Mark 2:1-12

Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.

Bible Reading

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that He had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus knew in His spirit that this is what they were thinking in their hearts, and He said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

– Mark 2:1-12

Devotion

Jesus performed four types of miracles to prove His Deity: 1. Healed Sickness; 2. Controlled Nature & the Physical World; 3. Commanded Demons; 4. Raised the Dead. In the passage above, Jesus showed that He had power over sickness and disease. This is just one example of the many people who Jesus healed in His three-year ministry.

The Big Question

What was Jesus doing where the crowds gathered? What did the four friends do for their friend who was paralyzed? What caused Jesus to respond? What aspect of “deity” did Jesus declare? What other aspect of deity did Jesus declare by challenging the leaders’ inner thoughts? What were they thinking? What did Jesus want them to know? (Mark 2:10) How does this passage of scripture impact your faith in Jesus?

Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.