Mark 2:5-6 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts
The gospel of Mark is a gospel of action. It is the story of the Lord Jesus in His earthly ministry. Oftentimes you find words like “straightway,” which is to say, “Lickety-split, no time wasted.” Mark indeed wastes no time in getting right to the ministry of the Lord Jesus. There is obviously a battle going on between good and evil, the Lord Jesus Christ and the devil who would oppose Him. These forces that are shown to be real and literal.
In Mark 2 we read about evil spirits and we read about the Holy Spirit. In Mark 2 we read about the kingdom of God and we are reminded of the devil as the prince of this world who tempted the Lord Jesus. We find people being impressed with the need for a point of decision, repentance, a change of mind about Christ and Who He is. So, there is a war going on which Mark 2 gives in graphic detail.
Over and again in Mark 2 you find the greatest enemies and the greatest friends that Jesus seems to have in his earthly ministry. They are almost always found together, that is to say, in contrast one to the other. If I were to ask, “Who were Jesus’ greatest enemies?” you might well say, “The scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees.” The Sadducees were not normally friends of the Pharisees, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend, or so they thought. So, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and even the Herodians, who were more political, all had opposition to Jesus in common.
To whom did Jesus give grace? He gave grace to people like publicans, sinners, harlots, and others. For instance, Mark 2:3 and 5 says, “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” This was a man in need. In contrast you have the scribes. They were religious, well thought of, virtuous in the traditional sense. They reasoned in their hearts, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” Because Jesus knew their thoughts he said, “Whether is 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? But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of palsy,)…take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”
Which is easier, to forgive a man’s sins or to heal him of a physical illness? The answer is that it is more difficult to forgive sins because God is the only One Who can do that, but it is easier to see the healing of a man’s sickness. The point here is that the down and out, the weak, and the needy were the ones to whom Jesus gave grace. The scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, those who didn’t see their need of the Lord Jesus, were Jesus’ greatest enemies. Many times in Mark 2 and 3 you find a contrast between those who were needy and knew it and those who rejected Jesus because they thought they were okay.
You will never follow close to Jesus until you sense your need. Sometimes we think, “Well, Jesus gave grace to bad sinners like publicans because they were nice sinners.” Nothing could be further from the truth. When Jesus passed by Levi, a tax collector, and said, “Follow me,” He didn’t do that because Levi was a nice bad person. He was a thief. Do you feel kindly towards someone who steals your money? Publicans were dishonest thieves at the very least. Jesus didn’t show grace to them because they were nice bad people, but because they were needy and knew it.
The scribes and Pharisees were needy but they were just good enough to think they were okay, so they rejected Christ. You’ll never follow close to Christ until you sense your need. God does not respond to virtue. He responds to need and He gives virtue. Levi didn’t follow Christ because he was virtuous. He was called because he was a sinner and knew it.
The takeaway is that you are going to live alone for as long as you think you can. Oftentimes we think, “I’m virtuous and disciplined. I read the Bible every day and I pray.” Those are good things, but the bottom line is closeness to Christ. It is not a matter of your virtue but a matter of your need and your honesty in recognizing that.
If you look back on the times when you were closest to Christ, it may alarm you to realize that most of those times were times of great need, illness, financial stress, problems or people you had questions about. The times you were most prone to drift were when you were healthy, wealthy, wise, felt you didn’t need Christ and didn’t see your need.
There is a war going on. The greatest enemies to Christ were those who did not see their need. The greatest friends were people who were needy and knew they needed Christ, like the tax collectors and sinners. Today, don’t wait for calamity. In times difficult and good, realize Who Jesus is, realize that you need Him, and enjoy the blessing of fellowship.