Do You Believe God Can Heal?
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
Mark 2: 1-12
February 27, 2011

          Sean Walker was a teenager at a church I formerly served.  He was a gifted high school cross country and middle distance track runner.  He had been recruited to run in college, when an unusual injury derailed his plans.  A bone had begun to die in his ankle.  He was scheduled to have surgery on it, but before the surgery could take place, my brother (who, in addition to helping with our youth group also assisted with the cross country team) invited Sean to go to a healing service.  Sean was glad to go and ask for God to heal his ankle.
          They went forward for prayers at the appointed time in the service.  A pastor prayed for Sean.  After the service, Sean left, confident in God’s healing.  However, on the way home, Sean developed chest pains and was soon admitted to a local hospital with a collapsed lung!  And he was still hobbling on his bad foot!  Sometimes healing doesn’t go the way we hope it will!  There is mystery here.
          For a Presbyterian, I’ve had a good bit of experience with ministries of healing.  I remember when my grandmother took me to an Oral Roberts healing crusade one night in Hagerstown as a child.  I don’t remember much about the service, but I do remember that the meeting was held in a tent with sawdust on the floor and that the preacher (Oral Roberts) yelled a lot!  As a Sr. Higher I attended several Christian Music Festivals that included times of healing.  I even served as a youth director and Christian educator in a Pentecostal church for a couple years, where healing services were common.  And I’ve led a number of healing services like this one in two Presbyterian churches.  But I have to admit that I still don’t understand healing!  However, I do believe God can and does heal, and that’s what this service is all about.  So, let’s look at our Scripture lesson this morning to see what we can learn about healing from it.  It’s from Mark 2:1-12.
          When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
          2  So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them.
          3  Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.
          4  And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.
          5  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
          6  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
          7  "Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
          8  At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?
          9  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, "Stand up and take your mat and walk'?
          10  But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he said to the paralytic—
          11  "I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home."
          12  And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
          Jesus had just returned home from a preaching tour around the Sea of Galilee.  He was so popular that people filled the house and spilled out onto the street as he taught about the Kingdom of God.   Meanwhile, four men arrived, carrying their paralyzed friend on a stretcher, seeking healing for him.  They must have been frustrated that they couldn’t even get him near Jesus.  But they were determined!  So they took the outside stairway to the roof and began tearing away the material that filled the space between the beams- usually brush and mud.
          It must have been quite a spectacle inside the house, as dirt began raining down on Jesus, and light broke through the ceiling!  The friends lowered him down to Jesus, who was very impressed with their faith.  Clearly they were very confident that Jesus could heal their friend!
          Faith is a common component in biblical stories about healing.  Several times after healing someone, Jesus himself said, “Your faith has made you whole.”  Sometimes it was the faith of the person being healed.  Other times it was faith of others on their behalf.  Sometimes it was a strong, unadulterated faith.  Other times there was a mixture of faith and doubt.  But faith usually factors in somewhere.  In this case, it is clear by the great lengths to which they went that these men had faith in Jesus’ ability to heal their friend.  Do you have faith that Jesus can heal?
          What happened next in the story is surprising, even shocking, but Jesus was full of surprises.  He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  What a bizarre thing to say!  The man was in obvious need of physical healing, but instead of healing him, Jesus forgave his sins, leaving him still paralyzed!  There are a couple of explanations for this strange response.
          Perhaps Jesus knew the heart of this man and knew that his  need for the assurance of God’s forgiveness was even greater than his obvious physical need.  Or, Jesus could have been responding to the common belief of his day that physical and spiritual issues were linked.  In the Old Testament occasionally there was a direct link between sin and sickness- someone became sick because they sinned.  But most of the time there was simply a recognition that both sin and sickness are evidences that we live in a fallen world.  Jesus understood the ministry of healing to be a broad one.  He believed that both body and soul need healing. So here, he deals first with the soul. 
          The religious leaders were shocked and scandalized.  “Who does this guy think he is?  Only God can forgive sins!” they say.  Jesus could have argued with them for hours, but there was no way he could convince them he had the ability to forgive sin.  No one can tell if someone has power to forgive sins- you can’t see it!  So Jesus responds by demonstrating that he has authority to heal both bodies and souls.  “Stand up.  Take your mat and go home,” he says to the paralyzed man.  And he did!   After the miracle of healing, the people spontaneously broke out in praise to God.  Ultimately, that’s what healing should do- cause us to praise and glorify God in gratitude and thanksgiving.
          So what does this story mean to us?  Some of you here this morning need God’s healing touch.  You may have a bodily ailment, something chronic or something new.  You may have an emotional issue- depression, anger, loneliness- from which you need to be healed.  You may be involved in a relationship that needs healing.    Or, you may be seeking healing on behalf of someone else.  Jesus has the power and authority to heal you. 
In just a minute we’re going to invite you to come forward and ask Jesus to heal you.  Come down either isle where you’ll receive prayers for healing from a pastor and some church members.  When you come, please tell us your name and describe the healing you are seeking.  Then we’ll briefly pray for you.  If you are not coming forward for prayer, please use this time to pray for those who are, or to pray for other concerns you might have.

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