Mark 2:1-12: What's Wrong With You

"And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to

the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.'" Mark 2:5

What's wrong with you? Well, perhaps a lot of things. But at the core-level, at the very bottom of the bucket, if we cut down all the weeds and get to the root of the issue, what is really wrong with you? What is really wrong with us as a fallen humanity? And how can it be fixed?

In Mark 2, we find a paralyzed man coming to Jesus. Now, the man did not come to Jesus alone but was aided by four friends. The setting was chaotic: many men and women stood outside the place where Jesus was teaching, and there was little room to enter. Yet through the crowds, the paralytic's friends made a way for him to get to the man who could heal him. In fact, this "way" in which they got to him was through the roof (surely this was a great excursion). Great faith was taken by the paralytic and his friends to get the paralytic to Jesus. They believe that Jesus could heal, so they did whatever they could to get to him.

At this point in the story, the original audience was holding their breath. A man who could not walk had just been lowered through the roof of the house while Jesus was teaching in it. What would Jesus do? Would the teacher rebuke him for interrupting his session? Or would he heal the paralytic, the very thing which he desired? Well, we find here that Jesus does neither. Rather, he forgives the paralytic: "And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven'" (Mark 2:5).

When reading this story, this comment by Jesus seems very out of context. The paralytic was most obviously coming to Jesus for physical restoration, not spiritual restoration. Yet, what we find here is this: that Jesus knew the real problem of the paralytic. The real problem was not that he was paralyized, but that he was dead. The real problem was not that he couldn't stand on his feet, but that he couldn't believe with his heart. Thus, Jesus, seeing his faith, pronounces him forgiven, fixing the man's real problem.

In response to this, the scribes (the "academics" of the day) condemn Jesus for blasphemy, and in fact it would have been blasphemy, that is, if Jesus Christ was not the second part of the Trinity. Yet, we find that Jesus Christ was (and is) God, the very "Son of Man" (cf. Daniel 7:13-14). Thus, in response to the scribes, Christ tells them that he did this in order to show that he has authority to forgiven men of their sins. And after this (like a true protagonist of the story), Christ tells the man to rise, pick up his bed, and go home. In other words, just in case the scribes (or we!) were wondering, Christ has the power to fix the physical problem as well, though this is of secondary importance. In the end, we find the men around Christ glorifying God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" (Mark 2:12).

From this story, we learn two simple lessons: that our primary problem is spiritual, and that Christ has the authority to fix that problem. First, our primary problem is spiritual. The paralytic came to Christ looking for physical healing, but Christ first gave him spiritual healing, since this is what he needed most. Though he may not have known it, Christ gave him what he really needed, not what he thought he needed. Secondly, we find that Christ is the solution to our spiritual problem. By his death and resurrection, we can be fully forgiven and counted righteous before God. Praise the Lord!

So, dear friends, what's wrong with you? Once again, perhaps many things. Yet at the core of the issue, your problem is spiritual. Although there are mental, psychological, physical, and medical problems in this world (which this story so greatly shows to us!), our primary problem is spiritual. All else is secondary to our standing before God. For those who have been forgiven by Christ, this problem has been ultimately healed, yet we walk each and every day in Christ's power, continuing to conquer our sin, and thus continuing Christ's victory over our spiritual problem, working out what God is working in (Phil. 2:12-13). Yet for those of us who have not been forgiven, let us realize that we first and foremost need to repent of our sins and believe in the Gospel, that we may be saved (Mark 1:15, Rom. 10:13). Aside from this, our primary problem still exists. Glory be to God! Who both shows us of our spiritual depravity yet offers healing amidst it!