This summer, during “Our Next Guest” series, the Daily Bible Readings will take you on a journey through the book of Mark. We’ll take an in-depth look at the life of Jesus, introducing you to all of the different guests, themes, and spiritual disciplines Jesus interacted with and practiced throughout the book. Our hope and prayer is that you’ll meet Jesus in new and fresh ways as we journey together through the Gospel according to Mark.
Day One Mark 2:1-12
2 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”
8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!’” Mark 2:1-12 (NLT)
Discover
1. As you picture this scene in your mind, what stands out to you most in the first four verses?
2. How do you think the four friends felt when they heard what Jesus said in verse 5?
3. At what point in this story do people praise God?
Respond
The greatest gift we can ever receive from God is forgiveness of our sins. But notice in this story that Jesus only received confused stares and questioning after He healed the man’s spiritual sickness. It wasn’t until Jesus healed him physically that people praised God. Do you sometimes fall into the same trap? Praying for and celebrating the physical over the spiritual? Yes, both are good, but one is greater. Spend some time now praying for people in your life who need spiritual healing and for any spiritual sickness in your own life. Thank God for the greatest gift of all – the power to forgive sins.
For Further Reading: Let Us Glorify God for the Greater Thing
For Families with Kids at Home
Explain to your kids that Jesus doesn’t just want to heal you when you’re sick or injured (though He does want to - He’s the Great Physician!). More importantly, Jesus wants to heal your heart by forgiving you of everything you’ve ever done wrong and ever will do wrong! This is far better than making us feel better physically!
*TPCC does not necessarily endorse all For Further Reading/Learning sources. They are simply meant to be a helpful tool.