My Walk Through the Book of Matthew by Annette Godtland

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8)

1So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you."

3And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"

4But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Arise and walk'? 6But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." 7And he arose and departed to his house.

8Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

This story always used to bother me because I thought it was saying that it was the man's sins that were keeping him paralyzed. I have a very tough time believing that our afflictions are caused by our sins and the reason we still have those afflictions is because our sins haven't been forgiven yet. But it wasn't until I studied the book of Mark that I started seeing this story in a different light.

Note, the paralytic does not get up when Jesus said his sins were forgiven, but only gets up after Jesus commands him to get up, after Jesus heals him. I believe Jesus did two things for this man, forgave his sins, and healed him. I don't think that forgiving his sins is what healed him.

This perspective of the story would explain Jesus' curious question to the scribes regarding which is easier to say. I don't think it was a question of Jesus saying one thing or the other in order to heal the paralytic, but a question of if Jesus could prove that He could do the harder of the two then they should be able to believe that He could do the easier of the two. For which would the scribes find easier to do, forgive someone, or to heal them? They know they would have no affect on a paralyzed man, so they would respond that it would be easier for them to say someone's sins are forgiven. Jesus did not say "your sins are forgiven therefore get up and walk", but simply "arise and walk". Here He is simply healing the man to prove if He could heal the man, which they would have suspected would be harder, surely He could forgive the man of his sins.

The last couple of lessons started talking of the effects of faith, that faith will overcome fear. Here, when Jesus saw the faith of the paralytic's friends, Jesus forgave the paralytic's sins. The biggest fear we should ever have to face is the fate of our souls. Just as faith will remove other fears, faith will aid us in the forgiveness of our sins. So faith will help us with that fear as well.

Jesus said "Be of good cheer", when he forgave the paralytic's sins. I don't think our afflictions are necessarily caused by our sins, but often our mood is weighed down by our sins. Be of good cheer wasn't just a command to be happy that his sins would be forgiven, but also a statement that because his sins are forgiven it will be much easier now for him to be of good cheer.

Jesus knew what the scribes were thinking even without them saying anything. Jesus recognized the faith of the paralytic's friends without them saying anything. Jesus knew the paralytic needed forgiveness of sins without him saying anything. Jesus knew the paralytic needed cheering up without him saying anything. Jesus knows what's in the hearts of everyone. We cannot hide our thoughts and feelings from Jesus. Jesus responds to our hearts.

Jesus had healed many others before this time. This is the first time that it is mentioned that He also forgave sins. Did this act convince them that Jesus had the power to forgive sins? I would expect that if they hadn't believed Jesus' proof of forgiveness of sins, someone would have taken Him up on it. Instead it says they marveled and glorified God that men had been given such power. So I assume this convinced them.

Footnotes in the Bible Gateway from where I copied the text for the scripture says the NU-Text reads "were afraid" instead of "marveled". So there must have been some fear mixed in with their marvel, not just awe. We are back to fear again. Without faith, fear will abound. This multitude was short on faith.

The one thing that bothers me in this text is the statement that the basis of their marvel (fear) and glory to God was that God had given such power to men. Yes they believed God gave that power to Jesus, but they didn't know who Jesus was. They thought He was simply another man. Yes, it would be a very scary thing if mortal men were given this kind of power. But with this particular Man, this Son of God, this power is in the right hands. They were mistaken in their belief that that kind of power was now given to men. I just wonder where thoughts along those lines might have lead them. I'm sure Jesus knew their thoughts just like he did of the scribes, the paralytic, and the paralytic's friends. Why didn't He immediately say or do something to correct these assumptions of theirs?

Jesus' teachings seem to be following a well laid out progressive plan. First he started preaching that the kingdom is at hand, it was time to really look at where they were at spiritually. He then went on to explain right from wrong, expanding on their current understanding, and sometimes explaining the conflicts with what was written. Next He talked of what they must do, how to pray, how to make themselves spiritually ready for God, and that they must take action because salvation does not simply happen, it depends on the choices they make. From there He started on the subject of faith and now He is getting into the forgiveness of sins. He has built on the foundation they already had and is getting into the more difficult things to understand. He will take them one step at a time, leading them toward the inevitable end. It is fascinating to watch the progression of His teaching. He is a master teacher and the plan is already laid out for Him. He is not ready to talk of who He really is yet.