Setting: Contemporary Worship
Length: 27:03
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Title: Forgiving the Paralytic, part 2 of 2
Commentary: This sermon is part of the ongoing verse by verse series in Matthew.
Main Scripture: Matthew 9:1-8
Main Topics: Miracles, healing, paralysis, sins, forgiveness, blasphemy, authority of Jesus, evil thoughts, pharisees, faith
As you listen, select, copy, and paste the following outline:
1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.
2 Some 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."
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?
6 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, take your mat and go home."
7 And the man got up and went home.
8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
-chapters 8-9 is our major section
-and here, Matthew presents to us the miracles of Jesus
-out of the untold number of miracles, Mathew presents 10
-taking those 10 and organizes them into sets of 3, 3, 4
-the second set of 3 miracles is 8:23-9:8
-we are in that second set…miracles 4, 5, & 6
-today is miracle#6 - 9:1-8
Themes that hold the miracles together (8:1-9:38): 3
Theme 1. He will minister to those whom Israel will not…..
Theme 2. Jesus has the authority over all things created
Theme 3. Jesus is the long awaited Messiah
-now, today is part 2 on the healing of the paralytic
-part 1 was….3 weeks ago…(we then took a break because of the Easter season and my travels)
-and so, let’s begin with a quick REVIEW of part 1
-in 9:1 Jesus is back in Capernaum
-and the crowds are back as well as they swarm Peter’s house
-so many people….that the 4 men carrying their paralytic friend…could not get through the front door…they had to go up to the roof and then a dig a hole through the roof to get to Jesus
-what a crowded and dramatic situation this was !
-YET… the way Matthew tells the story, you would think no one is there except a few men and Jesus
-all he says in v.2…in the most simplest of terms…
2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat.
-What????? Mark tells us there is a great crowd….
-so many people that these men had to climb the roof and dig
through it to lower the body to it
-but surprisingly Matthew chooses to leave out these dramatic details
-we concluded in part 1 that Matthew is not concerned about the
external condition
-none of the well known details of the external circumstances are
given: the crowds, the climbing of the roof, the digging through
it, the lowering of the body
-from beginning to end, Matthew is more concerned about the internal condition
-in fact, that’s why I chose NOT to give you a PPT today because Matthew is choosing NOT to be visual as he focuses on the internal condition
-in fact, this internalizing of the story becomes clear when Jesus sees them and the first thing He sees ins their inner faith
-v.2: The Bible says…. “…Jesus saw their faith…”
-we saw in part 1 that….
* the faith that Jesus saw was their belief in Jesus as the forgiver of
sins
-somehow, they had the faith to see Jesus as the son of God….
-that if He is the son of God….then He can forgive sins
-this explains why Jesus walks up to the man and speaks about forgiveness.
-Jesus walks up to the paralyzed man and says…. "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
-Jesus is able to read hearts
-that is what is emphasized in this story as he reads the hearts of the paralytic and even his enemies who stand at a distance.
…..looking into the heart of the paralytic, he sees a deep concern for his own sins
…we took time to understand WHY the paralytic was MORE concerned about his sin than the restoration of his physical body
-and we realized that the Jewish culture believed that ALL diseases and physical problems were due to sin
-which is….sometimes true
-but they took that to the unbiblical extreme…..and made
the brutal application that ALL physical handicaps were due to specific sins in one’s life
* therefore, God was judging you…condemning you for
specific sins
-such was the tormented life of a person with a physical challenge
-in this case….living on a mat….with the destructive thought that God hated you and was judging you
-all because God would not forgive you….so he thought
…he hears Jesus is in town
-his friends who are sympathetic to his suffering, carry him
-they come to the house and dig through the roof
-their faith leads them to believe Jesus is a true healer
-and if Jesus is able to heal….they are thinking
-then maybe Jesus is from God….they are thinking
-and if Jesus is from God…..
-then maybe Jesus can forgive him of his sins
-the sins that brought about his paralysis…they are thinking
-and if Jesus forgives him of his sin
-then maybe, he would be healed for his disease too
-and so, they come to Jesus wondering if Jesus can truly forgive him
-Jesus sees their heart of faith
-their concern for forgiveness
-and so, even though a word is not said by the friends or the
paralytic….
-Jesus makes the first move……
"Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
-and at that moment, his sins are forgiven
-his heart is made into a new creation
-he becomes a child of God
[end of review]
-what a dramatic moment that must have been !
-that the holy son of God would forgive the sins of someone whom all
Israel judged and rejected as unworthy (Theme 1)
…this story will confirm the very reason why Jesus came
-let’s remind ourselves of the birth announcement of Jesus in…
Matthew 1:21
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
* this is theme 3
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
-this story of healing and forgiveness takes a wicked turn as we are introduced to the enemies of Jesus
-they were in the crowd the whole time
-these guys are not like the teacher of the law in chapter 8:19 who wanted to follow Jesus….remember the sermons, Quick and Slow Responses?
-that guy back in chapter 8 is an exception
-’cause they are usually the bad guys….the enemies of Jesus who will eventually crucify Him
-they finally show there true colors here as they say to themselves in vs.3, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
-listen, you cannot use a stronger word against Jesus
-blasphemy is the most serious attack one could make against another
-this is a loaded word with a long history
-back in the OT, a blasphemer was stoned to death
-coming into the NT, any word or act of blasphemy will get you killed
-because blasphemy is an insult against God
-that is, you say or do something that hurts or slanders God
-now, this can be done in many ways
-in this case, here in 9:3, the scribes are thinking that Jesus is insulting God by claiming to do something only God can do, namely, the forgiving of sins
-if you say you can forgive sins, hey, you are acting like God
-that is a direct insult against God because God is unique in His
authority and power
* only He is God and no one else
-if you stake a claim on God’s power and authority, you insult
Him….you are guilty of blasphemy
-you could say that the scribes knew their theology
-after all, they were experts in the law
* but the story is about their complete misunderstanding of Jesus
-they refuse to apply their theological understanding of God
to Jesus
-God is God and Jesus is a blasphemer
* and this is the story of all 4 gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke &
John
-that Jesus came as the son of God, but He was rejected as a blasphemer
*this accusation comes to a climax in….Matthew 26…Jesus is on trial
63…The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God."
64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One [lit.: “power”….He speaks of the power that is His] and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
66 What do you think?" "He is worthy of death," they answered.
* so, here you have it…..they clearly believed in God….but refused to apply their understanding of God to Jesus……
* we can say the scribes were right in their theology, but they were wrong in their application
* this is the most dramatic challenge of theme 3
-they reject Jesus as the long awaited Messiah…able to forgive sin
-and by rejecting Jesus, they insult the One who sent Jesus
-funny how they accuse Jesus of insulting God when in reality, they insult God by rejecting His son
-and so, what a contrast….between the heart of the paralytic and the hearts of the scribes !
-let’s compare for a minute between the paralytic and the scribe
-the paralytic has faith in his heart while the scribes have evil thoughts in their hearts
-the paralytic only sees his own sin while the scribes only see Jesus’ sin
-the paralytic receives the authority of Jesus while the scribes reject the authority of Jesus
-and this criticism of Jesus….the Bible says….they….said to themselves
-you see, they are not going to blurt it out
-of course, later, they will shout it out
-but right now, they are afraid of the crowd
-there are many in the crowd who have faith like the paralytic
-Jesus is seen a prophet from God
-if the scribes openly challenge Jesus, it may seriously hurt their own
reputation and leverage with the people
-and so, they mumble …. to themselves
-but again, we see Jesus is able to read hearts…as he did the paralytic and his friends…
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
…5 Which is easier:…. to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say,…. 'Get up and walk'?
-Jesus is speaking to scribes who followed him everywhere
-no doubt they were there through all the Capernaum miracles from the
leper to the centurion’s servant, and many other miracles
-I don’t think the scribes knew what to say about the miracles
-miracles are hard evidence that something is going on
-the leper is healed
-you can’t challenge that….it happened in front of them
-they could not say anything since it happened
-the evidence is there
-and because forgiveness is something they could not see, they felt bold enough to call him a blasphemer
-but Jesus is saying….you saw me heal many times…now you see me
forgive sins
-if I can heal….then why can’t I forgive?
-why should healing be easier for me and forgiving be harder?
-which is easier?
-actually, both are hard to do !
-in fact, both are impossible for man to do
-only by the power and authority of God can both be done !
-so, which is easier?
Both are about the same !!!
Both are impossible for man but both are possible for God
Now, Jesus does not have to show them anything, but he decides to show them further proof of his divinity in v.6
6 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, take your mat and go home."
-Jesus is saying….I am going to heal this man, and it will be evidence of my authority to forgive sins
* and when they see the man walking home….they would be forced to acknowledge Jesus as from God
7 And the man got up and went home.
-you might be thinking….that’s rude….the man did not even thank
Jesus
-he says nothing and just walks home?
-but keep this in mind
-no one is talking in this entire story
-I’m sure things were said
-I’m sure the 4 men said something
-maybe the paralytic said something too
-the scribes are mumbling to themselves
-maybe others around them said something
-but none of this is recorded
-so, for all intent and purposes, Matthew is not interested in what the
paralytic or anyone says
-Matthew is interested in the heart condition
-the hearts of the paralytic and friends
-the hearts of the scribes
-and Jesus’ ability to read them all
* AND Jesus’ ability to forgive a heart of sin
-and really the physical healing of the man was only a
validation of the spiritual healing that already took place in
his heart
-the man got up and walked home
8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
filled with awe
-lit: fear
-the word in the original phobeo is where we get our English
word: phobia
-but here the idea is not like our English use of the word
-this means a reverential fear: so the NIV translates it as “awe”
-the feeling you get when you are in presence of a superior
-a word always used to describe the reaction of the people when they sense that God is among them
and they praised God
-I guess that’s good….I think….well….
…they praised God…who had given such authority to men.
-the whole purpose of the miracle was to show that Jesus was more than a man
-that the healing will show that the forgiveness was no joke
-if he is physically healed, that means that his sins are forgiven
-but somehow the crowd came up with their own conclusion
-that somehow Jesus is a special guy
-that somehow God gave special powers to a special human
-I guess we have to conclude that they praise God for the wrong reason
-they didn’t quite understand who Jesus was
-their praise was misguided
-nothing new
-when Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the people shouted hosanna…and waving the palm branches….later the same crowd will shout crucify Him…we want Barrabus !
-Matthew did it again
-leaves us with a very sober reminder that people did not always
get it !
-they did not understand that Jesus is God come down…..
But in the midst of all this chaos and controversy
-the mumbling accusations by the scribes
-the drama of ripping open a roof top
-the reaction of the crowd
-in the midst of it…..
-the only one who understood Jesus correctly….walks away quietly
-the paralytic….
….no longer a paralytic
….but one who received Jesus as the forgiver of his sins
-let’s take time to consider the drama
-and consider who Jesus is
-and how He forgives us and saves us
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