Jesus eludes a trap

by Rev Dr Noel Due

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For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? (Matthew 9:5)

Read Matthew 9:1–8

Jesus’ enemies came in many forms. There were demonic forces, political schemers and religious purists, to name just a few.

Today we meet some people heavy on doctrine but light on compassion. The context is a beautiful gift of friendship. A paralysed man was brought to Jesus by his friends, who had faith that Jesus could help him.

I suspect that they wanted Jesus to heal the man, but Jesus’ first response was to say, ‘Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven’ (Matthew 9:2). Jesus knew that the man’s problem was not just physical, but that he was also crippled by sin. What that sin was we are not told, and it matters little. What does matter is Jesus’ assertion that the man’s sins were forgiven by Jesus’ word.

Now that was asking for trouble.

In the Old Testament, God alone could forgive sins. We commit all our sins against him. We break his commandments, we profane his holiness, and we take his name in vain. Because all sin is ultimately against God (even if we damage human beings along the way), it is God’s prerogative alone to forgive. That’s why the whole sacrificial system in the temple was set up: to make atonement for sin against God.

But, if Jesus says he can forgive sins, that would be the same as saying that he was God. That, in fact, was the case. But no-one even bothered to ask if it might be true. The religiously-minded immediately accused him of blasphemy, punishable by death.

To show that what he said was true, Jesus pushed his critics to the edge of a logical cliff. Uttering words of forgiveness might be only an empty gesture. But what if he commanded the man to walk? And what if his words made that happen? Clearly, if he could prove his words had power by healing the man, then his word of forgiveness must also have the same power!

We know the story. At Jesus’ words, the man stood and walked. The conclusion should thus have been obvious: ‘if my words can effectively heal, then they can also effectively forgive’.

Will you believe this?

Dear Father, thank you that you have sent your Son into the world to bring the gift of forgiveness. Thank you that his words assure us that this is not an empty gesture, but a dynamic reality. Thank you for the forgiveness of sin and the lifting of the burden of our spiritual paralysis. Amen.

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