‘Your sins are forgiven’
[Matthew 9:1-8]
How do you view The Problem of Pain and Suffering? The Bible Isaiah 38:17 talks about pain and suffering like this: “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.” The Bible says that the great pain and suffering that God allows us is to give us peace. I don't quite understand. How can we find peace through great pain and suffering? It is none other than that, God makes us to repent all our sins through great suffering (vv. 2-3, 5) so that He can put all our sins behind His back and gives us peace. Why is God doing this? The reason is because God loves us (v. 17). C. S. Lewis, in his book “The Problem of Pain,” says that the problem of pain is deeply related to the problem of permanent (continued) human sin. At the same time, he says that human beings are freed from the illusion that everything is going well through pain, and this is the primary spiritual legacy of suffering. And the ultimate goal of human beings through suffering is to break all subjective wills that humans can do as they please. At this time, God's will is for humans to realize that they lack through suffering and to seek better things to discover. The important thing is that the complete surrender of self to God is painful (Internet). What do you think of this C. S. Lewis statement? What I agree with with regards to today's text is that the problem of pain and suffering is deeply related to the problem of our continued sin.
In today's text, Matthew 9:2, we see Jesus speaking to a paralytic who was lying on the bed like this: “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.’” Focusing on this word today, I would like to receive a lesson from God by thinking of the three types of people who appear in today's text under the title, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’
The first people I want to consider are the people who brought to Jesus the paralytic who was lying on the bed.
In today's text, Matthew 9:2, the author Matthew said that they were “Some men” who brought to Jesus a paralyzed man lying on a bed. If we go to Mark 2:3, Mark explains in more detail by saying that “Some men” were “four of them.” So, how does the Bible say that these four men brought the paralytic to Jesus? In Matthew 8:2, the author Matthew says that some men brought the paralytic who was lying on the bed. In Luke 5:18, the author Luke says that the four men carried the paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. Further, Luke says that the four men tried to bring this paralytic man on the mat before Jesus, but could not find a way to carry him “because of the crowd” (v. 19). The word “because of the crowd” here can be understood a little bit better by looking at Mark 2:2 – “So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.” In other words, even though the four men, carrying the paralyzed man lying on the bed, brought him to the house where Jesus was (Mk. 2:1) and wanted to bring him and lay him before Jesus (Lk. 5:18), they could not because there was no room left due to so many gathered (Mk. 2:2). What these four men did at that time was that they went up to the roof, removed the tiles, and lowered the paralyzed man on the bed in front of Jesus in the midst of the crowd (Lk. 5:19). This is what Mark says in Mark 2:4 – “Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.” What kind of roof did the house where the Jews lived, so that the four men could take the roof off and digged through it and let the paralytic go down? When laying the roofs of Jewish houses, it is said that the first girders were arranged at regular intervals. It is said that small pieces of wood were placed densely on top of it, and the tangled thorns were thickly laid on top of it. It is said that after plastering it and covering it on thorns, it was compacted flat with soil again. It is said that because the roof was made in this way, people could easily tear it off by hand (Internet). At that time, Jesus saw the faith of these four people (Mt. 9:2; Mk. 2:5; Lk. 5:20). Perhaps these four men as well as the paralytic had the same faith. What kind of faith did these four people really have? We can think of it in three ways:
- The faith of these four people was the faith that the Lord's power to heal was with Jesus.
Look at Luke 5:17 – “One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” There is no record in today's Gospel of Matthew, but in Luke 5:17 it is written, “the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” Of course, there is no record in the Bible that these four men who came to Jesus with the paralyzed man on a bed directly witnessed Jesus healing the sick people. But at least we can guess that they had heard that Jesus had healed many sick people, so they came to Jesus with the paralytic on a bed. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say that these four men did not only hear the word of Jesus and brought the paralyzed man to Jesus, but Jesus clearly saw their faith. This means that the four men did not only bring the paralyzed man to Jesus after hearing about him, but because they believed that the Lord’s power to heal was also with him (Lk. 5:17).
Shouldn't we have this kind of faith? Maybe now, many Christians who hear a rumor that a pastor who leads a revival meeting has the gift of healing, then they are eager to attend that meeting. To be honest, I wonder if those people come to Jesus with faith in the Lord's power to heal just like the four people in today's text, or they just have earnest hope that the person they love will be healed. Also, I don't know whether they believe in the healing power of the Lord or the power of the pastor who leads the revival meeting. We need to ask ourselves the question: 'Do I really believe that the power of the Lord to heal is with Jesus, or do I know that the Lord will heal my loved one who is suffering from an illness?’ Although the two questions look similar, they are different. The focus of the first question is on Jesus, who has the Lord’s power, and the focus of the second question is on myself, longing for my loved one to be healed. Think about it. When we pray earnestly for a loved one who is suffering from a disease, we do not know whether the will of the Lord is healed or not when we pray, ‘I believe He will heal you.’ So, while earnestly praying for healing, we should pray, 'Not my will, but Your will be done' and pray, 'Whether it is healed or not, only God's glory will be manifested'.
- The faith of these four men was faith in the word of Jesus.
Look at Mark 2:2 – “So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.” When they heard the news that Jesus had come to Capernaum and he had come home (v. 1), a large crowd had gathered and there was no place to even enter the front door (v.2). Here, what is “the word” that Jesus preached? Presumably, “the word” that Jesus spoke to the large crowd in that house is “the gospel of God” and “the kingdom of God” (Black). Look at Mark 1:14-15: “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” These four people believed this very gospel of God and the word of Jesus about the kingdom of God, so by faith they came to Jesus with the paralytic on a bed.
What does it mean to believe in the word of the kingdom of God? What was the concept of the kingdom of God that Jesus had in mind when he spoke about the kingdom of God? A Bible verse that explains the concept is found in Luke 10:9 – “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'” Also, look at Luke 9:2 – “and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” When we look at these words, we cannot help but get the impression that they have to do with the kingdom of God and healing the sick, as Jesus had envisioned. In other words, the concept of the kingdom of God that Jesus had in mind had the work of healing the sick and making them whole. Therefore, when these four men came to Jesus with the paralyzed man on a bed, they not only believed that the power of the Lord to heal the sick was with Him (Lk. 5:17), but they also believed that Jesus, who was speaking the gospel of God and the kingdom of God was the King in the kingdom of God. How precious is this faith? Shouldn't we also have this faith in Jesus as the King in the kingdom of God? When we praise our God, the King, with faith, and come to the King in faith, shouldn't we also believe that God will heal us and make us whole?
- The faith of these four men was a faith with works and a living faith.
As we had already thought, these four men, carrying the paralyzed man lying on the bed, brought him to the house where Jesus was (Mk. 2:1) and wanted to bring him before Jesus (Lk. 5:18). But there was no room to even enter the front door (Mk. 2:2). So they went up to the roof, made an opening in the roof above Jesus, made a hole (the tiles were removed) and lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on into the midst of the crowd before Jesus (Lk. 5:19; Mk. 2:4). They not only believed that Jesus had the power of the Lord to heal (Lk. 5:17) and that Jesus was the King in the kingdom of God (Mk. 1:14-15, 2:2; Lk. 9:2, 10:9), they acted according to that faith. To bring the paralyzed man on a bed before Jesus, they climbed up to the roof of the house where Jesus was staying, tore the roof down, made a hole in the roof, and lowered the paralyzed man on the bed in front of Jesus. This reminds me the Bible James 2:14 and 17: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? … In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Obviously, the Apostle James said that faith without works is itself dead. If we only say we have faith and do not act by faith, our faith without works is dead faith and not the faith that can save us. However, the faith of these four men in Matthew 9:1-8 was by no means dead. Rather, their faith was a living faith and a faith with works. The Apostle James describes their faith in James 2:22 – “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” In other words, the faith of these four men was the faith that was perfected by works. I hope and pray that we can have this kind of faith too. I hope and pray that we have this faith that is perfected by works so that we can be healed by faith and that we can be victorious through faith.
The second person we would like to consider is the paralytic lying on a bed.
In today's text, Matthew 9:1, it is said that Jesus got into the boat and crossed over and came to his own town. Here, his town is Capernaum (Mk. 2:1). In Mark 2:1 Mark says, “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum.” Why did Mark use the word “again” here? This is because, as we have already meditated on in Matthew 8:5-13, Jesus was already in Capernaum before, the place where he healed the beloved servant of the Roman centurion who was dying of paralysis. But now, Jesus came to Capernaum again. And there, Jesus met another paralytic. When I think of these two encounters, it seems that there were many paralytics even in Jesus' day. But I wondered what was the cause of the paralysis and why there were so many paralytics. The paralytic disease, as we know it, is a brain disease. In other words, it is a disease that causes paralysis of the body because an abnormality occurs or bursts in a blood vessel in the brain, preventing it from performing some functions of the brain (Internet). We mainly understand this disease as a state of paralysis of the body due to cerebral hemorrhage or cerebral infarction. In modern medical science, there are three causes of cerebral hemorrhage/cerebral infarction: (1) When a blood vessel in the brain is blocked due to arteriosclerosis, (2) Cerebral blood vessel ruptures due to high blood pressure, stress, etc., (3) A blood clot from another part of the body travels into the bloodstream and blocks a blood vessel in the brain (Internet). Among these three causes, for some reason, the second cause comes to my mind: “Cerebral blood vessel ruptures due to high blood pressure, stress, etc.” Perhaps the reason is that one of my friends had two cerebral hemorrhages due to high blood pressure and stress. Interestingly, the Bible does not say that the cause of the paralytic's illness in Matthew 9:2 is a medical reason, but a spiritual reason. What is that spiritual reason? It is because of his sins. Look at the second half of Matthew 9:2 – “… Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” Isn't that a bit strange? When Jesus healed the sick, He said this. When Jesus healed a leper, he reached out and touched him, and said, “I am willing,” “Be clean.” Immediately the leper was cleansed of leprosy (Mt. 8:3). And when the Roman centurion's servant was healed of paralysis, Jesus said, “"Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And immediately the servant was healed (v. 13). Also, the Bible records that when Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a fever, Jesus touched her and the fever went away (v. 15). And even when people brought many demon-possessed people, Jesus drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick (v.16). However, while healing the paralytic in Matthew 9:1-8, Jesus said that the paralytic's sins were forgiven. Isn't that a bit strange? As Jesus said in verse 5 of today's text, Jesus could have said, "Get up and walk," but why did he say, "Your sins are forgiven"? (v. 2) The reason is because the paralytic's sickness was acquired through his sin. So, before Jesus healed the paralytic, he forgave the sin that was the cause of the paralytic.
There is a connection between our sickness and our sins. Of course, we cannot say that all diseases are due to our sins. But the Bible clearly states that certain diseases are related to our sins. A good example is the story of the 38-year-old sick man in John 5. After healing the 38-year-old sick man (Jn. 5:8), Jesus met him in the temple and said, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you” (v. 14). What does it mean? Isn't this saying that he should never sin again so that he doesn't get more serious? It is taught that the 38-year-old sick man's illness was the result of his sin. Dr. Yoon-sun Park said: ‘The ultimate cause of disease is sin. Without sin, there would be no disease in the world. In some diseases, sin may be the direct cause. Because of God's mercy, every sin does not directly cause a new illness. But if the same sin is piled up, it becomes the cause and disease occurs’ (Park). Of course, not every sin directly causes disease. But if we keep committing the same sin and accumulate sin, disease will occur. Do you think the bitter fruit should be removed first or the bitter root should be removed first? We already know the answer. We know that no matter how much we remove the bitter fruit, unless we remove the bitter root, the bitter fruit will inevitably bear again and again. It reminds me of Hebrews 12:15 – “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” When a bitter root develops within us, we can not only trouble ourselves, but also defile many people. To that extent, the evil influence of sin can spread like an epidemic. Therefore, we first get rid of the root of bitterness in us. In doing so, the bitter fruit can also be automatically removed. For the paralytic in Matthew 9:1-8 in today's text, the root of bitterness was his sin. And his bitter fruit was paralysis. So, looking at the paralytic and the four men carrying him on a bed with faith, Jesus said, “Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven” (Mt.9:2).
After Jesus forgave the paralytic's sins (v. 5), He said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home” (v. 6). Then the paralytic got up and went home (v. 7), the Gospel of Matthew says. The Gospel of Mark says that he got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all (Mk. 2:12). The Gospel of Luke says that the man immediately stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God (Lk. 5:25). After all, Jesus first forgave the paralytic's sins and then healed him. Therefore the paralytic was made whole, took his bed, and went back to his home, praising God in the presence of all men. The Bible James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” We must pray for each other so that we may be healed of our sickness. But before that, we must first solve the problem of our sins. We must confess our sins and repent. We must humbly repent of our sins by faith, relying on the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. Then, God will not only forgive our sins, but will also heal our sickness.
The third and last people we want to consider are the scribes and the Pharisees.
Look at Matthew 9:3 – “And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes.” When Jesus said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 2), some scribes thought to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes” (v. 3; Mk.2:6). Luke 5:21 explains it in more detail: “The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?’” In other words, when Jesus said to the paralytic at the house of Capernaum, “Your sins are forgiven,” not only the scribes, but also the Pharisees who were with them thought in their hearts, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?’ (v. 21) In other words, the scribes and Pharisees thought that there was no one who could forgive sins except God. But when the carpenter's son, Jesus of Nazareth, said to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven," from their point of view, Jesus committed the sin of blasphemy. Knowing that they were thinking like this in their hearts (Mk. 2:8), Jesus said to them, “"Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?” (Mt. 9:4) What does it mean? Now Jesus is saying that it was an evil thought for the scribes and Pharisees to think in their hearts that Jesus was blasphemy. Why were the thoughts of their hearts evil in the eyes of Jesus? The reason is because they are evil, and their mouths have spoken out of the abundance of their hearts. Look at Matthew 12:34-35: “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.” In other words, the scribes and Pharisees were evil in the eyes of Jesus. So they think evil out of the evil stored up in their hearts and speak evil things with their mouths. To the scribes and Pharisees who had such evil thoughts, Jesus said, “Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (9:5-6a; cf.: Mk. 2:9-10a; Lk.5:23-24a). What this word of Jesus is telling us is that the scribes and Pharisees, who thought in their hearts that Jesus had committed the sin of blasphemy, did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, so they couldn’t believe that Jesus had power to forgive sins which only God had. In other words, since the scribes and Pharisees said they believed in God, but did not believe that Jesus was God, they thought in their hearts that Jesus blasphemed because Jesus said to the paralytic “your sins are forgiven.” Isn't that a bit funny? Isn't it a bit absurd that they did not realize the sin of not believing that Jesus was the Son of God and thought (condemned with their hearts) that Jesus committed the sin of blasphemy out of such ignorance and unbelief? That is why Jesus said to them, “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mt. 9:6). That is, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 2), and set him free from his sins, so that he might know that he is the Messiah and God the Son, having the power to forgive sins. At the same time, Jesus was rebuking the scribes and Pharisees for their unbelief, that is, the sin of not believing that Jesus was God.
After that, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home” (v. 6). And the paralyzed man immediately got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God (v. 7; Mk. 2:12; Lk. 5:25). He was not only forgiven of his sins, but his sickness was also healed. What was the reaction of the crowd when they saw it? Look at Matthew 9:8, Mark 2:12 and Luke 5:26: “But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Mt. 9:8), “… This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!” (Mk. 2:12), “They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, ‘We have seen remarkable things today’” (Lk. 5:26). In the end, many people who had gathered at the Capernaum house were amazed by Jesus' power to forgive sins and to heal people, and they glorified God.
- J. Gibson, in his book “Survey in Basic Christianity,” asks a self-checklist of seven questions (Internet): (1) Have you always been unselfish? (2) Were you always free from envy and covetousness? (3) Have you certainly done all the good you are capable of? (4) Have you always been kind to everyone? (5) Have you always loved God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? (6) Have you always loved others as yourself? (7) Have you always been perfect like the Lord Jesus Christ? And he says: 'If the answer to any of these questions is "No," then the Bible says you are a sinner. If you keep the whole law and break one, you are guilty of the whole (Jam. 2:10). Even one defilement of the perfect holiness of God makes him a sinner.’ God solved this problem of sin in Jesus Christ. God forgives all sins to those who believe in Jesus. If we come to Jesus by faith and realizing our sins even through the pain of disease, the Lord will tell us, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ I hope and pray that all of us will be forgiven of our sins by confessing our sins through faith in Jesus and repenting.