Good evening. Please take your Bibles now and turn together to the Gospel of Mark. Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2, and I'm going to read what's likely a familiar story to most of you. Verse 1 through 12. Jesus forgiving the sins of the paralytic and also telling him to get up and walk. There'll be details that we'll just skip over pretty quickly tonight, but I trust that God will use his word in our hearts. So let's hear his word with faith together tonight. Mark chapter two, verse one through 12. And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. And when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, why does this man speak like that? He's blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? And immediately, Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk, but 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, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw anything like this. That's where we'll end the reading of God's word. Let's stop and pray to him. Father in heaven, I ask that you would use your word in our hearts tonight. Even if we have heard this story from Mark's gospel many times, and it's in other gospels as well, we pray that we might also be amazed and glorify you and know Christ even more and put our faith in him for the forgiveness of sins. Father, as we just sang in Psalm 57, we pray that you would be exalted high, oh God. Be exalted in the preaching and hearing of your word for our faith and edification, but ultimately your glory. We pray all this in Jesus' name, amen. Who can forgive sins? Who can forgive sins? It's a really important question, isn't it? It's a question that arises here in our text tonight. And it's such an important question for all of us because we are all sinful. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all need forgiveness. In fact, we see in our text tonight that this is really our greatest need. Our need for forgiveness goes beyond any physical need we might have. Well, the scribes in this story, they actually had the right answer. They say God alone can forgive sins. And yet, sadly, they miss God's way of forgiving sins right there in front of them. His own son, who had come to forgive sins. And that's really what this story highlights for us, that Jesus Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, came to forgive sins. That He meets your greatest need if you put your faith in Him. That He is a Savior for sinners. And that's the heart of the Gospel. That is good news for sinners. And that's really the greatest miracle that all of His other miracles, like causing this lame man to walk, that those miracles point to. In healing the paralytic and forgiving his sins, Jesus shows his power and his ability to meet mankind's greatest need, to forgive the sins of all who come to him in faith. And that's what I want you to see here tonight, your greatest need, your need for forgiveness, and also the great all-sufficient Savior who meets that need, who alone can meet that need. Through faith in Him, your sins, like the paralyzed man, can be forgiven. And this is the greatest of all miracles. This is the greatest of all news. And so people of God, hear this message tonight from Mark chapter 2. Jesus meets your greatest need. He meets your greatest needs, so believe in Him, and your sins will be forgiven. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will forgive your sins. Well, let's jump into this story together, and Mark sets the scene for us. We read that Jesus is in Capernaum, and word spreads that He's in town, and crowds flock to Him. But this time he's not teaching in a synagogue, he's actually preaching in a home. And it's a packed house. It was so packed you couldn't even get in the door. It was standing room only. And it's interesting, this house is so packed, just to hear a man preaching the Word of God. Imagine this room that we're in tonight being packed like that, so many people piled in and pressed together to hear God's word that they spilled out the door, down the hall, and there really was not room to even come in the door. Well, that's the scene that we have before us here in Mark chapter 2, a packed house for preaching, Jesus preaching the word of God. We don't know if the crowds understood or believed what they heard that night, but what they saw that night, they would have never forgotten. And the text does tell us that they glorified God, so perhaps not only the message they heard, but the miracle they saw and the forgiveness of sins they witnessed penetrated their hearts. But all of the sudden, as Jesus is preaching, his preaching is interrupted by a sound above them. We don't know anything about these four men carrying the paralytic man. But we can say that they were extremely driven and loyal friends. The kind of friends that we should have and that we should seek to be. Friends that'll do whatever it takes to bring to Jesus. These men would not take no for an answer. And so when the house is too crowded, when they can't get in through the doors, Mark tells us they simply removed the roof. But this would have likely caused a shocking interruption of noise and debris. I don't know exactly how roofs were constructed in the ancient world, but having done a few roofs myself, this would have been a loud, messy job. Before this man appeared coming down from the roof, imagine just the noise and interruption and debris raining down on the preaching service. Imagine that happening right now in this room. We start hearing a noise and the ceiling starts opening up. We probably would call 911. We wouldn't know what was going on. But of all the ways Jesus could have responded, he doesn't rebuke them for interrupting. He doesn't rebuke them for making a gaping hole. He doesn't ask what kind of insurance coverage they had. He sees their faith, and he says something totally unexpected. Except if you know Jesus, it's really not that much of a surprise. Looking him in the eye, Jesus says to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. Son, your sins are forgiven. Now why in the world did he say that? If he was impressed by their faith in seeking him out for healing, why does he seem to ignore the physical need for healing and go all spiritual on this man? Now put yourself in the shoes of the paralytic. You may think, as you hear Jesus saying that, well, okay, that's nice, Jesus, but that's not why I'm here. That's not why I went to all the trouble. That's not why I risked myself coming down through the roof. Can you not see that I can't walk and I need to be healed? I didn't say anything about my sin, Don't you see the obvious problem that I'm here to have fixed? Imagine an ER doctor responding that way to a pressing physical need that you had, saying, well, your sins are forgiven. But this makes Jesus' response all the more shocking and powerful. Son, your sins are forgiving. But it could have been a puzzling and unexpected letdown. Have you ever ordered food and you're given something completely different than what you asked for? And even that simple mistake is upsetting. Well, imagine what this man is feeling. I came here because I couldn't walk. Well, even the crowd must have been puzzled by Jesus' words. After the initial shock of a man literally coming through the roof, They would likely have been holding their breath, anticipating a miracle. Word had spread about this Jesus, who was healing the sick and the lame, and they were perhaps thinking, wow, we're gonna get to see something amazing. But Jesus is actually doing something far more amazing. Far greater, far more miraculous. He's looking beneath the surface, He's looking beyond this man's very real and challenging and sad physical need. He's looking beyond that to a far greater need this man had, and a need that each and every one of us in this room has as well. And he's showing that he ultimately came to earth not just to relieve physical suffering, as he often did in many of his miracles, very graciously and compassionately, But Jesus came for a bigger and greater reason, and that was to address the root of all suffering, the root of all human pain and misery. He came to deal with a far more serious condition that every single person has, not just the sick and the lame or the poor. He came to forgive sins. He came to meet man's greatest need. We so often see a hundred different problems and circumstances as our biggest need. And maybe tonight you have a particular need or a particular desire that is the biggest and the most obvious and dominant thing to you, and we can think, well, if only this or that could happen, then I'd be OK. And I'd be happy. And Jesus says, Jesus comes and says, no, your biggest problem, your biggest problem is not physical. It's not emotional. It's not financial, it's not medical, it's not relational, it's not whatever you might think it is. Your biggest problem is that you are in rebellion against the God who made you. You are a sinner. You have a debt that you cannot pay on your own. And only I can fix it, only I can pay. That is your greatest need. but I can and I will meet that need. That is who I am and why I have come. I am the son of God and I died and rose again to forgive your sins. If you come to me and trust in me. So often we want God to meet our real surface temporary needs, which are challenging and hard and they are real needs. These things that we think are most important, and we forget that we have a greater, a far greater need, and he has met that need for us, if our faith is in him. A far more pressing, serious, eternal need. God has met that by sending his son for the forgiveness of sins, and this is the gospel. This is the good news, the greatest miracle. All the other miracles are just signs of. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you come to him like this paralytic, humble, and needy, and unable to save yourself, if you come with faith, then he can heal you and forgive you. He can meet your greatest need. And he says to you, Through the Word of God, He says to you, son or daughter, your sins, your sins are forgiven. Just hear Jesus saying that to you tonight. Son or daughter, your sins are forgiven. There may be no more comforting words in the universe. And so I want to ask you tonight, do you know that your greatest need is one Jesus can and will meet? Do you realize that need is the need for forgiveness of sins? It's not your circumstances. It's not the people around you, it's not a physical need, it's a spiritual, eternal bondage to sin that can only be broken by Jesus Christ. Everything else is secondary. But the awesome truth is that your sins can be forgiven by faith in Jesus. There is a solution. There is a savior for your greatest problem and your greatest need. So Jesus says, your sins, son, your sins are forgiven to this man. But not everyone understood or appreciated Jesus' response to this paralytic being brought before him. How could he say that? Who does he think he is? put aside the fact that he hasn't addressed his physical need, only God can forgive sins. And you know what, they were right. The offended party alone can grant forgiveness. If you're driving and you hit a car, and a person from another car gets out of their car and comes to you and says, don't worry about that damage. I saw, I know it was your fault, but I'm not gonna fault you, I forgive you. Well, that's nice, but he can't do that. That's not real forgiveness. The owner of the car that you hit, he alone can forgive. And that's the exact point that the scribes make here. When we sin against God, and all sin is ultimately primarily against God, he alone can forgive that sin. No one else can stand in his place and grant forgiveness on his behalf. But what the scribes missed, what was standing there right in front of them, was that Jesus was God. Jesus was not acting in the place of God as if he were God, he was God, he is God. And that's what's so ironic about verse seven. They say, why does this man speak like that? He's blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone? Well, Jesus spoke like that, and he meant it, and it was real, because he was none other than the divine Son of God. He was God in the flesh. Jesus knew this was his right and that he had the authority to do this as God. In fact, that is why he had come. And as God, he also knew their unspoken thoughts, and so he confronts them in verses eight and nine. He says, why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise, take up your bed, and walk? Jesus says, why do you assume that I'm not God? Why do you assume that I'm blaspheming and lying? They were the religious leaders. They should have known that God had promised to send Messiah. God had promised to send Emmanuel, God with us, the one who would heal the sick and cause the blind to see and the lame to walk and take away the sins of his people and save his people. But they were blind, and they could not see who he was. But Jesus is not going to let them sit back with questioning doubt. He follows this with powerful proof. Anyone can claim to forgive sin, Jesus says, but as God, he can actually do it. And to demonstrate that, to prove that, he does something else only God could do by the power of his word, and you read it in verses 10 and following. Jesus says, but 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, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all. so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw anything like this. The crowd could not see the man's sins forgiven, but everyone could clearly see this man getting up and walking. Everyone could clearly see this miracle, the man rise up with his bed and walk out at the word of Jesus. And it says they were astonished, they were amazed, and they glorified God. They knew this was a work of God. Jesus' identity, His power, His authority had been questioned and doubted. And so He graciously responds, not just graciously to the paralytic, but to the crowds watching. He responds with a miracle. with an awesome display of power to make it clear to all that He was the divine Son of Man, who could forgive sins. He was God in the flesh. He says, that you may know, that you may know. This miraculous healing was a sign pointing to who he was and what he alone could do. If he could heal this man, make this man get up and walk, he could forgive sins. The implication was that he was no mere man, but was in fact the God-man, God in the flesh, the Savior. And that was far more awesome and wonderful than simply having the ability to heal one lame man. And this is really the ultimate purpose of any of Jesus' miracles. They were signs. Yes, they ministered to sick, needy, hungry, crippled, poor people. They showed true love and care and compassion. They transformed lives. They were the kingdom of God breaking into this fallen world, but more than that, they revealed His identity. They pointed to His mission and to who He really was and what He would do. They pointed to His greatest miracle, the cross and the resurrection by which He would not just feed the hungry, would not just give sight to the blind or make the lame walk. but give eternal life to a great multitude of those dead in their sins. This is how he would forgive the countless sins of all his people, open their eyes spiritually, raise them from the dead forever. And Jesus could do this not just because he was God, But because He was God incarnate, God in the flesh, and in that flesh, in that real human body, He would die on the cross. He would take the punishment that this man, this paralytic man, that his sins deserve. He would take the punishment that your sins and my sin deserve if our faith is in Him. And friends, this is the greatest supernatural work of Jesus. His life, death, and resurrection to forgive sins. Have you seen and witnessed this miracle? Do you believe it? Have you put your faith in Him so that He might say to you personally, son or daughter, child, your sins are forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. Have life in me. Rise and walk in me. Walk in newness of life. Live forever. This story captures for us and pictures the heart of the gospel. It shows us who Jesus is and why he came and what he alone can do, why you and I need him. And it answers that fundamental and vital question, who can forgive sins? God alone. God alone by his son. can and does forgive sins. And friends, this is good news. Your greatest need, your need for forgiveness is met by Jesus if you trust in Him. Jesus forgives sins. He says to helpless sinners, even tonight, He says, your sins are forgiven. Believe in Him. Run to him and bring others to him, people of God, young people, children. Jesus meets your greatest need. Trust in him and he will forgive your sins. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you And we praise you for sending Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God, to be God in the flesh, to be the one who would say to sinners, your sins are forgiven, because he would bear those sins to the cross and die and rise again. Father, I pray that each one of us would hear those sweet words by faith spoken to us directly by Jesus, the only Savior. Your sins are forgiven. I pray that each one here and many, many more would know the freedom of having their sins taken away by Jesus and forgiven by Jesus. Lord, we pray that for those who are still dead in their sins and paralyzed in their sins, that you would enable us to bring them, as it were, to the feet of Jesus so that he might forgive their sins. Lord, make us such friends to those who need Jesus and give us friends like this as well. And we pray that you would be honored and glorified. And we pray this all in Jesus' name.