Daily Devotions
Mark
"Who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."
Text: 1 Peter 1:21
SIN AND ILLNESS
It is important that we take time to understand what Jesus said to the paralytic, when He said,
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
MARK 2:5
1. Many were healed without reference to sin
Mark recorded the fact that many had been healed by Jesus, but in his previous statements, he made no reference to the problem of sin (Cf. Mark 1:31-34).
2. Many had demons cast out of them without reference to sin
The same may be said about those who had demons exorcised. They were simply healed. No reference was made to the problem of sin
3. Illness and sin must be carefully distinguished
Illness must be carefully distinguished or medical science would have little significance. Illness may sometimes be linked to sin, but we must avoid the equation “sin causes illness”.
THE PRESENCE OF SIN
How do we understand the problem of the paralytic sinning? We can only postulate that he might have been struggling with the following:-
1. He could have been bitter against God because of his paralysis.
2. He could have spoken against God because he found it hard to accept his paralysis.
3. He could have given his family and friends a hard time, finding fault with everybody.
4. Besides, there could be personal sins in his life that he had never dealt with.
THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN
Look at how Jesus dealt with the problem of sin. What a Saviour we have!
1. There was such gentleness
The word “son” would give us an indication that Jesus was most gentle with him. He did not address him as “a sinner”.
2. There was forgiveness offered
How beautiful those words are, “Your sins are forgiven.” The paralytic did not hear Jesus rehearse his sins publicly. Instead, there was a striking declaration that all his sins were truly and fully forgiven!