Hello and Happy July!
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to preach on five of Jesus’ most comforting and fortifying words: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” You can watch the sermon in the link below or on YouTube. You can also listen on SoundCloud.
I’ve also included the sermon transcript below. 🙂
I pray the Lord blesses you through His Word!
~Blake
FYI – I preached at two campuses and attached both recordings. If the audio from North Aurora is too quiet, click the other link (South Street). The sermon in the South Street video begins at about the 19:30 mark.
Introduction
[Water for Good announcement]
Please open your Bibles to Mark 2. I’m excited to dig into God’s Word with you today. As you turn there, I’ll tell a quick story.
About five years ago, a friend (I’ll call him Bob for the sake of this story) asked me if I could drive him to the airport at 6 a.m. the following day.
I immediately knew driving him wasn’t a good idea. I had a big project due that morning, and I knew I’d be working on it into the night and morning.
Unfortunately, I have trouble saying no in situations like these, so as I looked at him and saw his big puppy dog eyes staring back at me, I heard myself blurt out, “Of course!”
And immediately, I’m thinking, What are you doing, Blake?? This is a bad idea!
Sure enough, as the day went on, I started feeling more and more pressure about the project and less and less peace about agreeing to drive him, so I finally willed up the courage to talk to him.
Well, to text him.
(I know, the shame!)
I said, “Hey man, I’m sorry, but I actually can’t drive you tomorrow. I shouldn’t have said yes in the first place.”
As soon as I pushed send—even though I knew it was the right thing to do—I instantly felt terrible for backing out on him.
Then, to make matters worse, Bob didn’t text back for 30 excruciatingly long minutes.
And as every minute went by, my deepest fears were being more and more confirmed.
I was like, I knew it! He hates me! He’ll never forgive me. He’s never going to talk to me again. He’s forever going to see me as Blake the Flake.
Finally, I heard my cell phone buzz. I glanced down and saw I had received a text from Bob, and was surprised to read these words:
“That’s totally fine, man! I completely understand.”
As soon as I saw these words, I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I was so thankful that Bob forgave me and wasn’t angry.
But then, after two minutes of relief, I felt suspicion creep into the back of my mind. I started thinking, He’s just being polite! Deep down, he is angry! He hasn’t really forgiven me!
So get this—for the next MONTH, I lived in doubt of his forgiveness—to the point that I literally adjusted my behavior around him (e.g., I wouldn’t joke around as much) to show him I was taking my mistake very seriously.
It was a miserable way to live.
So, after four weeks, I asked Bob out for burritos and explained what happened. I asked, “Will you forgive me?”
After (finally) finishing his bite, Bob set down his burrito, looked at me, smiled, and said, “Bro. I haven’t even thought about that since it happened.”
Suddenly, it hit me: For the past month, I had lived in miserable doubt and suspicion of his love—even though he had forgiven me all along!
Doubting God’s forgiveness and love
As silly as this story may sound, I wonder how many of us live with a similar doubt of God’s forgiveness and love.
I wonder how many of us consciously or subconsciously live with a constant undercurrent of guilt and dread because, deep down, we aren’t convinced that God really forgives us.
And I’m not talking about forgiveness as in tolerance. I’m not talking about forgiveness as in, “Okay, God puts up with you—but he doesn’t like you.”
I’m talking about the kind of forgiveness that is so deep, thorough, and final that God wakes up every morning (as it were) and simply delights in you afresh.
I’m talking about the kind of forgiveness so deep that God’s heart leaps—not sinks—when he sees you.
The kind of forgiveness that is so deep that we are free to pursue obedience to Christ not to earn his approval and favor but simply to live in the joy of it.
Do you live in this kind of freedom, confidence, and joy?
Many of us struggle to believe that God forgives and loves us this way.
In fact, I would go as far as to say that every single one of us struggles to believe that at times in our lives.
What is our hope when we find ourselves doubting God’s forgiveness (on the lighter end) or living in paralyzing guilt and shame for what we’ve done (on the deeper end)?
Our text for today gives us two wonderful reasons for hope.
So, let’s pray, and then we’ll dive into our text.
Lord, use your Word today to deepen our confidence in your forgiveness and love, not to leave us in a life of sin, but to free us to pursue you (and to pursue obedience) for your glory and our joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Mark 2:1-12
I’ll be reading from the English Standard Version (ESV) and providing some commentary as we read the text. Once we finish reading, we can dive straight into our two points.
2 And when he [Jesus] returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
Many commentators believe this refers to Peter’s house, where Jesus was likely staying at the time. I also love that phrase, “It was reported that Jesus was at home.” One commentator asked: Does your home have this same reputation? Do people know that they can come to your house and find the presence of Jesus there? Verse 2:
2 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.
We get a hint of the content of Jesus’ preaching in the last chapter, in Mark 1:14-15: “Jesus came… proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel (or good news).’” In other words, here at Peter’s house, Jesus was likely saying something like, “The kingdom is here. You have a sin problem, but I have great news.” What is this great news? Jesus is about to show and tell it. Verse 3:
3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 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.
Two questions: First: Do you have friends like this who would do anything—even tear a roof off—to bring you closer to Jesus? If you do, cherish and thank them. Also, are you this kind of friend to those close to you? When you see a loved one in need, do you pick them up and bring them to Jesus?
Second question: Notice that these four men keep looking for Jesus, even after they see the blocked door, as verse 2 notes. So let me ask: When you face a closed door in your life, do you keep looking for Jesus? Do you assume that he still has a glorious plan for your life – that he’s still working – even if you don’t see it right away? These men could’ve seen the closed door and assumed it meant, “God has no plan for us. He’s done with us.” Instead, these men believed God would still bless them, even if they couldn’t see how right away. Even if it seemed impossible. Do you have this kind of faith? Verse 5:
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
It’s hard to know exactly who the word “their” is referring to—whether the four friends or all five of them, including the paralytic. I’m inclined to think it’s all five of them. But clearly, Jesus honors their corporate faith. There’s a word for all of us here: Jesus intends to use your faith to bless others in your life. Your pursuit of Jesus and obedience blesses more people than just you.
Speaking for myself, there’s something uniquely encouraging and fortifying to me about seeing believers in the generations above me faithfully coming to church and worshipping Jesus with joy week after week and year after year—this is one of the many reasons why I always walk away from church encouraged! For those of you older than me, your faith gives me hope that the same Holy Spirit who has sustained you throughout your life will also sustain me. This is part of the beauty of the body of Christ. We need one another. And God wants to use our faith to bless and encourage each other. Verse 6:
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
The scribes are 100% right about God being the only one with the authority to forgive sins. Of course, they are wrong about Jesus blaspheming, and we’re about to see why. Verse 8:
8 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? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 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!”
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Why can we have hope when we feel weighed down or even paralyzed by guilt?
According to Mark 2, we can have hope because of two things:
- The Nature of Our Forgiveness.
- The Nature of Our Forgiver.
Let’s consider these individually, beginning with The Nature of Our Forgiveness.
The Nature of Our Forgiveness
What kind of forgiveness is granted to us through Christ?
Notice again Jesus’ statement in v. 5:
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
I wish I could sit down with every one of you individually this morning, look you in the eye, and marvel at these words together.
Christian, if you only take away one thing from this sermon today, hear Jesus say these words to you:
Son/Daughter. Your. sins. are. forgiven.
Do you want some stability to build your entire life and death on?
Well, here is a single sentence that—when understood correctly—is more fortifying in life and death than 10 billion dollars.
Son/Daughter: Your sins are forgiven.
For this point, let’s allow the refreshing and healing water of these five words to wash over us.
And guys, as we go through this, hear Jesus say each of these words to YOU.
First, the word…
Son
Jesus says, “SON, your sins are forgiven.”
Notice that Jesus does not call him primarily…
- Servant (emphasizing Christ’s lordship).
- Subject (emphasizing Christ’s kingship)
- Creature (emphasizing Christ’s creation)
He calls him Son. Child.
Are you and I servants and subjects and creatures in Christ’s kingdom? Yes—and each of these titles is great news in different ways!
But your deepest identity—at the very core of who you are—is a child of God, united to Christ.
Those of you with kids and grandkids get a small, delicious taste of God the Father’s tender heart toward his children.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
It means many things, but as a mere starting point, it means…
- You are known.
- You are loved.
- You are safe.
- You have someone who is ALWAYS cheering FOR you.
- Someone who is ALWAYS committed TO YOU.
- You have unrestricted access to a perfect and trustworthy Guide and Friend. You have his full attention!
I love how Tim Keller put it: “The only person who dares wake up a king at 3:00 a.m. for a glass of water is a child. And we have that kind of [unrestricted] access [to God].”
Praise the Lord.
So first, he calls him son. Notice the second word:
Your
Jesus says, “Son, YOUR sins are forgiven.”
Notice that Jesus does not say, “Son, the sins of the world are forgiven.”
He does not say, “Son, the sins of everyone in this room are forgiven.”
He interestingly does not even say, “Son, the sins of you and your four friends are forgiven.”
He says, “Son, YOUR sins are forgiven.”
This does not mean that no one else’s sins were forgiven in Peter’s house that day.
But here, Jesus is emphasizing the individuality of forgiveness.
And this can be so easy for us to miss (or forget!) as believers. It’s as if Jesus were here today, and he puts his hand beneath your chin, lifts up your head, looks you in the eye, and says, “My child, YOUR sins are forgiven. I came for YOU. I died for YOU. I love YOU.”
I love how AW Tozer put it: “Jesus knows you individually as though there were not another person in the entire world. He died for you as certainly as if you had been the only lost one. He knows the worst about you and is the One who loves you the most.”
If you were the only person on the planet, Jesus still would have come and died on the cross because he died for YOU!
Notice the third word now.
Sins
Jesus says, “Son, your SINS are forgiven.”
Notice that Jesus does not say, “Son, your minor inconveniences are forgiven.”
He does not say, “Son, those mistakes you’ve made that you deem forgivable are forgiven.”
He says, “Son, your SINS are forgiven.”
The WORST about you.
That thing that you tremble to even mention.
That thing you did, knowing full well it was rebellion.
That sin that still riddles you with guilt to this day.
Jesus says THAT.
Forgiven, through faith.
All of our ugliest and messiest parts are forgiven through the grace and love of Christ.
As Charles Spurgeon put it, “After ten thousand sins, He loves you as infinitely as ever.”
What a Savior!
Next word:
Are
Jesus says, “Son, your sins ARE forgiven.”
Not, “Your sins WILL BE forgiven in the future.”
Not even, “Your sins HAVE BEEN forgiven to this point, but we’ll see what the future brings.”
Jesus isn’t standing there with a clipboard, watching to see if you perform well enough to earn his forgiveness and love.
He says, “My child, your sins ARE forgiven NOW.”
Even your FUTURE sins are forgiven NOW.
Christian, your entire life is submerged in the ocean of God’s grace. There aren’t little parts of you or your life that stick out above water.
Your past, present, and future are all fully washed and cleansed by the blood of Christ.
As J. I. Packer put it, “Nobody can produce new evidence of your depravity that will make God change his mind. For God justified you with (so to speak) his eyes open. He knew the worst about you at the time when he accepted you for Jesus’ sake, and the verdict which he passed then was, and is, final.”
Now, you might say, “Wait. Even my FUTURE sins are already forgiven? Careful Blake! Doesn’t that teaching promote sinful living?”
I’ve heard it said that if the kind of grace you preach doesn’t lead someone to at least ask, “Wait, well then, should I continue to sin?” then you haven’t preached grace. Remember, this is the same objection Paul faced in Romans 6:1.
He says, “Shall we continue to sin that grace may abound?”
And what was his response?
By no means! Absolutely not!
Here’s why:
God’s forgiveness has swung open the gates to our prison cell of rebellion.
That dark, cold, lonely prison cell is finally unlocked through God’s forgiveness and love, meaning we are finally free to step out into the sun and enjoy the abundant life of obedience to Christ!
Sure, you could continue living in that prison cell with the doors wide open—but why would you?
Jesus does not want to rob you of joy by calling you out of sin. Satan wants to rob you of joy by calling you into sin. This is why Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”
We are finally free to pursue the abundant life of obedience to Christ, knowing that every time we fail, forgiveness is waiting—praise the Lord.
This brings us to our final word:
Forgiven
Jesus says, “Son, your sins are FORGIVEN.”
He does not say,
- “Your sins are tolerated.”
- “Your sins are ignored.”
- “Your sins are swept under the rug, and we just won’t think about them.”
He says they are forgiven.
Truly dealt with – not merely ignored or hidden!
And guys, this is so important:
The World says, “Freedom comes from ignoring your sins or keeping them hidden.”
The Gospel says, “Freedom comes from admitting your sins and having them forgiven.”
That root-level emotional security we long for does not come from successfully hiding but from being fully known, fully loved, and fully forgiven by the person for whom our souls were created.
But does God really love me?
Now, you say, “Okay, so maybe God forgives me, but I’m not sure he really loves me.”
Did you know that there is not a single example in the Bible of God forgiving someone he doesn’t love?
God’s forgiveness is the first drop of his ocean of love.
If the amount of love required for God to forgive you was a bucket full, then God’s love is like Niagara Falls coming down onto that bucket, instantaneously exceeding that which is necessary to forgive and spilling over in an ocean of pure delight.
When you hear Jesus say, “I forgive you,” you can hear him saying, “I love you.”
Why can we have hope when we’re weighed down or even paralyzed by guilt?
According to Mark 2, we can have hope because of two things:
- The Nature of Our Forgiveness.
Second and finally:
- The Nature of Our Forgiver.
The Nature of Our Forgiver
Picture two brothers, 8 and 10 years old.
The older throws something at the younger, and they get into a fight.
Mom comes to break it up, and you know what happens next.
She says to the older, “Tell him you’re sorry.”
He says, “Sorry.”
She then nudges the younger, “Tell him you forgive him.”
He doesn’t say anything.
She says, “TELL HIM YOU FORGIVE HIM!”
He angrily blurts, “OK, fine, I forgive you!”
Notice that in this story, the 8-year-old said the magic words, “I forgive you”—or, using Jesus’ words, “Your sins are forgiven”—but his heart wasn’t in it.
Let me ask you:
Is this how Jesus forgives us?
Does he need to have his arm twisted?
Does he forgive with a scowl on his face and his toe-tapping?
Is he a reluctant Forgiver?
Let’s close this morning by looking at three things about the nature of Christ’s forgiving heart that we see in this text—and if any of these three things were missing, it would drastically change how we hear Jesus’ words, “Your sins are forgiven.”
How does Jesus forgive us?
This text shows us that Jesus is…
- Aggressive in his forgiveness
- All-knowing in his forgiveness
- Authoritative in his forgiveness
Let’s consider each of these, beginning with:
Jesus is Aggressive in his forgiveness
Notice again what happens in verse 5:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Notice how quickly Jesus forgives this man!
- He doesn’t say, “Prove how sorry you are, then I’ll forgive you.”
- He doesn’t demand that the man scores 90% on a theology quiz before forgiving him.
- He doesn’t make him sign a contract to never sin again.
No! At the very first sign of faith and repentance—even if that took place in this man’s heart—Jesus forgives.
Here’s how Tim Keller put it:
“Jesus perceived in this man’s heart a partial, fragmentary, imperfect, inarticulate longing for grace and mercy. And he responded to [this longing]! Even as inarticulate as it was—he responded to it! So willing is he to forgive and give grace. He’s aggressive with his grace. Jesus is not the kind of person who says, “Well, if you ask for forgiveness, [then] I’ll give it to you. [So the man says,] “Would you forgive me, Jesus?” [Jesus says,] “Say please!” This is not Jesus, [to say,] “If you do it just exactly right, [then I’ll forgive you].” Jesus is aggressive with his grace. … He is so eager to give us his grace; he is so willing to forgive us; he’s so ready to embrace us that even under these circumstances—even when you can’t even get the words out, even if it’s just on your heart—he’s willing to [forgive].”
Love that.
Whereas we often find reasons not to forgive, Jesus finds reasons to forgive.
Whereas we often have hair-trigger bitterness, Jesus has hair-trigger forgiveness.
He delights to show mercy, according to Micah 7:18.
As J.D. Shaw put it, “God is more ready to forgive you than you are to come to him for forgiveness.”
So, first, Jesus is Aggressive in his forgiveness, second:
Jesus is All-knowing in his forgiveness.
Notice again verse 8—and this verse makes me think of a superhero:
“Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts…”
According to this verse, Jesus doesn’t only know our outward actions but he even knows the spiritual condition of our hearts and minds!
- He knows our thoughts.
- He knows our motivations.
- He knows our longings.
- He knows our joys and sorrows and mistakes and all of the brokenness and messiness inside us.
Why is this so important on the topic of forgiveness?
Well, first, as Keller mentioned, this means Jesus can forgive us even when we have trouble putting our longings for grace into words.
Second, it means Jesus can forgive us down to the deepest depths of our sinfulness.
We don’t need to worry that he will find out something we’ve done and abandon us! He already knows the worst about us and still forgives us.
Now, you may say, “Blake, you don’t know what I’ve done. If you knew, you would doubt God could forgive me, too.”
If that’s you, I’d encourage you to remember Jesus’ words on the cross:
Jesus—as he is literally earning your forgiveness by dying for your sins—says,
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Ironically, it’s not Jesus who doesn’t know the full extent of our sinfulness—it’s us. Jesus not only knows our sinfulness in a theoretical way, but he felt the weight of all of it on the cross. He knows it fully—and yet, even while knowing the absolute worst about us, he still desires us and declares us forgiven. Praise the Lord!
What is the nature of our Forgiver?
First, Jesus is Aggressive in his forgiveness.
Second, Jesus is All-knowing in his forgiveness.
Third and finally:
Jesus is Authoritative in his forgiveness.
Notice again verse 7. The scribes think to themselves, “Jesus is blaspheming! No one can forgive sins but God alone!”
In other words, they say, “Jesus, you don’t have the authority to forgive sins!”
But look at how Jesus responds in verses 9-11—and this is brilliant. He says,
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
It’s an interesting question because on the one hand, it’s easier to SAY your sins are forgiven, since accomplishing that is unverifiable.
Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven”—whether or not they have the authority to do it—and no one has any way of confirming whether or not it happened.
But if Jesus says, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” and the man doesn’t walk, Jesus is proven to be a fraud.
So notice what Jesus says next in verse 10 –
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—in order to prove that I have this kind of authority)—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And the man 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!”
In other words, Jesus validates his authority to forgive sins by doing something they had never seen before—namely, healing a paralytic with a single word.
Jesus is intentional in his modes of healing. We’ve seen Jesus heal people by touching them, telling them to wash, etc.
But here—by healing with his words—Jesus is showing them, “Just as I have the authority to raise a paralyzed man with a single word, so I have the authority to forgive sins with a single word.”
If I (Blake) came up to you and said, “Your sins are forgiven,” you might pat me on the head and say, “That’s a kind thought—thanks, Blake.” But you know deep down that I don’t have that kind of authority. I don’t have the authority to speak this into existence.
But Jesus does. Jesus’ words have power.
When Jesus says, “You are forgiven,” it is done—and nothing in the universe can stop that from happening.
Why can we have hope when we’re weighed down or even paralyzed by guilt?
According to Mark 2, we can have hope because of two things:
- The Nature of Our Forgiveness—Jesus says, “Son/Daughter, your sins are forgiven.”
- The Nature of Our Forgiver—Jesus is aggressive, all-knowing, and authoritative in his forgiveness.
Conclusion
The ultimate reason we can have forgiveness is not because we tore off the roof of a house to come down to Jesus but because Jesus tore off the roof of heaven to come down to us.
Jesus willingly went to the cross to pay the full price of our forgiveness so that we could walk in loving fellowship with him forever.
If you are a believer, Jesus wants you to walk in the freedom of knowing your sins are fully and forever forgiven by God.
If you haven’t yet put faith in Jesus, he is inviting you today to trust him and live in the glorious relief of his grace and love.
Whichever category you’re in today, I invite you to join me in this prayer now:
Gracious God, forgive me for my sin. Thank you for tearing the roof off of heaven, becoming a man, and dying to forgive me. Lord Jesus, I don’t want to live for myself anymore; I want to live for you. I commit my life to you today. Help me to walk in the freedom and joy of obedience to you—all the while resting in your perfect and eternal grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Blake Glosson (MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary) is a pastoral resident at Chapelstreet Church in Geneva, Illinois. He has been published by The Gospel Coalition, Life Bible, and Crosswalk.com and republished and/or referred by Eternal Perspective Ministries (Randy Alcorn), Challies.com (Tim Challies), DashHouse (Darryl Dash), Moody Radio (here, here, and here), The JOY FM (here and here), ChurchLeaders.com, Monergism.com, The Aquila Report (here and here), and numerous other sources. Previously, he served as the director of young adults at New Covenant Bible Church in St. Charles, Illinois.
Watch or listen to more of Blake’s sermons here.
Read “12 Easy Ways to Improve Your Listening” here.
Read “Atomic Habits and Bible Intake: How Tiny Changes Add Up” here.
Read “Satan’s Two Favorite Lies (and Christ’s Victory)” here.
Read “3 Lies to Combat in Suffering and Anxiety” here.