The Author's Evidence

Mark 2:9-12 “Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” he said to the paralytic, 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!”
 
JESUS is the author of life. (John 10:10). What joy to know he revealed the second of his double portion of grace for the man – and for Israel. (See previous lesson.) Jesus had first forgiven the man’s sins. Then he healed the man’s paralysis. Sin is gone. Sickness is gone. You can hear the excitement in the room, “We have never seen anything like this!”
   Indeed, the healing was astounding. And even more, they had never heard sins so graciously forgiven as Jesus’ spoken word. This was a radical change from God’s precise laws of repentance through animal and grain sacrifices, detailed in Leviticus. When God forgives sins, he removes them from his mind. Hebrews 8:12 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” How could this happen with one sentence?
   God’s new way of forgiveness came to Israel when the Son of Man came with the Father’s authority to advance the kingdom of God. The teachers of the law would know “Son of Man” was Jesus’ deliberate reference that he is the Messiah as revealed in Daniel 7:13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. This was Jesus’ direct claim to be Divine. The Father gave to the Author of Life all authority, glory and sovereign power over the kingdom of God. The authority to heal was the evidence of his authority to forgive sins. Jesus taught that he, the Son of Man, had the power with the spoken Word. There had been many miracles before this, and there were many more after, including Jesus’ stunning resurrection! But God’s authority did not penetrate many hearts. This refusal to truly believe God’s Word is the reason Israel suffered for many centuries. It is the reason the world suffers today.
   In faith you can know Jesus, the Author of Life, has authority to receive your confession and announce, “Your sins are forgiven.” The One who has spoken the world into existence speaks his forgiveness into your life everlasting: John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”