Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
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.
Luke 7:47
Those Who Forgive Little Love Little
47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.
John 3:16-17
Jesus Came to Save Our World
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Mark 2:17
Jesus Came to Our World to Save Sinners
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus, as natural and as common as One could say it, forgave others of their sins...This is very unusual thing to be doing, but this is what Jesus did, as He went from town to town healing and helping people...And there is nothing natural and common telling someone you have forgiven their sins...Jesus has the authority from His Father to heal people, just as He has the authority from His Father to forgive people of their sins...And His ability to forgive is a great sign of love...God LOVES our world...And Jesus' authority to forgive others shows us of His uniqueness...Jesus forgiving others even so commonly as He does it, sets Him apart from any other man who has ever been on earth...Jesus telling others He forgave them, tells us much about His Great Uniqueness...And His healing power in His healing miracles shows the power and authority that He had and has...His healing power is thus related to being able to forgive others, in the sense that it is God-given...His miracle of healing the paralyzed man shows us the same miracle of being able to forgive this man...And which is easier to say, when we think about it, your sins are forgiven, or to say get up and walk?...But Jesus wants us to know that the He has authority on earth to forgive sins...He has made this clear, and that He came for sinners...So when He told 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, because they could see God had given such authority to Jesus...
The paralyzed man was looking for a way to be healed...He may have not been looking for forgiveness...He had heard of Jesus and maybe had seen Him...But he could not move around without help, and he wanted to be healed...
The paralyzed man knew of Jesus and had faith in Him...And this faith caused him to be not only healed of his paralysis, but he also had his sins forgiven while being healed...The healings of Jesus got and get our attention as man, it is a miracle...But not so much on Him saying we are forgiven of our sins...Sometimes we gloss over this, or just miss it...We are naturally drawn to miracles, and the One who can do them...But we are not so much drawn to things like forgiveness...Yet, forgiveness is paramount, to the sinner...Forgiveness is also paramount in the ability to love...How often do we think about needing forgiveness?...Yet, this is one of the reasons, He says He came to earth...Our health and other things seem to be more on our minds...But we need His forgiveness, same as the man that He healed needed it...
A miracle or forgiveness, is one more easier or more important?...Healing and/or forgiving -is one of these more controversial...Now the teachers of the law seemed not to mind Jesus healing the paralyzed man...They seemed to be more concerned and upset with Him going around saying to people and to this man I forgive you...Jesus could have just healed this man and said no more, if He wanted to, but He wanted to make a point to the teachers of the law and to us...So why couldn't He do both...Which is easier to do forgive someone or to heal them...Jesus has the power to heal and to forgive, but He came into our world to save us, and by dying on the cross He forgives us of our sins...All of them...We need forgiving...