Some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts… “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Mark 2:6-7
These men were right. The only person who can forgive is the one who has been offended. If you set fire to your neighbour’s house, your neighbour can forgive you. But if someone else sets fire to your neighbour’s house, you cannot forgive them. The only one who can do that is your neighbour.
The teachers of the law knew that sin, biblically defined, is an offence against God. Therefore, by definition, only God can forgive sins. But this is not how most people think about sin today.
In a 1991 survey by Patterson and Kim in the USA, only 17% of Americans defined sin as a violation of God’s will. That means 83% of people in the USA—4 out of every 5—do not know what sin is. The vast majority of people have redefined sin.
But when Jesus said to the paralysed man, “Your sins are forgiven,” the teachers of the law protested: “Who does Jesus think he is? He’s acting like he’s God.” And that’s exactly what Mark is telling us: Jesus is the Son of God—He is everything that God is in the flesh.
Jesus asked them: “Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” (2:9). Well, it’s easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because there’s no way to verify if it really happened.
Jesus wants them to know that this man’s sins really are forgiven, so He says: “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home” (2:11). And to the astonishment of everyone that is exactly what the man did.
Have you subtly redefined sin?
