GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 2:7
Perceiving Truth
There is an aphorism that says, “The truth always seems like a lie the first time you hear it.” That expression was certainly illustrated by the scribes, Pharisees, and teachers of the law who heard Jesus pronounce the forgiveness of sins for a paralytic whose four friends carried him to Jesus. The dignitaries debated among themselves: “Why does this man speak thus? He blasphemes! Who is able to forgive sins except one, God?” (Mark 2:7)
On the one hand, they were correct: only God can forgive sin. On the other hand, they could not conceive that the Father, Yahweh, could manifest himself, especially through someone who was not a member of their party. The wording of the phrase drips with scorn: “this man.” Surely if God were to manifest himself, it would be through one of their kind, not “this man.”
Gullibility is not a mark of faith, but neither is hard-heartedness a sign of righteousness. The dignitaries who scorned Jesus had all the outward trappings of piety, but lacked the ability to perceive the truth they saw and heard; it seemed like a lie, worse than a lie: blasphemy. Wisdom, human and divine, helps pierce through the fog of what appears to be a lie to get to the truth.
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