Thursday, June 30, 2011

Jesus Forgives Sins

Today I read Mark 2. In this chapter the most notable story to me is the story of Jesus healing the man who was sick with palsy. When Jesus came back into the city of Capernaum from the wilderness, people quickly found out about it and thronged the house where He was staying. The man who had palsy was on a bed and four of his friends were carrying him and saw that they would never be able to get the bed inside the house. So they took off the tiles from the roof and lowered him into the house.

When Jesus saw their determination and their faith, He was moved with compassion to help the man. So Jesus tells the man sick with palsy that his sins are forgiven. Now that to me is interesting. It kind of hints to me that the reason the man had the palsy in the first place was because he had been doing things he ought not to do and the palsy was, at least partly, psychological. It certainly conveys to me that the man with the palsy was more concerned about his spiritual health than the physical health. I think that even if everything else was the same, the reason he had palsy etc, if the man had been more concerned about the fact that he cannot move, then Jesus would have told him first to take up his bed and walk.

Now, it can be argued that perhaps the man was concerned with his spiritual status too, but Jesus just used it as an object lesson to teach the scribes that were around. I do not think that is the case personally. I think that Jesus focuses on the individual and what they need most and if it can be used to help others, such as in this case with the scribes, then so be it. But I think Jesus would have healed this man in this fashion whether there was an audience or it was just him and Jesus alone.

Now, I can't really blame the scribes for feeling the way they did. They are sitting there, listening to Jesus teach and then the man with the palsy comes into the house from the roof and Jesus tells him that his sins are forgiven. Can you really blame the scribes for thinking in their hearts that only God can forgive sins? How would you have reacted if this were you? I'm not sure I would have reacted any differently, because only God can forgive sins. I was actually just talking about this very thing with a friend of mine who is not a Latter-day Saint just last week. We were discussing how some religions have people that absolve them of their sins and some do not. I personally think such practice came about from the true method of confessing certain sins to the proper priesthood authority that was certainly in place in the church Christ established after His resurrection. The difference is, a bishop or Stake President, or even the Prophet in the Latter-day Saint church does not forgive sins. They merely listen to the Spirit to determine if they have repented and if God has forgiven them. All the bishops or Stake Presidents do is restore the status of that member back into the church when they feel the person is repentant and the Spirit confirms it.

So again, how would you react if you saw a man forgiving the sins of another? I bet your thoughts would be very similar to the scribes in this story. I'm pretty sure mine would be. But the Savior I don't think is condemning them, merely teaching them who He really is and trying to help their unbelief. At least that is how I read the story. But regardless, you really can't blame the scribes in this story for being skeptical.

The rest of this chapter we have covered before in our reading of Matthew. The Savior calls Matthew to be a disciple, the Savior and His disciples pluck ears of corn on the Sabbath and eat them. Although, the JST version of the story of the disciples eating the corn adds something that Matthew did not have. When Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, the JST adds a line that states that the Sabbath is for man to glorify God, not that man should not eat. I had not thought of it that way before, but it seems like the Pharisees way would have a person go without food if they had not prepared sufficiently before hand. I've actually known some Latter-day Saints who feel this way too, that they prepare all their Sunday meals the day before so they won't have to cook on the Sabbath.

I, like the Savior before me, feel such people do not understand the spirit in which the Sabbath day was given. The Sabbath was given so that man may glorify God and rest from their labors. I do not think it is pleasing to God to make such a big to do about how we keep the Sabbath day holy. Just focus on doing what God would have you do and be about His work and you will be fine. And if your life is in order and the Spirit is your companion, you'll know if what you are doing is considered breaking the Sabbath. But if your life is in order and the Spirit is your companion, I don't think you'll have to worry about keeping the Sabbath, such people tend to keep it naturally. Until tomorrow.

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