Mark 2:1-28
Why did Jesus come to earth? That seems to be the theme of this chapter. The Jew's of Christ's day were awaiting the Messiah, one who would be anointed as king, one who would establish a political reign. The Jews longed to be free from the oppressive Roman authority. The religious leaders aspired to have real power over the people and not have to answer to anyone. These were their hopes and dreams and the image that they had of who Messiah ought to be. Jesus simply didn't fit the image. His priorities did not line up with their agenda. So what did He come to do? What were His priorities? This passage points to three priorities that outline the purpose of His coming.
CHRIST CAME TO FORGIVE SIN: He healed many men and women as He went about teaching from place to place and house to house. It is interesting to note that when He healed the paralytic, He did so by forgiving his sin. The Pharisees did not like His wording one little bit, because only God had the power to forgive sin. That was exactly the point. Jesus was demonstrating to all that He was not just some man performing parlor tricks in venue after venue. He was God and He was there to deal with sin. He had come to provide forgiveness to all who would believe. The Pharisees were not interested in this. They wanted force, not forgiveness. They did not believe that they were in need of forgiveness so a forgiver was of no use to them. Unfortunately, we continue to look to God still today for many things. We want health, a good economy, world peace and comfortable lives. We, like the Pharisees, tend to forget or choose to ignore that our greatest need is forgiveness. Praise God, forgiveness is what He has provided in Christ. May we never loose sight of this His purpose in our lives.
CHRIST CAME TO FREE SINNERS: This is very similar to the first purpose, yet different. Jesus not only wanted to establish the fact that He had the authority to forgive sin, but He wanted to actually free men from the chains of sin in which they were entrapped. So, He went to the down and outers. He went to the people who were seen as the "lost causes" of that day. He talked to them. He walked with them. He ate with them. He called them to follow Him. He forgave them. He freed them from their sin. God is in the business of transforming lives. These people knew that they were lost and desperately in need of forgiveness and freedom but they had no hope until Jesus came to them. The Pharisees had no interest in transformation. They were not ready to acknowledge their sin. They had no perception of the chains of sin in which they were enslaved. Christ has come that we and the world might be free. This is the message of Christ for our lives and the nations of the World. The tyranny of sin has enslaved man, but Christ came to set us free that we might experience the joy of living for Him. We are all excited by the prospects of the kingdom of heaven to come, where we will live in peace and prosperity. However, we must realize that the path to that kingdom is through freedom from sin. Unfortunately, many are unaware of their enslavement to sin, and many more love their sin so much that they have no interest in being free from it. Praise be to God who, through the power of Christ, can set us free from sin.
CHRIST CAME TO FULFILL THE SABBATH: The Pharisees had made life out to be nothing more than following an endless set of rigorous rules. They loved their rules and felt good about themselves because they managed to keep them better than the next guy. The Law was given to show man his need of a Savior. Religion makes the law into a savior. Christ lived in perfect accord with the law of God so that He could be a sinless sacrifice. He fulfilled the Law that we might be free from it's condemnation and enter into a relationship with God. Not a relationship based on pride where we earn favor by our own ability to abide by rules. But a humble relationship that recognizes our inability to be rid of sin on our own and rejoices in the forgiveness that Christ alone can provide through the cross. Christ fulfilled the Law that we might be free from its curse and bask in the forgiveness that Jesus came to give all who believe.
CHRIST CAME TO FORGIVE SIN: He healed many men and women as He went about teaching from place to place and house to house. It is interesting to note that when He healed the paralytic, He did so by forgiving his sin. The Pharisees did not like His wording one little bit, because only God had the power to forgive sin. That was exactly the point. Jesus was demonstrating to all that He was not just some man performing parlor tricks in venue after venue. He was God and He was there to deal with sin. He had come to provide forgiveness to all who would believe. The Pharisees were not interested in this. They wanted force, not forgiveness. They did not believe that they were in need of forgiveness so a forgiver was of no use to them. Unfortunately, we continue to look to God still today for many things. We want health, a good economy, world peace and comfortable lives. We, like the Pharisees, tend to forget or choose to ignore that our greatest need is forgiveness. Praise God, forgiveness is what He has provided in Christ. May we never loose sight of this His purpose in our lives.
CHRIST CAME TO FREE SINNERS: This is very similar to the first purpose, yet different. Jesus not only wanted to establish the fact that He had the authority to forgive sin, but He wanted to actually free men from the chains of sin in which they were entrapped. So, He went to the down and outers. He went to the people who were seen as the "lost causes" of that day. He talked to them. He walked with them. He ate with them. He called them to follow Him. He forgave them. He freed them from their sin. God is in the business of transforming lives. These people knew that they were lost and desperately in need of forgiveness and freedom but they had no hope until Jesus came to them. The Pharisees had no interest in transformation. They were not ready to acknowledge their sin. They had no perception of the chains of sin in which they were enslaved. Christ has come that we and the world might be free. This is the message of Christ for our lives and the nations of the World. The tyranny of sin has enslaved man, but Christ came to set us free that we might experience the joy of living for Him. We are all excited by the prospects of the kingdom of heaven to come, where we will live in peace and prosperity. However, we must realize that the path to that kingdom is through freedom from sin. Unfortunately, many are unaware of their enslavement to sin, and many more love their sin so much that they have no interest in being free from it. Praise be to God who, through the power of Christ, can set us free from sin.
CHRIST CAME TO FULFILL THE SABBATH: The Pharisees had made life out to be nothing more than following an endless set of rigorous rules. They loved their rules and felt good about themselves because they managed to keep them better than the next guy. The Law was given to show man his need of a Savior. Religion makes the law into a savior. Christ lived in perfect accord with the law of God so that He could be a sinless sacrifice. He fulfilled the Law that we might be free from it's condemnation and enter into a relationship with God. Not a relationship based on pride where we earn favor by our own ability to abide by rules. But a humble relationship that recognizes our inability to be rid of sin on our own and rejoices in the forgiveness that Christ alone can provide through the cross. Christ fulfilled the Law that we might be free from its curse and bask in the forgiveness that Jesus came to give all who believe.
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