Verse of the Day 3/10

Verse of the Day 3/10

Mark 2:9-11   Which is easier, to say to this paralyzed man, 'Your sins are now forgiven,' or, 'Stand up and walk!'? ¹⁰ But to convince you that the Son of Man has been given authority to forgive sins, ¹¹ I say to this man, 'Stand up, pick up your stretcher, and walk home.'"    The Passion Translation (TPT)

Our men's Bible study group is going through the book of Mark and we'll be in Mark 2 this week.  Going back to chapter 1 and now in chapter 2 you realize that Jesus' mission is all about life change.  He calls the disciples, they follow and will never be the same.  He heals people of diseases and from demon possession and there is life change.  In today's verse we see another healing, but it has to do with the forgiveness of sins and the lifting of the weight of guilt.

Those who turned and followed Jesus experienced life change.  Those who received healing experienced life change.  Others didn't.  The crowd wanted to see a show, it was something that they would talk about but soon they would be back to their old life, no real change.  The Pharisees were blind to the meaning of what Jesus was doing, what He was offering.  He was offering life change, offering to be right with God, but they would have none of it.

At first glance you might say that it was easier for Jesus to offer forgiveness than to heal.  What do you think?  Max Lucado expounds on it and challenges us to grasp this as he writes:

"You answer the question. Which is easier for Jesus? To forgive a soul or heal a body? Which caused Jesus less pain — providing this man with health or providing this man with Heaven?    To heal the man's body took a simple command; to forgive the man's sins took Jesus' blood. The first was done in the house of friends; the second on a hill with thieves. One took a word; the other took His body. One took a moment; the other took His life."

Jesus had the authority then to heal then as He does today.  He also has the power to forgive based on the life, His precious life that was given for us.

Do you need life change today?  It can be physical, emotional or spiritual, either way; Jesus has the power and authority to bring it about.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Mark 2:4-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has ^[a]power on earth to forgive sins"—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." ¹² Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"