Standing Room Only ...

In our world, rock stars often are so popular, that a performance in a given venue sells out every seat; to fit in even a single person more, requires them to stand for the duration of the event (standing room only or SRO).  I’m sure modern musicians would love to believe this phenomenon started with them.  It didn’t.  Perhaps the first recorded SRO event in history came at the time of the Messiah.  Peter recounted it to John Mark in the opening of chapter two of the Gospel of Mark.  Not coincidentally, Peter is quick to call attention to the venue, as it was his own home in Capernaum.  And while we have no real idea what the voice of Jesus might have been like, from a singing perspective; we definitely know He was an awesome speaker, and His restorative healing powers had made the miraculous possible.  To go where Jesus is, represented a chance at restorative, re-creative, healing like nothing else on planet earth.  To hear His words, receive His teachings, and have Him remove even your desire to sin, represented a restorative healing to your soul, that ONLY Jesus could offer.  If you had to stand, that was only a small price to pay.

It is no small lesson for us to absorb.  As followers of Jesus Christ, and personal witnesses to the power of His restorative power to remove sins from our lives … have we ever stopped to consider why so many of our churches are half full or less from week to week?  We offer ample seating, with literally zero SRO events.  Oh sure, you could argue that there are no “personal” appearances made by Jesus Christ in our churches today, but if so, how sad.  How sad, that the world does NOT see Jesus Christ reflected in His professed followers.  How sad, that though we “talk” about the removal of sins from our lives, we continue to rely upon self to see it done, and continue to fail at it, such that the world sees only themselves in us.  We appear to have nothing to offer them, because the impact of Christ on us, has been refused by us; choosing rather to “partner” with Christ, or supplant Him altogether, in a continued illusion of our ability to simply “choose” not to sin.  Were we to completely surrender to Jesus, and see even our desires to sin removed, we too might have such a witness to tell, that SRO church services might once again dominate the landscape.

Peter outlined just such an event to John Mark.  Sure the main story line was about a paralytic that was healed, but the far more important sub text, was about how ALL of us might be healed and restored from the disease we know as “sin”.  Peter begins in chapter two and verse one recalling … “And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.”  Like any good concert event, word of mouth is an effective tool at publicity.  Where we might use social media today to spread the news, in the days of Peter, “social” media was truly “social”.  People actually physical spoke with one another, building personal connections, and relationships defined by presence and context.  Note here too, Peter is quick to recall that Jesus was … “in the house”.  Elvis is in the building.  The Beatles have arrived on set.  Pick your generational equivalent terms of excitement, for Peter and the surrounding community, having Jesus there in person made a buzz that no one could ignore.

John Mark continues transcribing in verse 2 writing … “And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.”  Notice the immediacy of the gathering crowd in the words “and straightway”.  If you were going to get a good seat near the feet of Jesus, you had no time to dilly-dally.  The push of the crowds was going to be real.  The craving of the people to hear everything clearly and learn at the feet of Jesus was going to drive early-birds, and lines of folks pressed as close as they could get.  In no time at all, the entire home of Peter well exceeds the fire code for maximum attendance.  You simply could not squeeze one more person in there.  So next, the crowd presses around the open doors and windows, hoping there too, to get a glimpse of the Master inside.  And the preaching of Jesus began.  Would that our churches so ably reflected the love of Christ, that crowds today would press up next to the windows and open doors, just to glimpse the love taught from our pulpits, and shown in our pews.

John Mark continues in verse 3 … “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. [verse 4] And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.”  Here Peter reveals something subtle we often overlook.  The first time Jesus Christ was at this venue (Peter being proud to have Jesus in his home), Jesus healed every person in the area that was sick or demon possessed.  You will note here, that the story centers around only one sick person, whose friends had to bring him there, likely from a greater distance.  There were no “physically” sick people pressing in on Jesus this time around, because He had already healed them all, except for this one person who was likely “not from around there”.  The people who were pressing in on Jesus had a different reason to be there, than for mere physical healing, they were there for a spiritual healing they believed He might bring.  And they were not to be disappointed.

You might think, that having four guys climb up on your roof, and then destroy the section over the head of the Messiah might be at the least … distracting.  You might think, that the owner of the home, likely Peter himself, might be a bit, perturbed to have such a gaping hole in the middle of his living room, cause when the rain comes …  But Peter is not distracted in the retelling of this story, by the damage done to his home.  He does not count the un-invited friends as trespassers, and vandals, in this account.  Instead, the extent to which the condition of the paralytic has degenerated is the focus of attention here.  This is not someone who can get around limping, or relying upon a cane, or set of crutches.  This poor person is bed ridden.  He has to be literally carried around on a blanket or stretcher to move at all.  His disease is so advanced he must be still of his own power, and can only move, when he is moved by outside forces. 

How like us.  We too are so enslaved in our sins that we are powerless to move from them, UNLESS we are moved by forces outside of ourselves in the form of Jesus Christ.  Notice the parallels too of the four friends who are so moved with compassion for the paralyzed man, they take the time to … “heal him”?  No, they cannot do that.  They are powerless to do anything for him, EXCEPT, “bring him” to Jesus.  If only we counted our friendship so dear, as to measure it by our introduction of the love of Christ to those we know are in such desperate need of it.  Instead of bearing them, in their pain, in their slavery to sin, on blankets to the feet of Jesus; we throw rocks at them because of their condition.  We avoid bringing them to the source of love, and instead cast them out of our presence, and ridicule them for weaknesses we hide in our own hearts.  These four true friends knew they were powerless to help the man, but were willing to carry him to Jesus Christ in an act of love that would live on for eternal memory in the scriptures recorded here.  We do not know their names, but we know the extent of their love for this man.  These four would not take “no” for an answer where it came to bringing this man to Christ.  They did not pummel the crowd, but they found a way around them.  If it took, breaking and entering to get to Jesus, they were willing to endure the punishment to see their friend made whole.  How few of us, would do “anything” in love to see our friends made whole by Jesus.

Mark continues in verse 5 … “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”  And here is where the priority of heaven is revealed.  The FIRST thing Jesus offers this poor paralytic is NOT physical relief, but the more important priority, a spiritual relief.  The FIRST thing Jesus does is bless this man, not only with forgiveness, but with the removal of sins and the desires that enslave us to them, from the heart of this man.  It is the faith of the four, that so impresses Jesus.  Jesus sees, that they were there for the deeper blessing of salvation He could offer, and He does not disappoint them.  The crowd there were gathered to determine if spiritual salvation was possible through the power of the Messiah.  They too were not disappointed.  Jesus had just revealed to all pressing in to see and hear, that forgiveness and freedom from sin was possible through His transformative power.  That was the priority message the crowd wanted and needed to hear that day.

It was not as if Jesus was done with His encounter with this man as yet, but before He had a chance to proceed, He began to pick up the thoughts of the religious leadership of His day, that were also gathered there to determine if salvation would be possible through this Messiah.  John Mark recounts in verse 6 … “But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, [verse 7] Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?”  These men did not “speak” these thoughts, they simply were thinking them.  It is telling that our motives, and private personal thoughts, are as transparent as glass to our God.  Had logic ruled the day, the act of Christ in knowing what they were thinking would have been enough to determine His identity as the Son of God.  Another myth debunked here, is the idea that we have the power to forgive the sins others commit.  We can forgive them for what they do to us.  But we cannot rectify them with their God.  Confession to each other, is not the same as confession to God.  Only God can forgive sins, men dressed in black robes, or preacher’s apparel do not have that power.

John Mark continues in verse 8 … “And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?”  To see divinity flash through humanity, and be called out for what you are thinking should have already been a clincher on the identity of this man.  This was not reading body language, this was reading the inner most thoughts of those who reasoned this Messiah might not be the Son of God.  The religious leadership were so bound to their understanding of scriptures, that they were questioning the power of God to provide salvation.  How like us.  We are so bound to our understanding of scriptures, that we call blasphemy by its right name, yet refuse to see it in the insertion of self into the process of our own salvation.  We come to believe, that “we” can forgive our own sins, and remove our own sinful desires by the power of our will, thus blaspheming the power that alone belongs to God.  Yet we ignore our sins, and proclaim loudly the mistakes of others as determined in the word.  Only God can forgive sins, only Jesus can remove the desire for them from our hearts.

Peter recalls in verse 9 to John Mark … “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?”  Here too, is another subtle message of truth revealed to us.  For Jesus, our physical restoration is just as EASY as our spiritual one.  The work of restoring us to the creations He intended us to be, is NOT a hard work for our creator.  It is an easy one.  We see it as hard, in fact, as nearly impossible.  We see our countless failures, and repeated sins, as hallmarks that it is impossible for us to be holy.  Because we view our lives through the lens of our own will power and determination not to sin.  Instead, Jesus looks at our physical diseases the same way as He looks at our spiritual disease, and LONGS to transform and restore us to what He intended us to be.  For Him, this work is a no-brainer.  For Him, sin runs away and hides and never again wishes to be in His presence.  For Him, this is a work He can do easily for us.  It is we who complicate it, and make it appear hard, because we refuse to let Him do it.  We keep inserting ourselves in the process and messing it up.  We keep telling Him, to let us handle this or that, and in so doing prolong the easy transformation He would have accomplished in us.  We are by far our own worst enemies.  When we give it all up to Jesus Christ, we begin to experience the full restoration He longed to give us.

John Mark continues in verse 10 … “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) [verse 11] I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.”  Two events are here tied together.  Our assurance, not just the doubting scribes listening to the Messiah that day, our faith is to be made certain because Jesus healed the physical infirmity of this man – JUST – like He heals the spiritual infirmities we are plagued with.  “Arise”, or be lifted up, or rise above, your previous life, your previous disease, your previous desires – not because you have inherent power within you, but because Christ gives you the power to obey.  “Go home” with an assurance that you are not only physically well, but you are spiritually made whole.  The most important blessing was given FIRST.  This one only helps you share it without having to have four friends carry you around to tell of it.  If the gospel of Peter through John Mark is not a lie, then the marriage of what happened here both physical and spiritual are true, and possible for us. 

We may not have physical palsy that requires our friends to bear us around on comfortable blankets.  But we decidedly have a spiritual malady in a slavery of loving-self, that exhibits symptoms of selfishness in every sin we commit.  If Jesus was able to heal the physical needs of this man, why would we doubt His ability to heal the spiritual needs within us?  After being brought into alignment with His laws, and learning through His power, how to love others like He loves others; we do not need to be carried around by our friends, we need to find a comfortable blanket, and go rescue another who is not found the healing we have in Jesus Christ.  We are not to add to their burdens through our righteous condemnation of their sins, we are to bear them up gently, and in love, take them to Jesus to find healing of their own.  Tear the roof off a church if that is what is needed to find the love of Jesus Christ.  Disrupt the tradition of quiet reverence with acts of love that are provocative, but meaningful, and result in seeing another find healing at the feet of Jesus Christ.  Our silence is not what is called for, our love is.  Our songs and our speech made only on a weekly basis, are a poor substitute for a love that would do “anything” to see a friend find Christ.

The story continues in verse 12 … “And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.”  The physical restorations, this crowd had seen.  They had seen ears replaced, eyes restored, missing limbs put back where they go, through the power of Christ.  They had seen demons driven from their hosts and compelled to keep silent.  In short, this crowd had seen nearly every variation of physical restoration possible the last time Jesus was in the house.  But they had never seen salvation occur like this ever before.  They, like us, had the knowledge of the Law, but the inability to keep it, or be in harmony with it.  Until this day, they never thought to be transformed and restored within, the same way they were healed on the outside.  They had never thought that the easy work of God was to remove sinful desires that had so long enslaved their hearts.  But after today, no more of that.  Salvation was possible, and was real, through the transforming power of Jesus Christ.  It did not have to wait, or depend on me.  My role was to get out of its way, and let Jesus do what He needs to do within me.  My role is to surrender to Christ, not attempt to insert further controls.  My role is to give up and let it happen to me.  Christ does not need a partner in this work, He needs to be allowed to do it for us.  The work is His, not ours.  He needs for us to believe He can, and He will do it for us.  He needs for us to get out of His way, and quit thinking we know better than He does.

Notice Peter uses the words “and immediately he arose”.  The transformation did not take weeks to implement, it was instant.  The faith of this man, and his friends, was to allow Christ to heal him.  They brought everything to Christ, and did not walk away empty handed.  There is no “risk” to us, in bringing every desire of our corrupted hearts to Jesus Christ.  What He removes from our lives and our desires, He replaces with something much better.  His restoration is not casual, partial, or incomplete.  It is full.  It is liberating.  It makes a life one worth living.  This is the excitement Jesus can restore in the hearts of those would let Him do the work of physical and spiritual restoration.  An SRO series of church services is possible today, if His house becomes one filled with those who have a firsthand knowledge of what it is like to be restored.  If we would care so much, as to carry those we know who remain in desperate need, to Jesus on comfortable blankets, in acts of love that too will be remembered for all time.