Matthew 9:1 8 (NKJV)1So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

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1 Introduction In chapters 8 and 9 Jesus heals a number of people s bodies while ministering to their souls. Jesus will heal a paralytic. The passage describes the place (v.1); the paralytic (v.2a); the pardon (v.2b) and then the mood changes suddenly to a group of hostile critics (vv.3-7). The disdain of the Pharisees will lead to an accusation of blasphemy. The Savior will mount a defense to the charge. He will prove His authority to forgive sin by His ability to heal the man! Verse 7 records the paralytic s deliverance and verse 8 the people rejoice over the great miracle. Jesus is King. He has power over disease, disasters, demons and now Jesus will prove His power even over the depravity of man. Jesus will demonstrate his power to forgive sin! Jesus can bring peace in the storm, but can he bring peace in the conscience? Jesus is famous for doing the amazing, the incredible, the unthinkable. He has cured the incurable, delivered the undeliverable; touched the untouchable; reached the unreachable. Now Jesus will claim the unforgivable at least to the religious leaders listening! Jesus claims to have the authority to forgive sins. This is the absolute domain of God Himself. Faith, forgiveness and healing are all important topics in the Bible. Without faith it is impossible to please God; without forgiveness of sin it is impossible to see God and without healing it is impossible to stand whole in His presence forever. People yearn for forgiveness and healing. Christianity and more specifically Christ offers what all other religions can never deliver; permanent forgiveness of sin. Assurance of salvation. Someone once asked me if I was one of those narrow-minded ministers who believe only people in my church are going to heaven. I told him; I m even more narrow minded. I have a feeling some of them aren t going to make it. Do you really believe Jesus has the power and authority to deliver you, cleanse you and forgive your sin? The Ministry Of Faith (vv.1-2a) Matthew 9:1 8 (NKJV)1So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. The Lord Jesus will leave Gadara (Gergesenes) and return to His own ministry headquarters Capernaum. Remember these people had asked Jesus to leave. Just a note there is no record that Jesus ever returned to that place. 2Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Mark s gospel tells us that upon Jesus return to Capernaum large crowds continued to gather. A group of friends desired to present this paralytic to Jesus but could not because of the crowds. 1

2 The friends removed part of the roof and lowered their paralyzed friend down to the Lord Jesus (see Mark 2:1-12). There was much effort involved on the part of caring people to orchestrate this meeting between the man and Jesus. Friends bring their disabled friends to Jesus. The friends care and persistence provided Jesus an opportunity to show His love; demonstrate His mercy but also His power to heal; to forgive sins and provide evidence for Christ s messianic claims. We can t save our friends. But we can bring them to Jesus. We can remind ourselves of Christ s power to help. We must be persistent and persevere and get the disabled to Christ. The Meaning Of Forgiveness (vv.2b; 5-7) When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you. The friends of the paralytic did not wait their turn. They may have even been expecting a rebuke! No wonder Jesus says; Son, be of good cheer (comfort). The paralytic may have been in a panic. After all he had no way to stop his friends from bringing him to Jesus. But Jesus saw their faith. It was demonstrated by a persistent commitment to help their friend by bringing him to Jesus! Think about this for just a moment. The man was a paralytic disabled. Limited in resources and abilities. The man s options were limited. But his friends cared deeply for him. They were on a mission; to get their friend to Jesus. The very fact that they were willing to bring their friend to Jesus means they believed Jesus could help (Jesus saw their faith). In a sense the friends persisted to the point of what some might consider annoyance (see Mark and Luke s account!). But they would not give up! Paul encouraged the Romans (15:1) We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Galatians 6:9; And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. The Lord Jesus says;...your sins are forgiven you. The words should bring amazement. You can t go around telling people their sins are forgiven unless it s true! The statement means that Jesus would have to be on the most intimate basis with God the Father and know His mind. Jesus knows how things stand with God. People in sin covered in sin soaked in sin paralyzed by sin drowning in sin do not always know where they stand with God. Why does Jesus forgive a person with paralysis? You would think Jesus would say; your paralysis is healed. Somehow we get the feeling that Jesus is going beneath the paralysis to something deeper in his conscience or soul. He is in effect performing surgery with words. 2

3 Jesus will deal with the cause before he deals with the symptoms. Jesus is not expressing a wish or extending a promise for something in the future. Jesus is stating a fact (your sins are forgiven). How important is forgiveness? The United States Government has a conscience fund. A handwritten note to the government read; I am sending ten dollars for blankets I stole in WWII. My mind could not rest. Sorry I m late. Signed an Ex-GI. Then there was a PS I want to be ready to meet God. This is one of literally thousands of letters that been received by the US Government since 1811! 31/2 million dollars have poured into the conscience fund. I wonder how much of that has been given by our current government officials? The greatest single amount was $350,000. One lady sent two eight cent stamps. She was making up for using the same stamp twice! A former IRS employee mailed in one dollar for four ball point pens she had never returned! The infractions seem small but the guilt was huge! Guilt can sometimes seem unbearable. People struggle to maintain a clear conscience. What do you do with your failures big or small? One Pastor wrote; Our mistakes come to us as pebbles; small stones that serve as souvenir s of our stumbles. We carry them in our hands, and soon our hands are full. We put them in our pockets, and soon our pockets bulge. We place them in a bag and put it over our shoulder; the burlap scratches and chaps. And soon the bag of yesterday s failures is so heavy, we drag it. People have dragged all manner of bags into our church and into my office. The husband or wife who have cheated in the marriage. The person struggling with same sex attraction. The pastor who wanted his church back. The woman with the unwanted pregnancy. I m pregnant. Late 20 s second pregnancy. Father no where to be found. I can t have this child. Her eyes filled with tears. I knew of another couple who cried themselves to sleep every night because they were unable to have a child. We ll help. I know a couple who at this very moment are praying for the child you carry. She agreed. And then she changed her mind. She got the abortion. Nothing drags us down more violently than personal failure. The things you wish you had never done. The people you hurt. If you had it to do all over again you would have said no to the drugs or the sex. Anger, bitterness, pride. The sin that seems so innocent when judged by intention and so guilty when seen in consequence. The deadliest sin of all the quiet conscience. The person who believes they have no sin. A fault denied is twice committed. God s wounds cure, sin s kisses kill. Errol Hulse wrote; Sin is like the poison of a mamba snake. It s exceedingly deadly. It kills. Every sin if permitted will become imperious in its demands and every lust will aim at its maximum expression. Sin is like the devil its originator. It is limitless in its capacity for evil. 3

4 No wonder we need forgiveness. The basic meaning of forgiveness is to send away ;.. as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12). The Bible speaks of unmerited forgiveness; When they had nothing to pay, He frankly forgave them both (Luke 8:42). We need to look at verses For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk? Which one would you think is easier? Both are equally impossible for men. Both are equally possible with God. You might think; It s easier to say Arise and walk. After all healing is tangible, visible, verifiable. The man will walk or not walk. Jesus is putting his ministry on the line. If the guy does not get up the word s of Jesus are hollow. Remember Jesus has awesome power. He can heal with just a word. Let s think about this carefully. Which is easier? For God both are equally easy to do. To heal the man, he simply has to say a word. But to forgive his sin, Jesus must die. J.I. Packer wrote; If we do not preach about sin and God s judgment on it, we cannot present Christ as Savior from sin and the wrath of God. 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. The first truth is that we are all invalids in God s hospital. In moral and spiritual terms, we are all sick and damaged, diseased and deformed, scarred and sore, lame and lopsided, to a far, far, greater extent than we realize. J.I. Packer The Lord Jesus has the power on earth to forgive sins. What will Jesus do? Jesus will demonstrate to the religious leaders that He has authority on earth to forgive sins and should be given the same honors we extend to God. He will condescend and give them a miracle that they could see (see MacDonald p.1234). The Bible speaks of FULL FORGIVENESS Paul told the Jesus followers in Colosse they were complete in Him (2:10) And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses (2:13). 4

5 DIVINE FORGIVENESS To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness (Daniel 9:9) PURCHASED FORGIVENESS In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (Eph.1:7) FREE FORGIVENESS That they may receive forgiveness of sins...by faith that is in Me (Acts 26:18). PRACTICAL FORGIVENESS Forgive us our debts, as we forgive (Matthew 6:12). KNOWN FORGIVENESS Your sins are forgiven you for His name s sake (1 John 2:12). 7And he arose and departed to his house. The Mystery Of Fury and Fear (vv.3-4; 8) 3And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, This Man blasphemes! In Mark s gospel we learn that a large number of people have crammed into a small space. The religious leaders must have nearly choked when Jesus said Your sins are forgiven you. Jesus infuriates before he alienates. Mark s gospel gives the reason; only God can forgive sin. The religious leaders were convinced that Jesus was insulting God by claiming to have the same privileges and powers of God. Isaiah 43:25; I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. The Scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducee s will all eventually unite and plot to put Jesus to death. The charge of blasphemy is justifiable if Jesus is not really God. If Jesus, simply as a man claims to be God and is not God the charge of blasphemy has merit. The charge of blasphemy if true carries with it the punishment of death by stoning. We have only three options; 1. Jesus is God. 2. Jesus is God s representative and has authority to heal and forgive as God s agent. 5

6 3. Jesus is stating a finished fact on behalf of God. What is the primary meaning of blasphemy? It means to insult or offend God. Anything that would anger or offend God is blasphemy! Sin is a moral offense against God. Forgiving sin is the exclusive domain of God. Against you and you only have I sinned David wrote in the Psalms. Sacrifice was offered to God for the atonement of sins. The Bible teaches that we are sinners by nature and choice and owe an immeasurable debt to God one we are unable to pay. Imagine I owed you money; and paid my debt by giving the money I owed you to someone else! Some people believe they owe God nothing! They think to themselves; we have not hurt God or injured God or offended God. Our offense is against our family, or friends or enemies. This is not true. We cannot sin against each other without offending God. This is one reason why rejecting Christ is so terrible! It is offensive to God. God will eventually punish the person who despises and rejects repeated offers of love and grace and mercy and hope and forgiveness. Some people believe that God must forgive simply because He has a big heart. According to the Bible God forgives sin on the basis of Christ s death on the cross and nothing else! But some of you don t believe that! 4But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? Why does Jesus make this statement? Because it is evil to accuse Jesus of blasphemy. Jesus reads their wicked thoughts and rebukes their wicked heart of unbelief. 8Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. The spectators register two emotions; fear and wonder. The healing and miracles of Jesus were often met with mixed reactions from onlookers. The religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy. Other s marveled and glorified God. The word marveled (phobeo) is sometimes translated feared. But some glorified (that is gave all the glory to God). The same is true today. People have mixed reactions to Jesus and His claim to forgive sin and heal! Like the religious leaders they already consider themselves candidates for God s mercy and forgiveness and love apart from Christ. They do not see themselves as sinners in need of a Savior. The Scribes resented Jesus offering forgiveness; not only because they did not believe He was God but they also felt it unjust for a person to be forgiven their sin by simply asking for it. This growing resentment and rejection would eventually result in Jesus death. 6

7 It s all too human to glorify men rather than God. In our culture of celebrity we look for people who will pack stadiums or auditoriums with the promise of a personal miracle or the opportunity to witness a miracle! Jon Courson writes; Eight years ago, there was a guy living in Taiwan who was really in love with a certain lady. Trying to win her heart, he wrote her 700 flowery and lengthy letters in one year, 62 of which included proposals of marriage. The letters worked. The lady did get married but not to him. She married the mailman (p. 224). How like us! The Father is the one who sends the gifts, not the human agent. We wind up falling in love with the mailman! The spectators miss the point. William MacDonald; The visible healing of the paralytic was designed to confirm that the man s sins had been forgiven, an invisible miracle. From this they should have realized that what they had witnessed was not a demonstration of God giving authority to men but of God s presence among them in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. But they didn t understand. MacDonald goes on and adds As for the scribes, we know from later events that they only become more hardened in their unbelief and hatred (see p.1234). Conclusion In this section we have met helpful companions (vv.1-2); hostile critics (vv.3-7) and a happy crowd (v.8)! But what is important? Look again your sins are forgiven you (v.2); which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or rise up and walk? (v.5); the son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins (v.6). When missionaries in northern Alaska were translating the Bible into the local language of the Eskimos they could not find an equivalent word for forgivness. After much patient listening, however, they discovered a word that means; not being able to think about it anymore. They used this word throughout this Gospel and the entire New Testament. But what about your sins? Jesus says to the paralytic your sins are forgiven. To the diseased sinner if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him (James 5:15). The weeping sinner The trespassing sinner the iniquitous sinner the transgressing sinner the atone-for sinner The forgiveness is specific (Col.2:13); sovereign; sufficient; certain. 7