JESUS BY NAME ONLY?
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…” (Mk 2:10)
Jesus puts a question before His Jewish audience: “Whether is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?” Those in Jesus' day who were Pharisees, Sadducees, devout Jews, religious leaders/rulers, the answer would have been neither. Jesus spoke this upon healing a man whose sickness was associated with his sin. While either statement would have been offensive, infirmity having to do with one having sinned was not always the case (See Jn. 9:2). Israel believed supposedly from their history that sickness and sin go together. If Israel disobeyed God, the plagues they saw in Egypt upon being delivered from bondage and more would come upon them, even disease and sickness due to their idolatry (Deut. 28:15-68). They did not have an issue believing that God could heal and surely He could forgive sin. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was to atone for sin, and to ultimately insure the presence of God among them. If having sinned and Moses entreated the Lord for them, they would be healed of the infirmity and in some cases avoid loss of life. At times, there were even very particular instructions given for the guilty party to receive healing. (See Num. 12; 21:1-9).
The issue here was not the message or the wording of it, but rather the issue was the messenger. In the eyes of the Jews of that day, it was a man who declared that he has the authority to forgive another man of his sins. That it is by this man’s power that one heals from sickness. Therefore in the eyes of the people, it is direct blasphemy and the one making such claims is worthy of stoning. A devout religious audience in some form would respond in the same way today if anyone stood up and did these things.
However, the greater blasphemy today is that professed believers in Christ do not believe that even Jesus has the power or the authority to heal the sick, reasoning that healing is not for today, so we do not expect it from God. Deliverance from addictions is better received if one has gone through a five-step program, and moreover, we prove to struggle with believing that He forgives sin every time we fail to forgive our brothers and sisters. If God does not forgive, then neither can I, but if He does and I profess to be His, then I must.
He cannot be just Jesus by name, but Jesus by power. If He is the Son of God, not just the Son of man, but Healer, Deliverer, and Redeemer, then I must expect him to be that in the lives of others and proclaim accordingly. If I believe Him to be only the Son of Man then I expect of Him as I expect of all men, that is that all can and will die (See Phil. 2:5-8). Yet if I believe Him to be more, the Son of God even, then I expect of Him what I expect of no man: to raise Himself from the dead by the power of God and much more: To then have the authority to raise me too (See Rom. 1:4).
When in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples saying, “Who do men say that I the Son of man am?” Then after receiving their answers, He turns the question to His own and says, but whom do you say I am? Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:13-17). Jesus in humility referred to Himself as such: The Son of Man. But whom do you say that He is?
