Daily Devotions

DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR DECEMBER 11, 2017

Mark 2:1-12 A few days later, when Yahshua 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 Yahshua because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Yahshua and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Yahshua 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 Elohim alone?” Immediately Yahshua knew in his spirit that this was 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 Elohim, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

This event took place early in our Savior’s ministry. Here we see the faith of at least 5 people (the four who carried him and the sick man himself), who believed that Yahshua had the power to heal. They were not deterred by their initial inability to gain an audience with Him. They went the extra inconvenient step to place the sick man before Yahshua. We know this is but one example of Yahshua’s healing ability, but telling words appear in verses 5 and 14. Even before He shed His blood at Calvary, He had the power to forgive sins. Our Father Yahweh had given Him this authority and Yahshua used it during His days of teaching and preaching. In this example, the sick man’s palsy must have been the result of his own sins. And Yahshua forgave him. Today, we do not have not His actual presence but the blood which He shed to cover our sins. What a marvelous blessing for us that Yahweh would give His Son in atonement for our sins! It should encourage us all to make an extra effort to live a life free of sin. It should persuade us all to think about what we do before we do it. We cannot be careless or thoughtless about our actions. It is necessary to sometimes go “the extra mile” to show our faith to Yahweh. Will you?

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