526
December 1932
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
There was but one door, hardly wide enough for four men to enter carrying a cot. The small openings in the walls about two feet square served to admit light and ventilation. The roof was flat. It was con structed by laying branches o f trees across from the top o f one wall to the other, cov ering this with a network o f smaller bran ches and then plastering the whole over with about a foot o f mud. The walls arched inward slightly on the inside, thus serving to support this roof. A fter it had been in place for a year or more, it was quite substantial. On the outside o f the wall, some stone steps led up to the roof. After the hot summer days, the family fre quently repaired to the roof to enjoy the cool breeze o f the evening. Whenever a notable personage approached their city, the housetop provided an excellent grand stand from which to watch his approach. The average house contained but one room, sufficient in size to accommodate thirty or forty people if they crowded in. There must have been a hundred crowding in and around the house in which Jesus spoke. The only thing which the stretcher-bearers could do was to climb the stairs and dig up the mud roof and let their human bur den down before- Christ. Outline and Exposition I. R ewarding F aith by F orgiving S in ( 1 - 5 ). 1. The crowded house. Whenever Jesus enters a house, the neighbors will know that He is there. In the incident in our lesson, the news was soon noised abroad that Jesus was present, and a great crowd gathered to see and to hear Him. He “preached the word unto them,” that is, He preached God’s truth for their edification and instruction. 2. The believing friends. Among those who were there were four friends of a man sick with the palsy. These four men have been called the first Chris tian Endeavor Society. They could do nothing of themselves for the relief o f this friend, but they believed that, if they could get him to Jesus, something would be done. But the crowd was so great they could not get in through the door. A meet ing was going on inside, but these' four felt that to get a sick man to Jesus was more important than to maintain an or derly service; so they cut a hole through the roof and let the man down into the presence o f the Lord. All they hoped- for was that their friend might be made phys ically well. They were hot thinking o f his soul. They were to receive far more than they had hoped. 3. The forgiven man. When Jesus saw the faith of the four, as revealed by their works, He said to the palsied man, “ Thy sins be forgiven thee.” He took no notice of their work but refer red to their faith, and He declared that because o f it this man was forgiven. II. R ebuking U nbelief in F orgiveness (6-9). The scribes sitting there heard just as much as did others who were present, but while others believed and were blessed, these did not believe and hence received no benefit from what they heard. Today many hear just as much as Christians do, but they receive nothing from what they hear, because there is an absence of faith. They merely hear and criticize. The unbelieving
BLACKBOARD LESSON
Satan rather than the freedom which God offers. They go on in their sin, refusing the forgiveness that might be theirs for the taking. The power to rise and walk was proof to this man that his sins were actually for given. Every time he would put one foot before the other, he would be reminded that his sins were forgiven. Today we have the unchanging Word of tjie unchanging God to rest upon, and each time we read or hear it, it should be our joy to offer thanks unto Him who has forgiven all our sins. All who heard and saw this remarkable event were amazed, and they all glorified God. But the sequel shows that while they were amazed and wondered, declaring that they had never seen it on that fashion be fore, they were not ready to bow before the authority o f the One who had given such striking and inimitable proof of His deity and Messiahship. Here again there is a revelation o f the hardness o f the hu man heart and its natural enmity against God. The man’s healing was public; and by rising and taking up his bed, he made con fession to what had happened. He could not be a secret believer. There are some today whose sins have been forgiven, but nobody except themselves knows it; there is no public confession, and hence no in ward rejoicing. Lesson Questions Vs. 1-5. Where was Jesus and what, specifically, was He doing when the palsied man was brought to Him ? The four friends had faith; how did they show it? What did they expect ? What besides phys ical restoration did Jesus give? Vs. 6-9. What was the complaint of the scribes? When Jesus read their thoughts, what did He prove to them? How did He further assert His deity? Vs. 10-12. In what way did the restored man make public confession? Is public con fession always essential (Rom . 10:9, 10)? As a result o f the miracle, were the people impressed ? awed ? surrendered to God ? Jesus Forgiving a Man M ark 2:1-5, 10-12 Memory Verse: “ Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive” (Psa. 86:5). Approach: A fter Jesus began to preach and teach and heal the people, they gath ered in great crowds to hear Him and especially to see the miracles of healing which He performed. Lesson Story: One day, Jesus came
SIN SICKNESS
OLD THING'S /A LL THING* /A N EW t / PASSED AW AY/BECOME NEW /CREATURE/
HEALED
THr beo / a ^ uale !
m is e ! TAPEUP
hearers in our lesson began to reason in their hearts, accusing the Lord of blas phemy. They knew that no one could for give sin but God; hence if this Man were not God, He blasphemed by presuming to forgive sin. I f Jesus were not God, then these scribes were correct in blaming H im ; but if He was God, they were guilty in that they refused to bow to His authority. The same is true today. If the scribes did not know the truth of the matter when they spoke, they knew im mediately after, because the Lord revealed to them the exact thoughts passing through their minds. He thus proved who He was by reading their minds as eas ily as they would read a printed page. This was an evidence of His Messiahship ac cording to their own Scripture as found in Isaiah 11:3. He then told them that it was as sim ple for Him to say, “ Thy sins be for given thee,” as to say, “Take up thy bed, and walk.” If it were a question merely o f saying words, one saying was as simple as the other; but if it was a matter o f forgiving sins, this presupposed deity. III. R evealing P ower to F orgive S in (10-12). The Lord Jesus offered to the scribes the proof that He was indeed their Messiah, the Son o f God, with God’s power and authority to forgive sins. The “ Son o f man hath power” to forgive; hence the Son o f man must also be the Son of God. So, in order that the people might know be yond a doubt that He was what He was, He commanded the sick man to rise, take up his bed, and go to his house. Now His word hung upon what the man would do. I f the man obeyed, the word o f Jesus would be as true as the word o f G od ; but if he disobeyed and refused to move, the word of Jesus would fall to the ground, and He would be proven a blasphemer. Immediately the man arose, healed en tirely o f his palsy, and went forth before them all. But alas! we do not read that the scribes yielded to even this proof. They stood aloof, and the after story shows how hardened their hearts were by their hatred o f this One who was God come down into their midst. There are many today who are rejecting this same Jesus, even though they know He is the Saviour they need. They know He has heaven’s authority, but they will not yield to Him. This would be beyond comprehension if we did not know something of the natural wickedness of the human heart. It is de ceitful above all things and desperately wicked, so much so that in the face of proof concerning their soul’s eternal wel fare, men can shut their eyes and close their ears to the truth. They know, because they have been given p r o o f; they do not believe, because they prefer slavery to
again into the city in which S im on P eter and Andrew lived. As soon as the people heard that He had come, they crowded into the house where Jesus had gone. Very soon there was no room left inside. Even around the house, the people pu sh ed and crowded. Every one
wanted to see this marvelous Person. In that city there was a sick man. His friends had been waiting until Jesus should come that way again, for they knew that Jesus could heal him. They carried him on a stretcher through the streets to the house where Jesus was. How disappointed they were when they found that the crowds were so great that they couldn’t get into
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