The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Mark 1:29-2:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

²⁹ And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

³² When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

³⁵ In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched for Him; ³⁷ they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” ³⁹ And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons…

2 When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. ³ And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. ⁴ Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. ⁵ And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? ¹⁰ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” ¹² And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

There are many people today who would portray Jesus as someone who, when He walked the earth, hung out with common people, sinners and went around like some forerunner of the 60’s hippie movement promoting an anti-establishment, peace and love philosophy. In today’s text Jesus says:  “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”  Jesus came to preach and what He came to preach was the message of the kingdom of heaven. From the beginning of His ministry His message was “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.(Matthew 4:17)  Luke 4:16-21 is an account of a time early in Jesus ministry, a time when Jesus reveals His mission from the Father.

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

²⁰ And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus didn’t come to “chill” and hang out. Jesus came to preach the gospel. It wasn’t the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John He preached. The word gospel means good news. Jesus came to preach good news, to proclaim release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind. This proclamation of release and recovery was and is the good news of the kingdom of heaven. It is a spiritual release and recovery. It would be Jesus sacrifice on the cross which would complete the release and recovery, but His message, His purpose was to prepare people for the kingdom. That preparation was and is through repentance.

Later in today’s text we see the account of some men who so sought a healing miracle for their friend that when they could not carry him into Jesus presence, they lowered him through a hole in the roof. There are many valuable lessons that we can learn from this account. It begins:  And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. ³ And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. ⁴ Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. ⁵ And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”      I want to focus today on what Jesus said first to the paralytic man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus often tied healing and deliverance to forgiveness. The first part of that is that regardless of a person’s physical condition, circumstance or need, their spiritual condition is what is most vital. Jesus came to preach and proclaim the good news, release and recovery in the spiritual realm. The physical healing that followed Jesus attention to the spiritual condition was evidence of the earthly realm lining up with the heavenly realm. We are told by Jesus to pray, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. When the spiritual is addressed and lined up with heaven, the physical can follow.

There is another vital lesson for us in this account. It continues:    But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? ¹⁰ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”            Who has authority to forgive sins? There are many today who speak frequently of Jesus teaching that we should not judge. He says: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.(Matthew 7:1-2) James 4:12 says: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?      The one judge, the one who judges is of course Jesus.

 Let’s look at the other side of that though. We are taught that we are to forgive others for the offenses and the hurts they cause us. We are to “forgive as we have been forgiven” We are to forgive others, but to forgive sin is not ours. The psalmist rightly recognizes that sin is against God.   Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:4)  The one who judges is the one who can declare forgiveness. Just as we are not to judge others, we also do not have the authority to determine what is and what is not sin. God does that through His word and in the end will do it for each individual.   it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,(Hebrews 9:27)     Jesus did not come to hang out with sinners, to tolerate and condone sin. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. He endured the pain and anguish of the cross to pay the price for sin. To think that if He were here today He would embrace that which caused Him so much suffering is foolishness and deception.

It’s not our job to judge. Neither do we have the authority to forgive sin against God. Galatians 6:1 says: Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.   Our job is to, like Jesus, preach and proclaim the good news of the kingdom, to proclaim release and recovery, freedom from bondage and sin. We are to be agents of restoration to God, pointing to the cross of Christ. He alone is judge and He alone can forgive the sins of man.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; neither judgment, conviction nor forgiveness of sin against You is mine. As I have received forgiveness, have been redeemed, reconciled and restored through Christ, I will proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven has come. It is available to all through the cross of Christ.    Amen.