Immanuel!

For Tuesday, December 19, 2023:

Mark 2:6-7 NLT: “Some of the scribes, the teachers of religious law, who were sitting there thought to themselves, ‘What is Jesus saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!’”

Jesus had just healed a paralyzed man saying, “Your sins are forgiven!” The scribes called this “blasphemy,” reasoning that only God can forgive sins. Turns out that it wasn’t blasphemy; it was truth and they were right! Jesus said, “I and the Father are one,” on the same page, of one mind with the exact same value system. By the way, the Holy Spirit completes the Trinity, one God known to us in three different forms. (That’s an entirely different discussion!) But Jesus forgiving sin is akin to him acknowledging that he is indeed Immanuel, God with us.

Since sinning is disrespecting God, those who have sinned need to square things up with their Creator. Equally important is setting things right with the person against whom you sinned. But the paralyzed man had time to do neither. Jesus slipped him a “Get out of jail free” card, wiped his record of sin clean and gave him a fresh start. That’s called grace – undeserved favor. God dispenses grace because his heart’s desire is that no one would perish; that all would repent and return as children of God!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship