Matthew 9:1-8
¹Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city.
²And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” ³And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.”
⁴And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? ⁵Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’?
⁶But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”-then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷And he got up and went home.
⁸But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Devotional
Jesus shows that He is able to forgive sins.
If a person is to lead a dignified life, food, shelter, freedom, peace, health, etc. are indispensable, according to public opinion.
And yet this list lacks the most important thing: the forgiveness of sins.
From the encounter between Jesus and this paralyzed man it becomes clear that Jesus is able to forgive sins.
For the man in question, life hurts.
After all, he can’t do everything he would like. But now there seems to be a solution in sight. He and his friends heard how Jesus recently healed another paralytic in their hometown, Capernaum (Matthew 8:5-13).
Confidently, those friends bring him to Jesus (Matthew 9:2).
And Jesus?
He doesn’t do anything about the paralysis at first.
He only says: ‘Take courage, my child, your sins are forgiven.’
Jesus shows that He came above all to tackle evil at the root.
For our roots of life are naturally dead (Romans 3:23, 6:23).
Jesus came to eradicate sin from root to branch (Matthew 1:21. Then Romans 6:23. See also Ephesians 2:1-10).
Jesus’ word about the forgiveness of sins has upset some scribes: “Let him shut up, that Jesus with his divine pretensions.”
They say nothing, but their faces speak volumes – volumes known to Jesus (Matthew 9:3-5).
To show that His divine pretensions are justified, Jesus heals the man. ‘As my word will now dispel the paralysis, so the sins of this man are forgiven by My word! He also calls Himself ‘the Son of man’, a reference to Daniel 7:13,14 (Matthew 9:6,7).
Amazingly, the man’s getting back on his feet makes a deep impression on the crowds (Matthew 9:8), but not one of them personally asks for forgiveness of sins…
Sad, because what could be nicer than that Jesus tells you that He has cast all your sins to the bottom of the sea and that it is all right again between the Father and you (Micah 7:18,19).
Question
- Can you name your sins concretely?
Prayer Suggestions
- Ask the Lord to let you know your sins
- Ask the Lord to teach you to always seek forgiveness from Him.
- Ask the Lord forgiveness for your sins
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