Jesus Has Authority to Forgive Sins

You’ve probably heard the saying that there’s no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole. That is to say, that when tragedy strikes, everyone reaches for something divine, something bigger and beyond themselves that can help them through their crisis. I know people -- perhaps you’re one of them -- who actually became Christians amids times of extreme suffering, tragedy, or crisis -- and often the story goes like this: the crisis happens, the suffering person cries out to Jesus to fix the crisis, Jesus responds by fixing them.

I believe that’s happening today. People come to Jesus fleeing from sickness, and in finding Jesus they get more than what they expected. That’s what happens in our text this morning.

Read & Comment on Text: The big idea: Jesus has authority to forgive sins.

What are sins?

Sin is against God

Most people have the word sin in their vocabulary. Sins, in modern usage, are mistakes, failures, faux pas, and things of that nature. Sins are bad words, bad behavior. Thus, to forgive sins usually means to try to look past the mistake or try to forget it. Also, the way we think about sin is usually related to the people around us. We forget a birthday, we say words that hurt, we are grumpy and need coffee.

Most people are fine admitting that they’ve sinned, that they’re sinners, and the admission is often followed by the statement: “We all make mistakes, don’t we?” Sin is something we are flippant about. Everyone does it, right? Why make it into a big deal?

But Bible teaches that sin is fundamentally against God. In the OT, David knew this. After his adultery and murder, he cried out, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (Ps. 51:4).

A children’s catechism to define sin: Q: “What is Sin?” A: “Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created.”

If you steal money and no one knows, is it still sin? If you cheat, and no one knows, is it still sin? If you sin in secret, and not another soul in the world knows, is it still sin? If you are really nice on the outside, and really perverted on the inside, is it still sin?

Yes - because sin is fundamentally against God.

Sin creates enmity with God

Deut 25:16 “For all who behave unrighteously are an abomination to the Lord your God.”

Proverbs 16 uses the word “hate” to describe how he feels about sin.

Job 10:14 says that God marks sin, he tracks it, in his omniscience, he sees it, he watches it, he knows it - and it’s offensive to him.

Not an old, senile grandfather in the sky too old and senile to care what we’re doing!

James 4:4 “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?” Do you not know? Many people don’t know that. There’s LEGAL GUILT + RELATIONAL ESTRANGEMENT

Sin will be punished by God

The soul that sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20)

“The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). (We don’t sense this as we ought!)

J.C. Ryle, of sin, says: “The deaf man cannot distinguish between a penny whistle and a cathedral organ. The very animals whose smell is most offensive to us have no idea that they are offensive, and are not offensive to one another. And man, fallen man, I believe can have no just idea what a vile thing sin is in the sight of that God whose handiwork is absolutely perfect.”

If you want to know the seriousness of sin:

Consider that one sin in Eden plunged the entire creation and human race into death.

Consider that when God wanted to teach Israel the nature of sin, he instructed them to make bloody sacrifices.

Consider the warnings of Jesus when he tells us it’d be better to chop off your hand than let it sin.

Consider the consequences of sin, eternal death, cast out from God’s presence into hell.

I have to ask: what do you think of your own sin? Do you understand what it has done to your relationship with God? Do you minimize it? Hide it? Ignore it?

Sin creates a sense of guilt (the conscience)

God has created all humanity with a conscience. What does your conscience do? It alerts you to things that are harmful for your soul. Have you ever had the experience of doing something you know was wrong, and then afterwards feeling a kind of soul-pain, we call guilt or shame? You just feel really gross, really bad?

Why do we have feelings of guilt -- common to all honest, self-reflecting people? The reason, fundamentally, is that we sin, and our conscience knows it. Have you silenced your conscience?

You and I know that we’ve failed to meet God’s standards. And so guilt haunts us in our most honest moments, doesn’t it?

What does it mean to forgive them?

Self-forgiveness?

These days, we hear a lot about self-forgiveness. But if sin is fundamentally against God, it doesn’t actually make sense to talk about forgiving yourself. Think about it -- if you’re married, just try that with your spouse after you’ve been rude - “I was wrong but I forgive myself.”

That’d be great for criminals in the prison, if they could just forgive themselves and get along with life. Self-forgiveness doesn’t actually address our problem. We have sinned against God, our sins are against him. We have legal guilt and relational estrangement.

Imagine you felt the truth of this: “I’ve sinned against God! I am legally guilty before him, deserving a punishment, and I am relationally estranged, separated from his salvation.” And so you resolve that moment to never sin again.

First of all, I can tell you from experience that you will sin again. Give it 15 minutes.

Secondly, I can also tell you that the sins you’ve committed in the past do not disappear because you’ve resolved to be better. They are on your record before God, like a stain you cannot erase and they’ve led you to accrue a debt you cannot pay. So even if you actually succeed and never sin again -- you still have sins that deserve punishment.

You cannot undo them, erase them, or pay for them yourself. If your sins would be forgiven, they must be forgiven by God. The OFFENDED PARTY MUST FORGIVE!

Look at our text. Jesus says in verse 5: “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

The Scribes are scandalized by this, and we can understand them. They knew that the Old Testament taught that only God could forgive sins.

They’re right. Only God can forgive sins. But they don’t believe it.

So Jesus, to prove that he has authority -- vs 10: “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins” -- he heals the paralytic.

Here’s the obvious point of the message: Jesus, referring to himself as the Son of Man, has authority to forgive sins.

This is the best news in the world! God is willing to forgive sins!

So sin is against God.

Sin creates enmity with God.

Sin will be punished by God.

But here, God says Jesus has authority to forgive it.

What does that mean? Forgiveness is an act of God whereby he releases sinners from judgment, frees them from the penalty their sins deserve, and then reconciles the broken relationships.

Jesus calls himself the “Son of Man” -- you may think that’s a title of humility, but actually a title of great power, dignity, and authority. In Daniel 7 one like the “Son of Man” is described as the one who sets up an everlasting kingdom.

Jesus is the Son of Man, and he has authority to forgive sins.

Mark 1 - Jesus identifies himself as God incarnate, proves his authority over Satan, over demons, over sickness, over disease.

Matthew 25 - Jesus says all nations will be brought before him, and he will judge, and those who did not trust come vs. 46: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

These verses aren’t about great friends who can carry you to Jesus.

These verses aren’t about their persistence that even to dig through roofs.

I remember being at a Winter Camp and the speaker’s main (and heavily repeated point) was that “we need to rip the roof off this place.” Man it sounded cool. But it’s not the point. Here’s the point: Jesus Christ - the Son of Man, the Judge of Nations - has authority to forgive sins!

How unwilling can we be to forgive someone’s sin against us? We are hurt, and we harbor pain for hours, perhaps days, perhaps months - sadly, even years. Jesus is willing to forgive.

How can you be forgiven?

Now, I want to pause before we answer this question and say something that for some might sound so obvious, and for others might sound really new. This is something that 100 years ago, pastors didn’t need to say as much because it was largely understood.

Here it is: The Bible does not teach that everyone will be forgiven. Many people think that Jesus’ message to humanity is essentially, “Love your neighbor as yourself and forgive.” Or “Judge Not.” They’re like the Poet Heinrich Heine, who said on his deathbed “God will forgive me, that’s his job.” They misunderstand Jesus, to their eternal dismay. Not everyone is forgiven!

They haven’t heard about some other things Jesus said, like:

Mark 3:29 “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness.”

Mark 9:47 “and if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”

Jesus was also very clear that there will be many who think they’re forgiven, but have actually been duped into a false gospel: Matt 7: “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Jesus clearly believed in the reality of unforgiven sin.

I almost feel the need to apologize on behalf of the churches that aren’t saying this. There are whole movements of churches that are packed out, that never talk about the reality of unforgiven sin, judgment, and hell.

One article tracked down the 9 biggest churches in America and listened to several of their sermons. Even as the author tries to be charitable, the findings are grim. It’s all self-actualization, self-help, with a bit a Jesus thrown in. It’s not about reconciliation to God through the finished work of Christ. It’s not about forgiveness of sins.

One particularly alarming finding the author of the article mentioned was that if you were to attend these churches, you would have no idea that you were a sinner underneath God’s divine judgment, you would have no idea that sin has made you God’s enemy. You would hear about how God wants to give you more purpose, more “winning!”

But if we’re serious about learning from Jesus, we’re serious about learning what he taught, and if we simply read the gospels, we find he believed in a coming day of judgment, that many people will die in their sins, unforgiven, and that there was only one way to be saved.

Imagine a person who comes to actually believe that what Jesus said was true -- that there is judgment and there is a hell and that unforgiven people will be there. It changes everything. Think of all the things that could end his life? He might get hit by a drunk driver! He might be unaware of a growing cancer in his brain! He might get sick! And in any of those circumstances, he died without forgiveness, and is sentenced to eternal, unchangeable condemnation.

Could that be you? Could it be that you’re so afraid of death because your sins are not forgiven?

I hope you see why forgiveness is so critical. Oh, what would you do to be forgiven? What would you do to have your guilt removed? How can you be forgiven?

Look at our text: Verse 5: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus saw their faith. How can you be forgiven? The text says that Jesus saw their faith and forgave. Faith. Not faith in just anything -- but faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is entrusting yourself to him. Faith is relying upon him. Faith is believing him. Faith looks away from self to Christ.

No works saved this man.

Not any work of philanthropy. You can give enough to earn God’s forgiveness.

Not any work of service. Your volunteering and helpfulness doesn’t get forgiveness.

Not your work of ritual. Your confession, communion, confirmation, baptism, prayer.

Not your work of comparison. At least your better than most other people.

Not your work of comprehension. Because I know more I am in God’s graces.

Not your work of decision. I walked an aisle, raised a hand, prayed a prayer.

Not your work of restitution. I did a lot of bad things, I’ll undo them with a good life.

Not your work of affliction. I’ll beat myself up so God knows I’m serious.

Not your work of meditation. If I just be still I can feel God’s presence.

Not your work of seeking affirmation. Not because my elders, parents, anyone said so.

None of your works can save you. You are bankrupt. You receive Christ by faith.

When you grab hold of Christ by faith, his death is payment for your sins. They are forgiven. He is alive now, he has declared to the world: Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ will have their sins forgiven. Isn’t this great news -- I know that I am forgiven because I have placed my faith in Jesus Christ. I am trusting him for my salvation. I am banking my eternity on his grace.

And my sin - my laziness, my lust, my pride, my selfishness, my foul words, my impatience, my sinful anger, my foolishness, my failure -- these are all forgiven. I am free from sin, released from judgment, and welcome into God’s family.

The people in this account came to Jesus because of a physical ailment. But what they got was beyond what they expected, far superior -- forgiven of sins, reconciliation to God, and a healed body. You may be thinking about coming to Jesus because you want to be safe from the COVID-19 sickness. But Jesus has something better for you: the forgiveness of your sins.

Would you set your faith in him? He has authority to forgive your sins -- and he will when you believe him. If so - would you reach out via email? Contact us! Next steps!