Mark 2

Friday,  Jan 22, 2016


I notice once again today that Jesus forgives the sins of the crippled man because He say "their" faith.   Does that mean it was the faith of the 4 men, or was it the 4 men and the crippled guy?   I ask because if the crippled man didn't have any faith and was healed anyway, then it doesn't require faith to be healed...or forgiven.   We don't know the whole story, so we can only speculate.   Let's say that the crippled man was simply hoping Jesus could heal him physically.  He permitted his friends to carry him to Jesus for that reason, but he received far more than what he asked for.   He left Jesus walking (just like he was hoping) but he also left a free man.  Free from the penalty of sin. 
You and I come to Jesus with our own expectations and brokenness.   We have an idea of what we want Jesus to do for us.   We think we know what would make us happy and functional again.   Thankfully, Jesus repairs us in ways that we didn't even know we needed.   


Jesus and Matthew.  Matthew was a tax collector, and as such would have been detested by the
"righteous" Jews.  The people who would associate with him were all out of favor with polite society.  The Pharisees refer to Matthew's friends as "scum".
What makes a person "scum"?   It is their job?  Their lack of education?  Perhaps the way they dress, or their personal hygiene habits?  Maybe it's a combination of things, when combined together equal a non-productive part of society.   If you don't "produce" are you scum?  What if you can't work anymore, and you depend on the government to provide for you?   Does that make you scum?
I am happy to report that Jesus doesn't see any of us as scum.  When Jesus looks at us He sees His creation, people that He loves and wants to help.   It wasn't any problem for Jesus to sit and eat with the tax collectors because they needed help and they knew it.   That kind of attitude is refreshing to Jesus.    Labels are something that we come up with.  We create borders and nations and different time zones.  Jesus sees beyond them, and loves us in spite of them.
One other thought....since Christ isn't "name calling" and "branding" people, maybe we shouldn't either.


PR