“A few days later, Jesus returned to Capernaum. Word spread that He was at home, and so many people gathered right away that there was no more room even outside the door. He was teaching them the Word. Some men came to Him, bringing a paralytic carried by four men. 

Since they could not get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof of the house where Jesus was, and after breaking through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven!” Some of the scribes who were present thought to themselves, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins except God alone?” Immediately, Jesus knew by His Spirit that they were thinking this way, and He said to them: “Why do you have such thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralytic, “I command you: Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” And immediately the paralytic got up, picked up his mat, and went out in front of everyone; so they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We’ve never seen anything like this!”^[1]

We see in these verses that people came to that house because they had heard that the Lord Jesus was there. They were drawn by His presence in that house. The same must happen to us; we must come to the Lord because His presence is in a certain place, and not because of the people who are there. It is easy to listen to people’s opinions, but only one truly knows God—namely, His Son. We need to be taught by the Lord Jesus, who knows the Father. The Lord Jesus speaks through the mouths of those who live a life for His glory in purity and in a loving relationship with Him.

When the Lord came into that house, He did not perform religious rituals but began to teach them by proclaiming the Word. This was His most important work, surpassing all the miracles He had performed. He Himself was writing the New Testament Gospel through His own words. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus must be known by all people, for in it we find the true path that leads us to heaven. Every person should take an interest in their soul while still on earth and set aside time to study what the Bible says about sin, salvation, and eternal life. If we realized how fleeting this life on earth is and considered that our souls will live forever, we would seek to draw near to God so that He might teach us how to reach heaven, into His glory. So that we are not mistaken, we must read His Word, which is like a mirror that shows each of us exactly as we are. God has not left us many books, but only one in which we find His perfect truth. We must make time for Scripture, because one day the Lord will hold us accountable for how we spent our time. We must not listen to the opinions of others, but draw near to God ourselves, guided by His Word, for in this way we will not go astray. “The foundation of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous laws are eternal.”^[2]

When the Lord Jesus began to speak to the people, His first words were, “The kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the Gospel.”^[3] If we were to summarize the entire teaching of the Lord Jesus, this verse would be the conclusion. The most important thing for a person is repentance and faith, which must be carried through to the end, because “the end of a matter is better than its beginning.”^[4]

A paralyzed man was brought to the Lord Jesus on a kind of stretcher. This man was carried by others because he could not walk on his own. Our duty in this life is to come to know Him and to one day stand before Him so that we may confess our sins. If we do not want to come to God while we are still well, we may end up begging for mercy in a different state—that of the sick. If we do not want to come to Him while we are well, the Lord may allow us to lose our health, and perhaps in this way we will turn our eyes toward Him. Let us not wait for that moment, but let us respond to His call today. “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering? Do you not see that God’s kindness urges you to repentance? But by hardening your heart, which refuses to repent, you are storing up for yourself a treasure of wrath for the day of God’s wrath and the revelation of His righteous judgment.”^[5]

David himself testifies: “As long as I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality dried up as the earth dries up in the summer heat. Then I confessed my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord!’ And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore, let every godly person pray to You at the proper time!”^[6] As long as we live a life of sin, God’s hand weighs heavily upon us, but the solution is to confess our sins and pray to God to forgive our sins while we are still alive.

This paralytic came to the Lord with a repentant heart, and we know this because of the words the Lord spoke to him: “Your sins are forgiven!” The only One who can forgive sins is the Lord Jesus, who bore all the sins of humanity upon Himself, being separated from God for six hours. His death on the cross was intended to speak these words on our behalf: “Your sins are forgiven.” The Lord knew the thoughts in this man’s heart; He knew that he had repented, and that is why He granted him His forgiveness. If we humble ourselves before Him and feel sorrow for our sins, if we confess our guilt, He is faithful to forgive us.

One day, the Lord Jesus will lay before our eyes everything we have done in our lives, both openly and in secret. That is why we must seek to obtain forgiveness for our sins here on earth. If we are reconciled to God, He will welcome us into His heaven, and we will share in an eternal life full of joys and wonderful experiences we have never known before. The most important thing is whether we have encountered God at least once in our lives, because we do not know the day when we will stand before Him in judgment. Let us come to the Lord with repentance and faith and be eager to have our lives transformed by His power.

This paralytic received from the Lord both forgiveness of his sins and complete healing from his illness and infirmity. This is God’s offer to all who come to meet Him: forgiveness of sins and a new life full of joy and hope for every day, even as we go through trials and suffering. Only a sincere, wholehearted prayer can save us from sin and eternal punishment. One day these times of mercy will come to an end; therefore, if the Lord speaks to us today, we must believe now, because tomorrow it may be too late.

Jesus told the paralytic to pick up his mat and walk. We must be aware that healing from illness will not occur in every case, because there are people who, after being reconciled with God, died and met Him in heaven. What matters most is not how long we live on earth, but how we live—how we will stand before the righteous Judge, with our sins forgiven or with a guilty conscience because we could have returned to Him when He called us. “In Him we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”^[7]

^[1] Mark 2:1–12.

^[2] Psalm 119:160.

^[3] Mark 1:15.

^[4] Ecclesiastes 7:8.

^[5] Romans 2:4, 5.

^[6] Psalm 32:3–6.

^[7] Ephesians 1:7.