April 17, 2024

Jesus blew the minds of the religious leaders who heard His declaration to the paralytic, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” They were already upset that Jesus was drawing big crowds. They didn’t care for His teaching, either. They liked theology that was deep and confusing. Jesus liked to keep it simple, such as, “Love God and love others.” They REALLY didn’t like miracles, which I’m sure they thought they were just some kind of illusion or trick. But when Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, well, that was blasphemy! They were willing to go along with Jesus a ways, but a statement like this was unacceptable. They rightly pointed out, “Only God can forgive sins!” They could accept Jesus as a lot of things but calling Him “God” was further than they could go.
Jesus is like that. He is always pushing the envelope as to how far people will go with Him. LOTS of people say they believe in Him. But how much? When He called His disciples, He asked them to leave their jobs to follow Him. When Peter asked about walking on water, Jesus told him to climb out of the boat. When the rich young ruler asked what He had to do, Jesus told him to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and come follow Him. He told the crowd that if they really wanted to follow Him, they would have to pick up their cross daily. Jesus constantly pushed people to decide who they truly believed He was. Because the answer to that question of who Jesus is, shapes everything we do and how far we’re willing to go.
How far are YOU willing to go with Jesus? Do you want just the “likable” part of Jesus—how much He loves and how gracious He is? Are you willing to go further to make Him the Guide of your life and seek His Wisdom with how you live and what decisions you make? Are you willing to make Him the Center of your life and have Him at the heart of every relationship, everything you do, and everything you are? Are you willing to suffer for Him, sacrifice for Him, die for Him? You see, some people only want a Divine Big Buddy, so they won’t walk down that road very far. But Jesus didn’t claim to just be a really nice guy who could also do some really cool stuff. He claimed to be God. Can you go that far? That’s God’s Word for you today.