Jesus healed and worked miracles on a number of people during his three years of ministry and thankfully, the scriptures record many of these instances. I think a lot of the time as we read these accounts, we become desensitized to the wonderment and marvel of miracles. We have the attitude, "Well, that's just another miracle that Jesus performed." We read over them and think very little about them. But this is a mistake. These accounts are in the inspired scriptures for our benefit, and I believe that we need to examine them more closely to find the hidden lessons.
In Mark 2:1-12, we read the story of Jesus healing the paralytic. Let's read the text before considering it... "And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately, many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the rood where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.' And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?' But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, 'Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise, take up your bed and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins'--He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.' Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We never saw anything like this.'"
What I love about this story is the fact that Jesus perfectly emphasized the importance of spiritual needs over physical needs. I'm sure the paralytic wanted to be healed physically, but Jesus knew that he needed spiritual healing first and foremost. Perhaps the man had been paralyzed as a result of sinful living. I don't know. I'd like to think that when Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven that he felt a wave of relief, rather than disappointment (having hoped for a miracle).
Regardless of the paralytic's condition or mindset, Jesus got His message across. Rather than perform the miracle (which would have undoubtedly wowed the crowd), he offered forgiveness to the paralytic, something that ought to be important to all of us.
Our prayers and our thinking need to reflect the right priorities. There's nothing wrong with praying for physical healing (for ourselves or others), but we need to be more eager to receive God's forgiveness, His compassion and mercy; we need to be more concerned about wisdom, self-control and spiritual strength. There's nothing wrong with wanting a good life, physically, but we need to be more motivated to pursue spiritual excellence before God.
Let me put it this way: if you had been the paralytic and you heard Jesus say, "Your sins are forgiven you," would you have been excited...or disappointed? Would you have thanked Him for His compassion and mercy, or would you have lived the rest of your life bitter and full of resentment, hating the Lord for having NOT removed your paralysis?
And today, would you rather the Lord heal your poverty and bless you materially with riches and prosperity, or heal you spiritually?
Jesus proved that He has the power and authority to forgive sins. By healing the paralytic, He proved that He was and is the Son of God. Indeed, God answers our prayers and there's nothing wrong with having physical desires and wishes, but if we learn anything from Mark 2:1-12, it's that spiritual prosperity ought to be our utmost concern.
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