God with Us | Mark 2:6–8

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

Mark shifts to the lawyers, the experts in the Law of Moses.  Jesus had caught their attention, and they’re evaluating His teaching.  This isn’t wrong, and we should likewise listen carefully to everything our Lord says.  When we come to important conclusions based on what He says, Jesus will force us to choose what to believe about Him. 

Jesus is God with us.  The scribes reason correctly—saying “your sins are forgiven” is blasphemous if spoken by anyone else.  Since sin is a violation of God’s Law (1 Jn 3:4), only God the Lawgiver can forgive sins, and He emphatically says, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isa 43:25).  Yet, God also said through Isaiah in 7:14 that a child would be born to a virgin, and that His name is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (cf. Mt 1:23).  Being “God with us,” He can blot out our transgressions at will.

Jesus knows the heart.  We don’t read that He saw the looks on their faces or perceived their body language, but that He was “perceiving in his spirit.”  He speaks with a supernatural insight that undoubtedly chilled them to the bone.  While He had laid aside much of His transcendence when He came to earth (Phil 2:5–8), we see here that God the Son still wields the knowledge of His deity.  Consider Jeremiah 17:9–10 say, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 10 I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
The fact that “Jesus knows my heart” is often recited by the unbeliever as a fool’s comfort.  It neglects the reality that Jesus also knows the true depth of all our depravity.  Yet, being “God with us” and knowing the full extent of our sins, He can forgive all our sins if we only seek Him in penitent faith!

Popular posts from this blog

RE: "Pastor Dayna Muldoon EXPOSED"

Image
It enough to make your heart ache.  "Pastor" Dayna Muldoon  has been pitching her tent in Florida, and like Todd Bentley before , false claims to miracles, healing, and prophecies litter her campsites. This video of a Calvary Chapel pastor exposing her as a false prophet has been appearing in various places, and its been uploaded to YouTube multiple times.  Even Todd Friel got animated about this , and nothing gets him hyper. Here's the deal: Muldoon set up her tent-meetings right down the road from Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg , peeking the interests of many attending the church.  When they listened to the message she presented, however, they found it not to be the Gospel, but instead the typical narcissistic message of health and blessings from God. This is coming from a Calvary Chapel crew, folks that are typically non-cessationists themselves.  Many churches, including this particular Calvary Chapel , host after-glow services where one expects similar claims
Click to read more...

Was Rebekah a child when she married Isaac?

Did Isaac marry a three-year-old?  If you've never pondered this question, it's because nothing in the straightforward reading of the text would suggest that Rebekah was a toddler or that their marriage was arranged. Even so, a couple of verses out of context could be used by skeptics to prove anything.  While perusing the web for a related topic, however, I found a thread stating that the Bible isn't against the raping of children .  The cited evidence was this issue, the claim being that Isaac engaged in pedophilia. The question comes from the fact that Genesis 22:23 announces the birth of Rebekah after the binding of Isaac.  Tradition states that Isaac was then thirty-seven, and Scripture says that the two wed when Isaac was forty (Gn 25:20).  Hence, Isaac robbed the cradle. The whole theory is fraught with assumptions, the primary being that Scripture never records a age marker for Rebekah.  Further complicating the matter, however, is Jewish tradition, which spe
Click to read more...

MacArthur: Calvinism in a Nutshell

Image
From YouTube: Calvinism (Also know by Doctrines of Grace or Reformed theology) John MacArthur use Romans 8:28-30 as main text. The five points of calvinism are Total depravity (total inability), Unconditional election, Limited atonement (Also called particular redemption or definite atonement), Irresistible grace (also called efficacious grace), and Perseverance of the saints. Full sermon http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-427 Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. And these whom He predestined, He also called. And these whom He called, He also justified. And these whom He justified, He also glorified."
Click to read more...