13 Jul 2010

VBS: Unbelief

Posted by joncooper

Our text is Mark 2:1-12, but before we get to that I want to establish a bit of context. Mark 2 takes place in Capernaum, and I’d like to talk a bit about this place before we get started.

Capernaum was a small village on the Sea of Galilee. At most it was home to around 1500 people. The city lasted for almost a thousand years; it was established in the second century BC and lasted until the seventh century AD.

Interestingly, Jesus made Capernaum His home during the early days of His ministry. After being baptized by John the Baptist He was driven into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan, and after the period of temptation was over He left Nazareth and moved to Capernaum:

Matthew 4:12: “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;
13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali:
14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As the passage indicates, this was done in fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy.

The Lord did a number of notable miracles there. For example, in Capernaum the Lord demonstrated His power over demons, to the astonishment of those around Him:

Mark 1:21: “And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.”

The fact that Jesus could drive out demons was proof that He came from God. That is what so disturbed the crowd that was in the synagogue that day. You see, miracles cannot be done apart from the power of God:

John 9:29: “Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.
29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
32 Since the world began it was not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.”

The man that was born blind put his finger right on the real issue. The Pharisees could criticize the teachings of Jesus, but the problem was that Jesus’ teachings were backed up by awesome power – a power that could only come from God. It’s hard to criticize someone who claims to be God when He then turns around and does things that cannot be done without God’s help – things like casting out demons or raising the dead.

Verse 22 is interesting. Whenever the scribes taught they would quote other people as their authority, telling the Jews that they should live their lives a certain way because so-and-so says they should. Jesus never taught that way; He gave commands and issued doctrine as if He was the one in charge. This astonished people because Jesus was acting as if He was God. Jesus acted this way, of course, because He really was God. Jesus demonstrated this through His many miracles, which in turn brought Him widespread fame. No one had ever heard such teachings or seen such power. It was something new and strange.

It was immediately after this scene in the synagogue that the incident with the paralyzed man happened:

Mark 2:1: “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.
2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?
8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
9 Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)
11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.
12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.”

Once again we see a familiar pattern. The scribes are upset that Jesus forgave sins because only God could forgive sins. If Jesus really had the power to forgive sins then that would mean He was God, and they rejected that idea. Jesus then demonstrated that He really was God by doing something only God could do – namely, instantly healing a paralyzed man. He was making it very clear that He really was the Messiah.

Nor were those the only miracles He did in Capernaum. That is where Jesus healed the Centurion’s servant:

Matthew 8:5: “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
8 The centurion answered and said, Lord I am not worthy that thou shoudst come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
10 When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

That is also where Jesus healed the nobleman’s son:

John 4:46: “So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water of wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.
47 When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.
48 Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.
49 The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.
50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.
51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.
52 Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.
53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.
54 This is again the second miracle that Jesus did, when he was come out of Judea of Galilee.”

Notice what Christ said in verse 48. When the nobleman came and told Jesus that his son was dying the Lord responded by saying “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” Jesus came to Earth to seek and to save them which were lost. The nobleman may have been concerned about his son, but Jesus was concerned about his soul. Jesus wanted to meet the nobleman’s real need – his need for a savior. Jesus performed many signs and wonders so that people would believe that He was the Messiah.

But many people refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Even though He performed countless breathtaking miracles they still did not believe. His own hometown, Nazareth, rejected Him:

Luke 4:21: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.
22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country,”

Even the people of Capernaum rejected Him, despite the fact that they had seen Jesus do astonishing things:

John 6:24: “When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?”

59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”

Even though John the Baptist had testified that Jesus was the Messiah, and even though Jesus had testified that He was the Messiah, and even though Jesus had performed countless miracles that proved He came from God, many people still rejected Him. They simply refused to believe.

Because these people had seen the power of God demonstrated and yet had still refused to repent, Jesus told them that their punishment would be great:

Matthew 11:20: “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:
21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in at the day of judgment, than for you.
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee.”

Jesus told Capernaum that they were worse than Sodom because even Sodom would have repented if they had seen the works that Jesus had done. They had no reason to doubt that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be, but they still would not repent.

This was a common theme all throughout Christ’s ministry. Jesus powerfully demonstrated that He was God, both in word and deed, and yet He was rejected. When He told people plainly that He was from God He was accused of being demon-possessed:

John 8:45: “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?”

These people had seen Jesus perform astonishing miracles, on a scale never before seen in history, but rather than humbling themselves and repenting they blasphemed Jesus and rejected Him. They mocked Him and said He was demon-possessed – the very man they had watched cast out one demon after another.

When Jesus plainly told them that He was God they tried to stone him:

John 8:57: “Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”

(“I am” is the name that God gave to Moses. In verse 58 Jesus is saying that He was the great I AM that Moses spoke of. This was the truth, but the Jews hated Jesus for saying it.)

Nor was this the only time that happened. Jesus kept telling them that He was God and the Jews kept trying to murder Him for it:

John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

The reason Jesus made Himself out to be God was because He really was God. Jesus demonstrated this in many ways, but many responded with hatred and murder. The very people that tried to kill Him had seen the miracles He performed, but they chose to reject Him anyway. Even the resurrection of Lazarus made no difference to them:

John 11:43: “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.
47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? For this man doeth many miracles.

53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.”

Let’s put all of this into perspective. Jesus was born right where the Old Testament prophesied the Jesus would be born, and a host of angels announced His birth. John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord, telling people that the Messiah was coming. When Jesus came to see John he pointed Him out, telling people that the Messiah had arrived.

Jesus then went on to perform many miracles, including acts of power that had never been seen before in the history of the world. Jesus told people that He was the Messiah, that He came from God, and that He actually was God. And to top it all off, Jesus went into a graveyard, found a man who had been dead so long he had started to decay, and raised him from the dead. If you have the power to go to a graveyard and raise the dead back to life then there is something really special about you, because only God can raise the dead. That is as clear a demonstration of godlike power that anyone could ever want. Jesus told people that He had the power to grant everlasting life, and He proved it.

And in response to all this did the Pharisees fall on their knees and repent of their sins? Did they humbly beg for forgiveness? No. They decided Jesus was becoming a real pain and put together a plan to execute Him. Yes, they decided to execute someone who could raise people from the dead. They rejected Jesus as thoroughly as anyone possibly could.

Because of this the Lord pronounced judgment upon those who had seen His power firsthand and yet had rejected Him:

Matthew 23:27: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribe and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Beyond, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Since that generation saw Jesus and rejected Him as their Messiah, the Lord judged them. That generation was not interested in God’s forgiveness, so instead they faced His wrath. Forty years after this conversation the Roman army crushed Jerusalem, slaughtering more than 1 million Jews. The Lord had indeed left their house desolate. The nation of Israel would not exist again until 1948.

On top of that, the Lord took away the kingdom from them and gave it to the Gentiles:

Matthew 21:43: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

On the day of Pentecost the Church came into being. It accepted Jesus as its Messiah, and for almost two thousand years it has done what the Israelites failed to do – follow Jesus. But Israel’s rejection of Jesus will not last forever. Paul explained this in Romans:

Romans 11:1: “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. …
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should call? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

What Paul is saying is that Israel’s rejection of Jesus was a blessing to the world because it led to the salvation of the Gentiles. The kingdom has been taken from them, but that is just temporary. God still loves Israel and longs to see them saved. One day the Church will be completed and then things will change:

Romans 11:25: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

In Matthew 23:39 Jesus told the Israelites that He would not return until they accepted Him as their Messiah. Romans 11:25 tells us that Israel will continue to reject Jesus until the “fullness of the Gentiles be come in” – in other words, until the Church is completed. What this means is that once the Church adds its last member (for God knows who will be saved and who will not) the blindness will stop and the entire nation of Israel will repent. Zechariah speaks of the day when the Israelites will realize what they have done and will whole-heartedly turn to Jesus:

Zechariah 12:10: “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their waves apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.”

After Israel repents Jesus will return to Earth, rescue Israel, and defeat His enemies. The Bible talks a great deal about how the Lord will turn Israel’s heart back to Him and what happens after Jesus returns, but that is a topic beyond the scope of this paper.

All of this brings us back to Mark 2 and the paralyzed man that was brought to Jesus. You see, in Capernaum that day there were two groups of people. There were the scribes, who rejected Jesus, and the paralyzed man, who accepted Him. The paralyzed man left with his sins forgiven; the scribes left still in their sins. One received mercy while the other received wrath and judgment.

Jesus offers forgiveness and mercy to all who repent and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. What choice are you going to make? Are you going to be like the paralytic, who humbly came to Jesus, or are you going to reject Him as the scribes did? If you are not willing to accept God’s mercy then you will face His wrath; those are your only two choices. Choose wisely, for once Jesus comes for you it will be too late to change your mind.

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