Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralysed 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 paralysed 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. (Matthew 9.1-8, NIV)
At the beginning of Matthew 9, Jesus crosses over the Sea of Galilee, and enters His own town Nazareth. Nazareth had a bad reputation. Remember, Philip, who came from nearby Bethsaida, as did Andrew and Peter, when he found his friend Nathaneal, told him, “We’ve found the one Moses wrote about, about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph!” But Nathaneal’s sarcastic reply was, “Can anything good come from there?!” So, to be called Jesus of Nazareth was not complimentary! Of course, the name ‘Jesus or Yeshua’ was very common in Israel, so to be called Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph, identified who He was and where He came from. But Nazareth itself seems to have been known for being a hot bed of troublemakers. People from there were definitely regarded as tending to be rebellious!
Anyway, arriving in Nazareth, some men brought Jesus a paralysed man on a bed and put him down in front of Him. When Jesus saw their faith – notice, it was not the faith of the paralysed man that He saw, but when Jesus saw the faith of the men who brought him – He said to the paralysed man, “Take heart, rejoice, cheer up – your sin is forgiven.” Jesus does not heal the man as they expected, but He dealt with the most important thing FIRST. Because the most important thing is the sin question.
I know I often tell this story, and I know that you know it well too. But I want to tell it from a slightly different angle.
When I preach on the mission field God has given me, I can see a third or even a half of the people miraculously healed. Several times it has been recorded that ALL the sick who came to me for prayer were healed. It’s been a significant and integral part of my ministry. BUT, I always want to preach the Gospel of Jesus FIRST, and call the people to repent FIRST. This is what’s happening here with Jesus. He’s not dealing with the sickness, He’s dealing with the man’s sin FIRST.
No, he’s not saying this man’s sickness is caused by his sin. Yes, people often link sickness with sin. It can be true, but not necessarily. In fact, when I had lung cancer in 2002, I was staying in my German office and I received a phone call from one of my German friends. He said, “David, God has told me to tell you, the reason you have lung cancer is because you have sinned and you’re out of His Will.” I was not! And the amazing thing is, that very same night, God worked an outstanding miracle and brought the cancer out of my mouth! They had to burn the bed! I’ve had cancer twice: throat cancer when I was 32 years old, and lung cancer when I was 70. Both were healed without any medication in a most unusual way. The throat cancer was cut out ‘with a knife’ and the doctors saw the scar where the Lord had cut it out Himself! Both cancers were used by God as a turning point in my life when I put my life and ministry into His Hands in an extreme act of faith!
But here, in this story of the paralysed man, Jesus is dealing with the sin question. FIRST. Let’s face it, if the man dies without confessing his sin and without seeking salvation, he does NOT go to Heaven. But if he finds Christ and receives salvation through Him, even if he dies from his sickness, He goes to Heaven! This is the Power of the Gospel!
So the first thing Jesus says to the dying man is not, “Get up and walk,” but, “Your sin is forgiven!”
Here Jesus is demonstrating two things: firstly, He’s demonstrating prophetically that this common Nazarene whom you are rejecting, actually IS the Son of God and He will eventually pay the price of sin on the cross; and secondly, he’s demonstrating that, as the Son of God, He has AUTOTHORITY ON EARTH! All my life I have recognised that God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. HAS POWER ON EARTH! NOT JUST IN HEAVEN! That’s why He could say to the man, “Get up” and the man got up, healed. And the crowds saw this as the demonstration of the Authority and Power God has ON EARTH, and they gave God the Glory!