Mark 2
Mark 2:3-5 NIV
[3] Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. [4] Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. [5] When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
I am impressed by the faithfulness of the four men to the paralyzed man. They actually had to lift him up on the roof, dig a hole in the roof, and then lower him down in front of Jesus. How many people are you willing to exert so much effort for so that they can be reconciled with Christ?
Mark 2:5-7 NIV
[5] When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” [6] Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, [7] “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
It is interesting to me that in this instance the man is healed not due to his own faith but by the faith of his friends.
The teachers of the law realized that by forgiving sins Jesus was claiming to be one with and have the power of God.
Mark 2:16-17 NIV
[16] When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [17] On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
How easy it is to socialize and get together with our friends, neighbors, or others like us. Much more difficult to have a heart for the downtrodden, the homeless, the needy, those with AIDS or other communicable diseases.
Mark 2:21-22 NIV
[21] “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. [22] And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Jesus is indicating here that the Pharisees that are against him are like the old wine skins and will not accept his new teaching. People still struggle today with his teaching and invent ways to earn their way into heaven when all they have to do is accept the free gift of his death and resurrection for eternal life.