The Paralytic in Mark 2: A True Example of Obedient Responsiveness
One of the most helpful things a Christian leader can do for the average lay person is to offer practical ways in which the life of faith can be lived out day by day. Great illustrations of this life abound all throughout the pages of Scripture, each of which are helpful indeed. But there is one account found in the book of Mark that I have found to be particularly helpful in answering the question of how to live in light of the transforming works God does in our lives.In Mark 2:1-12, we read the story of a paralytic who was lowered into a crowded room by faithful friends to be healed by the otherwise inaccessible Jesus. What transpired there serves as a snapshot of Jesus’ ministry to the needy and the opposition it incurs. Seeing the faith of the paralytic’s friends, Jesus forgives the man of his sins, for he sensed a deeper need for forgiveness beyond the more obvious need of physical healing.
This was, in essence, a claim to divine authority, which resulted in the outrage of the Pharisees in attendance. “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? (v. 7)” To prove his authority and power to forgive, Jesus proceeds to heal the man of his physical ailment as well. In the end, this story serves to show us that Jesus alone has the power to heal the whole person. His touch in the life of a believer affects every aspect of what it means to be human.
This is not the first time I have written on this text. Building on my previous post entitled, Where does holiness begin?, I want to go deeper into the implications of this text than before and examine the response of the crippled man to his encounter with Jesus.
Certainly Jesus has touched the life of other believers in a similar way. The life of all new believers originates in the crisis experience of new birth. God reaches down into the spirit of the believer and bestows new life. He forgives and He cleanses. The believer becomes a new creation. The question then becomes, how are we to live in light of the work God does in our lives? If God is creating something new in us, what does this “newness” produce?
I believe we can find valuable answers to these questions in the way the paralytic of Mark 2 responds to the work of Jesus in his life.
“He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.’ And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:10-12, ESV)
By looking at how the paralytic responded to Jesus, we can find three ways in which all believers should respond to God’s work in our lives.
Over the next several days, I'm going to examine these three ways one at a time. It is my hope that together we may discern the truth of this text and arrive at a more solid understanding of what the proper response to grace really is.
Stay tuned.
