The Son of Man Cares
When I think of Grandma, I think of cinnamon roles. What you have to understand about me is that I am the youngest of four sibling. And my dad was the youngest of seven children. So three out of four of my grandparents were dead before I was born. And, by the time I came along there were so many grandchildren that I was more of a number than a name. But when we went to grandma’s house I could tell that Grandma cared for me. I could tell because I could smell it. As soon as I came in the front door of Grandma’s house I could smell fresh cinnamon roles. Grandma had arthritis. And Grandma had a hard time at 80+ years old talking to a little child. But I could tell she cared for me because I could smell it and taste it. In your life, what are the ways that the people around you show that they care for you? In the words we look at this morning we see so very clearly that Jesus, the Son of Man cares. But even more importantly, we see how he cares for us. In Mark 2 we read: “1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 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.” (Mark 2:1–4 NIV11-GKE)
As we read these word we see that these four men cared for their friend because they showed it. They cared for their friend so much that when they got to the house where Jesus was at, instead of turning home, they lifted their paralyzed friend to the top of the roof. They dug and tore the roof away. And then they lowered the man to lay at Jesus’ feet. But what’s interesting here is what Jesus sees. We read: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” (Mark 2:5 NIV11-GKE)
What does Jesus see? Jesus doesn’t as much see their effort as their faith. And what follows is fascinating. They go through all this effort to lay their friend at Jesus’ feet so that he would heal him. But Jesus doesn’t do that. Instead Jesus cares enough to see what they do not. Jesus cares enough to see that the most important thing this paralyzed man needed was not healing for his body, but instead healing for his soul. He needed forgiveness. So he says to the man, “Child, your sins are forgiven you.”1 These words begin to make sense to us when we have chronic, continual pain and sickness. When you have chronic pain and continual sickness. I came from a congregation where the people were much older than they are here overall. And when a person deals with cancer, COPD, and arthritis over the course of decades your body begins to wage war against your soul. You pray for relief, but there is none. And where you end up is asking the question, “Jesus, don’t you care?” You conclude that you are not saved from your sins. Why? Because you are sick every day. You conclude that you are not forgiven. Why? Because you are so frail everyday. But Jesus shows that he cares. He shows that he cares by seeing what no one else saw that day. He made sure that that man knew before his body was healed that his sins were forgiven.
And Jesus does the same for us today. When I first moved to Pennsylvania, I would get a flu every Advent. Every December I would get this horrible flu. And I would pray for the Lord to take that horrible sickness and weakness away. But, finally, after several days, what did I get around to praying for? Forgiveness. That should have been the first thing I prayed for. But it was not because our sinful natures train us to think that we don’t need forgiveness. Instead, what we need is earthly health and earthly happiness.
But my dear friends in Christ. Jesus cares for us. He cares so much that he addresses what is most important: our forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross to take away our sins. And yes, even that sin of forgetting how much we need forgiveness is paid for there on the cross. And not only does he pay for our sin on the cross, but he also delivers that forgiveness through his word. And that is why this time we have in God’s word is so precious and valuable. For when God’s word is read, sung, and preached here in church Jesus is showing how much he cares for you. He cares for you enough to deliver forgiveness to you through his word. And the same happens at home. Whenever you open you bibles you are growing in faith. But don’t lose sight of the fact of what else is going on. As you read God’s word Jesus is delivering forgiveness to you.
So, with all the crowds around Jesus, squeezing him in, what he shows and preaches to his people is how much he cares. He cares enough to see and give what we need: forgiveness. But there’s more in these words: “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?”” (Mark 2:6–7 NIV11-GKE)
Jesus cares for us. And he shows this not just by seeing that we need forgiveness. He shows us by fighting for that forgiveness. In that great crowd of people gathered around Jesus there were scholars and professors of God’s word. They did not like Jesus. And they were looking for anything they could find against Jesus. And when Jesus forgives this man’s sin they remember a key teaching in God’s word. They remember that the only one who can properly and rightly forgive sin is God.
Now, my dear friends in Christ, Jesus knows this. He knows that the moment he addresses what this paralyzed man needs most, forgiveness, that is the moment the scholars and experts in the law will hate him. That is the moment they will begin to plot and plan to kill him. That is the moment they will begin to make his life miserable then and torturous as Jesus dies on the cross. Jesus knows all of this and yet he does it anyway. Jesus fights for this man’s forgiveness. For what good is it for Jesus to win this man’s forgiveness on the cross and deliver it through his word and then lose later on? So Jesus protects this man’s forgiveness and preserves it. He fights for it even though it means his own persecution and death.
And isn’t it sad to know that Jesus fights for us, but there have been times in our lives that we didn’t fight for him. There have been times in our lives when we know we should have taken our stand. We should have shared our faith. We should have said something to stand up for our Savior—but we didn’t. What a shameful sin that is. But that’s why these words are so precious to us. For what Jesus did for this man, he also does for you. Jesus wins your salvation there on the cross. He delivers it to you through his word. And he fights for it every day. The apostle Paul tells us: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 NIV)
Jesus cares. He cares enough to see what is most important to us. Jesus cares enough to fight for what is important to us. But where do these words end? “8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” (Mark 2:8–12 NIV11-GKE)
Is there any god that has ever been preached that is as wise as your God, the Triune God? Is there any Savior who has cared enough as your Savior, Jesus who sees the forgiveness that you forget and then fights for it? Well then, if this is true, then let our reaction to these words be the same as the crowds was. Let us praise God in our hearts and with our voices. This morning speak your praises to God and even sing them. For in these words you see how much Jesus cares for you. Amen.
1 “ⲧⲉⲕⲛⲟⲛⲁⲫⲉⲱ̅ ⲧⲁⲓⲥⲟⲓⲁⲓⲁⲙⲁⲣⲧⲩⲣⲓⲁⲓⲥⲟⲩ” (Mark 2:5 GNT-ALEX)