reaching out with proof

Please turn with me to Mark 2.

We saw last time that Jesus reaches out with forgiveness. Four friends literally raise the roof so their paralyzed buddy can be a drop-in guest in the packed house where Jesus is teaching.

But instead of healing the man, what does Jesus do? He says in v. 5, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” He forgives him. What a wonderful thing.

Verse 12 says, “they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw it on this fashion—We never saw anything like this!’”

But not everyone was amazed or glorifying God. The scribes are furious. This is the 1st of many clashes they have with Christ in Mark. This account of the paralytic is the last of 5 healings that started in 1:21, but it’s also the 1st of 5 conflicts that will go through 3:6.