Matthew 9:1-8 Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man

Dad's Daily Devotionals (DDD)
2023.02.20
Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
Matthew 9:1-8:
Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 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."
At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 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." Then the man got up and went home.
When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
Some men brought to Jesus a man on a mat. The man was paralyzed. He could not move. Jesus was able to see the faith of these men. These men believed that Jesus had the power to heal and had a compassion heart and was willing to heal.
Jesus comforted the paralyzed man and told him that his sins were forgiven. No man can forgive the sins of another person. Some of the teachers of the law did not believe Jesus was the Son of God. These teachers of the law believed Jesus was a normal man, but with some supernatural powers. They accused Jesus of blasphemy.
What is blasphemy?
Blasphemy is when you do or say something that is insulting or disrespectful to God. Blasphemy can also mean acting as if you were God.
These teachers of the law were saying that Jesus was acting as if he was God, because they believed he was just an ordinary human being and not God.
Jesus knew their thoughts and confronted these teachers of the law. Jesus condemned their thoughts as evil. To think that Jesus was not God, and that Jesus was pretending to be God was evil.
Right there, Jesus says that he has the authority to forgive sins. At this point, we need to make a decision. Is Jesus an ordinary human being who is blaspheming? Is Jesus claiming to be God, but in fact he is not? Or, is Jesus telling us the truth, and he is in fact God, and has the authority and power to forgive our sins?
According to Jesus, forgiving our sins and healing us are the same thing. When we were born, we were born sinful. We inherited the sinfulness from Adam. When we accept the forgiveness of Jesus, through faith like the men mentioned here, we are reborn. We are healed from our sinfulness. We are no longer chained to sin. We are freed from sin. We no longer bear sinful fruit. We now bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are forgiven. We are healed.
The crowd who saw this miraculous healing of the paralyzed man was in awe. They praised God for giving the authority to forgive and to heal to Jesus. Praise the Father in heaven who forgave us and healed us through the sacrifice of Jesus. Praise Jesus for his obedience to the Father, to be sacrificed for our sins, so that we could be forgiven. Praise the Holy Spirit for indwelling in us so that we are continually transformed into the likeness of Jesus, who is what a perfect human being is like.
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