“Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?” Mark 2:9 ESV

What Did It Cost God To Offer Us Forgiveness?

When I was a little girl, I remember waking up on Easter mornings to find a beautiful new dress and a box generously filled with candy. But despite the good wishes, none of us were aware that the presence of Christ was missing. 

It wasn’t until years later when I met my loving Jesus for myself that I discovered the incredible significance of the Easter Season. Christ’s resurrection is the very cornerstone of our faith as Born Again Believers. In 1 Cor 15:14, the Apostle Paul wrote that our faith would be worthless if Christ had not risen.

But what did it cost Jesus to take back the keys of hell and rise triumphantly to be seated beside His Father in Heaven? As Christians, we can become so familiar with certain truths that we lose sight of the intense magnitude of them.

While planning content for our blog and social media posts these past few months, I sought the Lord’s heart for a foundational verse to focus on in our Easter post this year. And everytime, I would hear His soft whisper drop down into my soul: “Which is easier for Me to say to you, Donna? That I am able to heal you or that all your sins are forgiven?”

I’m not the best at remembering the addresses for Bible verses, but I knew the story the Lord was referring to. In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus was preaching about the Kingdom of God to a crowd at the house where He was staying in Capernaum. As He preached, four men arrived carrying their paralyzed friend on a mat. 

They were not able to get their friend to Jesus because of the crowd pressing in all around. So what did they do? They dug a hole in the roof above Jesus’ head and lowered their friend right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven” (vs 5).

Meanwhile, Jesus knew the religious leaders were thinking Him blasphemous because only God can forgive sins (vs 7). Our main verse was pulled from a part of His response to their unspoken thoughts. Jesus asked them: “Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’?” (vs 9) 

Many times when we hear this story, the focus is on the beautiful faith of the four friends who were determined to stop at nothing to get their paralyzed companion in front of Jesus. I want their faith, don’t you? An audacious faith that recklessly pursues Christ not just for myself, but for others, too!

But today, let’s focus more on Jesus’ question, shall we?

“Which is easier for Me to say to you? That I am able to physically heal you or that all your sins are forgiven?” 

God is sovereign and it would seem easy for Him to say either, right? The crowd seemed silent in vs 5 when Jesus forgave the paralytic of his sins, in fact the only sounds recorded were the condemning thoughts of the Pharisees in vs 6-7. But in vs 11-12, the onlookers praised God when Jesus commanded the man to rise up and walk and it literally happens to their amazement. 

I imagine it would be more profound for us to see a physical miracle manifest right in front of us rather than hearing that all our sins can be forgiven? If this is true, then we are missing the big picture. Have you ever wondered why Jesus immediately forgave the paralytic’s sins when his four friends were seeking a physical healing for him instead?

Jesus will always be more concerned about our eternal condition than our temporal one …

Jesus has many Names: Prophet. Healer. Teacher. Lord. The Good Shepherd. The King of kings. The Bread of Life. The Light of the World. The Anointed One. Etc.

But what did it cost Him to be the Savior of the whole world?

What Did It Cost God To Forgive Us?

Luke 8:40-48 gives us an example of God’s power leaving Jesus’ human body to heal the woman with the issue of blood. But to forgive the sins of the whole world, His own blood needed to be spilled on the old rugged cross at Calvary. It definitely took more than a release of God’s power to save us. It took the literal laying down of His Son’s life.

Salvation can only be found in the blood of Jesus. Both God the Father and Christ the Son suffered deep agony so we could be forgiven. We all fall short of the Glory of God but He loves us so much that He was willing to pay the price for us to be free.

Many Scriptures point to what the LORD endured to forgive us. Here are just a few …

• Isaiah 50:4-11: The Prophet spoke of the coming suffering of the Messiah. Despite opposition, suffering and humiliation, Christ would set His face like flint and He refused to be put to shame.
• Luke 9:51-56, Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus, with His gaze fixed like flint, headed to Jerusalem to die for our sins.
• Hebrews 12:2: This verse tells us “Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne” (NLT).
• Col 2:9: Christ was the fullness of God in a human body. When He took on the sins of the world, His very human body endured the suffering of being scourged by the Romans (John 19:1) and the gruesome death and affixiation of being nailed to a wooden cross.
• Matthew 26:36-46: Jesus suffered deep distress the night before the cruxifixion. His soul was deeply grieved to the point of death (vs 38).
• Luke 22:43-44: An angel appeared to Jesus and strengthened Him. Being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
• Matthew 27:45-46: Darkness fell over all the land from 12:00 – 3:00 pm while Jesus was on the Cross. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Wow, to be loved this much reminds us of just how important we are to Him, doesn’t it?

Because of His unfathomable love for us, Jesus paid a very high price to reconcile us back to our Heavenly Father. If the Son of God could feel the extreme distress of separation from His Father for three hours, how much more will those who reject Christ suffer when they find themselves in torment and darkness, separated from God for all eternity?

Today, the enemy is stirring up a whole new level of crazy in our world because he knows his end is near and he desires to take you with him. I pray you will know the significance of what Christ is offering you this Easter. He has done everything possible to save your soul for all eternity but it will require a response from you to receive this incredible gift.

It is completely up to you, my friend …

In closing, I just want to encourage my Sisters in Christ to forgive those in their lives who have hurt them. Forgiveness does not always mean reconciliation because God Himself cannot be in relationship with an unrepentant person. But holding unforgiveness in your heart will hinder your worship. It’s hard to give or receive anything from Him when our hearts and our hands are full, amen?

But when we receive God’s forgiveness and continuously offer it to others in our heart as a gift to ourselves, we can lift our empty hands to Him and our worship becomes powerful, vulnerable and a sweet moment of intimacy between our extraordinary God and His beloved Child. 

Praying for you always, my friend …

Happy Easter! 💙

What Did It Cost God To Offer Us Forgiveness @ freshgracefortoday

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