Authority to Forgive

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 108

With God we have done valiantly!

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:7-10 (Forrest)

Ephesians 1:7–10 ESV

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Sermon

Good Morning Church! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

When I was a Youth Pastor, I learned that one of the skills that is the most invaluable is the ability to keep a group of kids quiet on a long car ride. And so I partially invented, partially stole what was one of the greatest ideas ever, I called it the Pink Golf Ball joke. I will spare you all the pain that is the full Pink Golf Ball joke by giving you a quick summary. You set the stage, there is a dad who really loves his son and his son is having a birthday, it works best in intervals of 5. So On his fifth birthday the dad asks the son what he wants and he wants, for example,a tricycle with a basket full of pink golf balls. And here is the most important part, the dad asks the kid “why pink Golf Balls? And the answer is “You wouldnt understand Dad, maybe Ill tell you next time. Then you have to devise some calamity that destroys the tricycle looses all the golf balls but the kid is Ok. Then you just repeat this exact same formula over and over, telling meaningless and unimportant details but the what remains the same is birthday, pink golf balls “Why pink Golf balls” and “you wouldn’t understand”. So he gets bikes and cars and houses and boats and RV and all sorts of things, you are limited only by your imagination. And the secret is take a LOOOONG time telling this. Then when (no exaggeration… 30 mins later) when they start getting annoyed you start asking: well I can just stop, or don’t you want to know the point? And you keep going and going until the punchline: there is absolutely no punch line. All you have managed to do is get the kids to be quiet for 45 minutes.

The funny part of this, to me, is that i did it the first time as a joke, and the kids ended up LOVING it. So then every youth trip you get a new kid or two that hasn't heard it and the rest of the kids are like: you have Got to hear the pink Golf Ball Joke, it is HILARIOUS. And then when you start saying “you want me to stop” there are the kids in the very back who are like: no you have to make it to the end, and it can go on FOREVER with that type of peer pressure.

Well I bring this up, because we have been going through Miracle after miracle, six miracle narratives to be exact and It has felt like Matthew has been building up to something, and in fact, he has. He has been building up to the healing of the paralytic in Matthew 9:1-8 which is our text for this morning. Unlike the Pink golf ball joke which is a waste of time and meant to distract, Matthew has carefully crafted this set of miracles to paint a picture, Jesus has authority over sickness, totaal authority that he can heal with but a word. He demands from us allegiance and devotion with that authority. He has the authority to calm the sea and the waves, which only God can do, he has authority to cast out demons, authority over the spiritual realm. Jesus is mighty. But what does that mean for us? Well here’s the payoff. It means everything!

Lets read our passage this morning.

MATTHEW 9:1-8

These are the words of the Lord for us this morning, Lets PRAY

PRAY

And so here it is, the payoff, the one who has the authority to calm the seas. The one who can heal our every disease, well guess what, he can (and more to the point, he DOES!) heal the root issue in all our hearts, he forgives sins.

Most of us are a bit familiar with this story, we are more likely familiar with the Mark or Luke versions where we get the details like this paralytics friends ripping a hole in the roof of a house and lowering their friend mission impossible style down in from of Jesus, (and if you want to look at how these differ, then come on Thursday to Grace Group) but today I would like to look at this afresh in some sense. Just walk through and discern what We can learn, and how then we apply this to our lives.

And the first point to note is THE AUDACITY

The AUDACITY

Partially because we have heard this story before, partially because we know the full story of who Jesus is, but honestly mostly because we minimize the weight of sin and what it actually means to have your sins forgiven, we miss just how crazy Jesus would sound here. Either crazy, or as the Scribes point out, blasphemous.

Here is a paralytic man, it seems that his issue is fairly clear, he can’t walk. His friends had to bring him here. He feels like a burden to all those around him. They didn’t have power chairs and technology to help improve mobility to people in this position some 2000 years ago. In fact, they brought this man to Jesus because HE IS PARALYZED. Matthew does not say that they understood the weight of their sins and repented, turning to Jesus, that is what we might (for good reasons that we will get to later) expect if Jesus is going to forgive sins. But no. Thus far we would think a healing is coming. A Paralytic comes to Jesus, he is healed. A Centurion comes to Jesus, his servant is healed. Jesus comes to Peters Mother in Law ans she is healed. The Demonic men come to jesus and the demons are cast out they are healed. But here he is dropped down and Jesus looks at him and says: your sins are forgiven.

Lots of debate rages around what inspired Jesus to say this. Is it possible that there was some sin that caused this paralysis? Maybe. It is certain that that was the view of the religious leaders of the time, that each and every sickness had some sin at its root. One of the rabbi of the time, we have his writing they have been preserved, but they say thing like: “Untill the sin is forgiven no person can receive healing.” for them all sickness was caused by sin. But Jesus teaches us that that is 100% NOT the case. In John 9 a blind man is brought before Jesus and they ask him: who sines to cause this blindness? was it him or his parents? And Jesus' answer is CRITICAL to understand God’s sovereignty and the nature of the world. Jesus says in John 9:3 that neither him, nor his parents sinned, but this was to show the power of God. So let me say this as clearly as I can. ALL sin leads to sickness and ultimately to death. But not all sickness and not all death are a direct result of sin in someones life. We have to understand that difference. Why did you get covid? Well covid is in the world because of sin, BUT you did not catch it necessarily because you sinned in some particular way. Sometimes you get sick, sometimes thing happen, sometimes accidents occur. Not all sickness and death can be ties to some particular sin. But yet, sin is what is affecting and harming, and in some true sense killing all of us.

So was it some sin that caused his paralysis? Maybe, I don’t know,but this is what I do know, this. Forgiveness of sins is what everyone in the world needs more than anything else. Even if he didn’t ask Jesus to forgive his sins, that is surely what the man NEEDED from Jesus. And that is really the point. The audacity of Jesus is even broader, it is not just that he would say this, but that he would DO this is even more audacious.

As an analogy, this is a homeless man asking me for a dollar to buy a hamburger and Mcdonalds and I give him my house. This is Jesus diving down deep and giving what is truly needed. And this is why I want us to understand why this is so audacious. Because he offers the same to you and me. Jesus has the authority to forgive and forgive he does. For those who come to him in faith and repentance for ALL those who come in faith and repentance, called by the grace of God, I do not care how dark your stains from sin, for i repeat ALL who come to Jesus they will find forgiveness of sins.

And for some this is blessed good news, it is joy unspeakable, we have come to him and felt the weight of guilt removed. We stand in the promise that there is now therefore NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. but for others, there is more thoughts of Audaciousness. For some think, I am a good person. I don't NEED forgiveness. how dare Jesus come to me offering to forgive my sins when person x y or z is so much worse. How dare he! how audacious of Jesus to demand I repent of my sins. and then for others there is the thought of this is audacious, if he only knew my sins he could never offer forgiveness. And so even now we often see the same response as we did then: THE UPROAR

The UPROAR

In Jesus time the uproar looked like this: the scribes hear jesus make this audacious claim: your sins are forgiven! And THEY know, because they, honestly are more trained in theology than any of us, this was their entire life and livelihood. They were steeped in this. And so they knew that only God can do that. This Man has no authority to say your sins are forgiven He cant do that. So they begin to talk among themselves. This man is blaspheming. And we have now, in Matthew 9, the introduction to every reason as to why Jesus was killed. It was not because he was going around healing people. It wasn;t because he was a good teacher. they did not kill jesus because they just didn’t like him (though they surely didn’t). They killed him because they assumed he was blaspheming.

He was putting himself in God’s position. The uproar in Jesus time was ONLY GOD CAN DO THAT. he is not God so he cant say that. So there is an uproar. People say: there is no way. It cannot be this easy. There is no way that this man can walk in here and look at this paralytic and say your sins are forgiven. He just cant do it. And so eventually for claims like this they would begin to cry Crucify him.

Now there is some poetic beauty if we stop and think about this. their uproar: this man is blaspheming caused them to kill Jesus. But we know that our forgiveness was purchased on the Cross. It is in fact the case that their uproar, their opposition to Jesus’ claim is what purchased for us salvation.

We should also note that in their uproar, in some sense they are right. This man, if he is just a man, has no right to say “your sins are forgiven.” Just think about this: no man gets to do this. there should be an uproar. If you do not believe that Jesus is God there should be a huge uproar when you here him say “your sins are forgiven” because no man can do that. I do not have the power to go around to people and say, your sins are forgiven and your sins are forgiven and your sins are forgiven, I do not have the authority to forgive anyone's sins because ultimately heres the point is that no one really sins against me they are sinning against God. And so I do Not get to forgive on God’s behalf. And so in some sense this uproar is right. In some sense their thinking starts in the right place. He is forgiving sins, only God can do that so who does he think he is, Well he must think he is God. And this is what they should have wrestled with a little more. The turning point in all of Matthew will come in Matthew 16 when Peter confesses that Jesus is God, we will get there eventually. But the scribes should have wrestled with that more.

But here is the issue. How do we apply this, how can we think through this uproar. I would encourage you to think through this in terms of understanding that people still get in an uproar. As we proclaim forgiveness of sins through Jesus, we will see people still don’t like that. but now it is less this thought of blaspheming but now it is because in order for them to get forgiveness they have to admit that what they are doing is sin. And so when we come with a message to the world that the life they are living is sinful, you don’t get to define right and wrong, you don’t get to do this that or the other thing. Your wanton sensuality, your lust, your whatever it is, the sin du jour for that person, when we call it out the response is often: how dare you. They make the same claim: you don’t have the authority. and again, in some sense they are right. I do not have the authority to define right and wrong but you know who does? God, and you know what he does do? he defines that clearly. If we read his word, what is right and what is wrong, what is holiness, what is sin? its all there in his word, all that we need for life and godliness. And you must repent.

Jesus hears their uproar. he knows. Verse 4: Jesus knowing their thoughts. and so he blessedly offers PROOF

The PROOF

this is the next main point, the proof. He asks them a question, why do you think such evil things in your hearts? Why do you think i am blaspheming. What is interesting is that this is only evil, we have to think through these things, that is only an evil thought if it is NOT true. It is actually right to look at someone, if they ARE blaspheming to look at them and say I need to stay away form that that is evil blaspheme, but if you are wrong then the thought is evil. And so even here, in asking this question in this way he is claiming to be God, so Why do you think such evil in your hearts? and he asks them another question: Matthew 9:5

Matthew 9:5 ESV

For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

And I want to think about that, this becomes the proof in some sense. he asks a rhetorical question, which is easier to say: your sins are forgiven or rise and walk, and then he heals this man. He tells him to rise and walk and the man does. He literately picks up himself, he picks up his bead and he walks home. and there is an interesting distinction: which is easier to SAY? well it is probably easier to say “your sins are forgiven” because I can never prove that. I mean I could walk up to people and say: your sins are forgiven, your sins are forgiven your sins are forgiven, all your sins are forgiven, Oprah style. but there is no way to measure that. you can ever know with some sort of measuring if I am right or not (news flash, you do know, because only God can DO that) but i can say it all the day long. But as soon as i say to a man who is paralysed rise up and walk you immediately know if he did or not. That one is testable. how do you test it? you look at the guy and see: did he rise and walk? What Jesus is saying is an argument from the more difficult to the lessor. if I can do the More difficult is is proof that I can do the easier. Like do you want to know if I can lift a 5 lb bag of potatoes? well if you see me lift a 50 lb bag that is your proof. So the proof of Jesus power to forgive sins is the fact that this man rises up and walks out. and as he rises the realization should rise in our hearts that Jesus can forgive. This man jesus does not lie.

I said there was an interesting distinction, if Jesus had asked which is easier to DO then this is actually backwards. Jesus was able to heal this man with but a word. In order to purchase for this man full pardon for all his sins it would cost him his life. As we start now, it is important we understand, this is the first real opposition to Jesus and now, here in Matthew 9 we start the long road to the cross. Here in chapter 9 we start down the path towards purchasing pour salvation. And now we live in such a time, if we were to ask what is the proof that we have that Jesus forgives sins? the proof is the cross, and more to the point the proof is the empty tomb.

AS we would read elsewhere in Scripture, he who gave us his own son, will h not so much graciously with him give us all things? One would scarcely die for a righteous man, who in the world would die for a sinner? Jesus would, because he died for us. that is the proof. DO you want PROOF that God will forgive your sins? well he offered his only begotten son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. That is the hope of the GOSPEL. What more proof could you demand? he offered his only son! and so we now know, we stand secure knowing our sins can be, and have been, forgiven. But finally I would like to tur to the final thought here: what I would call THE FALLOUT

The FALLOUT

If we are not carefully reading, and just surface level looking at this final verse we might get the wrong idea. Matthew 9:8

Matthew 9:8 ESV

When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

the fallout here is that people even here, began to misunderstand who Jesus was, what he was doing, and the nature of his ministry. So this is why we need to be careful. this verse starts, when the CROWDS it. What is translated here crowd, the Greek word, if you like that type of thing, is ὄχλος, it is one of Matthews favorite words, he uses it all the time. it means crowd, but when Matthew uses it there is always a negative connotation. Because there is a crowd, then there is his disciples. We looked at this before the sermon on the mount, the crowds are closing in and he goes up on a mountain and his DISCIPLES come and listen to and are taught by jesus.

Well here again is the crowd, and part of the fallout is they are afraid. Rightly so if this guy can hear our thoughts, know our hearts, if he can go around forgiving sin then this guy has a lot of power and we should be afraid. They glorify God, that is good and right. who had given such authority to men. heres the point that I want s to see. 1) they do everything right BUT one thing, they will not follow Jesus. they will not step out from the crowd. the fallout is, in one sense that they think: OK this is cool, but they will not change their lives. but 2)lets dive in they glory thinking “God gave such authority to men”. but the truth is that God has given such authority to MAN. singular. His name is Jesus Chrsit our Lord. There is no way to heaven but through him. he is THE way, THE truth and THE life and no one but no one comes to the father except through him. He is the ONLY hope that we have for forgiveness of sin. he is the ONLY way that we can find redemption and healing. By his stripes and his alone are we healed. the chastisement that brought us peace was placed upon him and him only. There is no other name under heaven or on earth by which you can be saved. and so we cannot miss this, we cannot misunderstand what is going on here.

A part of what Matthew is driving us to see, part of the fallout, not just from this passage, but from all that has come up to this point: Jesus and Jesus has the authority to save. Jesus and Jesus alone has authority to save. jesus and Jesus alone can forgive our sins and cure our infirmities. jesus and Jesus alone can do these things. and so you must ask yourself: what will I do with this man? Will I, like the crowd, hear this claim: jesus can forgive sins and think: that's awesome. Go Jesus, yo go forgive people. but then just live life like I always have? or will I, like we were called to in verse 18-22 abandon all to follow him? he can forgive our sins, he deserves all glory, honor, praise, love and devotion.

The fallout in our lives, in having our sins forgive should be unending service to Jesus Chrsit our Lord. I pray for all of us that we would hear the call. We would take heart knowing our sins are forgiven then walk in the sanctifying power of Jesus Chrsit.

Lets pray.