About a week ago, my brother and I went back to our hometown Kidapawan to visit our parents. My father suffered what seemed to be a mild heart attack or an impending heart attack. The doctor explained that his heart’s artery was partially blocked and should be admitted to the hospital.

On the other hand, my mother also suffers from edema in both of her feet. She has difficulty walking. We have got her checked and the lab results show that she has a low platelet count and signs of infection. The doctor also advised my mother to be admitted to the hospital.

Both my parents chose to stay home and recover there instead of staying in the hospital. I would like to thank you all for your continued prayers for my parents. As of now, I believe they are feeling better than the week we came home.

An important lesson learned from my aging parents

While I was pondering upon my parents’ illnesses, I came to learn a few vital lessons that we all should learn. However, as I was preparing this message, I came across a surprising connection between healing and forgiveness. It’s quite fascinating to me how these two concepts are connected and how most of us have missed this connection.

Once we understand the connection between healing and forgiveness, we will have a better appreciation of what it really means to get healed and why sometimes God doesn’t heal us.

Getting Closer to the Messiah

To help me illustrate this vital lesson about healing and forgiveness, let’s go back about two thousand years ago in a city called Capernaum.

Let’s read Mark 2:1-5:

​¹ And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. ² 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. 

In the previous chapter, we read how Yahshua healed a leper and how the news of the healing spread throughout the region. And so, people heard that Yahshua was in a certain house and they began flocking together. Some wanted to get healed. Others, perhaps, wanted to see Christ out of curiosity.

 ³ Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.

These men tried to find a way to get closer to Yahshua.

 ⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.

While Yahshua was preaching in the house, the people might have been disturbed by the disturbances on the roof. A small glimmer of light comes in until the entire roof is gone!

So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

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Steadfast faith

These men who brought the paralytic to Yahshua were desperate. They wanted to get the paralytic as close as possible to the great Healer. They won’t let anything stop them. When they saw the crowd, they were not discouraged. They didn’t delay. They didn’t say, “Oh, there are a lot of people around the house. There’s no way we can get close to Yahshua.” “Maybe, we can try tomorrow.” No, they did something that only a few would do — that is to rip off the roof of the house and let down the patient.

Because of this great display of determination, courage, and grit, Yahshua saw their faith. For many people, they might have seen how foolish these men were. Some might have thought, they definitely have to pay for the roof. Some might have thought how they can punish these men who just destroyed a property.

Yet, what did Yahshua see? We read in verse 5:

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith…

Yahshua recognized the faith of these men. He could see that their faith was strong enough to bring the paralytic down from the roof. They let down the paralytic man believing that he will not go out on a bed anymore, but he will walk out of the house walking on his feet!

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Healing and Forgiveness

So, what was the reason that the four men brought their friend to Yahshua? They want healing. So, it was healing that they expected but Yahshua uttered the unexpected words!

He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Wait, what? Didn’t the paralytic man need healing? What was Yahshua doing here? Instead of healing the man, Yahshua was forgiving the man!

The four men who have heard Yahshua’s proclamation might have been surprised or stunned. Yes, forgiveness is nice and all but there is a more important and urgent problem here. The guy needs healing.

While yes, Yahshua eventually healed the man, there is one important lesson we can learn here that is God is offering us more than just physical healing. Sometimes, we are so focused on our physical healing that we forget what is more important to all of us — that is a genuine, close, and intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Yahshua was offering the paralytic man a brand new opportunity to start a new relationship with Yahweh. Yes, healing is important, but asking for forgiveness is more important.

Perceiving a Repentant Heart

What’s interesting in this story is that we didn’t read anything about the paralytic man asking for forgiveness. You don’t read it in the text. Remember, God can surely forgive us of our sins, but we must ask for it.

How come the paralytic man was forgiven when he didn’t ask for forgiveness? I strongly believed the man asked for forgiveness. 

Notice in Mark 2:6-8:

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ 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? 

As we can see, Yahshua knows our hearts and when He saw the paralytic man, He perceived the repentant attitude of the man, and thus, Yahshua told him, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Praying for the Sick

The half-brother of Yahshua, James or properly known as Yacob, supports the connection between forgiveness and healing. We read in James 5:13-15:

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 

Did you see that brethren? There’s a strong connection between healing and forgiveness.

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More than Healing, Ask for Forgiveness

The important lesson here is that more than healing, we must ask for forgiveness. We must be reconciled to Him. God may heal you tonight but you can still get sick next week. However, by asking for forgiveness, your sins are forgiven, which will benefit you both now and in eternity.

What’s the use of getting healed if you are not forgiven? What’s the use of living up to a hundred years but you wouldn’t spend eternity with God? You see, not all of the time, we will get healed. There will come a time when it is our time to die and when that time finally comes, you will be glad that you are forgiven more than you are healed.

Yahshua is showing us that life is more than just our physical health. We can do all sorts of healthy habits, eat nutritious food, exercise, and get enough rest. All of these are important, but nothing can prepare you for the different trials in life. Only a close relationship with Yahweh will help you endure until the end.

Extending Forgiveness to Others

Now, because we are forgiven by God, we ought to forgive others as well. God has been so gracious and merciful to us that we must extend the same grace and mercy to others.

If Yahweh was so merciful to forgive even the worst sin I ever committed, how much more should I forgive those who have sinned against us?

What’s great about forgiveness is that it could actually heal us. When we forgive others, it makes us healthier and better. According to research, having a forgiving attitude can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve the health of the heart, enhance the immune system, improve mental health, increase happiness, and prolong life.

So, even medical research supports the strong connection between healing and forgiveness.

Ask not just for Healing, but also Forgiveness

In the final analysis, we all want healing but we must not forget the more important aspect of our lives, which is forgiveness. When was the last time you sincerely asked for God’s forgiveness? When was the last time you came before God, beat your breast and said, “Father, be merciful to me a sinner?”

With that, I hope that we all come before Yahweh and draw closer to Him. Whether we get healed or not, there’s one thing we can be sure of: that God is merciful and He is always ready to forgive us.

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