Session 3: Cleansing of our Sins (Bar Soap and Shampoo)
Everyone loves a good underdog story. They are the sort of stories that fill us with hope and joy right down into the deepest parts of our heart. Several years ago, I had two friends. I am going to change their names for the sake of this story. Easton was incredibly intelligent. He was one of those guys who just knew a lot of things and at times he could come across as a bit of a know it all. He just liked to carry himself in a manner that let everyone around him be reminded of his deep intelligence and possible superiority. The other friend, who we will call David, was not quite as ambitious. He was smart but he struggled in school and had been diagnosed with dyslexia.
David spent years trying to different methods and special schools, to learn how to compensate for his dyslexia, which had made him also very smart in a different sort of way. Well one night a bunch of them decided to play scrabble. Despite not knowing how to spell, David decided to play.
Slowly one by one people started dropping out of the game until it just came down to Easton and David, and everyone was on the edge of their seat watching. Easton decided to use his vast intelligence to spell out long and difficult words. Meanwhile, David kept it simple and to the point. He was just making lots of small little words. But the points started to add up quickly. Pretty soon, David is beating Easton and Easton is getting incredibly angry. Easton’s pride and intelligence had gotten the best of him, while David just puttered along with little words like “to” and “the.”
Needless to say, the night went down in the stories of legends. Easton got mad and David won the game. And everyone had a good laugh when Easton stood up and yelled, “I can’t believe I got beat by someone who can’t even spell.”
Today’s story is also an underdog story. It’s the sort of story in which those that are intelligent and knowledgeable in the law are humbled by those to which they look down upon. See in this story a group of friends decide they are going to bring their buddy to be healed by Jesus. They carry him on a mat, but the crowds are so thick they cannot get near Jesus, so they cut a hole in the roof and lower him down to Jesus.
Jesus is so moved by their faith that he looks at the man and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” Well needless to say this gets those that are knowledgeable of the law and scripture whispering and talking and they start to accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Afterall, only God can forgive sins. But Jesus is God and he reveals his purpose and his authority by the end of this passage. It’s the sort of story that fills our hearts with hope and joy.
Scripture
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” 13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. 15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:1-17 [NIV]
Jesus knew what he was doing when he told the man that his sins were forgiven. He knew that they would start to doubt and question, and this would be his opportunity to reveal who he really is and from where his authority comes. He asks them, which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven or get up and walk?” Well naturally they have to say it’s easier to say your sins are forgiven. Afterall, if you say get up and walk and he doesn’t walk everyone will know you are a sham, but no one but God is going to know if his sins are actually forgiven or not. Jesus is not a sham though, he is the Son of God, so he looks at the crowd and says, “In order that you know who I am and by whose authority I operate, I am going to do a little more, get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man does just that.
Discussion Questions
1. What are the things that Jesus reveals to the crowd at that moment? (Possible answers: He can forgive sins, he can make that man walk, and he is the Son of God, operating under the full authority of the Father.)
2. Imagine you were there and watched it all happen. How do you think you would have reacted? Would you have understood the implications of who Jesus was, when the man suddenly was able to walk? Why or why not?
3. Immediately following this story Jesus sees Levi the tax collector which is Matthew and tells him to come with him and he goes and eats supper with him. What is the significance that he called Matthew, a tax collector, immediately following forgiving the paralyzed man and telling him to walk?
4. Again we find the teachers of the law questioning Jesus authority. They start asking why Jesus is eating with a bunch of sinners. What is Jesus response?
5. Jesus declares that he came for the sinners not the righteous. How does that sit with your heart? Do you see yourself as righteous or a sinner? How does it make you feeling knowing that Jesus came for the sinners?
6. Are we, as a body of believers, eating dinner with the righteous or the sinners? How or how not?
7. Are there any changes we need to do personally, or as a body of believers, to make sure that our ministry is aligned better with Jesus’ ministry and purpose? Why or why not?
Jesus’ purpose was to come for the sinner. God knew that left to our own devices we would never be worthy to stand before a Holy and Righteous God. But God also loved us immensely and wanted nothing other than to be in relationship with us. The entire Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament is full of stories of God pursing us, our promises to remain faithful and then rebelling and going our own way. God knew the only way this was going to end was if he took on sin once and for all and that could only be done through conquering sin and death. Lent is a time for us to search our hearts and focus on all that God really did for us through Jesus Christ. Every person in this room, has had a need for forgiveness, even the most righteous among us. It is a time for repentance and the recognition of what Jesus truly suffered and endured because of his immense love for us. Let’s take a few moments of silent prayer and reflection and thank him for the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ that washed away our sin and cleansed out hearts. After some time of quiet contemplation, I will close us with prayer.
Closing prayer
Jesus, who came for the sinners, thank you for not leaving us in our sin and our failures. We confess that as hard as we try to remain faithful and righteous, it is easy to become ensnared in the sin that so easily entangles us. Many times we come to worship on Sunday and we pray, sing, and listen to the sermon but we forget to really acknowledge the significance of what you did for us. Sometimes we even get a bit haughty and self-righteous, in our actions and the way we treat those around us. When our pride threatens to come before our fall, remind us once again that without your cleansing blood we would all be lost. Nudge our hearts when we are tempted to judge the sinners around us, and help us align our ministry with yours in a way that invites the sinner to our tables for dinner. Thank you for all you did for us. Amen.
Be sure to continue in your time of fasting, prayer and reflections this week. Remember even if you have not started it is never too late to begin. Next week you will bring deodorant and lotion. The deodorant must be 2-3 oz and the lotion 8-10 oz.
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