Matthew 7:1- 9:17
This is a shocking little section:
Matthew 9
1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts 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, take your mat and go home.” 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
The people who witnessed this must have been shocked, I mean can Jesus not see that this bloke has a problem that all can see. He can’t walk but Jesus is talking about his sin.
When everyone is scratching their heads, Jesus has actually scratched below the surface to find the real problem and it’s not his legs, but his heart, his sin.
Yet this would not be the only shocking thing. The teachers of the law get what Jesus has done and they aren’t happy. They are good religious people and they know only God alone can forgive sin. Yet this Jesus, this son of Abraham, this son of David, the son of God has authority to forgive sin.
Sometimes as we interact with family and friends we can be shocked by the decisions or lifestyle they have. Sometimes we get distracted by these and try to address or attack these things on the periphery. Yet here Jesus gets straight to the heart of the issue, the human heart, sin.
Let us always direct those who do not know God, to know true forgiveness that came through Christ’s shocking death, on a bloody cross.
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