January 27, 2010
TEMPORAL CURE or ETERNAL Care?
Matthew 9:1-8
Scott DeBow
Central Truth
God's Word is all sufficient for our every need. While He is aware of our human suffering and limitations, He addresses our eternal needs as first priority, which is different than what we want Him to do. Psalm 139:23 is a great place to tune our ears to His voice!
Key Verse | Matthew 9:4–7
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? But 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." And he got up and went home. (Matthew 9:4-7)
Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing 1 9:4 Some manuscripts perceiving their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Dive Deeper | Matthew 9:1-8
I was once in a job situation in which I excelled at everything I did, was given "positive feedback," and cannot remember an instance when a peer gave me constructive correction. I even had thoughts of how easy it would be to "coast" and continue to get promotions and accolades in that job.
I am thankful for the Holy Spirit's patience, counsel, and words of warning. Even though that job seemed wonderful, I knew I was not growing and that my gifts and skills would atrophy if I did not follow the path God had for me. Isn't it easy to hear only what we want to hear, according to what we want and think is right?
In Matthew 9:2 (NLT) Jesus addresses a paralyzed man, saying, "Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven." We must read this carefully, or it may appear that the Jesus who we know can heal physical sickness seems to breeze by this paralyzed man with just a smile and a pat on the back.
Could it be that we are so caught up in polite one-liners ourselves that we assume Christ is too busy to care for this man? Are we reading the text with the expectation that Jesus Christ, who claimed to be God and backed it up with the resurrection, should respond as we would respond? The Pharisees had a problem with Jesus' statement as well, but from the religious angle, stating "That's blasphemy! Does he think he's God?" (Matthew 9:3 (NLT))
Whatever our response, the only one that matters is the truth. Jesus illuminates this as He explains how easy it is to say that your sins are forgiven, but the command "[g]et up, take your mat and go home" (Matthew 9:6 (NIV)) is much more difficult because it is easy to verify whether it happened.
Jesus proved He has the authority both to forgive sins and to heal diseases. It is awesome to know that we have a God more concerned with addressing the truth of our spiritual condition than with impressing people by healing our temporal ailments.
Discussion Questions
1. How did you first respond to this passage? Were you encouraged by Jesus' statement to the paralyzed man, or did you wonder why He didn't heal him immediately?
2. Think of a time when you were told the truth about something even though it was something you did not want to hear. How would it have affected you if you had been told something "nicer," but untrue?
3. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23-24 (NIV) "[A]ll our righteous acts are like filthy rags . . . ." Isaiah 64:6 (NIV) In light of just these two passages, how appropriate does Christ's initial response to the paralyzed man seem?
4. Given the truth about humanity's fallen nature, what kind of God would we have if Jesus did not first address the eternal condition of our souls?
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why did Jesus heal the paralyzed man (verse 2)?
2. Who has the authority to forgive sins (verse 6)?
3. Do you go to God and ask Him to forgive you when you sin? Is there anything you need to ask Him for His forgiveness today?