S. from unintentional drowning. the leading causes of unintentional death in the U.S., and there’s a lot of misconceptions about it. The biggest one being many people assume that those who are drowning will somehow splash or yell or wave their hands for help. I mean, wouldn’t you assume that when someone is desperate? I mean, that’s the way at least they show it on TV. But actually, drowning is far from obvious. The Coast Guard and Rescue Service has identified something that they call instinctive drowning response. When someone is drowning, a person will instinctively display the following five characteristics. The first is that, except in very rare cases, drowning people are physically unable to call out for help. Why? Because we’re designed to breathe first and speak second. Number two, drowning people can’t stay above the water long enough to exhale, inhale, and then call for help. Number three, drowning people can’t wave for help because they’re forced to have their arms extended laterally to try to press down against the surface of the water. Number four, drowning people cannot voluntarily move towards someone who is seeking to rescue them or a piece of rescue equipment. And number five, unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water between 20 and 60 seconds before sinking under again. The Coast Guard emphasizes this instinctive drowning response is triggered by a host of nervous system responses. In other words, it’s completely involuntary and unlearned and unavoidable. It’s just what happens in your body.

It strikes me that those who are drowning spiritually sometimes have a similar instinctive drowning response. In other words, they often do not know how to cry for help. And unless they’re rescued by another, they will continue to sink. That’s a good principle there. We’re helpless to save ourselves. Our salvation has to come through Christ’s intervention and Christ often intervenes through people who will bring the one in need to the Savior. Take an example from these four faithful friends who are friends full of faith. Exercise your faith in the Lord. and exercise your love for your friend and bring them to Christ.

The tension in the room is rising rather quickly. Those in attendance are packed together, shoulder to shoulder. It’s hot in there. It’s getting sweaty. And some among them are people of honor. The scribes are listening. to the preaching of Jesus. The scribes, many of which are part of the Pharisaical class or Pharisees, are teachers of the law who taught how to observe the purity laws, how you can remain pure in your life. And they’re listening to Jesus. And it’s interesting that as they are, they’re not trying to direct traffic or make way for the paralytic to be healed. They’re just kind of hanging back and listening. And apparently, watching the whole thing unfold. And it will become clear in a very short minute that they are the real paralytics in the story. So seeing that they are present, and now having a man laying on the floor right next to the kitchen table, and trying to make a point, Jesus says in verse 5 to the man,

Son, your sins are forgiven. Now, why did he say that? For some, that might seem a little bit cruel. I mean, after all, the guy just wants to walk. He’s not coming looking for absolution. Just help him walk. For others, it might seem necessary. I mean, after all, in the ancient world, some people believe that if you were born with a disease, then that was probably because you carried the consequences of your parents’ sin. And so he needed to be forgiven. And Jesus, looking right at the man’s face and right into the hearts of the scribes, says, son, your sins are forgiven.

Now, why would he say that? It’s amazing that the scribes didn’t just stand up and yell and pitch a fit right away. Blasphemy, you think they would yell? I mean, after all, many who follow them would yell that exact claim. This was one of the charges against Jesus all the way up to the very end. Even the high priest Caiaphas, in the final secret trial before Jesus was crucified, tore his clothes, yelling blasphemy as he would send Jesus away.

But here they say nothing, but they didn’t need to. Because Jesus perceived their hearts and their hearts were questioning and even raging at what Jesus had just said. I mean, it is no small thing to take the words of God and the actions of God and apply it to yourself. You got to be careful there. This is something you do not want to joke about. And this is certainly something. do not want to take lightly. You don’t take lightly the words of God and the actions of God. People are killed for that type of blasphemy. And verse 7 says that they thought that exact thing to themselves. Why does he speak like that? He’s blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? The opposition to the king is beginning to rise in the hearts of some men.

And Jesus perceives the rage and the opposition in their hearts. Oh, the room could not have any more tension now. Think about it. The crowd was deep and the room was packed and it was hot in there. The roof was destroyed. The paralyzed guy is laying on the bed next to the kitchen table. Jesus just forgave the guy. The scribes are beet red in the face and the steam is pouring out and the people are looking at them and looking at him and looking at them and looking at him. And then Jesus reads their minds and tells everybody what they’re thinking.

So why would he say that in this situation? Well, he tells them in verse nine, which is easier to say, To the paralytic, your sins are forgiven? Or to say, rise, take up your bed 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 say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.

The kingdom of God is at hand and the king is here. He has displayed tremendous authority in the last handful of days. But how far does that authority extend? He has the greatest authority, even the authority to forgive sins. I said it so that you would know that this is how far my authority extends. It extends all the way to forgiveness.

The son of man’s authority is great, even great enough to forgive sins. And it’s interesting that Jesus speaks to the scribes and he refers to himself as the son of man for the first time of many in the gospels. He will refer to himself more in this way. This title, the son of man, occurs a number of times. In the Bible, in the Old Testament, and the scribes would surely know the reference because the picture of the son of man in Daniel chapter seven is vivid and it speaks of authority and power and kingdom. All of the things that Jesus is starting to display right now in their very midst.

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

You remember the son of man and Daniel? I am that guy. I have that authority. That kingdom is this kingdom. That authority is the authority of God. And that authority is even the authority to forgive sins. And all the air was sucked right out of the room.

And to prove the greater miracle of forgiveness, Jesus performs the lesser miracle of healing. Both are easy for him. He’s the king. But to show the greater he does the lesser, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all.

The paralytic was walking and the scribes were paralyzed. Jesus was preaching and then Jesus was forgiving. The kingdom was here and the king has complete authority and the opposition was beginning to rise in the hearts of some men. The son of man’s authority is great, even great enough to forgive sins.

And look at the result of the others who saw it. It says in verse 12, and so that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, we never saw anything like this. And all of a sudden that packed room with no more space created an aisle as this guy got up and walked out and the crowd outside just parted like the Red Sea as they all looked around and said, what? We’ve never seen anything like this. And God was glorified.

How far does the authority of King Jesus extend? The authority to forgive sins. Jesus can do anything he wants, from the smallest thing to the greatest thing. Miracle upon miracle, but the greatest miracle of them all? is the forgiveness of sins. And he is willing to forgive yours.

You know, some of us make the mistake of thinking that our sins are unforgivable. Others of us make the mistake of thinking that Jesus has certain types of influence or inspiration or maybe even authority in my life, but his authority doesn’t extend that far. And some of us make the mistake of thinking, that we can control our sins in such a way that they will not ultimately harm or control or paralyze us.

I think of the snake man in the Philippines. His name was Bernardo Alvarez, 62 years old, who caught a venomous northern Philippine cobra and had claimed that he was immune to the poisonous venom of the snake. He claimed in front of a crowd that he had tamed that deadly creature, showing the cobra in front of this cheering crowd. And Alvarez held the snake close to his face, pretending to kiss it before the snake lunged forward in his hand and bit him right in the tongue. The bite caused the shocked man to scream out in pain as he collapsed to the ground, and within minutes, his body was paralyzed. Death ensued shortly thereafter. The medics tried to revive him when they finally arrived on the scene, but the snake expert was gone. He is unresponsive, and his body had already stiffened from the venom. You know, you might be able to hold on. Try to control that favorite sin of yours for a little while, but eventually it’s going to bite you in the mouth and it’ll paralyze you and even lead to your destruction.

But know this, if you are paralyzed in your sin, there is one who has the power and authority to help you to walk again. If your sin weighs heavily on your soul and the burden is becoming so great that you can’t bear it, you need to know that there is one who is gracious and awaiting to forgive you and to remove the burden. And if you question of whether or not you are beyond redemption, then you need to know that there is one, only one, no one else who can forgive you and restore you to God except for Jesus. That is how far his authority extends. The son of man’s authority is great, even great enough to forgive you of your sins.

Let’s pray. Lord God, we worship the King Jesus. Father, we pray that you would help us to know and to feel. the weight of his authority and how that authority is extended into our world and how the benefits of his authority apply to us. Father, for those who have not yet bent the knee but are sensing even now the need for forgiveness, we say, come Lord Jesus and extend your hand that we might walk. Father, for those who need forgiveness again and again, people like me, we thank you that God’s, that your son’s authority is such and his grace is such that he will forgive even again and again. We worship him now. Amen.

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This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy, but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.