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Forgiveness And New Life

Mark 2:1-17

"He was speaking the message to them" (Mark 2:3) - and there were "signs following" (Mark 16:17). Preaching and miracles: we see this pattern in Mark 1 - preaching (Mark 1:14-20), miracles (Mark 1:21-34,40-45). In Mark 1:39, we see both - preaching and miracles. Along with preaching and miracles, there is prayer (Mark 1:35). In Mark 2, there is forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:5) and healing for the paralyzed man (Mark 2:11-12). Notice which comes first - forgiveness. Jesus is saying, 'This is about more than the legs.' What is He saying to us? We need more than physical health. "So long as you have your health" - This isn't the full story. We need to have our sins forgiven. Only Jesus can do this for us.
When we read about the call of Matthew, known before his conversion as Levi (Mark 2:13-14), we learn about how life can be turned around by Jesus.
Levi, Evil, Live
The story of Levi is to become our story. Like Levi, we are evil. Like Levi, we have begun to live. Through faith in Christ, we have stepped out of our old life and into His new life.
Jesus came to call sinners (Mark 2:17). Sinners - That's what we are. We must not pretend that we are "righteous" (Mark 2:17). We're not. We must not say, "I have not sinned. I don't need to be saved." We must confess our sins, and receive God's forgiveness.
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