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19th Sunday after Trinity – October 6^th, 2024 Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas Rev. Joshua Woelmer Text: Mark 2:1–12 “Which Is Easier?” Theme: It is easier for the Lord of Creation to heal a body than for him to forgive sins. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to tell a paralytic, “Rise and walk”? I’ll be honest, there’s one that certainly does seem easier to our earthly understanding. It’s much harder to get a paralytic to walk than to say a few words of forgiveness when someone has wronged you. We spend billions of dollars each year to help paralytics move one foot at a time. Perhaps you’ve seen some inspiring videos where technicians from MIT work with brain signals to move artificial limbs. Some of these patients have even regained some movement in those limbs after training on these machines for a few months. And then, on the other hand, apologies and forgiveness seem to come cheap. Instead of saying “I’m sorry,” the colloquial term is “My bad.” And instead of saying those words of forgiveness, we say “It’s alright” or “No problem.” We tell each other by our language that sin isn’t a big deal, and forgiveness is cheap. So, could any of us compare those billions of dollars and the doctors’ and technicians’ years of experience with the words of forgiveness? It definitely seems like forgiveness is easier. Now, when Jesus came onto the scene in Galilee, people flocked to him for two reasons. They wanted to listen to his sermons, and they wanted their sick to be healed. Perhaps they saw him as a prophet, or a miracle worker. We know that the Pharisees and scribes did not consider Jesus to be God and man, even if many other people were beginning to believe. They thought that Jesus was just an ordinary man, and that he had no authority to forgive or to heal. There were others who believed differently. The friends of the paralyzed man believed in Jesus. Jesus commends their faith for bringing the man to him. They even lowered the man through the ceiling into the room where Jesus was. They believed that Jesus had the power to heal their friend. They figured that this is the main problem with their friend, and only Jesus could help. Now, of course this paralytic needed physical healing. The friends brought him to the right person. We don’t know the situation of this man. We don’t know how long he suffered with paralysis or what caused it. But we do know that something else was wrong with this man. We know, for example, that this man was a child of Adam and Eve. He was a sinner. The world might debate this fact. It can only see outward actions. A paralytic can’t murder someone; he can’t commit adultery or steal. But he did have sin that needed to be forgiven. There are many ways a paralytic could sin. He could curse God for being crippled. He could have anger and hatred in his heart towards man and God. He could lust in his heart and with his eyes. He could gossip and tell lies about his neighbor. He could covet what other people have, especially mobility. Perhaps he was bothered by these things. We don’t know this for sure, but perhaps his conscience was burdened by the countless things that went through his mind every day. Perhaps deep down he knew what his real ailment was—not paralysis, but his sinful condition. He needed forgiveness. Jesus knew this too. He could read the thoughts of the scribes, but I don’t think you need to be a mind reader to know that each of us are burdened by our sins. So Jesus doesn’t address the problems that the world would identify first, but he addresses the true problem. He says, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (5). He gets right to the source of all that bothers the man. This man may have come to Jesus with the faith that Jesus could heal his paralysis, but he received so much more. He received the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins. If Jesus is Lord, then not only is he able to heal broken bodies, but he also has the authority to forgive sins. The scribes did not see it this way. They only saw a man standing before them. They saw a mere man claiming to forgive sins as God himself. Jesus saw their thoughts and posed a question, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” (9). He then bids the man to rise and walk, demonstrating his authority over heaven and earth. The scribes did not answer the question, but we should. Which is easier, to forgive sins or to heal a paralytic? We think that healing a paralytic is near impossible. But forgiving sin meant for Jesus that he would have to head to the cross. Sin requires payment. It requires blood to be shed. To heal a person, Jesus could just use his divine power—no problem. But to forgive sins, Jesus needed to die. Jesus needed to go to the cross to die the punishment that our sins have brought. Jesus knew the answer to his own question. He knew what those words of forgiveness would mean. They would mean his death. We are in the paralytic’s situation. We may have all types of ailments, or none at all. But we all sin. We all have deeper problems than those things that we see on the surface. Our sins have paralyzed our ability to earn God’s favor. We are unable to walk our way to heaven on our own. Spiritually speaking, we are unable to save ourselves. We are unable to come to Jesus on our own. Like the paralytic we are all children of Adam and Eve—sinners in need of the forgiveness of sins. And, like the paralytic, we need to hear the forgiveness spoken over us. We need to know that the forgiveness spoken is from God himself, that it’s by his authority that we are declared innocent and holy. It’s not enough to know in our head that God is merciful, but we need to hear it for ourselves. We need it bestowed upon us. The church is all about the forgiveness of sins—sinners confessing their sins and receiving God’s grace and mercy on account of Christ Jesus our Lord. This is as true now as it was back then for the paralytic. If you were to ask the paralytic, “What was the greatest blessing in your life?” I’m sure he would say, “I am thankful that I can walk, but my greatest blessing was the fact that God in Christ Jesus forgave all my sin.” And so, the greatest blessings in your life have nothing to do with anything material or physical. Your greatest blessing in life is the forgiveness of sins that you receive from God Himself. For where there is forgiveness, there is also life and salvation. Nothing else in life is as important as that. I always reminded of this when I visit shut-ins. Many of them complain that they can no longer come to church. They have various ailments, and some are not able to go anywhere. But they miss church, because they know what they really need. They need connection with God, and they need connection with fellow Christians. If you were to ask them which they would rather have, their physical strength or to be in church, they would choose the latter. Jesus promises both to us in the life to come. So which is easier to speak, words of healing or words of forgiveness? For Christ, the words of forgiveness meant death. But this forgiveness is now ours. It’s ours to receive, and ours to give. As we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen. Return to Top \| Return to Sermons \| Home \| Email Church Office

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19th Sunday after Trinity – October 6^th, 2024

Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas

Rev. Joshua Woelmer

Text: Mark 2:1–12

“Which Is Easier?”

Theme: It is easier for the Lord of Creation to heal a body than for him to forgive sins.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to tell a paralytic, “Rise and walk”? I’ll be honest, there’s one that certainly does seem easier to our earthly understanding. It’s much harder to get a paralytic to walk than to say a few words of forgiveness when someone has wronged you. We spend billions of dollars each year to help paralytics move one foot at a time. Perhaps you’ve seen some inspiring videos where technicians from MIT work with brain signals to move artificial limbs. Some of these patients have even regained some movement in those limbs after training on these machines for a few months.

And then, on the other hand, apologies and forgiveness seem to come cheap. Instead of saying “I’m sorry,” the colloquial term is “My bad.” And instead of saying those words of forgiveness, we say “It’s alright” or “No problem.” We tell each other by our language that sin isn’t a big deal, and forgiveness is cheap.

So, could any of us compare those billions of dollars and the doctors’ and technicians’ years of experience with the words of forgiveness? It definitely seems like forgiveness is easier.

Now, when Jesus came onto the scene in Galilee, people flocked to him for two reasons. They wanted to listen to his sermons, and they wanted their sick to be healed. Perhaps they saw him as a prophet, or a miracle worker. We know that the Pharisees and scribes did not consider Jesus to be God and man, even if many other people were beginning to believe. They thought that Jesus was just an ordinary man, and that he had no authority to forgive or to heal.

There were others who believed differently. The friends of the paralyzed man believed in Jesus. Jesus commends their faith for bringing the man to him. They even lowered the man through the ceiling into the room where Jesus was. They believed that Jesus had the power to heal their friend. They figured that this is the main problem with their friend, and only Jesus could help.

Now, of course this paralytic needed physical healing. The friends brought him to the right person. We don’t know the situation of this man. We don’t know how long he suffered with paralysis or what caused it. But we do know that something else was wrong with this man.

We know, for example, that this man was a child of Adam and Eve. He was a sinner. The world might debate this fact. It can only see outward actions. A paralytic can’t murder someone; he can’t commit adultery or steal.

But he did have sin that needed to be forgiven. There are many ways a paralytic could sin. He could curse God for being crippled. He could have anger and hatred in his heart towards man and God. He could lust in his heart and with his eyes. He could gossip and tell lies about his neighbor. He could covet what other people have, especially mobility.

Perhaps he was bothered by these things. We don’t know this for sure, but perhaps his conscience was burdened by the countless things that went through his mind every day. Perhaps deep down he knew what his real ailment was—not paralysis, but his sinful condition. He needed forgiveness.

Jesus knew this too. He could read the thoughts of the scribes, but I don’t think you need to be a mind reader to know that each of us are burdened by our sins. So Jesus doesn’t address the problems that the world would identify first, but he addresses the true problem. He says, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (5). He gets right to the source of all that bothers the man.

This man may have come to Jesus with the faith that Jesus could heal his paralysis, but he received so much more. He received the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins. If Jesus is Lord, then not only is he able to heal broken bodies, but he also has the authority to forgive sins.

The scribes did not see it this way. They only saw a man standing before them. They saw a mere man claiming to forgive sins as God himself. Jesus saw their thoughts and posed a question, “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” (9). He then bids the man to rise and walk, demonstrating his authority over heaven and earth.

The scribes did not answer the question, but we should. Which is easier, to forgive sins or to heal a paralytic? We think that healing a paralytic is near impossible. But forgiving sin meant for Jesus that he would have to head to the cross. Sin requires payment. It requires blood to be shed. To heal a person, Jesus could just use his divine power—no problem. But to forgive sins, Jesus needed to die. Jesus needed to go to the cross to die the punishment that our sins have brought.

Jesus knew the answer to his own question. He knew what those words of forgiveness would mean. They would mean his death.

We are in the paralytic’s situation. We may have all types of ailments, or none at all. But we all sin. We all have deeper problems than those things that we see on the surface. Our sins have paralyzed our ability to earn God’s favor. We are unable to walk our way to heaven on our own. Spiritually speaking, we are unable to save ourselves. We are unable to come to Jesus on our own. Like the paralytic we are all children of Adam and Eve—sinners in need of the forgiveness of sins.

And, like the paralytic, we need to hear the forgiveness spoken over us. We need to know that the forgiveness spoken is from God himself, that it’s by his authority that we are declared innocent and holy. It’s not enough to know in our head that God is merciful, but we need to hear it for ourselves. We need it bestowed upon us.

The church is all about the forgiveness of sins—sinners confessing their sins and receiving God’s grace and mercy on account of Christ Jesus our Lord. This is as true now as it was back then for the paralytic. If you were to ask the paralytic, “What was the greatest blessing in your life?” I’m sure he would say, “I am thankful that I can walk, but my greatest blessing was the fact that God in Christ Jesus forgave all my sin.”

And so, the greatest blessings in your life have nothing to do with anything material or physical. Your greatest blessing in life is the forgiveness of sins that you receive from God Himself. For where there is forgiveness, there is also life and salvation. Nothing else in life is as important as that.

I always reminded of this when I visit shut-ins. Many of them complain that they can no longer come to church. They have various ailments, and some are not able to go anywhere. But they miss church, because they know what they really need. They need connection with God, and they need connection with fellow Christians. If you were to ask them which they would rather have, their physical strength or to be in church, they would choose the latter. Jesus promises both to us in the life to come.

So which is easier to speak, words of healing or words of forgiveness? For Christ, the words of forgiveness meant death. But this forgiveness is now ours. It’s ours to receive, and ours to give. As we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.

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