The Healing of the Paralytic, Part 2

Introduction: The Emerging Opposition to Christ

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, May 13th, 1984, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. In the brief ministry I just recently completed in South Carolina, Thursday evening and Friday, the pastor was recounting to me one of the trials through which he passed in the church to which he came some six years ago, when people began to carry their Bibles and follow as the preacher read and preached. Some of the old guards said, we don't like this fanatical religion. And when someone said, what do you mean by this fanatical brand of Christianity? Well, he said, this whole idea of people bringing their Bibles and rustling pages when the pastor's preaching and then talking about their experience with Christ. The end of the service.

1:07 Well, may God ever give us those dimensions. If it's fanatical religion, then may the number of the fanatics become legion.

1:18 And with that little introduction, please turn to Mark's Gospel and rustle your pages as you do, and you'll not offend anyone here.

1:29 Mark's Gospel, Chapter 2, and follow as I read verses 1 through 3. The Gospel according to Mark, Chapter 2 and the first verse. Speaking of our Lord, in this section of Mark's Gospel, in which he is recounting our Lord's Galilean ministry, and when he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was noise that he was in the house. Many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, no, not even about the door.

2:07 And he said, And he spoke the word of God unto them, or spoke the word unto them. And they come, bringing unto him a man sick of the palsy, whom we will herein refer to as a paralytic, born of four. And when they could not come near unto him for the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. And when they had broken it up and let down the bed whereon the paralytic lay, and Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven.

2:46 But there were sitting certain of the scribes, but there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man thus speak? He's blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but one, even God? And straightway Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said unto them, Why do you reason these things in your hearts?

3:13 Which is easier, to say to the sick of the palsy, or to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise, and 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 unto you, Arise, take up your bed, and go unto heaven. And go unto your house. And he arose, and straightway 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.

3:58 Now let us again seek the face of God in prayer. Holy Father, we vow again with much gratitude, Holy Father, we vow again with much gratitude, that we have your holy and infallible word as a lamp unto our feet, and a light to our pathway. We thank you that the vast majority of those present this morning have come with their Bibles, in the full expectation that they would need their Bibles to be instructed to see and to hear your very words as given to us in the Scriptures. And yet we know that to be present with eagerness, and even with our Bibles, is not enough if we are to understand your mind and your will. O Lord, how desperately we need your Holy Spirit, presently and powerfully active in our minds and hearts, that we may understand aright your holy word. Give us then that promised gift of the Holy Spirit, give us then that promised gift of the Holy Spirit, as the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of yourself,

5:23 that we may know you and know your ways, and may run in the way of your commandments. Meet us and speak to us, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Now as we began our study of chapter 2 of Mark's Gospel last Lord's Day morning, I pointed out to you that there is an evident contrast between the unrivaled popularity and mass acceptance of our Lord as preacher, teacher, and miracle worker, as recorded in chapter 1 of Mark, and this emerging climate of opposition and hostility seen in chapter 2. Here in chapter 2 and continuing on into chapter 3 and climaxing in verse 6, Mark gathers together incidents which become the occasion of this opposition to our Lord, opposition which centered in the leaders of the organized religion of Israel. That is, in the person of the scribes, the Pharisees, and the doctors of the law.

Review: Jesus' Knowledge and Authority to Forgive Sins

6:50 Now in our study last Lord's Day, we examined the first of these incidents which became the occasion of the opposition of these leaders in Israel. And it centered around the healing and the forgiving of this paralyzed man who was born by four of his friends into the very presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now having spent most of the allotted time in simply expounding the basic facts recorded in verses 1 through 12, we had time only by way of application to focus upon that which is the central truth of the passage, the witness that it bears to our Lord Jesus, a witness affirming that he knows what is in man, and that he has legitimate and validated authority to forgive the sins of men. And those are the two great central truths with respect to our Lord Jesus so clearly taught in this passage. He could see the faith in the hearts of the four who carried the paralytic. He could see the faith that was in the heart of the paralytic himself.

8:16 He could see the reasonings that were going on in the minds and hearts of the Pharisees. And he answers to thoughts as we answer to words. And we are thereby taught with abundant evidence in this passage in the language of John chapter 2 that our Lord needs not that any should testify of man for he knows what is in man. And then of course the great bone of contention which caused these religious leaders to accuse him of blasphemy was that he spoke a word of absolution, a word of pardon in such a way as to give the distinct impression that he possessed plenary authority to pardon sinners. He did not speak a promise of pardon from Jehovah as prophets and apostles and in a sense as any ordinary Christian may do. But he spoke to this man, Son, your sins have been forgiven in such a way that they perceived that he had plenary authority to forgive as only God can forgive. And then he goes on by this miracle of healing to demonstrate that he does indeed possess such authority because of who he is in his person as God and who he is in his position

The Significance of the Title 'Son of Man'

9:45 as God's anointed Messiah. Now I promised you that we would go back to the passage today not to go over the facts of the exposition as we did last week but to draw out some of the other lines of teaching and application which are so vital to our understanding of the ways of God and of our responsibility as his creatures. And as we do that this morning I wish first of all to go back to the passage with you and note that in it we are given an introduction to a significant title of our Lord. Here in this passage we are given an introduction to a significant title of our Lord. Mark never forgets the great burden of writing this narrative. Chapter 1 and verse 1 the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. He's concerned to set forth the good news that centers in Jesus Christ God's Son.

10:59 Now much of that good news comes to us in terms of the doings and the sayings of Jesus Christ. The gospel is an announcement of facts concerning the doings and the sayings of Jesus. But the gospel is also a wonderful message that is often distilled in the names and in the titles of Jesus. You will remember this at the very conception of our Lord when Joseph was troubled about discovering that Mary was with child and was wrestling with respect to his duty in the light of the Old Testament law that the angel appeared to him and said Joseph don't be afraid to take Mary to be your wife for that which is conceived in her as of the Holy Spirit she shall bring forth the Son you shall call His name Jesus for He shall save His people from their sins. In other words the gospel is distilled in the personal name Jesus. It means Jehovah saves or Jehovah is our salvation. And so the names and titles of our Lord in a very unique way constitute a distillation of the gospel.

12:24 And here in the passage read in your hearing and expounded in more detail last Lord's Day we are introduced to a significant title of our Lord. And that title is the title the Son of Man. Notice verse 10. But that you may know said Jesus that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins.

12:56 And this is the first use in the gospel of Mark of that peculiar title of our Lord the Son of Man. But it won't be the last use. Fourteen times in the gospel of Mark we will encounter this title the Son of Man. Beginning here and concluding in chapter 14 and verse 62 fourteen times we'll encounter the title the Son of Man.

13:27 And I can think of no more appropriate place in our verse by verse study of the gospel of Mark than to spend a few moments this morning seeking to grasp the heart of the significance of that title so that every time we come to it in the exposition of Mark you can read into that title at least the essential elements of its God ordained significance. Now it may surprise you to learn that many learned articles great portions of books and even individual books have been written seeking to expound the richness of this title the Son of Man. In many ways it's an elusive title. It has baffled some of the most sanctified scholarship which has ever adorned the church. Sad to say it has also provided fuel for some of the most wretched productions of unbelieving pseudo scholarship in the history of the church.

14:37 Now it's a strange title particularly in this regard. With the exception of John 12.34 and Acts 7.56 it is never used by anyone else other than our Lord Himself.

14:55 Of its almost 80 usages in the New Testament with the exception of John 12.34 and in the English the dying words of Stephen recorded in Acts 7.56 it is Jesus who always uses it. He is not referred to by others as the Son of Man He continually refers to Himself as the Son of Man.

15:25 Now that's the first thing we need to understand about this title. It was our Lord's own special title with reference to Himself. You remember that familiar passage recorded in Matthew 16. Who do men say that I the Son of Man am?

15:47 It was Jesus' own special title for Himself. He does not most frequently refer to Himself as the Messiah. He does not refer to Himself as the Son of God but He delighted in His own self-identification in this peculiar title the Son of Man. Now for that reason alone we dare not simply pass over it and get on with the next incident in Mark's Gospel.

16:17 So that's the first thing you need to understand about this title. It was Jesus' own favorite self-designation. The second thing you need to understand is this. It is a Messianic title with its roots.

16:33 In Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14. And by Messianic we mean one of the titles that every intelligent Jew understood would be given to their Messiah. In Daniel chapter 7 Daniel in vision sees the following verse 13 I saw in the night visions and behold there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man and he came even to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him and there was given him this one like unto a son of man and yet who comes with what we would call the paraphernalia of deity the one who comes with clouds is Jehovah the one who comes with clouds of glory is God and this one comes and draws near to the ancient of days and there was given him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion

17:59 which shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and so the second thing you need to understand about this title the son of man is that it is a messianic title with its roots in Daniel chapter 7 now in his own day when our Lord used this in the presence of Jews they did not seem to be shocked at the use of that title in John chapter 12 one of the two references where someone other than Jesus uses the title we note the following John chapter 12 and verse 34 the multitude therefore answered him we have heard out of the law that the Christ the Messiah abides forever how do you say the son of man must be lifted up who is this son of man? so you see their problem was not that the term son of man was identified with Messiah but that in the use of it Jesus had earlier said the son of man must be lifted up and they said we know from our Bibles from our Old Testament scriptures certain things about Messiah and our understanding is that as the anointed king

19:27 he will come to triumph over his enemies but this Messiah this son of man who comes to exaltation by way of being lifted up in death by the path of rejection we don't understand this you see the stumbling block was a Messiah who must first suffer and then come into his glory but there is no contradiction that the term and the concept of the son of man was to some degree understood even by our Lord's contemporaries as a messianic title now the third thing we need to understand about this title is this it was a title used primarily not exclusively used primarily in conjunction with two predominant concepts or themes by our Lord and the two predominant concepts in which we find particularly in the Gospel of Mark the use of this title are these his sufferings and his death on the one hand and his future return in power and glory on the other hand let's just look at a couple of specimens here in Mark's Gospel in Mark chapter 8 in Mark chapter 8

20:56 and verse 31 and he began to teach them that the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again you find this emphasis again in 9.31, 14.21, 41 and several other places in Mark it was a title which our Lord used particularly in conjunction with predictions concerning his sufferings and death on the one hand but also when he prophesied his future return in power and in glory look at 8.36 for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life what shall a man give in exchange for his life whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation the son of man also shall be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels so he says it is the son of man who must suffer and this same son of man who will come with power and with glory

22:21 you find that emphasis in 13.26 and 14.62 so in a very real sense this self-designation blended the realities of our Lord's identity and his functions as the suffering servant of Jehovah and the exalted messianic king you say Pastor that's an awful lot to get into my head well I'm sorry I don't know how else to do but to teach the word of God I can't do your thinking for you I'm sorry I can't do your thinking for you Jesus seemed to take this title and use it for a very special reason that he might embed in the thinking of his followers those two great pivots of his own messianic identity and function as Messiah he is the suffering servant whose obedience will culminate in the obedience of the cross and he is the exalted messianic king and in the use of this title the son of man those two concepts dominate particularly in the usage of the term here in the Gospel of Mark so we've learned three things about the title thus far number one it's Jesus' own special favorite

23:49 term of self-identification self-designation secondly it's a messianic title with its roots in Daniel 7 13 and 14 thirdly it is a title used primarily in conjunction with these two prominent themes suffering and death on the one hand and future power and glory on the other and then the fourth thing that I want to say about this title is it is a distinctly divine dash human title it is a distinctly divine human title in the mystery of God's act in Mary's womb there was constituted the God man in the language of John 1 14 the eternal word always being equal to God he himself being God it is said of the word that he became flesh now he didn't cease to be the word and become something else and then become flesh the word continued to be all that he ever had been true undiluted

25:16 essential Godhood is in the word and the word becomes flesh he takes to himself a true humanity in the mystery of the incarnation so that what is constituted in Mary's womb is what the theologians call the theanthropic person theos the Greek word for God anthropos the Greek word for man theanthropic person and in this one person in the two distinct natures there is constituted the God man a divine human person who alone can accomplish the work of man's redemption and this title the son of man more than any other title underscores that great reality that our savior is a divine human person now maybe you've heard well the title son of God points to his deity the title son of man points to his humanity where there's a little element of truth in that but there's more error than truth in that you know what the final straw was that as it were brought upon our Lord the expression of rejection

26:44 that drove him to the cross it was not claimed to the title son of God it was claimed to the identity of the son of man in Daniel's vision notice it in chapter 14 of Mark's gospel Mark's gospel chapter 14 verses 62 or we can back up to verse 61 but he held his peace and answered nothing and again the high priest asked him and said are you the Christ are you the Messiah the son of the blessed are you the Christ the son of God now notice Jesus' answer and Jesus said I am and you shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven that language is taken right from Daniel 7 13 and 14 and the high priest rent his clothes and said what further need have we of witnesses you've heard the blasphemy you see if the term son of man pointed primarily or exclusively to the reality of his manhood then the response would have been well wait a minute I've asked you are you the Christ

28:13 the son of God you say you are only son of man well things aren't as serious as we thought they were oh no in the mind of the high priest in the mind of those who heard these words the Christ son of the blessed and son of man are all divine titles and the one who uses them if he is not divine is guilty of blasphemy and this title then more than any other is a distinctly divine human title which points to the foundation block of our redemption namely the constitution of the theanthropic person in whom alone you and I have a savior what is Mark's gospel what is the good news concerning Jesus Christ son of God it is that he is indeed the son of man he is God and man joined together in the mystery of the hypostatic union as much God as though he were no man as much man as though he were no God now what do we learn from that well basically two things having set before you this distilled essence of the meaning of the title

Lessons from the Title 'Son of Man'

29:41 son of man first of all we must learn never to impose our notions upon violence upon Bible terms but allow scripture to interpret itself we must never impose our notions upon Bible terms but allow scripture to interpret itself on the surface of things we would think coming into Mark 2 and we encounter for the first time the title that you may know that the son of man has authority all that means that Jesus is simply acknowledging that he is a true child of humanity isn't that what son of man or son of mankind means no that is not what it means it may appear to say something which could mean that but allowing scripture to interpret scripture we see that the title means something profoundly more than that now never forget that in your handling of the word of God your first impression of the words of the Bible may not necessarily constitute the true meaning of the Bible the meaning of the Bible is the Bible not something we impose upon the Bible you see the point I am making learn that then from our brief study of this introduction to this special title then learn in the second place

31:10 that we must never think that the simple unadorned narratives of the gospel are less doctrinal than the more complex argumentative dissertations of the epistles many people have the notions well if only we could get back to the simple non-theological Christian experience of the gospels with their lovely stories about Jesus and healing and teaching it's when you get into those epistles and Paul and Peter writing all that stuff and you get these terms justification and sanctification it's all over my head I want the simple religion of the gospels don't you ever think for a moment that the gospels are less theological than the epistles it may not be as patent but it is there at least in its latent form and often at the most surprising places and here in this introduction to this special title of our Lord the whole doctrine the foundation the foundational doctrine of the mystery of the Christian faith 1st Timothy 3.16 great is the mystery of godliness he who was manifested in the flesh the foundation block the cornerstone on which the whole scheme of redemption is built is the uniqueness of the person

Demonstration of the Grace of Faith: Primary Concerns

32:38 of the God-man our Lord Jesus Christ and it is this title son of man which points us in that direction again and again now then in the second place as we go back to the passage things that I did not have time to pause and underscore last week we not only have in the passage an introduction to a significant title of our Lord but in the second place we have a demonstration of some of the fundamental concerns and actings of the grace of faith we have a demonstration of some of the fundamental concerns and actings of the grace of faith now faith as a spiritual grace and activity is no little factor in biblical religion if you have even a surface acquaintance with the Bible you know that faith is not the only factor in biblical religion if you have even a surface acquaintance with the Bible you know that faith is not the only factor in biblical religion if you have even a surface acquaintance with the Bible you know that faith is a central element in our salvation by grace are you saved through faith Ephesians 2 and verse 8 or again 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 7

34:07 we walk by faith and not by sight or again Galatians 2 20 we are saved by faith we walk by faith we live by faith and it's so vital a grace that the writer to the Hebrews says in chapter 11 in verse 6 without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him diligently so you see faith is so central within us and it is such a fundamental part of our life that we should be very careful about our own faith and that we have very important things in our lives our lives and also in our own life and it is to it is found in Hebrews 11, 1 and 2. Rather, what it gives us is vivid pictures of what faith does and how faith acts. Hebrews 11. By faith, you find that phrase again and again,

35:31 by faith, by faith, and what follows? Verbs of action. By faith, Abraham did this. By faith, Moses did this. By faith, Rahab did this. By faith, they did this. By faith, they did that. And so, whenever we're reading in a section where the actings of faith are highlighted, we need to come to those passages and say, what is there about the properties of faith which are clearly set forth in this passage? What is there about the actings of faith from which I can learn vital lessons? For God says in Hebrews 13, 7, considering your former leaders, imitate their faith.

36:17 Faith, in that sense, is an imitative grace. When we see how it works in another, we see how it should work in us. Well, I say there is in this passage a demonstration of some of the fundamental concerns and actings of the grace of faith. Notice several of them with me.

36:37 First of all, the principle. What are the primary concerns of faith? What are they? What are the primary concerns of faith? For faith is indeed a central grace in the passage. You remember we read last week and read again this morning, when the four people let down the paralytic through the roof into the presence of Jesus, it says in verse 5, and Jesus, seeing their faith, said, Whatever he did in giving absolution to the paralytic and subsequently healing the paralytic, he did so in the consciousness that the four who brought him and the man thus brought were exercising faith. So it is a faith context. And what do we learn about the primary concerns

37:32 of faith from their example? Well, we learn at least these three simple things. But oh, how vital things. Number one, we learn that getting into direct contact with Jesus and his power is the primary concern of faith. Getting into direct contact with Jesus and his power. Notice verse 3, and they come, bring unto him, that is unto Jesus, a man sick of the palsy, carried a four. They were coming to Jesus. Their faith wanted to bring their paralyzed friend into the presence of Jesus. When they got to the door and found the doorway was jammed, and they found that

38:20 people were spilling out into the street or to the courtyard, they were not content to be within 10 meters or 30 meters or 50 feet of Jesus. They were so determined to bring their need into the direct presence of Jesus that they went through the trouble. Of digging up the roof, letting him down into the presence of Jesus. And now it says, Jesus beholding their faith. It was the grace of faith that caused them to be determined to get into direct contact with Jesus and his power. Not simply near enough to hear his word. Not simply close enough to others who were experiencing the touch of his power. There was concern to get into direct contact with Jesus and his virtue and his power.

39:16 And so it tells us that they brought their sick friend unto him. Verse 4, when they could not come near unto him for the crowd. You see the emphasis. They came to him. Could God get near to him? And then they let him down into the very presence of Jesus. The second thing we see about the primary concerns of faith is in the paralytic himself. And it's this, that looking to Jesus for the meeting of our greatest need is the primary concern of faith. As we saw last week, when Jesus said to this man, son, your sins are forgiven, he said that because he saw that this paralyzed man had as his fundamental concern not the power of God, but the power of God. And so he said to this man, son, your sins are forgiven. He said that because he saw that this paralyzed man had as his fundamental concern not getting his limbs strong again, but getting rid of the weight of sin that lay upon his conscience. Jesus seeing their faith, the faith of the four, but the faith of the one whom they bore as well. And we see in that man that looking to Jesus for

40:29 the meeting of the greatest need, forgiveness of sin, was the primary concern of his faith. And then we also see in the third place that coming to Jesus for the meeting of the greatest need, forgiveness of sin, was the primary concern of his faith. And we see in that man that Jesus, with the confession that he can meet every lesser need, is part of the primary concern of faith. They were able to reason that if, for the paralytic was, that if he can meet my greater need of forgiveness, then surely when he says, rise up, take up your bed and walk, he has power to meet my lesser need. Oh, how desperately we need to learn some of those lessons. You see, true faith working in the heart of any man, woman, boy, or girl is not content simply to be near the crowd that is in touch with Jesus. It wants to be in touch with Jesus personally. Sitting here this morning, you're in the midst of a crowd that's near Jesus.

41:36 But I ask you, do you sit there as one who says, if I leave this place, without experiencing in my own heart, realized communion with the Son of God, if I'm not given to know the touch of His own grace upon my heart, I'll leave disappointed and brokenhearted? Or are you content simply to come and be near others who are in touch with Him? You see, true faith, like these men, is determined to get into direct contact. Contact with Jesus and His power, and furthermore, primary concern of faith is to look to Jesus for the meeting of our greatest need, which is the pardon of our sins. Oh, how the world then and now wants to seek Jesus for all kinds of things. Physical healing, material prosperity, psychological peace and rest, and a thousand other things. But the faith that is not in touch with Jesus is a faith that has as its primary concern to see in Jesus the one who can say to me, Son, your sins have been forgiven you. And to say to me in the gospel, I have

43:00 blotted out as a thick cloud all of your transgressions. And then the concern of true faith is to come to Jesus with the confidence that if He has met my greatest need, He can meet every lesser need. He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? It is not wrong to come to Jesus with every need, because we are commanded to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to let our requests be made known to Him. Well, we not only see something of the primary concerns of faith in the Holy Spirit, but we also see something of the practical actings of faith. And here in our passage, there are two that stand out on the surface of the text. The practical actings of faith are these. Number one, it enables us to carry others and their needs to Jesus. It is faith that enables us to carry others and their needs to

Demonstration of the Grace of Faith: Practical Actings

44:13 Jesus. First, the practical personal elements of faith are a concept of faith. They can be said to be godly, moral, and practical. But we also see something of the practical actings of faith, and here in our says it was the four who let down their friend into the midst, and Jesus seeing their faith.

44:25 Yes, it does include the paralytic, but surely it refers to the four. It was faith that moved them to bring their friend to Jesus. What a beautiful picture it is of what we do when we come to our blessed Lord with those who cannot help themselves, who are held in the paralysis of their sin. They have no legs to walk or run to Christ. Sin has paralyzed them. Sin has indisposed them. Sin has caused them to be utterly indifferent, perhaps, to Christ and to His gospel. But as men and women of faith, sin has paralyzed them. Sin has

45:13 Faith, what can we do? We can come bringing them to Jesus, not on a mat or cot as these did physically, but bring them in the wings of prayer and intercession to our blessed Lord, saying, Lord Jesus, if you will, you can. This is what faith does in its actings. It enables us to carry others and their needs to Jesus.

45:41 And the second thing we see about the practical actings of faith in the passage is this. It impels us to overcome obstacles in our determination to get to Jesus. It impels us to overcome obstacles in our determination to get to Jesus. When they came to the house and saw the crowd at the door, they didn't stand back and say, well, if it's the will of God we get to him, he'll send an angel to park the crowd.

46:11 I keep parking. We'll go to the Red Sea and we'll walk straight through with our friend and lay at the feet of Jesus.

46:20 They did not expect the intervention of an angel, nor did they stand back passively like hyper-Calvinists and say, what will be, will be, and we glorify God by submission to his will. If it was the will of God for us to get our friend to Jesus today, there would have been bad weather and the crowd would have been just...

46:41 No, what did they do when they saw a crowd? They became enterprising. They said, we brought our friend, not to get near Jesus, but to get him into the presence of Jesus and to know the touch of Jesus, and until Jesus himself does something to keep us at a distance, we're going to face every obstacle, not as an indication of the will of God that we should go home, but as a trial to our faith. The crowd at the door, that was the first trial.

47:12 And one can only imagine what they did as they had a little huddle. Brethren, what are we going to do? We can't get through that crowd. Everyone's jostling and pushing.

47:20 Why, if it were just one of us trying to sneak in, we might muscle our way through. But how in the world are we going to carry our friend and four of us? What are we going to do? And one of them spies the staircase going up under the top of the roof.

47:32 Hey, look, what is on the staircase? They knew how the roofs were constructed. It would be no difficult thing to break through the tiles, and in the language of Mark, to unroof the roof. Or in the language of Luke, to remove...

47:45 And so what are they doing? They're overcoming obstacles. They overcome the first one. They can't find access this way.

47:52 They'll try it this way. When they get up onto the roof, the tiles are there, but they weren't so heavy, they weren't so fixed that they couldn't be moved, so it says they unroofed the roof. They regarded the tiles and that crude form of mortar that stood between them and Christ not as a divine indication that the will of God was fixed and that they ought...

48:15 to back off and do nothing. Every obstacle was a challenge to faith.

48:21 And they pressed through every obstacle until their friend was dumped down right at the feet of Jesus. What a beautiful picture of how faith acts.

Overcoming Obstacles: A Challenge to Passive Faith

48:30 Faith acts not only in holy submission when confronted with an evident act of God that blocks up our way and we must cry, not my will, but thine be done. But all too often, the very thing God has set before us to test our faith, we, with our weak faith, piously call it an indication of the will of God that we should just back off and passively acquiesce. You remember in the Gospels again and again how Jesus commended those who triumphed over obstacles. That poor woman, that Syrophoenician woman who came seeking a blessing, Jesus insulted her, called her a dog, said, that it was contrary to his mission to help her, and she triumphed through all of it until finally he said, O woman, great is thy faith. What in the world can I do in the presence of faith like that but give you what you want? What do you want? What do you want?

49:31 O woman, great is thy faith. You see this notion that every little obstacle...

49:37 Well, I read in Providence that... Who made you an infallible interpreter of Providence?

49:44 We're to look back upon Providence and understand that we... We are where we are by the disposition of a divine hand that has led us.

49:53 But who are we to look out this way and read the will of God in Providence? We read the will of God by the Word of God. And when in pursuit of the principles of the Word of God, we find a crowd at the door, we look for another way in. And when we get on the roof and find tiles, we tear them up.

50:16 Men and women of faith are not those who sit back and passively lie down and play dead every time they face an obstacle.

50:29 They press ahead in the conviction that the God whom we serve is the God who brought His people to the edge of the Red Sea with an Egyptian army behind them and mountains to the left and the right and an impassable sea in front of them and He parks Red Seas.

50:48 When they come over into the land and they meet Jericho with its high and wide walls, they march around those walls until God flattens them according to His promise.

Application to Parents and Church Life

51:03 And what a word there is for us as parents. Some of you perhaps disappointed say, oh, I thought I'd get a Mother's Day message. Well, you see, if we preached a sermon for every day that's in the calendar, we'd never get through anything in this place. Mother's Day, Father's Day, Veterans Day, Hooky Boogie's Day, who knows what.

51:22 But surely there's an application for Jesus to come to us. There's an application for Jesus to come to us. There's an application for Jesus to come to us. There's an application for Jesus to come to us.

51:24 There's an application for Jesus to come to us. For dear mothers, who've given themselves in what is probably the most self-demanding exercise upon the face of the earth, the life of a mother. Oh, how you need to see in these men the practical actings of faith that ought to be transferred to your role as a mother, that amidst all of the pressing details of your duties with your children, that you continually bring them to Jesus us to do for them what you cannot do for them. You can change their diapers, and you can put food on the table, and you can and must seek to do all the things we're being instructed in in these Sunday night messages by Pastor Nichols, but there's one thing you and I cannot do. We cannot give them eyes to see the beauty of Jesus. We cannot give them ears to hear the word of Jesus. We can't give them hearts that will love the will of Jesus, but Jesus can. He can say to their ears, be opened. He can say to their eyes, be opened. He can

52:32 release and subdue bound and rebel wills. We need in the acting of faith to carry them and their needs to the one who can do something about those needs, and we need with reference to the molding of our children, as well as in the totality of our church life, to back off. From this idea that any obstacle is an indication God wants me to fold my hands and wait for some special intervention of God, no, God may plant that obstacle to test my determination to believe Him and to press on in the path of true faith. Well, the passage gives us then this introduction to a significant title of our Lord. Secondly, a demonstration of some of the fundamental concerns. Concerns and actings of faith. But finally, the passage provides a profound illustration of the method of grace in the salvation of a sinner. A profound illustration of the method

Profound Illustration of the Method of Grace

53:41 of grace in the salvation of a sinner. Often the miracles are pictures of how God saves sinners. And this miracle does indeed constitute a profound illustration of the method of grace in the salvation of a sinner. Because you see here, as in many of our Lord's miracles of healing, what Jesus commands a man to do presupposes that the very things he needs have already been given. Look at the passage. That you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sin. He said to the paralytic man, rise up, take up your bed and go to your house. Well, wait a minute.

54:37 How do paralyzed men get up? Pick up a bed and go home. If he had said, paralysis be gone, strength be imparted. Now, Mr. Palsied man, you're no longer palsied and paralyzed with the strength that I've commanded to come. Now, get up, pick up your bed and go home. No, you see, he doesn't do that. And again and again in the miracles of our Lord, he commands those who are being healed to do the things which presuppose that the healing has already come. You follow what I'm saying? Now, suppose this man thought like a lot of people think in our day. He's lying there on his pallet, on his little cot. And Jesus says, get up. He looks up and says, but Jesus, I thought you were full of grace. He says,

55:33 this is what my friends have brought me here for. I can't get up. I have no power to infuse into myself the strength to get up. Do you mock me, Jesus of Nazareth? I had heard that you were full of compassion and tenderness to sinners and to sick and paralyzed and maimed people. And now you mock me. Here I am lying upon my pallet and you tell me to get up. Paralyzed men can't get up. I can't get up. I can't get up. I can't get up. I can't get up. I can't get up. Paralyzed men can't roll up their pallets and go to their homes. That's why I'm here. I must feel some surge of divine energy in my body. I must hear some word that

56:22 commands the sickness to leave and the energy to be imparted. Then when I feel the intervention of your power, I will then comply with the directive of your command. But he didn't do that. No one had spoiled him with the curse of hyper-Calvinism. You know what the curse of hyper-Calvinism is in the method of grace? Listen to me. Some of you, if you don't get hold of this humanly speaking, may perish in your sins. God commands you this morning to repent and to believe the gospel. But you say, I know enough of my Bible to know that as a dead sinner, I have no power to repent and believe. God must give me the power before I can do what he commands. And you know what you're doing? You're lying on your pallet arguing with Jesus, saying, when he commands you to repent and to believe, that it's cruel of him to command you to do what you can't do. And until you're conscious of a sovereign

57:30 imposition of divine power in your soul, you will not even make the effort to repent and to believe. Method of grace. The method of grace is this. When he heard the word of Jesus saying, get up, pick up your bed, and go home. As he put forth an effort in his paralyzed state, lo and behold, in the very compliance of his will, divine power was imparted. And he got up, rolled up his cot, and walked home. And that's exactly the way it is. With the sinners coming to Christ, you sit back waiting for the heavenly zapping, and my friend, your zapping will come when God sends you to hell. You have no right to tell

58:26 God to bend to your method of grace. The word of command and promise is not enough for you. You want something more. Who told you you have a right to change God's method of grace?

58:42 He commands all. He commands all men everywhere to repent. You know what he wants you to do here and now today? Say, O God, you command me to repent. I know in and of myself I cannot, but I will to repent, and I will to believe. And in the willing, the mystery will be solved. You will find that God does indeed work in us to will and to work for his own good pleasure. Now on the way home, do you think that man stopped and said, you know, this is the way it is.

59:14 This is amazing. I was lying there paralyzed. He said, get up, take up your bed and walk. And I was conscious in the psychology of my own mind and heart of complying intellectually, volitionally, making an effort to get up. You know, I must have really contributed to my healing, you know. I was conscious of making a decision, I'm going to get up. And I was conscious of saying to myself, do you think he went home patting himself on the back? He was conscious that if he was up and walking, he was going to get up. And I was conscious of walking and carrying his bed. It was all due to the power of Jesus. And so any sinner who knows what he is by nature, who's enabled to repent and believe, has no silly notion that he contributed anything to his salvation. We are glad to confess that it is grace, grace, all of grace. But at the same time, the method of grace is not to work in some mysterious

60:15 way in which we want to live. We are glad to confess that it is grace, grace, all of grace. So first of all, feel that we have been given spiritual life. Then we will exercise it in repentance and faith. It is when you say, I'm determined to leave my sins this moment and flee to Christ this moment, that any obstacle you sense in the effort, you cry to him for grace to overcome it. That's the method of grace. And for the most part, all of that other talk is really grace. Just a very pious charade, because you love your sins too much to even begin to attempt to forsake them, and you're so full of self-righteousness that you won't even begin to attempt to throw your sin-sick soul on Jesus Christ for mercy. The problem is not that God won't zap you,

61:08 it's that you love your sin and you're full of pride. Oh, my friend, fall in with the method of grace this morning. Because in the gospel, Jesus says to you here this morning, repent, believe. As you seek to comply, you will find that he does not withhold the grace needed to repent and to believe the gospel. There is no other way, sinner. And you go on thinking you can get God to bend to your way, and you'll continue in your wretched sins, become hard-hearted and harder under the preaching of the gospel. And as we heard in the previous hour, your judgment will be greater for having heard the things that you have heard. So the passage not only sets before us the great central truth that the Lord Jesus knows our hearts and has full authority to forgive and pardon sinners, but it introduces us to this significant title of our Lord. It is a distillation of the foundation block on which the gospel is built. He is the God-man.

Conclusion and Prayer: Aggressive Biblical Faith

62:32 He is the Son of Man. It gives us a demonstration of some of the fundamental concerns and actings of faith. There's nothing in here that has to do with material prosperity, and the things we are told in our day are the great concerns of faith, but forgiveness of sin, getting into direct contact with God, and the great concerns of faith, but forgiveness of sin, getting into direct contact with the Son of God, and knowing his gracious ministry to our hearts. And then it contains this profound illustration of the method of grace in the salvation of sinners. May the Lord be pleased to write upon our hearts these lessons about these vital dimensions of the Christian faith, and may we take them to heart and live and think and pray and labor in the light of them. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for the richness of your holy word. We praise you for this portion in which our Lord Jesus is set before us in his complete knowledge of the human heart and in his rightful authority to forgive and pardon sin. But we also thank you for

63:57 these other lessons so necessary for our walk as men and women of faith. Forgive us for the many times when we have in our unbelief piously excused our unbelief under the cloak of submission to your providence. Teach us how to be aggressive in our faith, how to face every obstacle to biblical obedience as a trial and test of our faith. And oh, that we may, by your grace, wax strong in faith, giving glory to you, being forgiven and being saved. And oh, that we may, by your grace, wax strong in faith, giving glory to you, fully persuaded that what you have promised you are able to perform. We do thank you for the extent to which you've taught us individually and as a church. We think of our sitting in this building when, humanly speaking, no building could have been erected. We think of the many ministries you've entrusted to us, ministries taken on many times when the experts would say it was foolish. And yet, oh Lord, you've honored.

65:03 Your word that if we seek first your kingdom, all other necessary things would be added unto us. We thank you for the little bit we've tasted, the little bit we've known. But oh Lord, give us, we pray, the spirit of those four men determined to bring their needy friend to you, willing to do the unusual that they might bring him to the feet of the only one who could help him. Oh Lord, may we have that kind of faith.

65:33 That we shall yet see in our day mighty conquests of the power and grace of Jesus. Oh, may it never be said of Trinity Church that Jesus did not bear many mighty works because of their unbelief. Oh God, deliver us from the foul and wretched sin of unbelief and make us to be men and women of aggressive biblical faith. That we may behold your mighty works in our generation. Have mercy upon those who have hidden their unbelief and impenitence behind the false notion that something more must be given before they can comply with gospel commands. Oh God, deal with them this morning. Strip away, we pray, all of the deception and misconception. May they be loosed from their lives, in order to run to Christ. Oh God, seal your word, we pray. And to your name and to your name alone

66:42 be praise and honor and glory through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.