"Son, your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:5
These are words of Jesus to a paralytic in Mark 2 when he saw four men carrying him down from the roof. Although every word in the Bible is unique, this particular verse is so remarkable and powerful because this is the only place where Jesus calls somebody as his family, "Son." There's another occasion when Jesus calls a woman "Daughter." But, the paralytic is the only man whom Jesus calls "Son" throughout the four gospels.
In Jesus' day, disease and disablement were seen as the consequences of sin. It is not the disabled's sin, but the sin of someone in the family. In other words, this man grew up thinking that his paralysis resulted from someone's sin in his family, and he was bearing the punishment of that sin. According to Mark 2:3, some people brought the paralytic to Jesus rather than his family. This implies that he was not taken care of by his family but by some random people with whom he didn't have any relationship. This also means that his family abandoned him due to his paralysis.
It is not so difficult to imagine the grief and shame he carried on his shoulders, the weight of that load of guilt he had. Punished for the sins of his family who had abandoned him, the person with paralysis must have felt unexplainable frustration and despair. He even must have despised himself. However, to this paralytic, Jesus calls him "Son." It is the very word he wanted to hear, the only word in the world he had never been able to hear because of the abandonment.
Jesus knew his heart. He knew this man needed this relational and emotional healing before physical healing when everyone else could only think about his physical recovery. And he healed the paralytic's emotion and relationship by calling him "Son."
Jesus knows all about us. Jesus looks deep into our hearts and sees what kind of healings we need. Today, let us open our hearts to him and let him come into our lives, and hearts. Then, we will hear him call us "Son," "Daughter."
May the love of everlasting God be with us all the time.
Pastor Woo.
