Fall Devotional Week 4

Matthew 9:1-8

And after getting into a boat he crossed the sea and came to his own town. And just then some people were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Then some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Stand up, take your bed and go to your home.” And he stood up and went to his home. When the crowds saw it, they were filled with awe, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to human beings.

What?

In this story we see Jesus demonstrating his power to forgive sins. The religious authorities challenge Jesus, “to themselves” and Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, points out their hypocrisy. There is a lot in this story that our 21st century brains want to challenge: the “mystical” aspect of Jesus’ ability to perceive the thoughts of the religious authorities; the idea that the unnamed paralytic’s situation is caused by his sin; Jesus’ ability to heal the paralytic with a simple command – Jesus doesn’t even touch the man.

We know that during Jesus’ time, as well as the time the author of this gospel was writing this story (probably about 40 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection), it was common for people to believe that illness and various types of bodily affliction were most likely caused by some wrongdoing, such as sins committed by the person who had the affliction. Does Jesus believe this? That is not the point of this story, but in this story Jesus seizes the opportunity to demonstrate, to both the religious authorities and also the “crowds” that were present, his “authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Despite all of the focus on sin and healing in this passage, we may easily miss what I consider to be the true points of this story, at least from the perspective of ‘Why Care?’  First, although the real heroes of this story are mentioned only at the very beginning, in reality they are the primary reason this story exists: “And just then some people were carrying a paralytic man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith…” he was moved to act. This nameless group of “some people” cared enough to bring their friend to Jesus. It was NOT the faith of the paralytic that inspired Jesus to notice the man or forgive his sins; it was the faith of the nameless group! Their faith is what Jesus noticed, their act of caring, their belief that Jesus had the power to help their friend brought forth the healing that the man needed. The second point is equally important: the act of forgiving is powerful.

So What?

The message to us in this story is faith matters. What we do and say in the name of our faith matters. There is no evidence in this story that the paralytic had any faith whatsoever, but his friends did. The paralytic does not speak, does not thank Jesus, and doesn’t even acknowledge the healing he has experienced except to follow Jesus’ instructions. So, do we care enough to bring others to Jesus? NOT to church, to Jesus? That is the important question in this story. We may think that we do, but do our actions bear that out? Our words and actions should always point the way for others to find Jesus. Our example of forgiveness should be one of the ways we bring people to Jesus, even those with little or no faith.

Now What?

The message to us in this story is faith matters. What we do and say in the name of our faith matters. There is no evidence in this story that the paralytic had any faith whatsoever, but his friends did. The paralytic does not speak, does not thank Jesus, and doesn’t even acknowledge the healing he has experienced except to follow Jesus’ instructions. So, do we care enough to bring others to Jesus? NOT to church, to Jesus? That is the important question in this story. We may think that we do, but do our actions bear that out? Our words and actions should always point the way for others to find Jesus. Our example of forgiveness should be one of the ways we bring people to Jesus, even those with little or no faith.