Lent Day 12: Paralyzed Man & Friends

Pause

Before beginning today’s reading, spend a few moments simply praising God for who He is. List aspects of His character such as merciful, good, holy, and more. Thank Him for specific ways He has displayed those characteristics in your life.

Read & Journal

Read Mark 2:1-12. Ponder these questions:

• What does this interaction with a paralyzed man and his friends teach you about Jesus’ character? About His mission and purpose?

• What does the interaction with the religious leaders in this passage teach you about Jesus? About His mission and purpose?

• How do you see Jesus entering into human brokenness in this passage?

Ponder

In today’s reading, it’s easy to see how Jesus stepped into the paralyzed man’s brokenness and healed him. But Jesus also recognized brokenness in the religious leaders: their hard hearts and refusal to believe. The meaning behind Jesus’ bold statement—”your sins are forgiven”—would have been apparent to everyone in the room. Only God could forgive sins, and the people knew it. To claim to forgive sin was to claim equality with God, and the religious leaders couldn’t or wouldn’t go that far. So Jesus challenged them in their unbelief with a series of questions and a miraculous healing. Jesus was capable not only of healing physical ailments, but also at healing sickness of the heart (sin), and His actions left the religious leaders with a choice: worship Jesus as God, as His actions revealed Him to be or turn away in refusal.

Our lives are filled with opportunities to believe Jesus is who He says He is or turn away in refusal. That begins with the moment of our salvation, but continues throughout our journey with Christ. In a difficult season when He seems far away, do we believe the Lord is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18) or that He has abandoned us? When His Spirit reveals sin in our hearts, do believe Him and repent or turn away in defiance? When He says holiness matters in every area of our lives, do we ask the Spirit to help us live set-apart lives or profess Him with our lips and deny Him in our hearts? Let today be a day of belief rather than turning away. Choose to seek Jesus in all you do, believing the reality that He is the Son of God who died and rose again—for you.