I believe the Lord will turn our 'valley of trouble'

into a 'valley of praise'!

When Jesus said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven," some of the teachers of the law (the scribes) sitting there thought to themselves, "Why does this man speak like that?  He is blaspheming!  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  Immediately, Jesus knew in His spirit what they were thinking, and He said to them, "Why are you thinking these things?  Which is easier: to say to this paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins."  So, 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 2:5-12, Korean Modern Bible).  As I meditate on this passage, several thoughts come to mind::

(1)    Why were some of the teachers of the law (the scribes) sitting in the house where Jesus was? (v. 1)  Surely they weren't there just to listen to the words of God that Jesus was preaching? (v. 2)  Wisdom (Chokmah) offers this explanation: "They came with a theological perspective, seeking to catch Jesus in some fault.  So, they positioned themselves among the crowd, carefully observing every move Jesus made, and their hearts were like sharp blades, examining every situation and sharing their opinions.  When Jesus began speaking about forgiveness of sins, they thought they had found the perfect opportunity" Chokmah).  I believe this is a reasonable interpretation.  Reflecting on this interpretation personally, I realize that like the scribes, when I listen to another pastor’s sermon, instead of humbly listening, I tend to look for what might be wrong with it, trying to catch mistakes.  Rather than allowing my heart to be pierced by God’s word, which is like the sharp sword of the Holy Spirit, my heart seems to examine the pastor’s words like a sharp blade, trying to find faults.  As a pastor, it can be difficult to listen humbly to God’s word.

(2)    From the perspective of those teachers of the law, Jesus' words to the paralyzed man, "Your sins are forgiven," were considered blasphemous (a sin of blasphemy).  This is because they believed that only God could forgive sins, and they did not believe that Jesus Christ was one with God (John 10:30), meaning they did not believe Jesus was God.  Not only these scribes, but also when Jesus was crucified, the high priest asked Jesus, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God?"  Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say.  But I say to all of you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy!  Why do we need any more witnesses?   Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"  They answered, "He is worthy of death!" (Matthew 26:63-66, Korean Modern Bible).  The high priest also believed that Jesus had committed blasphemy because He acknowledged Himself as the Son of God, the Christ.  Furthermore, those who were gathered there also shouted that Jesus should be condemned to death because, from their perspective, Jesus had committed the sin of blasphemy.  The reason they shouted was that they did not believe Jesus was the Son of God, the Christ.  Ultimately, their unbelief led them to accuse the sinless Jesus of being a sinner worthy of death, even though they themselves were sinners.  Unbelief causes the mind to become busy and full of thoughts, often seeking to find fault with others, and leads one to condemn the other, even in their heart.

(3)    Jesus immediately knew the thoughts of those teachers of the law and said, "Why are you thinking these things?"  This reminded me of Psalms 139:1-4: "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely" (Korean Modern Bible).  God, who knows everything about us, thinks of us in such a way that if we tried to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand by the sea (Ref.: vv. 17-18).

(4)    Jesus said to those teachers of the law, "I will show you that I have the privilege to forgive sins on earth."  The meaning of this statement is that only God can forgive sins, and by saying this, Jesus was declaring that He is God.  This God, Jesus, also said to us, "Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).  We must obey these words of Jesus. It is a privilege, by Jesus’ love, to "forgive all those who sin against us" (11:4).

(5)    Jesus said to the teachers of the law, "I will show you that I have the privilege to forgive sins on earth," and then He spoke to the paralyzed man, saying, "I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home."  Immediately, he got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. Jesus, who forgave his sins, also healed the paralyzed man's illness.  From Jesus’ perspective, forgiving the man's sins was more urgent than healing his physical ailment.  After forgiving his sins, Jesus then healed his disease.  Perhaps the reason for this is that the cause of the man's illness was his sin.  Therefore, Jesus first forgave the sin, the cause of his illness, and then healed his disease.

(6)    The house was so crowded, with no space even to stretch out a foot (Mark 2:1-2, Korean Modern Bible), yet the paralyzed man immediately got up, took his mat, and walked out in front of all those people, as Jesus had commanded.  How could those people not be amazed by this?  They were astonished and praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" (v. 12, Korean Modern Bible).  Similarly, when Paul and Silas were imprisoned, they didn’t wait until they were freed by God's miraculous deliverance to praise God. Instead, while still in prison, they prayed and sang hymns to God (Acts 16:23-25).  When King Jehoshaphat of Judah was attacked by the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites, after consulting with the people, he organized a choir, dressed them in holy garments, and placed them at the front of the army to sing, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever!"  As a result, when the choir sang praises, God caused confusion among the invading armies, causing them to fight and destroy each other. King Jehoshaphat and his people then gathered in the Valley of Berachah to praise God, and the place was named the "Valley of Praise" (2 Chronicles 20:1-2, 21, 26, Korean Modern Bible).  I believe that the Lord will turn our "Valley of Achor" (the Valley of Trouble) (Joshua 7:26, Korean Modern Bible) into a "Valley of Praise"!