In Matthew 9 there is an account of a paralyzed man who is brought to Jesus by some people. “…when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.’” (Mt. 9:2 ESV)
Strange response by Jesus! This man is in obvious need, and Jesus has the power to restore his ability to walk. Why would Jesus respond the way he did? Should Jesus not have gone ahead, healed the man, and then talked with him about forgiveness. Seems like Jesus has his priorities misplaced, right? Or is Jesus simply revealing what mankind’s greatest need really is?
What is it that the paralytic really needs? Of course those who brought him to Jesus understood that his greatest need was to walk. But Jesus is not toying with him or with those who brought him when he responds with “…your sins are forgiven.” What this man really needed, above all else, even above his need to walk, was to know that his sins are forgiven. This is the greatest of all mankind's needs, to know he is forgiven. When a man, woman, boy or girl has complete confidence that they are forgiven, and the cause of their guilt and shame has been removed, then they are free to enter into the eternal bliss of having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Ironically, there were some in the crowd who considered what Jesus said to be blasphemy. Amazing! How can God's will to forgive be associated with blasphemy? Jesus says it is because we think evil in our hearts. Imagine for a moment! These religious scribes are thinking that forgiveness, far from being something to rejoice in, is actually something that is evil.
Why do we find it so hard to imagine that God forgives so quickly and completely? The answer is simply that we don't know God! Also, why isn't the healing of the paralytic considered evil? Jesus seems to suggest that it is more difficult to heal this man's legs, than to forgive him, yet Jesus, in an effort to demonstrate his authority to forgive shows his power to heal. People can accept the physical healing of someone as a miracle, as something wonderful, but to say that this man is forgiven is evil.
This passage presents us with a dichotomy. In one sense, people are often willing and even excited about the potential for someone being physically, psychologically, or emotionally healed. But, when the point of one’s spiritual healing surfaces, then there is a much more negative response. People seem to think that the offer by God of complete forgiveness to anyone willing to accept it is too extreme, even for God. Two reasons for this: First, it is difficult for people to accept that God, by His free grace, is willing to forgive us entirely. The presence of pride in us forces us to resists any notion suggesting that we can do nothing to please God, but must simply rely entirely on God’s grace and mercy. Second, as a result of the first point, people find it impossible to imagine that God can forgive someone who has done evil, either against them, or against society. “Go ahead and heal their body, if you must, heal their psyche, I guess, but don’t think about releasing them from the prison house of their own guilt and shame. That is the punishment they deserve.”
What Jesus shows us in this passage is that Mankind’s greatest need is to be forgiven; to know the grace of God through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus reveals to all who will accept it that God offers complete and total forgiveness of sin. What an awesome God we serve! What an amazing message of good news we are privilege to know and to share.
Do you know that you are forgiven…completely forgiven? Jesus says that you are. Do you know that God has also completely forgiven the person the thought of whom may stir up hatred in your heart? Everyone needs to know that their sins, which are many and often very evil, are forgiven. Live in the freedom that the truth of God reveals!
Living free in Christ,
Pastor Gibbs
