Seeds for 07/20/2023 - Matthew 9:3-8
Scripture: 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.
Observation: They have a point. The teachers of the law, tough-minded as they are, recognize when someone is crossing the boundary between representing God and impersonating God. To pronounce that someone’s sins were forgiven belongs to God and God alone. This is either an act of blasphemy as they say, or there’s something peculiar and divine about Jesus.
Jesus cleverly brings together His ministry of physical healing with His declaration about spiritual healing, that is, forgiveness by asking which is easier to say to someone. It seems either is easy to say. But saying it’s so and making it so? That’s trickier.
Healing the paralyzed man bolsters belief in His authority to forgive because it demonstrates His authority over the body as well as the soul.
Authority is a major theme lately. The crowds noticed it in His teaching at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The centurion understood it and his daughter was healed at a distance. The disciples saw it in the calming of the storm at sea and feared it. And the demon-possessed men (and townspeople!) witnessed it as Jesus cast out their demons and made them whole again.
So we see Jesus’ authority regarding teaching/wisdom, disease, the natural world, and the supernatural world.
What are you and I facing? Jesus has the divine authority to deal with it. And this sort of authority is one more clue as to His true identity as the Son of God, the Messiah we’ve been waiting for.
Application:
Where do you need to recognize and rely on Jesus’ authority to deal with the challenges in your life?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, I’m grateful that you have the authority to deal with anything I will face today. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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