READ: Mark 2-3:6
Verses
chosen for meditation: Mark 2:5-7
5 And when Jesus saw
their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there,
questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man
speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God
alone?”
REFLECT
This
is the famous story of four friends interrupting Jesus’ preaching by removing
the roof of the house he’s teaching in and lowering their invalid friend down.
I’ve always been amused by this account, imagining what were on the minds of
the observers.
If
I was the owner of the house, I would be like, “You guys just destroyed my
ceiling!” If I was an intent listener of Jesus, I would be annoyed by the
interruption. If I was a bored listener of Jesus, I would be entertained by
this sudden random happening. We’d expect all sorts of responses, with most seeing
the five persons as hindrances.
Jesus’
response though was: “Son, your sins are forgiven”. Unlike others, Jesus
saw their need and faith, and his compassion stirred to meet that need. The
scribes questioned in their hearts Jesus’ authority to speak like that. Who was
he to say such words? These are fair questions. What we know and the scribes don’t,
is that God the Father conferred Jesus that authority. But is it merely that which
allows Jesus to forgive? Do we know what it really means when Jesus says those
words?
RELATE
Forgiveness
is about paying debts. We owe the person we offend something. This debt must be
paid somehow. Forgiveness means the person who forgives pays the debt. For
e.g., painters, while painting your house, unintentionally chipped off a huge
chunk of your furniture. Should you forgive, you pay the debt of the repairs of
that furniture, or pay it through living with the ugliness of the chipped furniture.
Someone could hurt you deeply. Should you forgive, you pay the debt of the hurt
inflicted without justice done back. With every act of forgiveness, a debt is paid.
Here,
others may be on the receiving end of the invalid’s sins. Could Jesus then
forgive on behalf of others who have been offended by this man? This reminds me
of a time in army, when there was this huge fight between two persons and
animosity ran deep. Guy A, who was my direct subordinate, severely offended guy
B. They then agreed on a penalty: guy A to endure X no. of punches. However, he
could not endure all and in his attempted escape, bumped into me.
Upon
proper protocol, both guys would need to be reported and disciplined by the
army, leaving bad records. However, if we go down that route, their bloodbath will
likely continue, ruining their already worrying futures. I tried mediating, but
I was not naïve to expect guy B to let it go just by pulling my rank. These men
were part of gangs outside and they live by certain codes when settling grudges.
The debt had to be paid somehow or this feud will never end. Their gang laws
don’t work in camp, but bring it outside, and parangs will fly.
So,
I asked guy B what guy A owed. 3 more punches he said. I would’ve preferred to
let my man fight his own battles to prevent ridicule from others, but he pleaded
for saving, so I offered to take those punches (may not the wisest choice). Guy
B was unwilling at first, but agreed, on the condition that I wouldn’t hold it
against him and abuse my power, and he must drop all grudges with guy A. Also,
I told him, anywhere but the face. The 1st punch came, so hard to my
gut that part of my dinner nearly came out. But the 2nd was a lot softer,
and he couldn’t bring himself to throw the 3rd. I was after all his
commander too and not the object of his hatred. I asked if he wanted to follow
through properly, he just replied “Forget it. All debts are cleared! Sir, sorry
for doing this to you.” By God’s grace, both men eventually became good
comrades.
So,
who exactly forgave guy A? Who paid the debt? I guess we both did. Guy B paid the
remaining portion of offense he suffered that was not dealt with justice. I was
allowed to forgive because I paid part of the debt. Jesus could intervene and forgive
on behalf of others, because he was going to pay the debts of those sins
himself! When Jesus says to you and me: “Son, your sins are forgiven”,
it means he’s taking the condemnation that we have upon himself. Those words have
tons of weight and indeed he could say them. Jesus was conferred authority by
the Father to forgive, but also because he earned that authority by personally
paying for all the debts of those he forgives.
The
work Jesus does for our salvation doesn’t stop only at the cross, but also
today and every day when he intercedes for our daily sins. This is what it
means when scripture says God’s mercies are new every day. We may find it in
ourselves to forgive people for a few sins. But continually for repeated
offences? Our mercies have limits. Jesus here shoulders countless sins from
everyone, every day. The mercies required for that are infinite. His mercies
are indeed new every morning.
REST
We are forgiven because we are precious to God and
He wants communion with us. When Jesus says “you are forgiven”, he means “I
gave my life so that you can be clean and be embraced, for you are my beloved.”
We keep our distance with those who offend us repeatedly. Jesus however wants
the opposite. The more we’re fallen, the more he wants to meet us at our pain
and embrace us. Rest with full gratitude and amazement of Jesus’ grace, and go
to him! Because that’s what he wants.
Chris Chong
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