Our sermon text is from Mark chapter 2. Mark chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. For some context, we will begin reading the word in chapter 1, verse 35, actually. Mark 1, 35. This is the word of God. Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him, they said to him, everyone is looking for you. But he said to them, let us go to the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth. And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons. Now a leper came to him, imploring him, kneeling down to him and saying to him, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, I am willing, be cleansed. As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once and said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go your way, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded as a testimony to them. However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the matter so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places. And they came to him from every direction. Chapter two. And again, he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. Immediately, many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And he preached the word to them. And they came to him, bringing a paralytic, who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven you. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone? But immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they thus reasoned within themselves, he said to them, why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you or to say, Arise, take up your bed, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God singing, we never saw anything like this. Amen. So for the reading of God's word, you may be seated. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, it is truly difficult to grasp the effect that Adam's sin had on this world. Difficult to comprehend that every evil thing that you see had its origin. It springs from Adam's first sin. Let me ask you a question, a question you might recognize. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind? The fall of Adam, this is. You might recognize this question from our Westminster Shorter Catechism, the teaching tool that we use, not because it's inspired, but because it's a very good tool to summarize truth. So when we ask the question, into what estate did the fall bring mankind, we give the answer, The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery. Two things came into this world, we believe, namely sin and misery, and there is a relationship between these two concepts, between sin and misery, is there not? Do we not see that sin has led to misery, to suffering, to affliction, and all this being born out of sin? And with sin and misery, we have pollution and suffering. Sin affects and pollutes our souls inwardly, and misery afflicts us from the outside as well as within our souls. We see around us in the world much pain, much suffering, every war, every catastrophe, every disease. Around us we see no shortage of suffering in the world. All the disease that you hear around us, everything you see, all of these facets of suffering, it comes from Adam's first sin. So it is misery that is born out of sin. So the next time that you see yourself suffering, think of your own sin. Think of the sin that gives birth to such great misery. Well, it is into this context, into the context of a world that is full of sin and misery, that Jesus steps as a man. Jesus steps into this world with sin and misery to heal us, to restore us. And I see Mark presenting this to us here in the text. In this story that we read in Mark chapter two, we see that Jesus has divine authority to forgive sins, that Jesus has divine authority to forgive sins. And we're going to see this with the Lord's help in three main ways, that Jesus' divine authority is claimed, it is contested, and then it is confirmed. So firstly, we see that Jesus' divine authority to forgive sins is claimed, and we see this in verses one through five. And as we look at this note, first of all, the context of Jesus' claim. Verses one and two, and again, he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. So what do we see Jesus doing in this instance? People hear that he's here at the house. They come and they gather to see this great man that they've heard about. And what is Jesus doing? He is doing what is most important. He is ministering to people's souls. He is preaching the word to them. At this point, the text says nothing about him doing bodily healing, not so far in this text. He is engaging in the most important ministry imaginable. As the great physician, he is dealing with the eternal souls of men. I think if we look at Mark up to this point, we can see kind of the context of why this is important. This is why I began our scripture reading back in verse 35. So if you look even earlier in Mark 1, 14 and 15, what does Jesus begin to do when he begins his ministry? In verses 14 and 15, we read that he goes out and he's preaching. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. In verse 38, which we read, Jesus says he came out to preach the word in these cities. And in verses 40 to 45, in the story with the leper who comes to him, what do we see? We see what happens when Jesus is hindered from his preaching ministry, and how that is, in this case, against Jesus's command to the leper. So we come to this point and Jesus is engaged in his preaching ministry. It says that this happens after some time. He comes into Capernaum. This is an indefinite period of time. We don't know how long this lasted. And I think maybe we are given the impression after the story with the leper. And remember how that ends. Look at verse 45, that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city. He's out in these deserted places. He eventually does go back into a city. So this might be an extended period of time. We don't know. But anyway, he does come in and the crowds are flocking to see him. And it's as if when he comes, he cannot escape the crowd. The crowd is here, and maybe they heard about Jesus's power to perform miracles from this leper in chapter one. So here we see that Jesus is preaching, and this is the context of the claim, but also note the case of Jesus's claim, his claim to have divine authority to forgive sins. We see this in verses three to five. Then they came to him, bringing a paralytic who is carried by four men. And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiving you. So Mark is presenting to us a very dramatic scene, is he not? Just imagine this. As I'm preaching here, you start to hear some sounds. You start to hear that there are footsteps above you. And then you look up and you see parts of the roof are crashing down and falling right here in front of the pulpit. And then what you see is even more unexpected. And a man is laid, is lowered down with some ropes on a bed. What a dramatic scene that Mark is presenting to us here, is it not? And here, I want you to see that there is a display of faith and a display of unbelief in this text. And these two things are being contrasted with each other. There is faith versus unbelief. So what does Jesus say in verse five? It says, when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, your sins are forgiven you. Obviously, this man who is healed had faith. There were four other men who were there, and these men had faith as well. How do we know that they have faith, or where can we see their faith? Well, imagine you're one of these men. You hear that Jesus is back in town, and perhaps you've heard a lot about him. After Hearing this, you think about your friend who is paralyzed, who cannot walk. And you think that through the power of Jesus, your friend can be healed. So you and three other men, you help to bring this man to Jesus. And then keep in mind that they are carrying a full-grown adult man. This is not necessarily a life load that they are taking with them. And they're somewhere in the city. We don't know exactly how long they had to walk. But this man is going to weigh them down as they walk to see Jesus. And then they finally get there. They finally get to the house where Jesus is. And they see it's not going to be easy to come to his presence. There is a huge crowd. So what they could do is turn around and say, it is impossible for us to see Jesus. Do they do that? They think, we are going to approach Jesus and have this man be healed. in some way or another. So they probably walk upstairs to the top of this house, and then they begin this dramatic work of breaking through the roof and lowering the man to see Jesus. These are all the actions that they go through that demonstrate their own faith. But then I want you to think about this as well. It's an emotional factor. There's this natural human factor of shyness. perhaps of anxiety and coming into a new place where you're not going to be welcomed. So you could probably think in your own life of when you've gone into a new church or there's this new setting or something that you're going to, you don't know anyone that's there. It could be what these men are feeling. It could be like crashing someone else's party that you're not invited to and becoming the center of attention. And so that itself is a natural deterrent. But if you consider all of this, even though there are all of these reasons that would keep these men from bringing him to Jesus, they come anyway. And I believe this demonstrates their faith. And so for us, when we compare this to what we do just to come to church. we would be very hard pressed to think of a scenario in which it is too difficult for us to come to church. If we truly love the Lord and if we have the ability to do that, as far as the transportation to get here, the health to be here, this is where the Lord wants us to be. It's a hard thing for us to excuse. So if these men can go through all of this effort to be in the presence of Jesus, Certainly, we can go through the effort that is required of us to be in his presence here on the Lord's Day. So we see in these five men a display of faith. But we also see a display of unbelief. Unbelief on the part of the crowds. So imagine that you've heard of what Jesus can do. You have heard of his power to perform miracles, to heal the sick. And now you're here to see him. Someone comes behind you in the crowd, someone who obviously is sick, who cannot walk. He's being carried on a bed by these four men. He can't move. And maybe they're saying something like, we need to see Jesus so that he can heal him. What is sad is we do not see the crowd parting and people leaving so that the man has a clear path to approach Jesus. And so it appears to me that by and large, these crowds are being selfish. They might be in it here just for what they can see of Jesus. They're not making way for this man to come and to be healed. And so we see a contrast here of faith with unbelief. And as we're talking about faith, let's be clear. I think that we might see this here, that faith is the means of the man's healing. And if you're familiar with the letters of Paul in the New Testament, you know one of the main themes that he likes to speak about and that he did speak about is justification by faith. You have salvation in this sense by faith alone, not by our own works, faith that is exercised towards Christ. And of course, this is a doctrine that is not only in Paul. Scripture in general teaches this doctrine. And here we see this concept is pictured in the man's healing. So Jesus only performs this healing after he sees their faith. And then he says, son, your sins are forgiven you. So faith is the means of making someone right with God. And here also we see it is the means of this man's healing. So what this text, I believe, is showing to us, maybe in a symbolic way, is that by faith we are made whole. Even as God heals this man by faith, he saves him by faith as well. And God forgives us of our sin. God forgives our inward disease. He does this by faith, not by our works, but by his grace. So we should rest in what Christ has done. And also note that Jesus heals the sickness of this man's soul, which is his most important need. So oftentimes as you're reading scripture, as you read the narrative passages like this, you might see things that Jesus says that surprise you. I think this is one of them. Because we're not expected, we're not expected to see Jesus reply that the man's sins are forgiven. However, this is actually very important, and I think that if you're a Jew that's there, who is familiar with your Old Testament, you might know what Jesus is doing. So in the Old Testament, one thing we see is that physical illness, the healing of that is a symbol of healing sin, of forgiving sin. I'll give you one verse. Psalm 41.4. I said, the Lord be merciful to me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. And so we see in scripture that healing is a symbol of spiritual salvation. And so when you look around you in the world at all the miseries and all the sin that abounds in this world, remember your sin as well. Remember your sin, even as this man was brought to Jesus because of his physical affliction, and Jesus reminded him of his real need, which was sin. He reminded him of his ultimate problem. And while the miseries that we see around us are a real evil, they are not, in this sense, the ultimate evil. There are ones that God will do away with, but there is the great reality of sin. Matthew Henry says this about Jesus's reply here. The word of Christ was to take his thoughts off from the disease, which was the effect, and to lead them to the sin, the cause, that he might be more concerned about that, to get that pardoned. And also here, let me take a brief opportunity to give a warning against some false teachers that are sometimes called faith healers. So there is a false teaching that goes around in our world today that says that there are these certain teachers who say they have the gift of performing miracles, kind of like the apostles did, that they can heal people's sicknesses on demand if they have enough faith. But brothers and sisters, you should be warned because scripture does not make any promise like this. We can come to the Lord in prayer about our physical sicknesses. If the Lord is pleased, he absolutely has the power to heal us of these things. But also the Lord might not be pleased to answer this prayer and to use our own suffering for our good. So be warned about that. And also remember that when you come to the Lord and ask for forgiveness, sincerely ask for forgiveness for your inward sickness, your disease of sin, He always grants that request when the sinner comes in true faith, sincere, saving faith. And that is the more important thing. And also remember that through the sufferings that you face in life, let these sufferings cause you to long for heaven. Even if the Lord does not take these things away in your life, it should produce a yearning for the heavenly country. for the everlasting city where you have your citizenship. Because brothers and sisters, as Paul says, we are citizens of another country. If you are a Christian, if you have been born again, if you have been born from above, this is where you belong. And we will spend eternity there with the Lord in perfect bodies. So let your suffering, let all the afflictions that you face in life, let it cause your heart to yearn for what is above. Set your minds on the things that are above, Paul says in Colossians 3. Your mind where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. This is what we should yearn for. This is what we should be desiring, to be in the presence of Christ in heaven, worshiping him. There will be no more sin there. There will be no more suffering, only perfect joy. A joy as people who are restored in body and in soul, as we serve the Lord forever. And as you do that, long not only for heaven, more importantly, for the God of heaven, the God who gives healing and peace. And know that he is the only one that can satisfy you. He can satisfy you whether your body is in good health or not. And so we see all these things and all these applications about this man who is healed in his soul and Jesus forgives his sins. But let me ask, have your sins been forgiven? I have been addressing believers here in the midst, but maybe you're sitting here today as one who is not a true believer, as one who has not been converted. And if you're not a true Christian, if you do not have saving faith, then Christ does not say to you, your sins are forgiven. Notice here that Christ gives assurance of forgiveness on a certain condition, and that condition is faith. What you see happening is a man is being brought to Christ in faith, and then this verdict of forgiveness is pronounced because of his faith. So I want you to see that these two concepts always go together. Which two concepts? You have coming to Christ in faith and your sins being forgiven. You cannot have one of these without the other. Either you have both of these together, coming to Christ in faith and forgiveness of sins, or you don't have them together at all. You don't have any of them at all. And there could be two different errors that are made if you do not allow this balance to stand. If you want to have one of these things, if you want to either come to Christ or have your sins forgiven. So, for example. There are those who might believe you can come to Christ, but then not have your sins forgiven. Think about having your conscience so weighed down by guilt as you think of the sins that you have committed, that you think, no matter what I do, no matter what I say, no matter what repentance or faith I have, my sins are too great and Christ cannot forgive me. I had a professor in seminary who told us a story. He was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and he asked his father one day, Dad, why don't you go to confession? His dad said something kind of amazing. It was something like, my sins are too great. So certainly that is an error that needs to be rejected. The gospel that is proclaimed in scripture is one of free forgiveness. It is not on the basis of what we have done, not on the basis of having few sins or many sins, but all sinners are welcome to come to Christ and all who truly come to Christ in faith, they are forgiven of their sins and they have eternal life. So this is an error to be avoided, but there is another error as well. And one that I think is far more prevalent in our world today. So take heed to this. The idea that you could have forgiveness of sins, but be someone who is not coming to Christ. Someone who is not exercising faith and repentance. You've probably seen, you've probably heard of people who are very relaxed about their sin. They are not diligent, to say the least, about attending church, about having devotions, praying, reading scripture. However, despite that lifestyle, they can preach their motto, grace, grace, and there is forgiveness with God because of what Christ has done. And so you have this other error where people think their sins have been forgiven, that they are always forgiven, but they are not coming to Christ in faith. They don't have that repentance of sins. That is a sign of the faith that they should have. This error needs to be soundly rejected. So take heed to this. It is very common in our day. So hastening on here, brothers and sisters, we have seen that Jesus' divine power to forgive sins is claimed, and we have seen the context of that claim, the case of that claim, and now we move on, secondly, to it being contested, that Jesus' authority to forgive sins is contested. We see this in verses six and seven. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone? So first of all here, let me point out to you these characters. I'm gonna call these the religious chiefs. You have these scribes that are here. I want you to notice this is the first time in Mark that they appear presented negatively. They're mentioned one time in chapter one when Jesus says, or when Mark says that Jesus speaks with authority and not as the scribes. And here we see something negative is presented about them. And we see that they are blasphemers. And we need to recognize that this is a huge deal. So imagine in this day, people like the scribes and the Pharisees are seen as the great spiritual leaders of the church. And yet you read that they are sitting here, these people are sitting here and they are blaspheming the Lord. Certainly it is difficult for us to imagine our great spiritual heroes committing such a sin, such a terrible blasphemy and falling on the wrong side of history. So men like these scribes would have been held in high esteem. However, we see that they are fundamentally wrong on this vital issue. So I mentioned earlier the contrast between faith and unbelief that we see in this text. And one thing that I picked up as I was going through this one time is kind of an ironic reversal about their position. So who are those that are closest to Christ spiritually? But this paralytic and the men that are carrying him, they have true saving faith. But they are far from Jesus, physically speaking. Who are those that are closest to the Lord physically? It says that the scribes are here. Are they standing here? It says that they're sitting there. So I imagine they're here within the house. They might have front row seats to see Jesus preaching. But yet they are the ones that are furthest from him in their hearts. So we see these scribes, these religious chiefs. Then we also see here what they say, their rancorous charge, if you will. And so we see that they charge Jesus with blasphemy in their thoughts, but truly they are the ones who are blaspheming him. Jesus is claiming to be God here. He's claiming deity. He is claiming that he can forgive sins. Note the scribes are actually right. They are partially right. Are they not? When they say that only God can forgive sins. But then they go further. They commit an error when they say that Jesus is not God. A terrible blasphemy. So we should be reminded that there is a great danger in partial truth. And it probably seems to be very rare where you have a false teacher or maybe someone who's in our civil government or in the media who presents a narrative that is 100% false, 100% lies. If that were the case, it would be a lot easier to discern that this is a false narrative that is being pushed. But they're more subtle than that. It is very easy, a lot easier to convince people of your error when it's mixed with truth as well. And I mentioned the false religion of Roman Catholicism a few moments ago. I can't help but think of it because of some of the great truths that they really do confess. All of the scripture that we hold to, they confess as well. They believe in such things like the doctrine of the Trinity, the divine nature of Christ, a host of other things. But there is enough false teaching in that religion to damn souls to hell. I believe that Satan corrupts the truth. He introduces lies in order to dissuade people of it, in order to get them to adopt a false gospel. So be warned about the great danger that there is in a partial truth, in a truth that is mixed with lies. So we see how Jesus' divine authority to forgive sins is contested. And now thirdly, we see how Jesus' divine authority to forgive sins is confirmed. And we see this at the end of our text in verses eight through 12. A couple of things here, we see this confirmation in the comments that he makes, in the words that he says, what I'm gonna call his confirmation in his comments in verses eight through 11. But immediately, when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, he said to them, why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise, take up your bed, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. He said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise. Take up your bed and go to your house. What's really interesting about this passage, among other things, is Jesus can see their thoughts. He can read their minds. Now Mark has already presented to us the idea that Jesus is God. Look at the first verse, when Mark writes, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But now Mark presents to us another divine ability, the divine ability to read men's thoughts. I think of 1 Samuel 16, where we read that man looks on outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. So we see from this alone, this is something only God can do. And so for the scribes that are sitting here, the very fact that Jesus sees what they're thinking is evidence to them that they are wrong and that he really is God. And then Jesus asked this question. He says, which is easier? We have two options. One option, say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven or tell him, rise and take up your bed and walk. And it might be easy to see the correct answer being pronouncing forgiveness of sins, to say your sins are forgiven. And we might be led naturally to think this is the easier answer that Jesus intends, because it's one that cannot be proven. I've come to think, however, the opposite is true, that Jesus intends the easier answer to be arise, take up your bed and walk. And why do I say this? Imagine you are a Jew living in Jesus' day, and if you were to say your sins are forgiven, then the stakes are very high, so to speak. You are claiming to be God, because as the scribes rightly recognized, only God can forgive sins. One preacher I listened to said something like, it is as if Jesus is laying down the gauntlet here and saying that he does really have that the divine authority to forgive this man's sins. So is it not then more difficult to have the power to heal someone inwardly, to pardon him of his sin? Is this not more difficult than it is to heal someone outwardly? To heal a man's body is miraculous, but the other one here is marvelous. more marvelous, being able to forgive one of his sins. So this is the harder thing to say. However, Jesus then chooses to say the easier thing and says, arise, pick up your bed and walk to let this be a proof, another evidence that he has forgiven the man's sins. And he uses this title for himself, the son of man. And as many of you know, this is the most common title that Jesus uses in reference to himself. He calls himself the Son of Man more than he calls himself anything else. This is the first occurrence of this title in Mark's gospel. Where do we see it after that? It appears next in Mark chapter 8. In Mark chapter 8 where Jesus predicts the suffering that he is going to undergo. And in the rest of Mark's gospel, the term, the phrase, son of man is used in his passion narrative, in this narrative of his suffering that he is going to accomplish. But then we have this phrase that appears right here, towards the beginning of Mark's gospel, in the beginning of chapter two. And why is it here? I think Mark is telling us Through this, Jesus is saying that man can only be forgiven of his sins. Why? On the basis of what? Because Jesus will go to suffer for him. Because brothers, it's not simply true that God takes our sins from off of us. It's a glorious truth. But we also need to recognize that God will punish those sins. If those sins are not punished on ourselves, they are punished on Christ. They are taken off from us. And at the cross, they were placed upon him. So I believe what Mark is communicating to us, even at this early stage in the gospel, is this, that we are being hinted at, we are being tipped off to the fact that Jesus is going to go to Calvary's cross to pay for the sins of a man like this. And so we do not simply have a great story of a man who is sick, a man who comes to Jesus for healing, and he gets healed, he gets forgiven. It appears God is telling us not only how he treats us, but he tells us how he treats Christ in order to make that happen. All the spiritual blessings that we experience, brothers and sisters, all of these are given at a great cost. We have the spiritual blessing of salvation because on the cross, as it were, God sentenced Jesus to condemnation. He sentenced him. to his own infinite wrath, which for us would be the eternal punishment of hell. We have the forgiveness of sins. We have pardon of our iniquities and such glorious pardon because the verdict of guilty was declared upon Christ who suffered in our place. This is what I believe we are being told here, even in this text. Jesus can forgive this man in the passage and Jesus can forgive you of your sins. And only because he suffered in your place and he bore your sins. So this is a great truth of the gospel that we should relish in and adore. So we see that there is confirmation in Jesus' comments that he makes here, that he has this power to forgive sins, but we also see that there is a confirmation in his cure. We see this in verse 12, as the man is healed, he stands up and he walks. Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified, God saying, we never saw anything like this. And this is a fascinating miracle in itself. And we don't know if this man had been paralyzed for life. Perhaps he had been. Perhaps it had been years since he had been able to walk. At any rate, the muscles in his body, in his legs, would have been severely deteriorated. They would not have been strong. So if you're just going to stand here and look at this man, Maybe you could see his atrophied muscles suddenly growing upon him. And if he had never walked in his life, Jesus instinctively places within his body the instinct in order for him to be able to walk. So it is a marvelous miracle on several levels. Perhaps he had been somewhat of a skeleton of a man, unable to walk and to exercise, but immediately God makes him whole. It's a fascinating miracle. And then the story wraps up with this glorious conclusion of people who are praising God and saying, never have we seen anything like this. As Jesus heals this man of his physical ailment, as a testimony to the fact that he has the power to forgive sins as well as God, and as God alone can do. And so, brothers and sisters, in this story that Mark is giving to us, we see that Jesus is acting to heal men of sin and misery. And especially here, Jesus is showcasing his divine power to forgive men's sin. He gives a healing which cures this misery, this misery that is a sign of his ability and of his desire to cure man's soul, to forgive his sins. So we have seen that his divine authority to forgive sins is claimed and then it was contested. And lastly, that contest, it was overcome in being confirmed with his miraculous work. And so, brothers and sisters, look to Christ. Rest in Christ as the one who can forgive you, who can grant you your eternal need, the one who can pardon all of your sin. Perhaps you read this story and you're amazed at His power and you marvel at His ability to heal a man who is paralyzed. That's true. But even more so, marvel at the fact that he forgives your sin, that he grants renewal to the soul. So as you look around you and you see how miserable the world around us is, as you look at all the war, all the death, all the suffering, and you see all those things, as with the man here, think about the cause, which is human sin. And then think of your sin. When you look at all the suffering in the world and you're grieved and horrified by the war and suffering around you, think about this. Even as all that is odious in your sight and you detest to see it, even more odious in the sight of God is the least sin of yours that you can think of. For we cannot hate and detest sin as we ought and as the Lord hates and detests sin. So then repent of your sins and grow in amazement of God's grace as you see even more the depths of your sin and God's graciousness to forgive you of that sin. So we can say, and we must say, let us be like the people at the end of the text who glorify God and say, never have we seen anything like this. Never have we seen one who can forgive sins. As you think of your own sins and how greatly you have grieved the Lord. No one else can take this sin from off of you, but the Lord Jesus Christ. Never have you seen anything that is like this. So we can say, glory be to Jesus Christ. Glory be to Him who brings salvation to the world and who delivers us from our great sin and misery. Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we are very grateful for the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is exceedingly gracious and merciful, who has this power to forgive our sins. We pray that you would forgive us of our sin of not being grateful to you for this, of living our lives as if we're not even conscious of this fact. So we pray that we would grow to greater degrees of grief and hatred for our sin, that we would come to detest it even more, that we would come to appreciate the grace that you have given to forgive us of this sin. Let us love the Lord Jesus Christ, our great Savior, all the more, and grow in that love. And we pray that as we go through this life and as we face sufferings and afflictions, That this would draw us to the Lord. That this would draw us to look to you, our Father who is in heaven, seeking our needs from you and trusting that whether you decide to heal us or to deliver us from these trials or not, that you ordain them for our good and will grow us in them. That we may enjoy a sweeter communion with you. In all this we pray, in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for that, brother. Let's stand together and respond to the word that we just heard to sing together, 485, O thou that hearest when sinners cry. 485 in your hymnal, please. Let's stand together and sing.