Jesus Christ – The Great Physician  
Mark 2: 1 – 12

      A Little over two thousand years ago, a man by the name of Jesus walked this planet and made a tremendous impact in this world. His influence and teachings have reached men and women all over the world, and his actions are forever written in the history of mankind… There are many attributes to his name. He is known everywhere for different things. History will forever remember the name of Jesus because of all the marvelous wonders he did, and still touching our lives in ways that we may not even comprehend. There are many different aspects to Jesus-Christ, but this morning I’d like to emphasize on the fact that he is “The Great Physician.” 
 We are living in a sick world. People around us are suffering physically and spiritually as well… Whatever the illness might be whether it’s spiritual or physical, I believe Jesus Christ – the great physician – to hold the cure. Let us take a closer look to our text, Mark 2: 1 – 12).

1. Helpers( everyone needs help in their life no one can make it on his own)
• Courageous

      These four guys had to put lot of effort into carrying the paralytic to Christ… We all need courage to bring folks to Christ. (Joshua taking the nation to Canaan – Josh.1: 6 – 7)

      The paralytic could not get to Jesus if he did not receive the help of those four men… Our mission of spreading the Gospel to Christ is of the utmost importance because the world is paralyzed…

• Determined  
              Their determination proved their faith (v.5)… these helpers were so determined to get their friend to Christ that they did not stop when they encounter a roadblock, they made a way through a roof. To bring someone to Christ we must be determined. (Paul was warned not to go to Jerusalem – Acts 21). 
   
           Why is it so hard to bring someone to Christ? The answer is, “The devil.” He is not going to let you do it without a fight, and we must fight back.
2. Hinderers (people or challenges standing between you and Christ)
• Selfish 
          The crowd was the one hindering the helpers from bringing the paralytic to Jesus. One might be thinking that they all were there to listen to God’s word. Some people in the crowd weren’t always there just to listen. Many were there for their own personal gain and others to criticize… But the true person who wants to hinder anyone from getting to Christ is Satan.
• Persistent

       The devil is persistent, and all his intention is to win you over. He is going to try many ways to get to you.

      Matthew 4: 1 – 11

3. Healed  (The paralyzed man)
• Helpless

       This man could not walk, nor could he do anything else by himself or for himself – he was helpless. We need to be mindful of our blessings in time like this, knowing that we are no better than the paralyze man.

• Lost  
          Being lost is to be away from God due to our disobedience.

       Notice that, the first thing Jesus said was, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”… In Jewish culture, it was their belief that sin and suffering were interwoven. (the story of job and his friends – Job 4:7. The truth is illness is not always the result of sin (John 9:2). Bad things happen to good people sometimes.

      But the lesson that we can learn from such belief is that there are so many things that we suffer, challenges that we encounter, problems we have to deal with, they are nothing but the results or the consequences of our own disobedience to God. (Jonah… Lot’s wife… Aaron’s Sons…)

4. Hypocrites (The scribes and the Pharisees)
• Prideful (v. 6 – 7)

         The Scribes were the type of people walking around with their nose stuck up in the air because they were familiar with the Torah. They were always around to question Jesus’ work and teachings… (Matthew 6: 2, 5)

• Pretenders

          They wanted to trap Jesus in his ministry, calling him a blasphemer. They were pretending to be seeking for answers but their intentions were evil… (Matt 19: 1 – 10)

      Also, being a hypocrite can bring shame and blasphemy upon the Lord’s Church… (Romans 2: 17 – 24).

5. Healer

The Healer is no one but Jesus Christ himself

• He heals the body (v. 9 – 12)… Also, let us understand that healing requires faith (the woman with the loss of blood…Matt 5: 25 – 34).
• He heals the soul. Jesus cares much more about our souls.