River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-03-17

Jesus left the country of the Ger
gesenes at their request, because
they feared that other healings of
obsessed people might destroy
other herds of swine, the chief in
dustry of that place. He came by
boat to his own city of Capernaum,
where most of his mighty works
were done. The people thronged
about him and soon he was busy
preaching to houseful about the
love and mercy of God and the duty
and responsibility of man. The
house was of the ordinary type of
one story, with large tiles constitut-
ing the roof and with outside stairs
leading thereto. Presently para
lytic borne upon a stretcher was
brought by his friends that the Lord
might heal him. They could not
enter because of the multitude
which filled the room and extended
into the court. In their earneStness
they climbed the stairs, removed
the large stone thing near the
center Of the house and let the man
on the stretcher down in front of the
Savior. 1t was not necessary to ex-
plain or to entreat. The Great
Physicians heart went out in low
ing sympathy. He recog nized the
prayer of faith and answered it at
once, but not as might have been
expected.
To teach a great lesson respect
ing the relationship between sin
and sickness, and to show himself
powerful to deliver them both, he
said to the sick man, "Son be of
good cheer. Thy sins be forgiven
thee!" Possibly the palsied man
and his friends may have felt disap-
pointed. Like many of our day
they may have appreciated the
loaves and fishes and hea1ings ac-
complished by our Lord more than
they were able TO appreciate his
work as a Redeemer, the Sin-Bear-
er, the one through whom comes
forgiveness of sins.
But there we're present some very
religious people learned in the Law,
who understood that transgression
of the Divine Law could not be for
given, except by the satisfaction of
that Law. When these in their
hearts began to murmur, Jesus
knew it and said aloud, (Which is
easier-to say, Thy sins be forgiven
thee, or to say, Arise and walk?"
The Master would have his critics
see that even they without author
ity could say, Thy sins be forgiven
thee, and none have power to know
on the subject. But they could not
heal the man and dare not say to
him, Arise and walk. He thus con-
vinced them that what they had
thought the more difficult was real
| ly the easier and that the one who
could say the latter could doubtless
truthfully say the former. Then,
turning to the sick man, Jesus said,
Arise, take up thy bed and go un-
to thine house"-and he did so.
On a very similar occasion the
Scriptures tell us that our Lord
said to the healed one, go thy way
and sin no more, lest worst thing
| fall upon thee" In these words
our Lord indicated a relationship
existing between sin and sickness.
| The more we consider the subject
the more we are assured of this.
Sickness is so much of death work
ing in us toward completion. Before
the death sentence came there was
no sickness. After the Redeemer
shall, during the Millennium, have
put away sin, the time will come,
we are sure, when there shall be
no more signing, no more crying,
no more dying" NJ !. only SO, but
do we not all recognize that the dy-
ing we have inheritt d from father
Adam has come to US down through
the ages along the lines of mental
moral and physical sickness, i'm
pairment of function? And do not
all recognize that to whatever ex-
tent sin is INDUCED in willingly, the
effect is not only moral abasement,