“Now that you are old,
and your sons do not follow your example,
appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us.”
The apparent freedoms enjoyed by those around us, those freedoms we forego by choosing to follow Christ, may only be apparent freedoms. We may look at those who pursue wealth and pleasure, who take the easy way by cheating or lying, and sometimes think it would be nice to be able do the same. Yet when we reject the narrow path what we actually receive is not more freedom but servitude. We want the royal power for ourselves apart from God's plan for that power. But when we try to seize it we find that we are rather seized by it.
He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves.
We too must be like other nations,
with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare
and fight our battles.
What the people desired in desiring a king was not the submission to authority. It was not the path of obedience that they wanted and requested. Rather, they wanted a source of power that they imagined would help them pursue their own purposes, and a point of pride when they compared themselves to those around them.
In what ways are we like the people who desired a king? What are the ways in which we desire so much to stack up against the secular world around us that we will take whatever we can get to make it happen, even if it means shunning the plans of God for us? In what ways do we want to say, 'Look, we're just as smart, strong, or successful as anyone else. Look, our Christianity is not a liability but a strength!', while not realizing that our Christianity will, by design, often appear foolish in the eyes of the world.
The crowds are always a potential problem that can keep us from drawing near to Jesus. They obscure his face and make his voice difficult to hear. It is only by faith that these obstacles can be surmounted, both for ourselves, and for those we love.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
Perhaps we have loved ones who are unable to draw near to Jesus on their own, who can't even recognize him through the many who are gathered around him. Let us draw them near to Jesus by our faith, lifting them up by our prayers, and laying them down in trust at the feet of Jesus himself.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus is truly the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Rather than demanding a king in our own image we are meant to receive this King, both God and man, by faith. His Kingdom is not of this world, and comparison to the nations around us won't reveal the greatness therein. But the authority of this Kingdom is in fact even greater than the kingdoms of this earth.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?
The Kingdom of Jesus has authority over sin, sickness, and death. It does not permit us to entertain the illusion the secondary matters like material wealth matter as much as our relationship with the one who made us. It is in fact the place where that relationship is healed, strengthened and grows.
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
–he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
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