What is Harder To Ask?
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Jesus has just finished up his visit to the Gadarenes, encountering the two demon possessed men.
He has established his Kingdom and Authority over sickness, blindness, lameness, over nature, even over demonic forces in the spiritual realm.
Tonights passage will cover two main story lines. One contains a miracle, but as we will see tonight, it’s not about the miracle.
The Faith of Some Friends
The Faith of Some Friends
1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
His Own City = Capernaum
This is the same account that we see in Mark 2 and Luke 5. Friends who lower the paralytic through the roof. There wasn’t a hole, they had to dig through the thatched roof of the house Jesus is teaching from.
In instances in previous scriptures Jesus touched the leper, he spoke of the paralyzed servant of the centurion, Jesus touched Peter’s Mother in-laws hand, all these miracles were different on some way or another. The first, submitted to Jesus will to heal him. The second, Jesus was amazed at the faith of a gentile soldier and healed his servant. The third, didn’t even ask, he just healed her out of compassion.
I’ve been asked before why Jesus never used the same method for healing someone. Not even of the same ailment.
My response...
Here in verse 2 we see that Jesus saw “their faith”. The faith of the friends of the paralytic on the bed. Mark says the crowds were so thick that they couldn’t get through so they dug a hole in the roof and lowered their friend in to see Jesus. None of the accounts say that the paralytic ever asked to be healed. Again, It was the faith of the friends that Jesus noticed. But when Jesus encounters this man, He doesn’t address his physical condition. He addresses his spiritual condition “your sins are forgiven.” Not your sins will be forgiven, someday, by God himself, but “Your sins ARE forgiven”, right now by me… Look at what the response is from some of the scribes that were present.
3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
Why did they say these things?
They knew that God was the only one able to forgive sins.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
The scribes of that day knew what Jesus was claiming about himself. They knew he was claiming to be able to do somehting that only God could do. That’s why they saw it as blasphemy.
Matthew E. The King’s Authority to Forgive (9:1–13)
To blaspheme was to insult God’s name and honor by laying claim to an attribute or action that could be attributed to God alone.
Jesus here is ministering to the primary need we have as human beings made in God’s image. Are need to have our sins forgiven. Listen to what King David says in Psalm 32.
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Jesus sees the man laying on the bed, paralyzed, unable to walk, carried in by his friends, impressed and encouraged by their faith, but sees through it all to the deeper problem. He sees through to the problem that will effect him eternally, not just in that moment. He sees and cares more about his sin problem that keeps him separated from God.
Jesus - Mind Reader
Jesus - Mind Reader
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
They weren’t just thinking wrongly, they were thinking evil in their hearts. To think, even to yourself that God himself blasphemes, or does anything sinful is to think evil of God himself.
He wasn’t simply reading their minds, he knew how those intrenched in the law who worshiped religion would respond. They would be opposed to him and his claims. I do believe that he knew what they were thinking in both aspects of what is suggested here. He both knew their thoughts and knew the motives of his opponents.
Which is harder he asks? To forgive sins or to heal someone who can’t walk? One ins’t necessarily easier than the other, its just that one can have immediately proof.
“This appears to have been founded on
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
Here pardon precedes health.” (Clarke)
Jesus didn’t come to deliver the miracle pill where who ever takes it is cured from all their ailments. He came as the ultimate sacrifice to enable any who would believe to be saved from their sins and ultimately united with Him in Glory!
Instead of letting them answer his question he did it himself. He healed this man to prove to everyone, including the man who’s sins he just forgave, that he had the authority to do so.
That You May Know
That You May Know
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
This scene echos back to Isaiah 7, which we discussed Monday morning.
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
There is a point in our lives where we are going to believe God is who He says He is or we will reject him. King Ahaz didn’t want to test the Lord because he was a wicked king. He didn’t want to do the Lords will. He didn’t want to lead Judah as a Godly king. So, the Lord gave him a sign anyway. The sign was that the coming Messiah would be born of a virgin and come in the flesh. Now that man, the Messiah was standing right before them, reading their minds or anticipating their thoughts/heart attitude and giving them a sign as well.
So that you may know that I am God and have the authority to not only heal, which is immediately recognizable, but more importantly to forgive sins and heal him spiritually for eternity, that’s why I’m doing this great deed.
The crowds were afraid the ESV says, the NKJV says they marveled. The greek word here is “phobeo” means to be in awe of. They were in awe of what Jesus had done. They even gave glory to God, but it’s interesting that it was because God had seemingly given such authority to men. They totally missed that this man was both fully God and fully man. Once again, they had missed God’s que that pointed at Jesus as Immanuel, God with us!
Jesus real purpose for coming
Jesus real purpose for coming
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Here Jesus referred to Hosea 6:6
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
We have been set free from the law of sin and death because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Do you believe? Have you been set free? This is the good news of the gospel! If we go in to this world giving witness to anything else before Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we are pushing the wrong gospel.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
He has sent Me:
Because sin impoverishes, He will preach good tidings to the poor.
Because sin breaks hearts, He will heal the brokenhearted.
Because sin makes captives, He will proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Because sin oppresses, He will proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
Because sin is a crime that must be avenged, He will proclaim…the day of vengeance of our God.
Jesus stopped reading before this sentence. He stopped in the middle of the prophecy, because to proclaim…the day of vengeance of our God is relevant to His Second Coming, not to His first coming. The comma between “year of the LORD”, and “the day of vengeance” has stood for almost 2,000 years.
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
Communion