Messianic Viewpoint

Guest (Female): Shalom and welcome to Shalom Ariel as we are now in our 15th sermon in the gospel of Mark with Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon. When we consider Yeshua's purpose in coming, we remember how many times it says that he came to teach. Let's remember that all those miracles that Jesus performed were to attract men and women to him. The miracles were tools to gain their attention and authenticate his divine origins so that they would ultimately hear the word of God which saves.

So many were crowded at the door of his home in Capernaum. So many were seeking to see the works that he would do. But really, it is faith in the word which Yeshua is seeking from all those who came, because it is faith in the word which has the power to transform a soul that he or she may gain eternal life. Because there was such a great crowd, many couldn't get into the house. But the one who was sure to get in came in through the roof and got in because he brought his faith with him.

Many probably thought he would be the last one to get into the house because of his paralysis, but his faith made him the first one to be healed. How many today are crowding the door of heaven to get in? How many are really thirsty for the word? Unlike the house in Capernaum, there's plenty of room. Heaven is 13 billion light years big, space enough for every sinning soul who seeks him. Be blessed as you listen into today's program with Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon and Shalom, Shalom.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: Good morning and Shalom, Shalom, Beth Ariel and friends of Beth Ariel on this beautiful day, beautiful summer day. Have you heard of common grace? Common grace is God's goodness poured on all men regardless of their faith or their righteousness. Well, there's much evil in this world, at least still a great and beautiful planet to live in. Nature around us testify of God's continual faithfulness to us. And even the universe testifies of God's great artistic creations.

Have you seen the latest pictures sent by the James Webb telescope? I think it's beautiful. Here's one of them on the screen. It looks like a computer-generated picture, but it's real. And each bright point may be a galaxy or a cluster of galaxies containing millions, perhaps billions of stars. Yet it reminds me of a passage. The scripture says that the Lord knows each and every one. We read in Psalm 147, "He counts the number of the stars, and he gives names to all of them." Isn't that wonderful?

And a second picture, a gorgeous one. This is what they call a stellar nursery in the Carina Nebula that has never been seen before. It must have been on one such glorious night in the Judean desert when David was overcome by the immense magnificence of the universe. And he said in Psalm 19, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands." David surely did not see the details of that night sky to the same degree that we can today.

So then how much more should we say that the heavens are declaring the great and wonderful glory of our God, and we should tell the others that this is a created creation. God created every single one. And so I'm really excited to see what other pictures will be taken by these telescopes as we go on. Now, back to earth. And so let us open our Bibles to Mark chapter 2, which slowly but surely will bring us to see who Jesus really is.

Let us begin with the first two verses, which bring us to several days after the healing of the leper. We remember that Yeshua told the healed leper to go to Jerusalem to the priest as a witness of this Messianic miracle, after which the temple authorities sent their delegation. And we find them right up there in Galilee. Verses 1 and 2: "When he had come back to Capernaum several days afterwards, it was heard that he was at home. And many were gathered together so that there was no longer room, not even near the door, and he was speaking the word to them."

At this point, Yeshua's fame followed him everywhere he went. Here, we're told that there were so many people at his home that there was no room at all, not even near the door. And notice that he lost no time. See what he was doing. He was speaking the word to them. This is a vital reason he gave for his coming: to restore man back to God through the teaching and personalizing the word of God to the people.

In fact, the whole incident we're about to witness is framed by acts of teaching the word of God. It begins with verse 2 and the last verse of this section, verse 13, and with the words, "And he was teaching them." Always back to the word of God. It all revolves around the scriptures, which becomes our bond enabling us to stay always close to God. And so as he was speaking the word, something unusual happens.

Look at verses 3 and 4: "And they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Being unable to get to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him. And when they had dug an opening to let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying." That was unexpected. Here we have four men and a paralytic. Seeing that they could not enter the room, these four men did something unusual that could only be driven by their great faith in God.

They went up to the roof. They made a hole in that roof by removing a good number of tiles and somehow managed to lower down the paralytic pallet right where Yeshua was teaching. Imagine for a moment the scene. They surely began to make a lot of noise while Jesus was teaching. Perhaps Yeshua did not pay attention to them right away, and the people were surely anticipating a reaction from him.

But they got more than what they expected. As the bed must have reached the floor, Jesus, seeing the faith of these five individuals, comes out with an explosive statement: "Son, your sins are forgiven." As the priesthood in Jerusalem sent their men to investigate Jesus, he right away tells them who he is: the Messiah of Israel, who is the divine incarnation, the son, the child whose name, as Isaiah foretold, is Mighty God, that is El Gibbor, and everlasting father.

It is the same individual, the same son, the everlasting father from whom forgiveness of sin is clearly offered. What we see in the New Testament and also in the Hebrew Scriptures are divine attributes shared between God and the Messiah, something that is not hidden, not difficult to grasp, something that Mark is bringing out for us, especially in this section. See, for instance, what God says of himself: "I, I am the one who wipes out your transgression for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins." Isaiah 43:25.

And just before this, he said, "I, even I am the Lord, there's no savior besides me." But here Yeshua, the savior, declared the sin of this child forgiven. This is the wonder of the biblical story and the wonder of the person of the Messiah of Israel, who is God incarnate. And notice the scribes' reaction in verses 6 and 7: "But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts. Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Their second clause is absolutely true. Who can forgive sin but God alone? And here Yeshua claims that he forgives sin. What we are seeing here does not give any room for any other definition of who Jesus is, except that he is God incarnate. He's all that they say: a great teacher, the highest of all prophets, the greatest and wisest philosopher. But what makes him who he is is his divine attributes.

If we omit this attribute of Jesus, that is his divinity, we will find ourselves worshipping an idol, and the whole New Testament and Old Testament is for nothing. It should be rejected. I would never believe in a man, nor worship a man, unless this man is God incarnate as Yeshua is. This is why we have this relationship of father and son in the Hebrew scriptures and in the New Testament.

And I want to tell you, the whole scene becomes even more touching when one realizes that the paralytic must have been a child, a son himself. Many translations will have the English "son" instead of "child," suggesting that it is an expression of tenderness. But out of 99 times, this Greek word, *teknon*, is used. 92 times, it is translated into English as "child," "children." And when it is translated as "son," it refers to a son in relationship to a father and never as a general expression.

Only here, we see the translation of *teknon* "son" or "child" having the idea of one who do not relate to a son but a general expression of a man. And if the paralytic was a child, perhaps one of these four men was the father of that child as well. So here's a father bringing his son to the Son of God for healing. And it is as it is with many other healings that we find in the scriptures where the parents always bring their child.

We remember the widow who cried to Yeshua for her son who had died and whom Yeshua resurrected. And there was the son of the royal official who Jesus healed from a distance, and we think of Jairus and his daughter who was just twelve years of age. It's a beautiful and touching picture of a family commitment and ties here. Now, see what happens next. Yeshua affirms and further confirms his divinity.

After he declared that the child's sins are forgiven, he then turns to the scribes and says to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?" Remember, in verse 6, we're told that they were not talking to each other, but they were reasoning these things in their hearts. And just then, Yeshua turns to them and says, "Why you thinking this way? Why?" I try this with my kids and it worked when they were young, after that it didn't.

I want to tell you, when he said that, "Why are you thinking this way?" that is another confirmation of his deity because not only it is God alone who can forgive sins, but it is God alone who can read people's thoughts. And they knew this. And they must have known the passage, for instance, of Amos chapter 4:13 where God says, "For behold, he who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are his thoughts."

And here he was among them, reading their own thoughts. Perhaps it was at this time that they slowly perhaps realized the true power of the man that was standing in front of them. They were caught in their own thinking. Here, then, are two powerful proofs: forgiving the sins and reading man's thoughts. But a third one, a third one he's about to pronounce is just as powerful.

Let us first see how he leads us to it. Let's see verse 9. Here he asks them a question, an interesting question. He says, "Which is easier to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say, 'Get up and pick up your pallet and walk'?" How would you answer this question, by the way? Is it easier to say "Your sins are forgiven" or "Get up and pick up your pallet and walk"?

We are more prone to tilt toward the first clause, that is, easier to say "Your sins are forgiven" because the second case, "pick up your pallet," would require tangible and outright proof of healing. So it is the most difficult. However, considering the context, Yeshua was already known as a healer and as a miracle worker. He even healed the leper, something unseen for 1,500 years, and this is the very reason why the scribes were there.

So for them, it was not a difficult thing for him to do. What would strike them the most at this time that Yeshua says, "Your sins are forgiven." For no one, again, can say this unless this one is God himself. This must be the difficult thing for others to somehow grasp and believe. That is the divinity of the Messiah. And it is a problem we can see even today, not only among Jews but also among Christians, and especially among the cults which have, for the greater majority, as a common denominator, the goal to undermine Yeshua's divine attributes.

Let's consider some of the cults. Take the Mormons. They bring humanity at par with the Messiah. Take the JWs, Jehovah Witnesses. They don't believe that he's divine, but he is a created angel. The Catholics, leading many other denominations, pray to Mary and to the saints when only Jesus is to be prayed to. Only Jesus is to be worshipped. Prayers are only to God, the Bible says. Worship is only to God, the Bible says.

But whatever clause you take, Yeshua answers both. He not only demonstrates that he's divine by reading their thoughts, but he also heals the paralytic just by a command. But along with these things, along with these things, he pronounces yet another very explosive statement to yet confirm that he's divine. See what he says in verse 10 and 11: "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins."

He says to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home." Here the healing is performed. The young man got up, took his bed, and began to walk home. That must have been such a great scene of great joy. But where is the explosive statement here? Notice the title that Jesus attributed to himself: the Son of Man. I want to tell you, the most frequent used title in the four gospels to Jesus is actually not the Son of God, but the Son of Man.

"Son of God" is found 27 times. "Son of Man" is found 84 times. So it is one we ought to investigate. What does it mean? What is behind this title and why does it translate in showing the divinity of the Messiah and something they actually understood, as we will see? Let us go to the origin of this title, which is an important one in the gospel. It is found in this powerful prophecy of Daniel chapter 7, verse 13, when the prophet witnessed the moments just preceding the second coming.

And he says, "I kept looking in the night vision and behold with the clouds of heaven, one like the Son of Man was coming. And he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him." This was, again, a very well-known prophecy of the time. The Talmud, the Targums on some AD, the Midrashim, the Zohar affirm that this individual is the Messiah of Israel. But see that Daniel sees actually one *like* a Son of Man.

This is not a title, by the way. This is a description. The title came later from it. It takes its origin from the description of an individual in heaven who was *like* a man. Not a man, but *like* a man. Who could it be? The next verse tells us that this one who looks like a man could not be an angel but can only be God himself. And there we read in the next verse, verse 14: "And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the people, nations and men of every language might serve him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed." This is the Messiah who will rule the world at his second coming and beyond. And notice the word here, the word "serve." This Aramaic word is found nine times in the book of Daniel and always in relation to serving and worshipping God. And here it is. This is a prophecy where the nation will serve the Son of Man, and to him will be given dominion, glory and this everlasting kingdom.

And so this individual who is in heaven who looks like a man was understood to be the divine Messiah. And who is the one giving the dominion to the Son of Man? Now follow me, this is so important. There are two: the one who is like the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days as indicated in verse 13. The Ancient of Days, *Atik Yomin* in Aramaic. This is our God. The Aramaic word for ancient is eternal.

A literal translation will be the Eternal of Time. This is the one who is just like he said to Moses. But the New Testament further gives us a great revelation about the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days and their relationship. Now this is where it becomes interesting. The same scene in Daniel is brought back by John in the Book of Revelation chapter 1, who always sees one like the Son of Man, the same as Daniel.

But something happens there. While both Daniel and John saw the same scene, John sees the Ancient of Days and the one like the Son of Man as one person, one person. The description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel is the same as the one that John saw in chapter 1 of Revelation. For instance, let me show you some similarities. We read in Revelation that John sees Yeshua and he says his head and his hair were white like snow.

But Daniel has the same description of God, the Ancient of Days, when he says the hair of his head was like pure wool. Then we read in Revelation that Yeshua is clothed with a robe reaching the feet. The Greek word describes a priestly robe which was white. The same Greek word is used by the Septuagint to describe the white linen priestly robe the priest actually wore. And Daniel says of the Ancient of Days his vesture was like white snow.

Furthermore, John tells us of Yeshua that his eyes were like flame of fire. But Daniel seems to say the same thing of the Ancient of Days. He says his wheels were a burning fire. The word "wheel" in Aramaic, *galgal*, is used to describe the eyeball of people. And here both are on fire, surely for the judgment that was to come at the second coming because we are just before that. Both John and Daniel saw the same individual, one like the Son of Man while the Eternal of Days, but John sees them both as one as the Echad that we have.

You know, with all that is this great title of Son of Man, Yeshua used this title for himself and at such crucial moments always to declare who he was to the people. And they knew what is behind this title. Let me bring you to the last mention of the title Son of Man in Mark. During his trial, when Yeshua said that he's the Son of Man, the high priest actually condemned him of blasphemy. And when you condemn somebody of blasphemy because that person used the name of God, in this case for himself.

It was after that the religious leaders depleted all of their accusative arguments, for they could not find anything to accuse Jesus of, that the high priest asked Jesus if he's the Messiah. And look at his answer. Jesus says it is as you say. "Yes, I am the Messiah. It is as you say, nevertheless I say to you hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming in the clouds of heaven."

This is when the high priest reacted, showing that he himself understood that Yeshua claimed divinity. This is what he did and said in verse 65 of Matthew 26: "Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying 'He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard his blasphemy. What do you think?'" And they answered, "He is deserving death." And this is why they sent him to the cross.

It was Yeshua's title Son of Man which the high priest understood that Jesus claimed divinity, and so accuses him of blasphemy and finally condemns him to death. Who then is Yeshua as Mark presents him? He is the one who heals the leper. He is the one who forgives sins. He is the one who reads the thoughts of man. He is the one Daniel spoke about, the one who is like the Son of Man which came down to us to die for our sins and to save whoever recognize him as their personal savior. Amen? This is who Yeshua is.

Now, this is too precious a text to just move on. There are some great practical application to it. Let us now revisit the four individuals and the paralytic and consider their faith. What we learn here is that the healing was triggered by actually their common faith, common faith. It says, "And Jesus seeing *their* faith said to the paralytic, 'Child, your sins are forgiven.'"

What we see here is like a faith that both the five individuals share and together was put to work to produce great things, even a great miracle. It was their faith that attracted Yeshua's attention, and again a great miracle happened. Here as we consider this scene, their faith gave them so much stamina, so much courage as the five individuals did something unusual and, I want to tell you, very daring.

Were they not afraid that the bed will just fall on the ground and the condition of the paralytic will be even worse afterwards? Faith told them otherwise. So what we see gathered these five individuals together is what we see, by the way, in the congregation of God. And this is when things happen, when we put our faith together. A congregation knitted in love and where the individuals share the same belief, the same faith, and it seems that this is what is at the root of great revivals.

And faith itself is a miracle. It is God-given. It is a power from above which allows us to do what seems impossible. But we can ask for it. Ask for it in your prayers. Furthermore, our faith, I want to tell you, is not blind but even requires our understanding. We read in the book of Hebrews 11:3: "For it is through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God."

Faith is not wishful thinking. It is, as the scripture says, a conviction which produces miracles. Let us ask for it again in our prayers and use it for his glory. It is this faith that brings people to do some wonderful things, as these five individuals did who had that determination and fearlessness to lower a flimsy bed from on high to the feet of Yeshua and there, great miracle happened.

Now going back to the text. At the end, we read in verse 12, speaking of the paralytic child: "And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying 'We've never seen anything like this, anything like that.'" What is it that they never seen before? The words, the actions of the Messiah, the way and authority under which he performed the miracle. There was no touching, it was done with a word, with a command. He told the paralytic: "Get up. Take up your pallet. Go home." And it happened exactly as he said.

Guest (Female): Shalom Ariel is a daily radio program emphasizing the Jewish perspective of scripture. God is not through dealing with Israel, nor will he renege any of the promises he has made to her. Our teacher for this program, Jacques Isaac Gabizon, is a Messianic Jewish believer and Messianic leader at Beth Ariel congregation right here in Montreal.

If you've been encouraged by the messages, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 1-888-685-5902 or you may write us at info@bethariel.ca. You are also welcome to join us for our Saturday morning services. We are located at 6297 Monland Boulevard, corner of Madison in NDG. The message is given in English, but we do offer simultaneous translation into French and Russian. Services begin at 11:00 AM.

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