The Healing of the Paralytic

Matthew 9:1-8

a. Jesus forgives his sins (9:1-4)

b. Jesus heals his illness (9:5-8)

1. INTRODUCTION

a.

2. BODY

a. Jesus forgives his sins (9:1-4)

i. Verse 1 begins with another transition. Jesus gets on the boat from the country of Gadarenes, and comes back over to His own city. We know from Matthew 4:13 because His own city is not Nazareth, but Capernaum. So now, Jesus arrives here in Capernaum and immediately, Jesus is met with a paralytic.

ii. We know that this story is the same from Mark 2:1-13 and Luke 5:18-26. There are a couple of differences again, but like I reiterated last week, the differences help us to see a more detailed story. It helps us to see from different angles. So when we see verse 2, we see that immediately, it tells us it doesn’t mention the 4 men as mentioned in Mark 2:3.

iii. We also see from Mark’s story that he wasn’t dropped down from the roof because they were unable to get the paralytic to Jesus (Mark 2:4). These details were omitted but again, the other Gospels are there to give us a full picture of what happened. We know that Matthew’s focus here is not in every detail, but the person of Jesus Christ.

iv. But through Matthew’s story, we do see that they brought to Jesus and seeing their faith, we know that it was the 4 men and their faith which caused Jesus to heal the paralytic. Again, the highlight for Matthew is not so much in the details, but the fact that Jesus heals the paralytics’ sin.

v. Why is this significant and interesting? Because we see the difference in priority between God and man. Jesus’s statement in verse 2 is astounding because Jesus begins by ignoring the man’s physical need and grants him forgiveness. We might not think much of this, but this actually goes back to Matthew 1:21. Remember in Matthew 1:21, the angel tells us Mary that she will bear a Son and you shall call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

1. This prophecy tells us that Jesus’s primary purpose will be that He saves people of their sin. That doesn’t mean that His healing ministry isn’t important. It rather emphasizes to us the difference between priorities between God and us.

2. If we were the paralytic, we would want our physical ailment to be healed. Afterall, his friends brought him to Jesus so that He could heal the paralytic of his physical illness. Looking to their faith, them believing that Jesus can and will heal this paralytic, Jesus heals the man. He forgives him of his sin. We see this as strange because the people also were confused.

3. We see this as strange because we would suspect that Jesus would cure him of his paralysis. But instead, Jesus heals him of his sins. This causes the scribes to react because of their confusion. They say in verse 3, that this man blasphemes. We know from Mark 2:7 by asking the question, “who can forgive sins but God alone?” They were perplexed because they were waiting for Jesus to heal him from his paralysis but instead forgives him of his sins and they know that only God can forgive sins.

4. This causes us to ask an important question. The scribes know that only God can forgive sins. Jesus elevates Himself to the position of God and forgives this man of his sins. This causes problems for the scribes but this also reveals to us our heart. Jesus is not the channel of forgiveness. We are not forgiven through Christ per se. We are forgiven because of Christ. Jesus is not the means for our forgiveness. He is the reason we are forgiven.

5. Why am I emphasizing this? What is the greatest thing in being a believer? It is not that we have been forgiven. If we are to emphasize forgiveness as our highest prize, then we are going to find ways of receiving forgiveness. Forgiveness is not salvation. It is the fruit of salvation. What is the highest point of being saved? It is that we have been made right with God. It is that we can be with God. It is that our fellowship with God has been restored. He is the prize.

6. This is exactly the point that Jesus was making here. Jesus is why and how we are forgiven. It is because of Him. It is through Him that we have been made right with God. He is the focus and the greatest gift in salvation. It is that we have Jesus Christ. Therefore, when Jesus forgives this man of his sins, Jesus is telling Him that there is forgiveness only in Him. He alone is able to forgive sins. All must be made right with Him. Forgiveness itself is not the focus. It is, are you right with God? What is your relationship with God?

vi. This causes Jesus to respond in verse 4. Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Jesus’s question cuts into their view of Jesus. Do you think that I am doing this so that others can look upon me favorably? Do you think that I am healing people for my own glory, my own fame?

b. Jesus heals his illness (9:5-8)

i. This causes Jesus to ask in verse 5. I love Jesus’s statement here in verse 5. Which is easier, to say Your sins are forgiven or to say get up and walk? The obvious answer is that it is easier to say that sins are forgiven, for it is impossible for the bystanders to confirm or refute what has been said, whereas when a paralyzed man is told to get up and walk anybody can see whether the command is obeyed or not. On a deeper level, however, it is the second statement that is the easier: a healer can say that, but it takes deity really to forgive sins.

ii. But it also shows the priority between man and God. Man sees the external, the result as more important, but for God, it is always the heart. That has been the whole purpose of the Sermon on the Mount. It is to expose man’s heart and put man in his proper place. It is to show us of our bankruptcy outside of Christ.

iii. So Jesus continues in verse 6 by telling his listeners that the son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The translation here in verse 6 is probably better understood as “But to prove to you” that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. What is his authority? Jesus makes it clear that it is His authority which gives him the right to forgive. Because He is the son of Man and the son of God, He has been given the authority from Heaven to forgive sins.

iv. But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Jesus knows their heart and responds to their question, but also deals with the issue that causes us confusion. It is the truth that Jesus not only alone can forgive sin, but He can also heal. This is why Jesus responds first to those who are thinking evil things first in verse 6, then He responds looks at the paralytic and tells him, get up, pick up your bed and go home.

v. The astounding part of this phrase is that Jesus addresses both groups. The first group were the ones who were questioning whether He was who He said was, and the second group was the people who came in trusting in who He said He was. He answers the first group by telling them that He in fact is who He says He is, that He truly has the ability to forgive sins and answers the question Himself that He poses in verse 5, by commanding the paralytic to get up and walk.

vi. Verse 7 is so simple and beautiful but it tells us a lot about faith. Faith is about obedience. It’s not simply to know things. It is to know things and to act upon them. When Jesus commanded Him, Jesus didn’t come over and heal Him by touching His eyes or touching the person. No, He simply stated to get up. The man didn’t feel better. Most likely, the paralytic still felt the same. But what did he do? He did as Christ commanded him. He told him, get up and walk.

vii. When he lived in obedience to Christ, this man experienced healing. This is the same thing when we deal with our forgiveness of sins. We don’t feel any different. It almost feels like nothing has changed. But our forgiveness of sins or our standing before Christ hinges on His promises. Our lives are unequivocally connected to God and His promises. This is why we must live in obedience to His Word. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus is never about making a lot of noise. It’s boring and plain. But in the obedience, God is working miraculous things in our lives. He’s causing us to be more like Him.

viii. Last verse 8, the result comes in. it tells us that when the crowds saw this, they had seen the paralytic who is now walking around, and they had seen what Jesus had said, they were awestruck. Literally, they were afraid. There was reverential fear. They understood they were in divine presence because they also knew that only God could raise a man who was paralyzed to walk and on top of that, forgive sins. They had seen Jesus do the impossible, and if He could do this, which is in His words, easier, then He can definitely do the invisible, which is forgive this man of his sins. They were full of fear which caused them to worship.

ix. What is so lost in the Bible and our reading today is that when we witness God’s power, it should instill fear in us. We should be filled with fear knowing how powerful He is and how in a blink of an eye, everything in us and our lives can shatter. This fear caused worship. This fear caused them to understand that they are not the creator. It caused them to think of being in His presence as a privilege. If only our generation and people today understood what it means to fear God. We should fear God and not act like God is our equal. God is God and He is to be worshipped. He is to be revered. He is to be respected. We should not be like the scribes and have evil thoughts in our mind. Rather, we should fall on our faces in worship when we recognize His strength.

x. The healing of the paralytic is in the Bible to remind us of this truth. God is to be feared. He is to be acknowledged as my Lord, as my king, as my creator, not someone I blame for my life. We have a problem with this because we think like men. We think that God’s purpose is to make my life better, kind of like to heal the paralytic. We want God to make our lives better. But God’s thought is greater than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). God is concerned with our greatest good and that is our sin. This is why He has made a way for our sin. He didn’t put a bandage on our sin problem. No, He completed that problem from start to finish. When we start to think in the way God wants us to think, we will start to fear Him and acknowledge Him.

3. CONCLUSION