JESUS, THE LORD OF ALL
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Opening Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for the transforming, life-changing power of the gospel that is at work in me each day.
Read MATTHEW 9:1—8
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Matthew
Matthew 9
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “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 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then 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 man.
Reflect
‘Search me, God, and know my heart … See if there is any offensive way in me.’1
Here we see Jesus shown to be Lord of the whole world. The paralyzed man was brought to him with many different needs—physical, spiritual, and probably mental and emotional too. Jesus recognized that the need for forgiveness of past sins was primary among them, for he dealt with that immediately. He did so in response to the faith of the man’s friends, in spite of opposition from some teachers of the law. There is a stark contrast between Jesus’ ability to think spiritually and maintain spiritual priorities and the teachers’ total inability to do either. Their thinking, though it was about God, was shallow and earth-bound. Indeed, when they privately charged him with blasphemy, Jesus identified it as positively evil (v. 4). Evidently, they cannot imagine Jesus as anything other than a man like themselves, although, by this time, Jesus has already demonstrated his divine power and authority twice. First, he pronounced the forgiveness of sins. Second, he revealed that he could see inside people and know their thoughts.
The answer to the question in verse 5 is ‘Neither.’ Both forgiveness of sin and physical healing require divine authority. Therefore, while neither is possible for a mere human being, both are equally straightforward for God. The difference between them is that the latter is visible to human eyes and is therefore capable of acting as proof of the former. Thus, because the teachers of the law were spiritually blind, Jesus graciously offered evidence to support his divine identity. By the power of his word alone, he instantly healed the paralyzed man. We’re not told how the teachers reacted, but the crowd, who also failed to recognize Jesus as divine, were nonetheless ‘filled with awe’ (v. 8) and praised God for his authority.
Apply
Consider anyone you know who seems prone to disbelief and pray for them.
Closing prayer
I praise you, Lord God, for sending Jesus and for forgiving my sins through him. Please help me to be a living testimony for him.
1 Ps 139:23, 24.
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