God Speaks Through a Paralyzed Man

(Matthew 9:1-8) Imagine the scene! Jesus had just returned to Capernaum, the town where He had been living. He and His followers had just had interesting spiritual and political experiences across the Sea of Galilee.

As Jesus disembarks from the boat in which he and the followers are sailing, He is approached by a group of men carrying a mat.This may not necessarily be a strange sight back in those days in that area; however, on the mat, was a paralyzed man. The men were bringing this man to Jesus for healing. Right away, because of their confidence, Jesus knew they had the utmost faith in His abilities. In other words, they did not approach Jesus with a half-hearted request of, "Do you think you can heal our friend?" or "We would like to see if you can heal our friend." No, they came to Jesus in order for their friend to be healed. They knew it would take place!  

Matt. 9:2 (The Voice)--"When He got there, some men approached Him carrying a mat. On the mat was another man, a paralytic. The men evidently believed that Jesus could heal the paralytic, and Jesus saw their faith, how much faith they had in His authority and power."

Jesus says to the paralytic, "Rest assured, my son, your sins are forgiven." I'm not 100% sure this is what the friends had in mind. I think their intention was for the friend to be physically healed. To me, this was an interesting turn of events. Why in the world would Jesus have said the man's sins were forgiven and not healed him physically, when he had healed others of physical ailments without this assurance of forgiven sins?

I believe there are two reasons. The first is that Jesus knew that what the paralyzed man really needed was spiritual healing. Before he could receive physical healing, he needed to be right with God. (Thanks to my pastor {Linda Pevey} for this revelation.)  I believe the second reason has to do with setting the lawmakers in Capernaum straight and revealing to the crowds who He really is.

To quote Paul Harvey, "And now, the rest of the story." Nearby there were Jewish lawmakers and leaders who were listening and taking in this whole scene. They begin to call Jesus out on, what was in their minds, blasphemy. Blasphemy is pretending or claiming to be God. The Jewish lawmakers were likely thinking, "Who is He to forgive sins, only God can do that". Since Jesus IS God, He has the power to forgive sins; therefore, He is not blaspheming. Although they spoke this to themselves, He knew their thoughts. Next comes my favorite part of this passage. I feel like Jesus just rolls his eyes and then let's them have it!

Jesus asks the Scribes and Pharisees why they are mumbling about blasphemy and why they are being wicked in their hearts. 

Matt. 9:4-7(The Voice)--"Why do you hold such hardness and wickedness in your hearts?  Look, is it easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Get up and walk'? To make clear that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins (turning to the paralytic man on the mat), Get up, pick up your mat, and go home. And the man did!" 

I can almost hear the exasperated tone in Jesus voice as He speaks to them. 

"Look, anyone can SAY that sins are forgiven. You or your spouse, or even the neighbor next door can TELL someone that their sins are forgiven. They might even SAY to get up and walk, but that doesn't mean it really happens. Now let me prove to you who I AM. I have not only healed the sins of this man, because I know you need to see something to believe it, I will heal this man physically as well. That way you know that I have the power to do both."

Back in those days (and often in these days as well), there were many "religious" sideshows that would come around and claim they could heal people, but their claims never came to fruition. 

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So Jesus did just that. He healed the paralyzed man. The Bible tells us that the crowd was in awe. They were amazed and they praised God. Not only had Jesus healed the sins and physical ailment of this man, He had revealed His power and Nature to the town and they were praising God for it! The Bible does not tell us of the reaction of the lawmakers, but I imagine they turned and walked away quickly. 

We can see the power of Jesus through this Scripture. We see that because He is God, He knows all things and can do all things. We know that He is necessary for our lives and for our eternal life. It is He Who is able to forgive our sins. It is He Who can set us on a right path if we will just ask Him.

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