Tieing the Hands of God
In the sermon yesterday, we heard about 4 friends who had faith enough to bring their paralytic friend to Jesus. Becauase the crowd was so prohibitively large, they were unable to approach him in a conventional manner, so they climbed up on the roof of his house (assuming it was Jesus' home) and tore a hole in the ceiling to lower their friend down to Jesus. The passage in Mark says that when Jesus saw their faith (the 4 freinds) he forgave the sins of the paralytic. One wonders what sins a paralyzed person could commit or whom he could wrong. But since Paul says that none is righteous and all have sinned, he must have some. The religious leaders thinking became indignant because of what Jesus had just claimed to do and Jesus said, "What is easier? To say to this man your sins or forgiven or to heal him? But so that you may know the Son of Man has the power to forgive..." then he turned and healed the man.
It's not that the religious leaders missed the point - the knew exactly whom Jesus was claiming to be by forgiving the man. But they wouldn't allow their knowledge and reasoning to carry over to faith, because it was too incredulous for them. In essence, they tied God's hands from allowing them to see. It's not that Jesus was unwilling for them to believe in him - He didn't stop Nicodemus when talked with him at night. It was their stubborn unwillingness to believe that tied God's hands. It comforting to know that God does not force himself on anyone, yet it's a terrifying thought as well. People complaing that God does not make himself known to them, that he hasn't done enough, that he doesn't do something about the evil in the world. They are just like the religious leaders of the first Century. He has made himself known in more ways that I can think of but if one is unwilling to follow the evidence to where it plainly leads, then one is going to be hardpressed to come to Faith.
C.S. Lewis once said, "I believe in God as I believe in the Sun, not just because it rises everyday, but because by it, I see everything else."
Shawn
It's not that the religious leaders missed the point - the knew exactly whom Jesus was claiming to be by forgiving the man. But they wouldn't allow their knowledge and reasoning to carry over to faith, because it was too incredulous for them. In essence, they tied God's hands from allowing them to see. It's not that Jesus was unwilling for them to believe in him - He didn't stop Nicodemus when talked with him at night. It was their stubborn unwillingness to believe that tied God's hands. It comforting to know that God does not force himself on anyone, yet it's a terrifying thought as well. People complaing that God does not make himself known to them, that he hasn't done enough, that he doesn't do something about the evil in the world. They are just like the religious leaders of the first Century. He has made himself known in more ways that I can think of but if one is unwilling to follow the evidence to where it plainly leads, then one is going to be hardpressed to come to Faith.
C.S. Lewis once said, "I believe in God as I believe in the Sun, not just because it rises everyday, but because by it, I see everything else."
Shawn
posted by Shawn White | 4/24/2006 07:45:00 AM
7 Comments:
Your point of the religious leaders of Jesus' day not allowing themselves to see Jesus' as God's son reminds me of another time Jesus spoke to the Jews and said "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47. Ouch! If I can't hear God speaking it's not because He's not speaking, it's because I'm not folowing Him. God is always at work, I have to be seeking Him to hear His voice.
"He has made himself known in more ways that I can think of but if one is unwilling to follow the evidence to where it plainly leads, then one is going to be hardpressed to come to Faith."
All I can say is "Amen"! The four friends show a great contrast to the religious leaders. The four friends were probably uneducated men. All they knew was that they had a friend in trouble and trusted that Jesus could help him. The religious leaders were highly educated but they were suspicious and refused to believe what they just witnessed with their own eyes! I think the religious leaders allowed all their knowledge and reasoning to distract them. They couldn't see the forest for the trees, so to speak. That can easily happen to us today as well. Sometimes I need to rely on my knowledge and reasoning (in other words, relying on myself and what I can understand) a little less, just remember who Jesus is and what He's done and is doing (even though I can't completely understand or comprehend it), and rely on my faith in Him a lot more.
Great post, Shawn!
Good comments and points by you both - thanks!
Elizabeth - just for a point of clarification, because I think this is what you are saying, but I'm not sure. Reason is not a bad thing, even the religious leaders used reason and logic and came to the correct conclusion about what Jesus was claiming. The problem was that they were solely relying on that and not allowing what they were witnessing to take them to a place of faith - that Jesus really is capable of forgiving sins. I think that's what you were saying in your comment. If not, I'm sorry if I misunderstood your meaning.
Shawn
Laura - I really liked this comment, "If I can't hear God speaking it's not because He's not speaking, it's because I'm not folowing Him. God is always at work, I have to be seeking Him to hear His voice."
That's good stuff.
Shawn
That's exactly what I was trying to say! Thanks for the clarification.
Elizabeth
Yea, it's hard for me to admit that I don't listen for God. He is never silent. I am to be silent and listen to him and the example of Job is a good one for me to remember. After Job lost his sons, land, livestock and was covered with boils, he argued with God! Job finally got the message that God is in control and that He holds us in the palm of His hand. "God said to Job, 'Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?' Then Job replied to the Lord, 'I am nothing-how could I ever find the answers? I will put my hand over my mouth in silence. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.'" Job 40:1-4. God might be the quiet whisper in the wind, but he is always speaking and working in this world.
The verse John 8:47 was one that I kept on my bathroom mirror for years. It came to me from the Experiencing God study by Henry Blackaby. If you haven't read the book or done the group study, I highly recommend it for learning how to hear when God is speaking and how to look for where he is working.
The Experiencing God study is one of the best I've ever been through! The point that especially stuck with me is to look for where God is working and join Him in that work. So many times we're absorbed with the work that WE think should be happening instead of looking for the work that God is already doing and joining Him.
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