Turn with me to Mark, Mark chapter
2. Lord willing, we're going to
look at the first 12 verses here this morning of Mark chapter
2. The title of the message is this.
We never saw anything like this. We never saw anything like this. Look at verse one. And again, he entered into Capernaum
after some days, and it was noise that he was in the house, that
the Lord Jesus Christ was in the house. And straightway, many
were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive
them. No, not so much as about the
door. and he preached the word to them. Can you imagine that sight? A
room so full that you couldn't even get the doors open or closed.
Folks heard that the Lord was preaching and they came to hear
him, to hear what he had to say. He preached the word. How important
is it that we hear the gospel. How important is the preaching
of the word? You know, that's the, we see
that command throughout God's word. And it's this, preach. Preach the word. It's, listen,
it's not, it's not entertain. There's a lot of that goes on
in our day. It's not build gymnasiums. It's not build this or build
that. It's not give lectures, it's
preach the word. Paul told Timothy, he said, preach
the word. Be instant in season, out of
season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering. He said,
there's gonna be times when the gospel's well-received, preach
the word. There's gonna be times when the
gospel is ill-received, What do we do in those times? Do we
close shop? No, we continue to preach the
word, preach the gospel. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 21 says,
for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God, but it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. unto them." Our Lord, he gave
that same command to his disciples. He said, go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. Listen, in preaching
this word, we declare that all men are fallen. All men are dead
in trespasses and sin. They're sinful. They're lost.
We declare that God has a people. A people chosen in Christ from
before the foundation of the world. A people that He came
to save. The Lord Jesus Christ, listen
to this, He came to seek and to save that which was lost. We declare that the Lord Jesus
Christ is risen. He's exalted. He dwells in glory. We declare that he has grace
sufficient to meet the need of every lost sinner in Christ. And that whosoever believeth
in him shall be saved. shall receive the Holy Ghost.
They shall be raised to walk in newness of life. They're gonna
be made holy. They're gonna be brought safely
to Him, each one, each one. And then listen, to preach the
gospel, it is to declare the Lord Jesus Christ, who He is,
what He did, Why he did it, where he is now. Listen to this verse of scripture.
How shall they call on him in whom they've not believed? And
how shall they believe in him of whom they've not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And we declare this gospel, listen,
we declare it, we declare it in love, We declare it in plainness
of speech, we declare it boldly without apology. The Lord in
John 6, turn there with me, hold your place in Mark, and turn
to John chapter 6. John 6, look at verse 65. Listen to the words of our Lord.
He spoke. He spoke and he said this. He
said, I say unto you that no man can come unto me except it
be given him of my father. What if men don't believe that?
What if we declare that truth and men don't receive it? Listen,
whatever men believe or whatever men will accept, it's God's truth that men will come to Christ.
And that no man can come to Christ except the Father which sent
him draw him. Except that man is taught by
the Spirit of God. And this drawing, listen, it's
of the Father. Listen, I could stand up here
and say come to Christ until my face turned blue. But the
Spirit of God must put life in the heart of a sinner and draw
that man. Draw that woman, draw that young
person to Christ. It's of the Father. It's according
to His sovereign will. Is that too hard of a statement? Maybe some will hear that and
they'll say, I just don't believe that. Men are still convinced
they have a free will. And I tell you, those that refuse
to come to Him will do so at their own peril. Look at verse
66. When our Lord spoke, men refused
to hear the truth. Look what it says there, verse
66. Our Lord spoke that, and it says,
from that time, many of His disciples, not His true disciples, they
went back and they walked no more with him. Look at verse
67. The Lord Jesus, he spoke to the
12. He said, he said, will you go
away? Will you do that? Will you go
away? How did they reply? To whom shall we go? There's no other refuge. There's
no other truth. To whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And they said, we believe. Oh,
we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son
of the living God. One hope. One hope. God was in Christ reconciling
the world. to himself, not imputing their
trespasses to them. The gospel, listen, it's the
word of reconciliation. God sent his son to this earth
to take upon himself the form of a servant, to take upon himself
the nature of man. He came in the flesh. He was
sinless, but he came in the flesh. and he wrought a perfect righteousness. He had a perfect obedience and
he died. He died upon the tree. He suffered
the just for the unjust. This word declares repentance
toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We declare, listen,
we believe on the Lord. Scripture says this, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. He that believeth, what about
those who refuse to believe? What about those who stomp their
feet and cover their ears and say, I'm not gonna hear this? He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned, condemned eternally. Well, back to our text, Mark
2, verse 3. He preached the word. Well, verse
3, they came to him, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was born of four. He was carried in by four men. Consider his condition, this
man's condition. Just consider it for a moment.
He's weak. He's feeble. He's unable to do
anything. As a result of his condition,
his disease, he couldn't walk. He had to be brought. He had
to be carried again by these four men. That's our condition. Listen to a few of these words
found in God's Word. Naked, poor, blind, wretched,
miserable. That's a description of us. And we come to Him, listen, in
weakness. We come to Him confessing our
need of Him. We come empty. We come hungry. Empty, desiring to be filled. Hungry, desiring to be fed. We must be fed from Him. Listen,
even if it's just a crumb. That one woman, she was satisfied
with just a crumb, wasn't she? just a crumb from the master's
table. We come knowing that we are nothing
and that Christ is all. Listen to a few words just from
this hymn. Guilty, vile, and helpless we. That's talking about us, isn't
it? Spotless lamb of God was he. Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah. Hallelujah, what
a Savior. This man is sick of palsy. You ever wonder why? Why the
palsy? Why is it this man had the palsy? Or any illness or sickness for
that matter. Over in John 9, there was a blind
man brought to the Lord. And in John 9, verse 2, it says,
as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth
and his disciples. This was the question they asked.
They said, Master, who did sin? Why is this fellow blind? Who
sinned? Was it this man? Was it his parents? Is that the reason? Was it a
sin of theirs that he was born blind? And Jesus answered and
he said, neither has this man sinned or his parents. What's the purpose of this? That
the works of God might be made manifest in him. Do we think that way? Do we sometimes
look about ourselves and about others? And in the midst of sickness
and trial, do we ask ourselves, what have I done? What have I
done to bring this about? Listen, there's no mistake in
suffering. affliction, death, these are
all the result of sin. Scripture says, wherefore as
by one man sin entered in the world and so death by sin. Death passed upon all men for
that all have sinned. But listen again to the disciples'
questions here. They say, Master, who sinned? Huh? Was it this man or was it
specifically, was it this man or his parents? that he was born
blind. And Jesus answered, he said,
it wasn't this man, it wasn't his parents, but that the works
of God might be manifest in him. He's not saying that this man's
mother or father were not sinners. That would be counter to everything
in the Word of God. Scripture clearly says, all have
sinned and come short of the glory of God. But it wasn't a
particular sin of these parents or the mother or the father that
caused this child to be born blind. The purpose is that the work
of God might be made manifest in him, that God might be glorified. Scripture says that God in all
things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. That was the purpose of
Lazarus' death. If you go back and read that
account, it says when Jesus heard that Lazarus was dead, he said
this, he said, his sickness is not unto death, but for the glory
of God. That's the whole purpose. For
the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Peter, Peter's death. Scripture says, this spake he
signifying the death in which he should glorify God. to glorify God. That's the purpose
of all things, to get glory to His name. To the only wise God,
our Savior, be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, both now
and ever. Mark 2, verse 4. When they could not come nigh
unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was,
And when they broke it up, they let down the bed wherein the
sick of the palsy lay. And when Jesus saw their faith,
he said unto the sick of palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the
scribes and the Pharisees sitting there and reasoning in their
hearts, and they said, why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? Now here we see that this man
had, he had one need. He was sick of palsy, but listen,
he had one need that was greater than that. And there's only one who can
meet that need. Now these scribes and Pharisees,
they were right when they said none but God can forgive sin. It's God against whom we have
sinned. It's God against whom we've committed
sin. David said, against thee and
thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. They just refused to believe
that Christ was God. They just refused to believe
that he could put away sin, and only Christ can put away sin. If any other man would have said
this in that room, his disciples or anyone else, it would have
been blasphemy. Men try to do that in our day. Who can forgive sin but the Lord? Man can't do that. Man does not
have power to forgive sin. Man does not have the ability
to put away sin. That is absolute blasphemy. Only one can. Only one man can, and he's the
God-man. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God. Now back to this man with the
palsy. Just like you and I, he has one need, one great need. What is that need? Is it wealth? A lot of folks looking for wealth.
Is it health? Is it to be healthy? What is
it? Look at verse five. It says,
when Jesus saw their faith, he said unto them, he said to the
sick of the palsy, son, Thy sins be forgiven thee. That's my problem. That's this
man who's sick of the palsy's problem. That's the problem of
each and every one of us. It's sin. And notice this term
of endearment. Christ refers to him how? As
a son. Before he does anything for this
man, he calls him a son. What's he saying? Same thing
as I point to these boys up here and say, my son. They belong
to me, right? They belong to their parents.
Son. He refers to him a son. Have you ever, in the midst of
trial and affliction, Wonder, am I truly a child of God? Am I his? You reckon that was the case
with this man sick of the palsy? Wonder how much comfort that
brought to him when he heard the master say, when he looked
at him and he said, son, oh, I am his. But before one word,
one word of forgiveness is spoken, he calls him son. And despite his current affliction,
which is great, what is he? He's a son, isn't he? Even in
the midst of this affliction, he's still a child of God. Someone, I don't know who wrote
this, they said afflictions aren't arguments against sonship, they're
evidence of it. What's God's word say? For whom
the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. He scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth. And if you endure chastening,
God dealeth with you as sons. For what son is he of whom the
father chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement,
whereof all are uptakers, then you are bastards. You're not
legitimate sons. Son. He calls him a son. Again, before he speaks one word
of forgiveness, he's a son. A son by divine predestination. We've been predestinated to the
adoption of children. We're a son by virtue of his
covenant grace. 2 Corinthians 6.18, let me just
read this to you. I will be a father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters. saith the Lord God Almighty. My great problem, my great need,
sin. I need the forgiveness of sin. And there's only one, only one
who can, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he stands before this man,
this very hour, and he calls him a son. He says, you're mine.
And then he looks at him. Listen to these words. Son, thy
sins be forgiven thee. Forgiven. Blotted out. Blotted out of God's book of
death. They're covered. They're out
of his sight. They're removed as far as the
east is from the west. They're cast into the depths
of the sea to be remembered no more. Hebrews chapter 8 verse
12. Turn there with me. Hebrews 8. Look at verse 12. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness. Listen to this. And their sins
and their iniquities shall I remember no more. My sin. that which has separated me from
God. It's been put away. Well, Mark
2, verse 8, let's continue on here. Mark 2, verse 8. Immediately, when Jesus perceived
in his spirit that they so reasoned with themselves, he said unto
them, when they were in their hearts
accusing Him of blasphemy. They didn't say it out loud.
We do that, don't we? We think a lot of things in our
head. The Lord knows all things. He sees all things. There's nothing
hid from Him. And He confronts them with the
truth. He said, why reason ye these things in your hearts?
Is it easier for me to say to the sick of palsy, thy sins be
forgiven thee? or to say, arise and take up
thy bed and walk. Whichever, whatever the Lord's
pleased to say. Whether he says either one of
those things, thy sins be forgiven or take up thy bed and walk,
he's omnipotent. He's all powerful. And his power is gonna be revealed. You know, to say a man's sin's
been taken away, truly, there's no way to see that, right? You
can't look. But that physical demonstration,
a man who's carried in there by four men and lowered through
the roof, when the Lord speaks and says, take up thy bed and
walk, question's gonna be put to rest there, isn't it? He has
all power. Listen to just a few of these
things. Take up thy bed and walk. What about that fellow that had
that withered hand? What was the command? Stretch
forth thy hand. All these are things that men
in these conditions could never do in and of themselves. What about this? When he said,
Lazarus, Lazarus' body had laid in that grave to the point that
it began to smell. And the Lord speaks and says,
Lazarus, come forth. When our Lord speaks, he speaks
in power. He said this in Matthew 28, all
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. He has all authority,
all power over all flesh. He's king. You know what that
makes us? Subjects. He is subject. The scripture
says that he died that he might be Lord of both the living and
the dead, of the saved and the unsaved, of the believer and
the unbeliever. He died to be Lord. and every creature in this
earth is under his sovereign majesty. He's king. He's king of kings and lord of
lords. All are subject unto him. He
has no rival. He has no competitor. He said,
listen, in Philippians, God has given him a name above every
name that at the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, every knee
is gonna bow, every tongue is gonna confess, Every tongue,
tongues of angels, tongues of men, tongues of devils, tongues
of demons, tongues of everything on this earth, under his divine
control, under his divine power. Every knee's gonna bow, every
tongue's gonna confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. So whether he says, Thy sins
be forgiven thee, or take up thy bed and walk. Is either one
of those easier than the other? Is either one of those more difficult
than the other for our Lord? Mark 2, verse 10. He says that
you might know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive
sins. He says to the sick of the palsy,
I say unto thee, arise, take up thy bed, and go thy way into
thine own house. What's the result? What happens
when the Lord speaks in power? See it throughout the word. Listen,
we saw it from creation. He spoke the world into creation. When the Lord saved Zacchaeus
and he said, Zacchaeus, come down. What did Zacchaeus do? Listen, he came down. And afterwards,
he was a new man, wasn't he? He said, half my goods I give
to the poor. If I've taken anything from any
man for the wrong reasons, I'm going to restore it to him fourfold. When our Lord told that man with
the withered hand, reach forth thy hand. His hands withered. How is that possible? With the
command comes the power. The Lord spoke to him. He said,
stretch forth thy hand. And scripture says this, he stretched
it out and his hand was restored whole as the other. What happened
when he commanded Lazarus to come forth? Don't you know people
stood around and just Mocked? What happened? He that was dead
came forth unbinded. Well, in Luke 9, 11, it says,
the Lord went about and he spake unto the folks concerning the
kingdom of God. And this is what he did. He healed
them that had need of healing. Was this man in need? No question
about that, is there? Did the Lord put away his sin?
He absolutely did. Did he heal him? He absolutely
did. Look at Mark 2 verse 12. It says,
immediately. Immediately. He didn't have to go down to
the gym and do any rehab, did he? Immediately. He arose. And not only did he do that,
he took up his bed and he went forth. He stood up, he grabbed
that bed he'd been laying on all that time and he picked it
up and he carried it with him and he walked home. Wouldn't
that have been an amazing sight? It says here, in so much, they
were all, everybody standing around seeing this, they were
all amazed and they glorified God saying, we never saw it. on this fashion. Are you in need of healing? In need of the forgiveness of
sin? What's the answer? Take our place as a sinner. This
fellow was, listen, he was He was laying flat on the ground.
He was laying on his back on that, whatever that bed was they
carried him on. Helpless. That's how we come to Christ.
Helpless. Take your place as a sinner and
flee to him. He that can forgive sin. Healeth all our diseases. He that is able to keep you from
falling and presents you faultless before his presence with exceeding
joy. Look again back here at verse
12. The people, they saw this man
healed. And they were all amazed. And
they glorified God. He who is worthy of all glory,
of all praise, of all honor. And they said this. We never
saw it on this fashion. We would say it like this. We've
never seen anything like that. Never seen anything like that. What'd he do? He preached the
word. He healed a man. He put away
his sin. fellow that was laying on his
back and now, listen, he's, not only is he standing, he picks
up that bed and he walks on. I ask you, who gets the glory
in that? Who'd they glorify? Did they
glorify that man for getting up or did they glorify the people
that brought him in? What's scripture say? They glorified
God. And they said, we've never seen
anything like this. Our Lord was, we read this in
our scripture, but our Lord, he was teaching there in John
8. I was thinking about this this
morning, just the similarities. This man was brought by four,
they must have been pretty dear friends, weren't they? All that
effort, all that effort to get this fella in front of the Lord. But you know, there in John 8,
there were a few men. They certainly weren't friends
of that woman, were they? They drug her. Their intentions
were completely different. It wasn't to see her saved. They
drug her in there to publicly humiliate her and try to catch
our Lord up in something. Their intentions were evil. I often think about that. The intentions of good men, the
intentions of evil men, but listen, that's insignificant. In both these cases, what happened?
That woman was brought before the Lord. This man, he was brought
before the Lord, and in both cases, what happened? Their sins
put away. There's nothing, nothing that's
going to stop him in his purpose, in saving his people. All right,
Isaac, come lead us in a