Mark 2:6

 Mark 2:6 says, But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, When Jesus told the lame man that his sins were forgiven, He got the attention of certain scribes, some of the religious leaders of that day.  It is a good thing for Jesus to get the attention of religious leaders, or maybe it would be more accurate to say Christian leaders, but He got their attention for the wrong reasons.  We need to pray that our Christian leaders today have their attention focused on Jesus Christ.  Verse seven adds, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?  These religious leaders, who really weren't attuned to God's leadership but to their own status, reasoned in their hearts.  They didn't look to God for understanding of what Jesus was doing.  We need to always seek God's guidance when we have questions of faith, instead of trying to figure things out by our own ability.  The scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy or crediting the things of the world to God's action, or vice versa.  They said that Jesus did not have the power to forgive sins, since only God did.  They totally failed to recognize Who Jesus really was, even though as religious leaders they should have been looking for His coming.  We must first recognize Who Jesus is and should certainly never attempt to make Who He is conform to our understanding.  Verse eight continues, And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?  Jesus immediately knew what they were thinking and asked them why they thought this way.  Jesus knows our thoughts, and we will be held accountable for them as well as our actions.  Their first step should have been in understanding Who Jesus is, and that is our first step today.  If you have not come to understand Who Jesus is, and that is the only Savior that there is, then this is the first step that you must take.  Verse nine states, Whether is it 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? When healing the lame man and being accused of blasphemy, Jesus asked a question of the scribes.  He asked whether it was easier to tell the man that his sins were forgiven, or to tell him simply to arise and take up his bed and walk.  Forgiving sins can only be done by God, so for Jesus to say He had the ability to forgive the man of his sins meant either He was God or He was indeed guilty of blasphemy.   Jesus also implied that He could have avoided that problem by simply dealing with the man`s physical condition and telling him to walk.  This would not have attributed the man's healing to Jesus Himself, but to His asking in faith to God.  Then, there would be physical evidence, whereas there was no physical evidence that the man`s sins were forgiven.  Even if he did rise up and walk, he could still have not been forgiven of his sins by God.  Verse ten adds, But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) Jesus said it was so that the scribes and everyone around Him would know that He had the power to forgive sins that He told the man that his sins were forgiven and for him to rise up and walk.  Jesus did not say that He had healed the man physically, but that He had forgiven his sins. Verse eleven adds, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. The man getting up and walking was proof of Jesus`s power to forgive sins, which proved that He was God, and not just another prophet.  Verse twelve concludes, And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. All the people around were amazed and glorified God saying that they had never seen anything like this before.  The man had to have faith that Jesus could forgive his sins in order for this to happen and for him to be healed.  Today, no matter what problems you may be facing in life, if you have not done so, the first step to finding answers to your problems is to put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and then He will help you through the other problems.