Jesus' Authority to Forgive Sins

It is a joy to be with you. now I have to explain myself first why I'm called Tabs back home, since Pastor Mike, mentioned that. to cut the long story short, when I was in high school, I was, a bit on the chubby side, so to speak, and in the Philippines, if you're a little bit, a little bit chubby. they call you Taba, Taba, OK?

And so my friends, were the, the teammates that I had, how it is when guys get together, they keep teasing you, and then they, they, they thought of a name, they cut that word short instead of Taba. They said tabs. And so what that word means basically is, it's a shortcut of the word fat. And, the Lord in His mercy and His grace and his sense of humor, that name has stuck ever since.

And I've been called Tabs ever since, since I was 16 up to now. I'm I'm turning 43 this, this month, and the Lord has just been so kind and gracious, and that name has been used by the Lord, to stick in the minds of people. So if you see me, just call me Tabs, and that's OK. Pastor Tim calls me Tabs, and I love Pastor Mike.

And we thank the Lord. I am on staff as a pastor and elder in Guiding Light Christian Church Baggio, and we bring greetings to all of you on behalf of Pastor Robbie, who is our senior pastor, and Pastor Jason and Sister Maro and Pastor Robbie and his wife Sister May. They give their greetings to you and they're representing the elders of the church. We would like to express our thanks.

It, it was exciting. For me to come over because I really wanted to thank the church, the pastors, the elders of the church for their support for what the Lord is doing in our partnership, through our missions program and also took, I'd like to take this time to give you a short update on what's happening our missions program which your church is supporting. through your generosity, and the Lord is multiplying what you so generously give to the church and through the work that the Lord is doing in different parts of Asia and.

In our country as well we have missionaries in India, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand, and some church plants in the Philippines, and we thank the Lord that through your giving, through your support of our missions program and our missionaries, they are currently on the field.

and they are doing language studies and they are part of church planting teams and they are spreading and proclaiming the gospel to their mission fields. One of our missionaries in India is currently involved in a church planting team and they are in, if I. I can't pronounce the name. It's hard, but they are, they are in the area where it's a slum area where they are ministering to those who are below the poverty line, and they are trying to minister the hope of the message of Jesus Christ and the gospel.

One of our missionaries in Japan is also part of the church planting team, and they are spreading the gospel in Japan. Which is one of the hardest to reach in the world, though they would be very courteous and respectful and polite, their hearts are hard and need to be broken with the message and the power of the gospel. So we thank the Lord for that. Local missions in our country is happening.

We are ministering to a Muslim community within our city. do pray for us, in guiding that Christian Church Baggio as a minister to a Muslim community in the, in our city. the Muslim community is targeting Baio, our city, to be one of its educational hubs. There are more than 15, almost 20 mosques in our small city, and they are really, preparing that city to be an educational hub for their imams who teach, who teach in their mosques, and we're just trying to, to not, not, not.

be in conflict with them, but to minister the gospel to them. So we have local missionaries, we call it backyard missions, because they're right in our backyard. And so we try to minister to them going into the community. We thank the Lord for the burden that the Lord has placed in the hearts of our workers and our missionaries who go into the heart of the Muslim community to minister the gospel.

Also, we are thanking the Lord for you and our partnership in prayer as we plant churches in the Philippines. Do please pray for us in the Philippines. We, we need more churches who, who preach the word, who are faithful to the word of God, who preach and proclaim the truth. Pray for us as we train men and pastors to proclaim the truth faithfully and to honor.

The word and honor the Lord through the proclamation of the word and do please pray for us as we desire to have solid biblical education for and training for pastors and we thank the Lord for Pastor Mike for just coming over to the Philippines and if you don't know, Pastor Mike was in my preaching lab and I thank the Lord for his input in my preaching and, and how he was used by the Lord in the lectures and. And to be able to improve myself in preaching the word of God and we thank the Lord for his short missions, short term missions team who came over to Baggio and we were able to host them as well and, me and my family were here, for the next couple of years, because of the training in the Expositors Academy and through TMAI, the Master's Academy International.

I was able to get the training that I needed for ministry. But after the 3 year certificate program, I felt, how it goes, right?

The more, the less, and it was just a humbling experience. I wanted to know the Lord more. I wanted to be equipped more. I wanted to honor the word of the Lord more in my life, and I knew I needed training and if, and my desire was to be used of God in our country to preach the word and just to be useful.

In the hands of God and to be faithful, so my wife and I prayed for more training. I talked to Pastor Sean after graduation. I said, Pastor Sean, I want more training. What can, what can does, does, does Teya have any additional training to offer?

And he said, no. And he said, would you want to go to seminary? I would love to go to seminary. And he says, there's only one seminary that I can ever recommend, and that is the master seminary.

And ever since I was 16, it was a dream to, to go to the masters seminary. I never thought that that dream would come true, but thank the Lord for His grace and mercy, sent my application in. And surprise of my life during lockdown, I received the letter of admission congratulating me that I was accepted into the masters seminary. I took a year of online courses first in preparation to come over and, last July 27, we, we came over, we sold everything, packed everything, and, came over and we thank the Lord for His grace and providence and we thank the Lord for the church that has, supported us and.

Helped us, the, the Grace Community Church has been so gracious. Your church has been so gracious and instrumental in helping us out, and, we'll be here for the next couple of years getting more training, just, continually deepening ourselves in the word of God, and we thank the Lord for His work thus far. I've completed one semester and I'm in my 2nd semester right now towards the end. I am recovering from syllabus shock.

And as the semester draws to a close, I am experiencing syllabus panic already as I try to keep up, but it's blessed, it, it is such a. It's, it's, I've never studied so hard in my life, but the Lord has just been so faithful. It is blessed and fulfilling work to do and to study the word of God, and we thank the Lord for His grace. And this morning, it is a joy for me to share that word of God that we all love.

And this morning we'll be talking about the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and do join me as we prepare our hearts for the word. Father, We thank you for your grace. We thank you for your mercy. Lord, we.

Come before you this morning. Thank you for your time of worship. Thank you for what you are doing in and through the men and women involved in this church. Thank you, dear Lord, for your word.

The message of the gospel, and we thank you for Jesus Christ who is our Lord and Savior. I pray, dear Lord, that this morning you would fill our hearts with Christ. That you would be honored as we honor your word. May your servant, Lord God be useful in your hands in proclaiming your truth.

And this morning, Father, bind our hearts together and be in amazement at the glory of your grace, the power of your authority. And be grateful, dear Lord, that through Christ we have forgiveness of our sins. And if there is any who is here this morning who might have thought, Lord God, that they've just been invited by friends or family to attend church, I pray, Father, that the power of the message of the gospel and the person and work of Christ would move upon their hearts that they may come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Thank you, Father, for this morning.

We commit this time to you. This is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen. You are nothing.

You do not qualify. You are unable. You are a sinner. If you said amen.

To those phrases, what I'm talking about. If you squirmed in your seat a little when I said you are nothing. Then you are in the right place. And the message that you will hear this morning is exactly for you.

Mark chapter one verse one begins by saying, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Son of God. I love that word, that phrase, the gospel, and we know what that means. It means good news.

It talks about an important event. For us as believers, the gospel refers to the most significant event and message in all of history. It is about the life ministry. sacrificial death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

But why did Christ have to do all of those things on our behalf? Well, it is because of man's greatest problem. Our problem, dear loved ones, is not. Poverty, it's not pollution, it's not even politics.

Man's greatest problem. That he can never ever solve on his own is the problem of sin. Sin that is no longer being called sin today. But it's being redefined in an effort to remove.

The intended searing effect. That the guilt of sin must have upon our souls and our consciences as men. However, as much as men may try to justify sin. There is no escaping its reality.

And its effect upon the world. Most especially upon our souls. Why? Because the sinner Bears upon his heart a weight that he cannot deny.

If you are here this morning and you do not know Christ. You bear a weight that is hard, that is unbearable. It is the weight of the wrath of God. It is the weight that the reality of an ever holy God.

And his wrath on sin is upon you. The reality of sin is that weight that bears upon you every day, a weight that cannot be denied and it cannot be disguised. But as sinners. We just try to suppress the truth, as Romans chapter 1, verses 18 to 19 tell us, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.

Against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. As much as men may try to redefine sin, as much as they may try to deny sin and disguise it. And try to reject its reality.

God has made his presence evident upon the hearts of men, his holiness, his glory, his grandeur, and the guilt of men because we are sinners, evident upon their hearts. The evil of sin, it's penalty, it's offense to a holy God, and the wrath of a holy God that will, that will with certainty judge sin. This is man's. This is your greatest problem if you do not have Christ.

If you're here and that's you with all the love in my heart. This is your greatest problem. And the question is, is there a solution? To your problem.

As believers, we know there is. Amen. We've experienced the power of the transforming grace of the gospel in our lives. We've experienced the good news.

We've heard the good news. And today, this morning, that is the good news that we will be talking about this morning. The good news of the gospel declares to men that in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God. That the one sent to seek and to save the lost is the one.

Who has the authority to forgive sins? And he proved it. He proclaimed it during his earthly ministry and proved and proclaimed it. In the most powerful way that we could ever imagine, he proclaimed it and proved it by dying on the cross.

This morning their loved ones, their brethren in Christ, may we be reminded, as Mark chapter 10 verse 45 tells us, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. That we are here this morning gathered together as believers to worship the Lord, to honor God and to love Him with all of our hearts because he died on the cross for us. The cross and the person and work of Jesus Christ, that is the message. And what gives Jesus the right to possess this authority to forgive sins?

Well, he is God. He is God. And as God, he must be believed. John chapter 20 verse 31 tells us, but these have been written.

So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. Some might say there must be another way to be saved. My answer? Absolutely not, no other way.

It is only through Christ. Only God can forgive sins. Remember Isaiah 43:25 says, God says, I even I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. And dear brethren loved ones, as we will see in our passage this morning, Jesus exercises his authority to forgive sins as a declaration and display of his deity.

To mark the beginning of his ministry and the unfolding of God's glorious, glorious salvation plan that will culminate with his glorious resurrection from the grave. We will be, we will bear witness to the declaration and display of Christ's authority as God to forgive sins through the writing of Mark. So do open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of According to Mark, and we'll be looking at Mark chapter 2, verses 1 to 12. And let me read our passage for us this morning, Mark chapter 2, verses 1 to 12.

When he had come back to Kapernaum several days afterward, it was heard that he was at home. And many were gathered together so that there was no longer room, not even near the door. And he was speaking the word to them. And they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by 4 men.

Being unable to get to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof from above him. And when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic son. Your sins are forgiven.

But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone.

Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? which is easier to say to the paralytic, Sons, your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up and pick up your pallet and walk. But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, I say to you, get up. Pick up your pallet and go home.

And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone so that they were all amazed and we're glorifying God saying we have never seen anything like this we're familiar with this with this narrative and and and we've heard this and we've. I'm sure our kids have have heard about this in Sunday school as well here we find Mark writing for an audience of Gentile believers in Rome who were probably about to face persecution. They would have lived in a society in in a city much like.

Downtown LA.

coming over from the Philippines from a small city of Bao, we saw LA from the plane, and I thought to myself, what have I done? me and my family and my small family, I looked out of that airplane window and I said, Lord, have mercy on us. It's a fast, it must have been like a, like downtown LA, fast paced city, city of sin. City where sin was rampant.

And Mark would have written to a people who were were probably in that culture. Giving attention to the deeds of Christ and providing summaries of Christ's discourses, Mark provides just exactly what his Gentile audience would have needed. Who is Christ? What did he do?

And he writes in a way that is fast-paced. You see the word immediately being used all the time. Immediately Jesus does this. Immediately they go here, immediately this happens.

And he focuses on the deeds that display the deity of Christ and his authority. Why? Because in a culture that is. Condoning sin, not condemning it.

In a culture where sin is disguised and repackaged as something that is not sin, in a culture where believers would have been persecuted, in a culture where believers would have had difficulties in relating to those around them suffering trials and all of this those things in between, they needed hope they needed encouragement. They needed the courage to persevere. They needed the courage to be faithful. They needed the courage to stand steadfast in the hope that they had in the faith, and there's no greater hope, no greater encouragement, no greater motivation to persevere than to be reminded of who Christ is and what he did for us on the cross, and we find ourselves also in the same situation.

In the world that we live in, in the world that we live in right now, sin that is found here in the United States is sin that is found elsewhere in the world. There is nothing new under the sun. Believers find themselves. In an uphill battle.

Against a very great foe. But we have hope. We have encouragement. We have the courage provided for us because we have Christ.

And when we have Christ, we have everything. And we believe in Christ. We hope in Christ because his authority as the savior who has come to save sinners has provided for us the security, the assurance. Now, as long as we are faithful.

As we are steadfast in His word, as we persevere in the proclamation of the gospel. To live holy, godly lives. He will bring us to eternity. He will usher us into glory.

But it's interesting that we find in our passage this morning Christ. Declaring boldly that he is God. And in our passage that we have just read, we find four scenes that demonstrate and declare that Jesus indeed is Christ, and he has divine authority to forgive sins. In verses 1 to 5, we find Jesus' divine authority declared, declared.

In verses 6 and 7, we find Jesus' divine authority doubted. In verses 8 to the first part of verse 12, we find Jesus' divine authority displayed. And the last part verse 12, Jesus' message is disregarded. His message and his authority is disregarded.

My desire for us, dear brethren, is that our hearts, for those of us who are in the Lord, our hearts will be filled with the glory of Christ, and let us worship Him and be grateful to him for his authority to forgive sins. And for those of you who do not know Christ, That you would bow the knee. And submit to the authority of Christ. And receive him and salvation.

Today So let's look at our Bibles again. Let's look at that first point. Jesus' divine authority is declared. Verses 1 to 5 when he had come back to Kapernaum several days afterward, it was heard that he was at home, and many were gathered together so that there was no longer room, not even near the door, and he was speaking the word to them and stopped there.

He was back from Kapernaum. He was back in Kapernaum. He came from ministry in the nearby towns. How do we know that?

You just go back a chapter in Mark chapter 1 verse 38. He tells those who are with him, let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby so I that so that I may preach there also, for that is what I came for. That is what I came for. Jesus says, to preach, to preach what?

To preach the good news. The word. Became flesh came to preach the word, the gospel. I'm always amazed by that.

And as he has returned to Capernum, the headquarters of his ministry for this time, it was heard implying something that is very interesting. It was heard they heard about Christ coming back to his home and implying that he came home quietly. May secretly quietly coming back home, why? Because you go back another chapter in verses in chapter 1 verses 42 to 45, after healing a leper, after this is that I, I find that always funny that that episode, that scene where Christ heals the leper and he distinctly says to the leper leper, don't tell anyone about what happens.

And immediately he goes out and tells everybody what happens, right? If I were Christ, I would have gave him back his leprosy, but. Thank God I am not Jesus, right? God in His mercy just granted him grace.

And because of that, because of what the leper did, look at verse 45. He went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city. But stayed out in unpopulated areas and they were coming to him from everywhere. Jesus went viral.

And as soon as people heard that he was back home, guess what happened? We find it in verse two, many gathered together. So that there was no longer room, not even near the door, and as he has gathered, as he has done previously, so he does now, he was speaking the word to them. Proclaiming the gospel, the good news that Jesus has come, that He has come, that He is the Savior.

And it's funny how when crowds gathered, it's composed of many different people, right? You have the curious, those who want to know who is this Jesus? Those who wanted healing. You see that in chapter 1, verses 32 to 34.

They might have heard about, oh, there's this man who heals everyone, every disease. He even casts out demons. He's, he has power from the Lord. And you have those in the crowd who just Go with the crowd, right?

You see a group of people going somewhere, or, or somewhere, you're like, where are you going, right? And you just go with the crowd, and maybe some believers in between. In other words, they just packed his house in. He was speaking the gospel to them in his house where it was jam-packed.

And so the stage is set. Set for what? Set for the other person that is about to come into the story who plays a very important role and we find that in the paralytic in verses 3 to 4. In verses 12, you find the audience, and then in verses 3 to 4, here comes the paralytic.

Look at your Bibles with me, verses 3 and 4, and they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by 4 men. Being unable to get to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. So a small group of a band of friends just came and they brought their friend carrying him on his pallet and wanting him to be healed. If you were those friends, you see that crowd, I guess I would have said to my friend, well, maybe we could reschedule.

Let's go back another day. Jesus might be busy. We can't get in, right? And lo and behold, they have this daring plan, not daunted or dismayed by the crowd.

They dare to go to Jesus. They were determined to bring their friend to Jesus. Why? They believed that Jesus had the power to heal.

And I don't know, you can't make this up, right? you can't make this up and they go to the roof. The, the design of houses back then was they had their stairs outside. And they go up to the roof and the roof is made of some tiles, some mud, some thatched, maybe, straw or reeds, something like that, and I'm old enough to know that, back home in the Philippines, my some of my, my grandparents' houses were made of thatched roofs, so I could imagine that.

So they go up to the roof and, and what did they do? Look at verse 4. They dug an opening. And you imagine this scene, Jesus like this, we're in this hall right now.

Jesus teaching during this time and suddenly parts of the roof come down, right? Falling on Jesus' head maybe, right? And, and Jesus looks up, everybody looks up and slowly a hole in the roof starts opening. If that was here I bet you'd be calling security, calling the police, and I'm amazed that nobody panics nobody's, what's happening?

Call security or something like that. What's happening on the roof, right? Nobody stops the friends, the hole grows bigger and they let their friend down. Like, like Mission Impossible, right?, I'm picturing this in my mind, and you should be picturing it too.

The stage is set. There's a crowd of people. The house is jam packed, and there's this paralytic coming down from the roof, right? And everybody's eyes are glued to him and they're, he's just coming down.

And I don't know how they did it, but somehow they knew where Jesus was. I don't know if they had X-ray vision, but he. They placed their friend right in front of Jesus. Everybody is holding their breath.

Everybody is watching. Everybody is looking. And they're thinking What's he going to do? What will Jesus do?

The paralytic was right in front of them. The curious would have said, this is what I came for entertainment. I've heard him heal. Those who just went with the crowd would have been amazed and said, wow, this is a great show.

No wonder many people were following him. Some of the believers might have been saying, oh, this is, this is that time, this is that time. And it's amazing if you look at verse 5, we find Jesus' declaration. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, son.

Your sins are forgiven. Jesus' divine authority is declared. Curious about, I, I was curious about that phrase seeing their faith and what it referred to. And Jesus, seeing their faith, the faith of the friends and those who brought their friend to to him, Jesus acknowledges that they believed in his power to heal.

They wouldn't have gone through that extreme measure if they did not believe that Jesus could heal their friend and seeing their faith, their belief, their understanding of Jesus' power, Jesus acknowledges that. But Jesus says something very surprising. If we did not know what the text says or if we did not know who Jesus was, we, it's surprising because instead of addressing the man's physical need. Which was the most obvious thing.

Jesus declares, Son, your sins are forgiven. Imagine being part of that crowd and you say, that's it? What is he saying? Can't he see that he's a paralytic?

Why would he say, son, your sins are forgiven? And notice that phrase, look at your Bibles with me. He, he, he, he, he addresses him in three parts. He addresses him individually and tenderly, Son, he points out his greatest problem, your sins.

And provides the solution. Are forgiven, dismissed. Acquitted Forgotten. And in that one declaration, beloved.

That is the gospel. That is the good news. Seeing the faith of the friends, he acknowledges that they believe in him as one who can heal. Looking at the paralytic right in front of him.

He sees the paralytic crying out for something much more important than his physical need. Brothers and sisters, it makes you think. Sometimes The physical needs in our lives distract us from the greatest need of our souls. Sometimes we think that the physical needs are the most important things.

But this paralytic shames us all. He's been a paralytic all his life, but Jesus sees the cry of his soul. Jesus sees the cry and the desire of his heart. And God grants that.

Jesus grants that It it's a testimony of who Jesus is. The savior has come. Luke 19:10 tells us for the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost. This short statement from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a declaration.

Coming from divine authority that he is God. In this divine declaration. He tells us, and tells you, dear friend, here this morning. That you have a greater need than than than your financial problems, than whatever things you came in here with, he says your greatest need is the forgiveness of your sins.

In this Divine Declaration, he tells you that he is the one who forgives sins. Unlike the paralytic who could not do anything for himself but simply place himself before Jesus. As sinners, dear brethren. As sinners, we were in a far worse state than the paralytic.

We were dead We were dead, dead in our transgressions, dead in our sins. But because of his mercy and grace. Because of the message that is Christ, who is our savior. We were brought back to life.

I love 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6 that just talks about that. That that that power of Christ to open our hearts and let me read that for us. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6, for God who said light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. We were dead in our transgressions.

You without Christ, you are dead. Can't do anything to save yourself. You need the creating power of God, who in creation said, Let there be light, and there was light. You need that same power to cause your heart.

And the light of the gospel message and the glory of Christ to shine in your heart, so you behold. The one who has the authority to forgive sins. Notice what Jesus did for the paralytic. Your sins are forgiven.

Dismissed, removed. Psalm 103:12 tells us, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. He submitted himself to the lordship of Christ. He did not just believe that Christ could heal him physically.

He believed that Jesus is God. That he would be forgiven of his sins, and Christ would prove that he can forgive sins by not only dying on the cross, but rising again on the 3rd day. Praise the Lord. But just like any story, there has to be a villain, right?

And as Jesus declares, Son, your sins are forgiven, his divine authority is doubted, doubted. Look at verses 6 and 7 with me. But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this man speak that way?

He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? There's a bit of irony there, right? Who can forgive sins, they answered their question before it was even finished.

Describes these, these, the, they are responsible for, for copying and preserving the Old Testament and instructing the people. Together with the Pharisees would be the group that would oppose our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And it's amazing how Mark, who always is very concise in his, in his narratives, provides a lot of detail in this, in this, in this story, in this portion, this scene. He says the scribes were sitting.

Can you imagine a house packed? There was not even space at the door. Everybody was standing it was standing room only, and they were the only ones sitting down. They must have been important, right?

Or they felt important. And maybe their pride was there so that they would be sitting down. It speaks of what was in their heart. And they were reasoning in their hearts, as, as Mark tells us, they, that word reasoning is where we get the word dialogue.

And they were thinking about they were thinking about these things. What is he saying? It's all in their minds, and I love that detail. They're thinking this.

They're not saying it out loud. They're thinking this. That's what Mark says, reasoning in their hearts, in their minds, and they were doubting who Christ is. He is blaspheming.

He is blaspheming. That's what he says. That's the accusation. Right?

And it surprises me that they were doubting because just one chapter before in verse 22, they were amazed at the teaching of Christ because he was teaching them as one having authority. They've heard Christ teach before and right now they were thinking about wow, what, what is he saying? What is he doing? He's, they've seen Jesus' authority in chapter 1, verses 21 and 22 in his teaching.

They've heard it. They've seen Jesus' authority displayed in verses in chapter 1, verses 23 to 27 by casting out the demon. They have witnessed Jesus' authority over diseases as he heals not only the leper but all who came to him with diseases, but in the hardness of their hearts, they simply refuse to believe. They simply refuse to believe.

For some of us who are here today. You might be thinking something in the same lines in your hearts. You're thinking, is he really a savior? Is Jesus really true?

You're hearing the word this morning, but you doubt its message. You hear the authority of Christ to forgive sins, but you doubt if he is God. You doubt if he is able to save. Let me answer you this morning that yes, he is able to do all that he has said that he will do and so much more.

He is the Christ. He is the savior. And so we find this Christ thinking all of these things in their minds. They're doubting Him, accusing him of blaspheming, and this is a critical point in the story, their brethren, because as they accuse him of blasphemy, that means if he cannot prove himself to be God, then he is just a man.

He is just a man. You're faced with two choices. Is he a man or is he God? How will Jesus respond?

And Jesus responds, and oh, what a response. Look at verses 8 to 12. Jesus' divine authority is displayed. Remember, they're thinking this in their minds.

And Look at verse 8. Immediately Jesus. Aware in his spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, Why are you reasoning about these things in your heart? Why do you doubt me?

I would have shaken in my pants. I was thinking it, and Jesus calls me out. I would bow my knee and say, you are God, right? In this room right now, if I said you're thinking this, you might faint.

Here Jesus. knew. Why? Because he is God.

Remember John chapter 2, verses 24 to 25. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to men, for he himself knew what was in man. Immediately in his spirit, meaning his being, who he was, not the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit referring to his divine mind as the Christ, the sent one. He knew all things.

This should have been proof enough that Jesus is God, but he knew that their hearts were hard. Just like many of you this morning who came here today thinking so that my wife will not nag me to go to church or my mom will not tell me to, to will not remove my allowance from me to go to school, I'll go to church just to be pleasing to them. he knew that their hearts were hard, but in order to give confirmation and conclusive proof of his divine authority. He now turns his attention to the paralytic.

And look, look at verse 9. Jesus says, which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up and pick up your pallet and walk, but so that You may know, addressing the scribes, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. I say to you, to the paralytic, he said to the paralytic, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home. And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone.

What a display of divine authority. I was looking at this and I was thinking, which is easier? In my mind, I was thinking both are impossible. I dare not even utter those words.

But what does, what does Jesus mean when he, when he asks that, which is easier to say? Notice that word, which is easier to say to the paralytic. From a physical or external perspective, saying your sins are forgiven would have been easier. Why?

Because there was no way to prove it. Right? There's no way to prove it. Anybody could say that, right?

But of course, we dare not utter those words ourselves. The challenge by the scribes was this, prove it. Show us that you are God. Which is, which just proves how rebellious and hard their hearts was.

They were, they were already confronted with what was happening in, in their hearts, and yet they desired proof, which is why Jesus says, so that you may know. It wasn't to please them. It wasn't to, to, to, to, to give them what they wanted. It was to validate the authority that he had.

And so he, here is validation. Here is confirmation. This is why Jesus healed him, to show that he had divine authority. He had the power to back it up.

So he tells the paralytic, get up, pick up your pallet and go home. And what does the paralytic do? Lord, let me schedule a physical therapy session first and then, no, he does not, right? No, he does not.

He does not. He immediately gets up. Picks up his pallet and goes home. Exactly what God commanded instantly.

Instantly healed. As with any and The simplicity of how it is narrated. Just oozes with the power of God. There's no fanfare, there's no fireworks, he just gets up.

And does it. Funny thing was, I was, I'd like to ask him when we get to heaven, did you fix the roof? The following day, right? I hope so.

After being healed, right? When he gets up And some of us here this morning might be saying, oh, if only God would give proof like that today, then I would believe. My friend, he did something greater. He did something greater.

Romans 5:8 tells us, but God. Demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, He, God made Him Christ who knew no sin. To be sin on our behalf.

That's why he came. So then We might become the righteousness of God in him. He did something much more greater. He died for us, rose again, and His righteousness, the way he lived his life righteously, fulfilling the law.

Becomes our righteousness so that. We might be forgiven of our sins. Does Jesus have divine authority to forgive sins? Yes, he does.

He is our righteousness. And you today Do not, do not say, if only God would prove Himself. That is rebellion, that is arrogance, that is pride. God has already done it for us.

He died on the cross. You need to submit. You need to humble yourself before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Bow your knee before the Almighty God and ask Christ to forgive you of your sins.

Sadly, however, Despite this great declaration, Despite this, despite. confronting the doubt of the scribes by displaying the authority of his power. In the last part of verse 12, Jesus' divine authority. His message, his deity are disregarded.

Look at that last part of verse 12. After the paralytic went out, the people, all the crowd in the house, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, we have never seen anything like this. You're asking, what do you mean they disregarded Jesus? They were glorifying God.

But take a look at that last half once again. They were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, we have never seen. Anything like this, that's the point. It was about what they saw.

Not about what they had heard. Brothers and sisters Let's be reminded that the gospel is a message, not a spectacle. The message is Christ. That he is the Messiah, the one who saves his people.

Tragically, the people in the crowd got what they wanted. They were entertained. But they missed the message. The parallel of this narrative in Matthew chapter 9 verse 8 says, but when the crowd saw this, they were awestruck and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

They disregarded Jesus and saw him as a man, not the Messiah. The crowd, the paralytic, and the scribes, they all heard what Jesus said. Son, your sins are forgiven. They all heard what Jesus said, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

But they missed the Messiah. They only saw The man For those of us who are in Christ. Let us remember His grace upon us. That we did not miss the Messiah.

That we who are in Christ. Heard the message. Saw Christ in the message, submitted our lives to the Lordship of Christ. bowed our knees and humbled by the grace of God, we're broken and humbled before him, cried out to him, Lord, forgive me.

And because Jesus has the authority to forgive sins, he said to you, Son, your sins are forgiven. But for those of you who are here this morning. Who have come here, part of this crowd, may be curious about what's happening in church, curious about what goes on in a place like this. Do not walk out of those doors later.

Without Christ. I pray that when you leave this place, you will not be like the crowd, you will not be like the scribes who Who went out still in the hardness of your of their hearts, but rather you will be like the paralytic. You will be like the paralytic. Who heard Christ, who believed in Christ and submitted himself to Christ.

I pray that the Lord would have mercy. Upon your soul that you would see Christ and hear the message of the gospel this morning and come to Him and ask Him for forgiveness, repent of your sins and submit yourself to Christ. And for those of us in the family of Christ, as we go out of these doors this morning, though we are faced with a hostile world. We are grateful to the Lord that in Him there is now no condemnation, that because Christ has forgiven us of our sins, we stand assured.

We stand assured. Romans 8:1 tells us, therefore, there is now at this very moment. No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and let us all live faithfully and in awe of the grace of God. Amen.

Let us pray. Father. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for your mercy.

We thank you for Christ. Who is our Lord and Savior. We thank you, dear Lord, for who you are. Nor we are humbled That you would take notice of us that you would.

You would regard us, Lord God. We thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior. Lord, thank you for this church. Thank you for the pastors and the elders of this church.

Thank you, dear Lord, for your work in the lives of the brothers and sisters in this church. Lord All we desire Is to be useful in your hands. Help us to be faithful. Help us to honor your word.

Help us to proclaim your truth, and Lord. If you would tarry, then Lord, help us to persevere. But until then, Lord God, we wait upon you and we thank you for your love, mercy, and grace. We love you, Father.

This is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.