Your Sins Are Forgiven
Jesus gives a paralysed man something he did not come for, and it turns out to be what he most needed.
Mark 2:5NIV
Mark 2:5. Four friends have torn open a roof and lowered a paralysed man to the feet of Jesus. Everyone expects a healing. Instead, seeing their faith, Jesus says to the man that his sins are forgiven. Only afterward, to prove his authority, does he tell him to get up and walk.
On a Sunday morning this is a good verse to sit with before church. We come with needs that are real and pressing, and it is right to bring them. But Jesus looks past the obvious need to the deepest one. Forgiveness is not a consolation prize for those who do not get healed. It is the greater gift, the one the healing exists to point toward.
If you go into worship today carrying something heavy, carry it. But listen first for the word Jesus spoke before the man's legs moved. It is the word the whole service is built around, and it is spoken to you.
More in scripture
Be Still, and Know
A short command from an old psalm asks us to stop, and tells us why.
Be Still, and Know
An ancient line, written for a frightened people, asks us to stop before it asks us to understand.
Peace That Stands Guard
When worry crowds in, an old letter offers a different way to carry it.
