Whether is easier?

It was so crowded, they couldn’t fit anyone else into the room.  Even the doorway was blocked.  The space was filled with the curious, the skeptics, and those hungry for the startling but healing words of this itinerant preacher.  He was telling them things that were both fresh and familiar about God and life and hope.

All of a sudden there was a great crashing noise as the roof was torn off.  Four men began to lower the cot of their friend who was terribly ill with palsy.  The preacher didn’t chastise them or cringe or even flee.  He gently but firmly said to the sick man, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”  There was an audible gasp from the group gathered there.  Some even imagined the comment to be blasphemous.  Others were simply waiting to see how this unusual man would explain his comment.

Jesus, for that’s who the preacher was, discerned at once the discomfort his bold statement stirred in the hearts of his listeners.  How would he justify such audacity?  He began by asking a question: whether is easier?  No one said anything.

So he gave them two options.  Is it easier to say “your sins are forgiven” or is it easier to say “stand up and walk.”  By now, everyone in the room was on the edge of his seat wondering how this would play out.  They knew that the one option of forgiving sins was God’s realm alone.  They also knew that the other option of expecting a sick man to get up was absolutely ridiculous.  Was this preacher crazy, or worse?

Then Jesus explained that both options were easy for the Son of Man.  He asked the man to rise, pick up his cot, and go home.  And he did so, easily.  The Bible reports that ALL were amazed.  Even the skeptics.  (see Mark 2:1-12)

Let us not forget the lesson of this story.  Healing sin and sickness is equally easy to the Christ.  Freedom from sin and sickness is equally easy to mankind.  Both are possible here and now.  Easily.

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.