10 day plan

Big truths for hearts young and old

Day 4 of 10

NIV

Mark 2:5-12

5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Reflection:  Jesus is God. When I was pregnant with my third child, my sister sent me a meme that said: “Having one child makes you a parent. Having two makes you a referee. Having more than two makes you a bouncer!” This has such an element of truth in it. Much of my day is taken up in helping my children manage boundaries around toy ownership, negotiate relationships, soothe hurt feelings and hurt bodies. Along with this, I try to teach them about being wronged, wronging each other, and forgiveness. The only one who can offer forgiveness is the person who has been wronged. I can’t forgive my son for hurting his sister. Only she can offer that forgiveness. This truth is central in teaching my children about Jesus’ divinity. In this passage in the gospels, Jesus offers forgiveness of sins to the paralytic man. Yet, who has the authority to forgive sins? Who is it that ultimately, we sin against? Only God can forgive sin. So I teach my children: Jesus is God. Surprisingly, this is not a difficult truth for them to accept. I will go on to teach them more about Jesus’ divinity (as well as his humanity): that he existed with God the Father before creation (John 1:1-2), that he and the Father are one (John 10:30); that all things were made through him (John 1:3); that he is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15); that he is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3); that he is in very nature God (Philippians 2:6). But for now, what I teach them is that because Jesus is God, he can forgive us when we do what is wrong in his eyes.

Question:  Why is it important to you that Jesus is God?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, you were before all things, and all things were created through you and for you. Yet you chose to come and live among your people. We praise you for who you are; perfect, blameless, loving, compassionate and kind. Thank you, Lord, for taking my place on the cross, for paying the debt I cannot pay for my sin. In your rising again to life, I know that my sin is truly dealt with forever. At your name Jesus, every knee shall bow, every tongue confesses, that you are Lord, to the glory of God the Father! Amen.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

Days

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2
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4
5
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7
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9
10

Mark 2:1-28

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

1A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7“Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

13Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

15While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”

19Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

25He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

27Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.