Well, you can turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew's Gospel, Matthew chapter 9. We'll return, the Lord willing, to our study in the book of Acts next Sunday. This morning we're going to look at the first eight verses in Matthew chapter 9. I'll begin reading in verse 1, Matthew chapter 9.
And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemes. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise and walk?
Explanation: The Son of Man's Authority
but that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. Then he said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men." Amen.
Let us pray. Father, thank you for the written word of the living and true God. We pray for the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us now as we consider this passage. I pray that we would see the glory of Jesus Christ as that one who is able to forgive sin, as that one in whom there is forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with God.
We ask that you would guide our thoughts, direct our minds, encourage our hearts, and strengthen us in the faith. And Lord, for those who have yet to come to Jesus, those who are not believers in Jesus, we pray that today would be the day of salvation. We pray that your spirit would work in their hearts, granting them the graces of faith and repentance so that they may close with Jesus Christ. Forgive us again for all of our sin and transgression and everything that darkens our understanding.
And we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Introduction: Matthew's Framework
Well, within the Gospel of Matthew, obviously, He sets forth the glory of Jesus Christ. And there is a particular emphasis that we ought to observe before we enter into an exposition of this chapter. If you go back to chapter 7, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, that's chapters 5 to 7, where Jesus goes up on a mountain, and there He teaches disciples and multitudes. And at the end of that sermon, verse 28 in chapter 7 says, So it was when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching.
For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. He wasn't just parenting. He wasn't just engaged in sort of a rote passing on of information to others, but he taught as one having authority. So now in chapters 8 and 9, Matthew shows the authority of Christ in his works.
So chapters 5 to 7, the authority of Christ and His teaching, and in chapters 8 and 9, and later on to be sure, the emphasis is upon Jesus and His works. We see Him engaged in miraculous dealings, we see Him engaged in many sort of demonstrations of that power, of that authority. and specifically the section that we're looking at. If you look beginning at chapter eight and verse 23 to the end of our section, we have Christ and the storm in chapter eight, verses 23 to 27. And then in chapter eight, 28 to 34, Christ and the demoniac.
So it shows his power over nature. It shows his power over demonic forces. And then our section shows his power over the human body and over the human soul. So the Christ with whom we have to deal is unique.
He's not like other men. We know from the rest of Scripture that He is the second person of the Trinity. He is God, the Word. And He came into this world, He assumed our humanity.
That means, kids, He took on our humanity. with everything that makes us human except without sin. So Christ assumes that humanity. He lives in obedience to the Father's law. He dies as a sacrifice and substitute at Calvary.
He's raised the third day. He does that so sinners like us can believe on Him and receive forgiveness. So sinners like us can believe on Him and receive a righteousness so that we can one day stand before God Almighty. Jesus does that because of His great love for sinners.
And we see and appreciate that as we marvel at what he does in passages like we have before us. And I want to encourage us to think beyond the physical paralysis that affected this man. I think Charismatics and Pentecostals are wrong at this point. They think that the miraculous demonstration of God is seen in healing.
It's seen in resurrection physically. It's seen in persons that were blind but now can see, and persons who are dumb but can now talk. It's seen in the power of regeneration. It's seen in the salvation of a sinner that deserves damnation and hellfire for eternity.
That is the magnifying of the power of Jesus Christ, and that is the way that we ought to approach this passage.
Sermon Overview and Outline
So I wanna look at chapter 9, verses 1 to 8 under three considerations. First, we'll look at the declaration of Jesus in verses 1 and 2. Secondly, the confrontation with the scribes in verses 3 to 5. And then finally, the explanation given by Jesus in verses 6 to 8.
So let's look at the passage beginning in chapter 9 at verse 1.
Declaration of Jesus: Forgiveness Pronounced
Notice the situation. So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own city. Now his own city was Capernaum. He was certainly born in Bethlehem, he was raised in Nazareth, but he ultimately made Capernaum his home.
You see that in Matthew 4, verse 13, and then you see an extended section there in chapter 8, where they are in Capernaum. So he comes back to Capernaum, which is his city. Now publicly, his fame had begun to spread. People were interested in what this teacher had to say, and that's indicated here in verse 1.
He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own city. Then behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you.
Now, Matthew gives us the bare bones, but Mark and Luke tell us that there was a great multitude pressed into this house. There was a lot of people. Again, public interest in Jesus' ministry had been spreading. And so there's a horde. of people, they weren't concerned about social distancing, they weren't concerned about masks or anything like that, they all crammed into this building so they could hear Jesus speak the truth.
Now the building was so packed, there was so many people in there, that the men, the friends of the paralytic, actually opened up the roof and lowered that paralyzed friend right down in the midst of that. It's a beautiful and a wonderful thing when you consider it. The roofs in that day and age were flat, and certainly they would have pulled away a few tiles, dug away a bit of dirt, and lowered that man so that he could be healed of his paralysis. So the large crowd gathers to hear Jesus preaching, and the four men lower the paralyzed man through the roof.
The Charge of Blasphemy
Now notice what it says there. Then behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. It's a good thing for us as friends of people in need to bring them to Jesus. Now, that's not the main emphasis in the passage, but it's certainly a great corollary.
When we have people that are in need, we bring them to Jesus in prayer. Obviously, if we had the ability to bring a paralyzed man to Him for healing, we would hopefully do that because it's an application of the second great commandment. that we love our neighbor as ourself. So these men bring him, they open the roof and they lower him down. Now notice what it goes on to say in verse 2, when Jesus saw their faith.
Now I take this to mean the man, but also the paralyzed man. wasn't just their faith. Some people teach it that way. Maybe that, you know, I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong, but I think the paralyzed man had faith as well. He had heard of Jesus.
He knew that this man possibly, perhaps, could cure him of this paralysis. And for those who don't know that word, it just means you can't move. You've got your conscious ability, your mind functions, everything works, but you can't move from the neck down. You are paralyzed.
You are a paralytic. You are suffering paralysis, and there is no ability to move whatsoever. So as that man is being lowered down from the roof, perhaps his heart is beating at the thought and prospect that maybe today I'll get to walk. Maybe this Jesus is what he claims to be, and I'll be able to take up this bed and walk home and praise God Almighty for the healing that I received.
There is that human element involved, and certainly it was the men, but it was also the paralyzed man that had this obvious faith.
The Greater Malady: Sin, Not Paralysis
Now notice what Jesus says when this man is lowered down into the midst of that. He doesn't miss a beat, does he? Jesus is the kind of preacher that doesn't say, well, I can't be thrown off my notes, or I can't be thrown off my game. This is not you know, protocol where somebody is lowered through the roof during a sermon.
I mean, that would be bizarre. If that actually happened here, not sure how I would handle it. I certainly wouldn't handle it the way Jesus did and the way Jesus obviously could, but he doesn't miss a beat. And notice what he says to this man.
He says, son, your sins are forgiven you. When the man is being lowered down, and when his friends had opened the roof to lower him down, they were looking for healing in terms of paralysis. They were looking for their friend to be able to walk again. What's this about the forgiveness of sins?
What is Jesus pronouncing upon this man? What does Jesus know about this man? Well, Jesus knows everything about this man, because he's obviously Jesus. But the primary problem that this man suffered was not his paralysis.
We often think that, oh, if only my legs worked, if only my arms worked, if only I could see, if only I could hear. That doesn't tend to the bottom line issue. We're estranged from a holy God. We have transgressed His law.
We have lacked conformity unto it. We're justly liable to his curse and his wrath in this life and in that which is to come. Simply fixing the outer man doesn't fix the inner man. So we see the beauty of Christ and the glory of Christ in that he fixes the inner man.
He heals this man of the bigger malady, the spiritual problem, not the physical. Now he will because he's great and glorious and wondrous, but there's a reason why in context, he does what he does. So the primary problem with the paralytic was not paralysis, it was sinfulness.
Matthew 1:21 and Christ's Mission
Go back to Matthew chapter 1 for a moment. Matthew chapter 1, after the genealogy and as we enter into the birth narrative concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, we're given a statement that should really help us understand the entirety of Matthew's gospel. In other words, when we read in chapters 27, specifically 26 and 27, about the passion, about the death of Christ, the suffering of Jesus Christ, this verse in Matthew chapter one helps us to provide the rationale. If we ever were to cry out, why is he going through what he's going through here?
Matthew 1.21 sets it in the context. Notice, though, in chapter 1, verse 20. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. This is Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So when that man is lowered down and Jesus says what he says, Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you, makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Certainly he did come to heal paralysis. Certainly he did come to restore sight to the blind.
He certainly did come to feed the hungry. But the primary emphasis in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus is on salvation from sin. The scribes and the Pharisees missed that, obviously, but today many people in the church miss that. We see Jesus as a social justice warrior.
We see Jesus as a helpful buddy. We see Jesus as a boyfriend. We take him from the throne of glory and bring him to a place and a position that suits us. The bottom line is that he will save his people from their sins, and this is precisely what he does with reference to this man.
The miracles of healing are amazing to be sure, but the miracle of forgiveness, all of us have experienced that. All of us who are in Christ know what it is. to be found in Him, not having a righteousness of our own, which is according to the law, but a righteousness given by God, received through faith, and it's the righteousness of Jesus that answers to the law of God. Plus, we've been forgiven of all of our sins. We sing a hymn in our hymn book, my sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought.
My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord. If that miracle of healing doesn't promote in you a desire to worship, then I suspect you don't know that miracle. Because each and every day, now we are forgetful, so I'll give us a bit of slack, but a lot of times during the week, we ought to be musing. on the beauty that what I once was, I am no longer, and that by the grace of God.
That being a child of Satan, that one being committed to enmity against God, that one who drank sin like men drink water, and that one who is continually offending a holy God, we have been forgiven. That's the miracle in the passage. Now, with reference to this particular situation, notice that even before the Lord heals the paralytic of his physical problem, He commands him to be of good cheer. Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you.
I had a friend, or I have a friend, who had a friend. And this particular friend was like in his 40s. And if you happen to fit this profile, I'm sorry. But he was in his 40s.
And he didn't have any prospects for marriage. And he seemed like a sad camper at times. And the counsel and encouragement to this particular fellow was, I know you're sad. And I know you want a woman.
And I know you want that sort of aspect of blessedness and temporal good in your life. But be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiving you. That's ultimately everything.
If you're not a believer in Christ here this morning, you are dead in your sins. You have problems with a holy God. You have problems with the God of unrivaled majesty and glory, the God who made you, the God who feeds you, the God who waters you, the God who gives you the ability to work, the God who sustains you. You're gonna meet that God one day.
And if you are in your sin, you're going to hear, depart from me. For I never knew you into the hell prepared for the devil and his angels. But when we have forgiveness, we can be of good cheer. Now that obtains for all of us as God's people.
We may be having a miserable time in our lives right now. We may be going through afflictions. I got to tell you, when I look at the news and I see what's happening in the United States, and we see what just happened in Quebec, the pulling down of a statue, you wonder, is what's happening in Portland coming our way? Brethren, that is discouraging.
That is disheartening. But at the end of it, we can be of good cheer because our sins are forgiven. And the hope is that this gospel goes forth, conquering and to conquer. So that BLM and Antifa, instead of having as their end game, the dissolution of society, will have joy in the presence of God Most High, cleansed in the precious blood of the Lamb.
We ought to pray for churches that they regather. We pray for pastors that they preach. This world is desperate. This world is in bad shape.
And this world needs the gospel of free and sovereign grace. and a full forgiveness, not a partial, not a bit, not 98% and you make up the rest. If it isn't 100%, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. And Christ answers to that. His blood is efficacious.
His blood atones. His blood washes us from all filth, all spot, all wickedness and all sin. So Christ pronounces this upon this man. He says, son, be of good cheer.
Your sins are forgiven you. Now you might ask the question, what kind of trouble can a paralyzed man get into? I mean, if he's paralyzed from the neck down, he's not out visiting prostitutes, he's probably not able to smoke crack cocaine, he's not murdering people, he's not looting businesses, he's not pillaging and raping and destroying. Brethren, the heart of man is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things.
If the man can't actuate his limbs, his heart is still in abject rebellion against the true and living God. This paralytic got into a lot of trouble. He was in Adam, and as that position in Adam, or from that position of Adam, all his actual transgressions proceeded. Love to God, love to man.
Those are the two primary commandments in the law that none of us measure up to. So he says, son, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you.
Confrontation with the Scribes
Now notice the confrontation with the scribes. There are Pharisees present as well, according to the parallels in Mark 2 and Luke 5. But we have this big contrast. Notice verse 3, and at once some of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemes.
So you've got these four men, I take it as four, each on one side of the mat, could have been two men, I don't know, maybe Mark and Luke say it specifically, but we have these men who are walking, carrying, opening a roof, and lowering down their friend. Contrast that with the scribes whining, grumbling, complaining, and charging the Savior of sinners with blasphemy. C. H.
Spurgeon made this observation, I always feel pleased at the idea of the dust and debris of the roof coming down upon the heads of the Pharisees and the doctors of the law. It always delights me to think that those gentlemen would have dust on their heads for once, since there they were, they were bound to have a little of it. When that roof was opened, the dust fell on their heads. And Spurgeon says, that's a pleasing thought.
That's a good thing to ponder and a good thing to consider. These men are reasoning in their hearts, this man blasphemes. Now, don't miss the significance of the charge. Blasphemy is a capital offense.
Leviticus 24 underscores that. The Word of God highlights that. To blaspheme or to charge someone with blasphemy is to charge them with a capital crime. So as far as they're musing, as far as they're concerned, they think that Jesus is fit to die.
Now, Matthew, as I said, gets to the nuts and bolts. He just gives us the particulars. The scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemes. Mark and Luke lead us in their reasoning process.
They reckoned, who does this man think he is? Only God can forgive sins. Both the other gospel writers indicate that for us. Again, Matthew just gets to the bottom line.
They say this man blasphemes. So what we have here is an accusation on the part of these wretches that Christ was guilty of a capital crime and therefore worthy of capital punishment. Now, notice the confrontation between them. Look at what Jesus does.
Jesus, knowing their thoughts. Now, some have suggested, wouldn't it have been too tough to figure it out? I mean, sometimes you tell your kids, you know, your guilt is written all over your face, right? You know, you got chocolate there on your lips.
You've got chocolate on your hand. You're not fooling anybody. You're not the man of mystery you think you are. I know you just stole cookies out of the cookie jar.
And then you say, you got guilt written all over your head. They might run over to the mirror to see if there's actually guilt written all over their head. So some suspect that Jesus wasn't hard to sort of figure this out. I mean, their faces would have been contorted.
They would have been thinking in those sorts of ways. Or it could be a demonstration of the divinity of Christ. He knew their thoughts because he's the second person of the Trinity. He knew their thoughts because He is the Son of Man who has power on earth to forgive sins.
And I think that's one of the grand demonstrations in this passage, is that Jesus is showing us who He is. Yes, He is man, but yes, He is God. And so He knew their thoughts, and then He confronts them. He says in verse 4, why do you think evil in your hearts?
Which it is to think evil when you accuse somebody of blasphemy that is actually not guilty of blasphemy. He says, why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say your sins are forgiven you or to say arise and walk?
Which Is Easier to Say?
Now, think about this question for just a moment. Which is easier to say? Notice what he's saying. Which is easier to say?
Not which is easier to do, but which is easier to say. It's easier to say your sins are forgiven you, because we don't really know if that takes place, right? When you got saved, when you got forgiven of your sin, it wasn't like a halo appeared around your head. It wasn't like there was now a sign on your forehead that said, forgiven.
We know it's a matter of the heart. The Lord God forgives. He cleanses the soul of all sin and filth and wickedness. So it's easier actually to say, your sins are forgiven you, than to say, take up your bed and walk.
Because if I say, take up your bed and walk, what are you going to do? You're going to stare at the man and see if he takes up his bed and walks. If I say your sins are forgiven you, you don't know whether I've had that ability or I've had that power to do that actually. But if I say take up your bed and walk, then all eyes will be on that man to see or discern whether or not Jesus has that power.
R.T. France makes this statement. He says, the rhetorical question of verse 5 implies that the harder of the two options can be demonstrated, the easier may be assumed also to be possible. It might be suggested that to forgive sins is the harder, since only God can do it.
But Jesus' question is not about which is easier to do, but which is easier to say. And a claim to forgive sins is undoubtedly easier to make, since it cannot be falsified by external events. Whereas a claim to make a paralyzed man walk will be immediately proved true or false by a success or failure, which everyone can see. This will be the logic of what follows.
When Jesus heals the man of his paralysis, that underscores that he has got the power to have forgiven him of his sins. We come to this passage or some come to this passage and say, wow, isn't it wonderful this paralyzed man went home. We should come to this passage and say, wow, isn't it a wonderful thing this sinful man was forgiven. The harder thing to do is the forgiveness of sins.
The easier thing to do is to raise the paralytic up from his sickbed. But in terms of saying, it's easier to say, your sins are forgiven. It's easier to say it because it's not demonstrable. So when he says, take up your bed and walk, it underscores that he has the power and authority to do the greater, which is to forgive him of his sins.
And you know the irony of the situation? It really is easier to heal the paralytic. Now, indulge me a moment to do some theology proper. When we talk about easy with reference to God, it's senseless.
There's nothing difficult for God. He is a sovereign being. He's omnipotent. He's omniscient.
He is omnipresent. He is all glorious. He is sovereign. There's no easy with God.
There's no difficult with God. He is God. He is pure spirit. Pure act.
There's no potentiality in God. There's no becoming with God. There's no betterment with God. There's not anything that would say, oh, well, I can do that because that's easy.
This is going to take a bit more demand. So when we talk about which is easier relative to deity, it's a moot point. But with reference to the humanity of Jesus Christ, the Word of Power, as the Son of God, brings health and healing to this paralyzed man. What ultimately brings the forgiveness of sins?
Well, you keep reading Matthew and you will see. How is it that he will save those people from their sins? He's going to obey the Father's law perfectly for 33 years of his life. He is going to be handed over to godless men.
He is going to be nailed to a cross. He is going to be exalted, not on a throne, but on a cross. And there he's going to be mocked, insulted. He is going to be scorned, abused, ultimately cut off by men and by God the Father, according to his humanity.
So it is easier for Christ to issue the word of power to raise this sick man from his bed. The more difficult action in terms of the humanity of Christ is the suffering and the death associated with paying for the sins of the world. So when Christ says this, he is leading them. He is teaching them.
He is showing them the very mission of the Son of God. So notice what he says, verse six. But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. Then he said to the paralytic, arise, take up your bed and go to your house.
So now listen, let's just summarize this. Which is easier to say? It's easier to say your sins are forgiven because we don't know. But in order to show that he has the power to forgive sins, that's why he tells the man to take up his bed and walk.
The idea is that if he can do that, then he can do the other. The idea is it's exhibit A in the courtroom. Did you cause that man to pick up his bed and walk? Yes!
That underscores the greater ability that he was able to forgive that man of his sins, of his lawlessness, of his unrighteousness, of his transgression against God's holy law. So he says, or he said to the paralytic, this brings us to the explanation given by Jesus. Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. The scribes question this very assertion by our Lord in terms of his ability to forgive sin.
But he says, this is why I came. I am telling this man to now rise up, to go take your bed and go to your home, in order to demonstrate the reality that the Son of Man has power, authority, on earth to forgive sins. And as I said at the outset, Matthew 5 to 7, the authority or power of Christ in His words. Here, Matthew 8 and 9, the authority or power of Christ in His actions.
And that action of the forgiveness of sins is his prerogative, it is his ability, it is his function as deity in order to be able to engage in this. And so the walking man, the fact that he's no longer affected by paralysis, is evidentiary of the reality that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. France again says, the Son of Man, who according to Daniel 7, 13 and 14, will be enthroned in heaven to share God's sovereignty over all peoples, is already, during His earthly ministry, authorized to dispense God's forgiveness. That's what we come to grips with in this passage.
So the paralysis is a problem, but there is a problem worse than the paralysis, and it's the sin. Even if Jesus didn't heal him of his paralysis, the man could be of good cheer because his sins were forgiven him. I think this is the proper perspective that we ought to adopt. Again, it is not wicked.
It is not wrong. It is not evil. If you are afflicted with physical calamity, to pray to God to take that calamity away. Paul was buffeted by a messenger of Satan, and he prayed three times.
And I don't take that as, God, please deliver me. God, please deliver me. It was agonizing, earnest, ongoing, entreaty to the Lord to take this thorn from his flesh. But the bottom line is if God doesn't take that thorn from the flesh, Paul can still be of good cheer because his sins are forgiven.
Do we think that way, brother? Is our happiness and our joy connected to temporal circumstances? Because if they are, they're fleeting. If they are, they may vanish.
And then what do we do? You remember that bit in Luke chapter 10, the 70 return after having preached the gospel. And they say, Lord, the demons were subject to us in your name. Lord, we saw people healed.
Lord, we saw the power of God manifest. And Jesus says, don't rejoice in this. Nevertheless, I say to you, rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Whenever we connect our happiness or our well-being or our gladness or our joy with temporal circumstances, we are setting ourselves up to fail.
We are setting ourselves up to lose, because temporal circumstances are not concrete. They come, they go, they ebb, they flow. There's riots in the streets. There's not riots in the streets.
There's horrible people marching, you know, doing horrible things. And then there's not. We cannot put our joy in the basket of temporality. It has to be connected with the forgiveness of sins and the reality that we are accepted in the Beloved.
That one day when we stand before God Most High, when we look eyeball to eyeball with Jesus Christ, the man He's ordained to judge the living and the dead, we will hear, well done, good and faithful servant. That is what makes us happy. That is why we have good cheer. That is why we connect our joy to the spiritual benefits that God blesses us with.
The Lord Jesus did the miracle they could see to demonstrate the miracle that they could not see. And that's why he says to this man, take up your bed and walk.
Response of the People
Now let's just end the exposition by looking at the response of the people. So I think this is very instructive as well. The healed man, he arose and departed to his house. So remember he gets lowered down, he can't move, he's a paralyzed man.
He's now of good cheer because his sins are forgiven, but he's of doubly good cheer because his legs work. He's able to pick up his mat now and he's able to take it home. The beauty of this is not necessarily that he can now physically stand and that he can physically walk, but the beauty is that now he can stand before a holy God dressed in a righteousness not his own. That's the glory that this man knew when he came face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now look how everybody else responded. Verse 8, now when the multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God who had given such power to men. In the parallel passages in Mark 2, 12, the crowd is amazed. In Luke 5.26, the crowd is amazed and filled with fear.
There's a variant reading here as well. Some say, or some texts say, now when the multitude saw it, they feared and glorified God, or they marveled and glorified God. The argument is that all of these elements combine in those who have witnessed the power of God. Remember, when Christ calms the storm, the disciples are amazed by this.
The parallel passage says that they were fearful. You know why they would be fearful? If you were with me, and it was windy out, and I spoke to the wind and it stopped, you'd probably get a little weirded out. If you were with another person that had the ability to calm the waves of a sea, you'd go, wow, that's amazing.
And then you'd say, what kind of a man is this? That's precisely what the disciples said. What manner of man is this? We've met a lot of men.
We've met tall men. We've met short men. We've met strong men. We've met weak men.
We've met rich men. We've met poor men. But we've never met a man who can talk to nature and Nature obeys His voice. Of course, that promotes fear.
And of course, when the crowd saw this, they were amazed. When they saw this, there was fear, but it led ultimately to them glorifying God. That is the response of the people of God when they witnessed the power of God. Fear, trembling, marveling, and worshiping that God of glory and majesty and honor.
Men should fear the one who has the authority to forgive sins. This is D.A. Carson. Indeed, they should fear whenever they are confronted by an open manifestation of God.
And then he says this, it's beautiful. Such fear breeds praise. So I think this is counterintuitive to us. We think that the fear of God minimizes the ability to be happy in God.
No, it's the fear of God that promotes happiness, gladness, and joy in the presence of God.
Fear, Trembling, and Joy in Worship
Turn to Psalm 2 for just a moment to get a view of this in a Psalm of David, directing his attention to the nations around, the rulers, the civil authority in those nations surrounding Israel. Verse 10, Psalm 2, now, therefore, be wise, O kings, be instructed, you judges of the earth, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. See, this idea that fear or trembling and joy are not consistent in the Christian life is absolutely contrary to the Christian scriptures. The Bible tells us that when we actually understand who God is, there will be fear.
The Bible tells us that when we come face to face with the living and true God, there will be trembling. But it's in that place, as we recognize ourselves rightly before a holy God, that joy then overtakes us. When the disciples find the empty tomb at the end of Matthew's gospel, they run, they're trembling with joy. These are not inconsistent.
If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you that you may be what? You may be feared. That is a legitimate response from the people of God, and it inevitably breeds the praise that is consistent with this God.
And then notice at the end, the verse of Psalm 2, "...kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." So the two elements are present in this passage, the manifestation of Christ's power, And the manifestation of Christ's power promotes in the people who saw it fear, trembling, amazement, marveling, and glorifying God. This is why our worship services shouldn't be marked by frivolity, shouldn't be joke time, shouldn't be, you know, story time, shouldn't be chatty pastors with their hands in their pockets and their latte on their platforms. when he pulpits with men who have backbones that spare not cry aloud, lift up their voices like trumpets, and tell Jerusalem her sins. This is what God said to the prophet Isaiah.
Brethren, it's not that we come on Sunday morning just to cry out, nice, nice, nice, is God most high. He's wholly Holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. We need to come to grips with that reality because it tempers the way we approach Him, it affects the way we respond to Him, and it definitely ought to shape the way the church worships Him. This isn't a band, it's not a concert, it's not entertainment, it's not whatever time we think it ought to be.
It is strictly defined by God's Word how we approach Him.
Application
Well, in conclusion, a few lessons and then we're finished. First, the salvation of the paralytic. You think that man had good cheer that day? Yes.
His sins were forgiven. You were probably going to say, yes, he can now walk. We think like charismatics. We think like Pentecostals.
We think the bigger miracle in this passage is that he took up his bed and he walked home. That's not the bigger miracle. The bigger miracle is that God Most High cleansed his guilty soul. His sins were forgiven.
He was washed in the blood of the Lamb. He was now heaven bound. He could stand, not physically, but spiritually in the presence of God Almighty. Secondly, we ought to learn something of the glory of Jesus Christ.
In the first place, his authority. Again, it's riddled throughout the section, chapters eight and nine, but specifically in verses six and eight. but that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins." Verse 8, now, when the multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God who had given such power to men. Sometimes you meet people and you tell them about Jesus and you tell them about God, you tell them about holiness and righteousness and transgression of the law, and they say things like, well, I'm so bad, I don't think this Jesus could save me. I'm so bad, I think I'm beyond hope.
We all said that at one time, didn't we? We at least thought it. But we've tested, we've tried, and we've proven our God. The Apostle Paul says this is a trustworthy statement.
It deserves all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world, sinners to save. And then he goes on to say, of whom I am chief. So if you think yourself too sinful to be saved, you're not. You're so sinful, you need Jesus.
That's the emphasis in Holy Scripture. This Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through Him. His blood is efficacious. His blood cleanses.
His blood washes. It purges. It purifies. It fits us to stand in the presence of a holy God.
So we see the authority of Christ. Secondly, we see the omniscience of Christ. The Lord saw, or the Lord knew, the faith of the men, including the paralytic, and He saw the thoughts of the hearts of these scribes. He knew exactly what they were thinking.
This man blasphemes. Who can forgive sins but God alone? We see something of the omniscience of Jesus Christ. But then thirdly, we see His deity, His divinity.
Yes, the Bible teaches us, as I said at the very outset, He takes on our humanity. He identifies with us. He has flesh, He has blood, He has bones, He has everything that makes man, man. But He is God, everlasting God, and He has the ability, He has the power, He has the prerogative to forgive sins.
And that is precisely what He exercises in this passage. And then as we consider this, I want you to just look at a few passages with me because I think, again, we overlook how good forgiveness is. You know, I think about this sometimes. I say to myself, Jim, no, I don't actually do that.
But I say, you know, you preach on forgiveness a lot. People are going to start to think you're a really bad guy and you love forgiveness. Let me just tell you, I'm a really bad guy and I love forgiveness. And in my mind, that's one of the chief boons of the Christian gospel, justification by faith alone.
It's the forgiveness of sins, and it's the imputed righteousness of Jesus. We receive that the moment we believe, by God's grace, in Jesus Christ. Isn't that glorious? Every sin washed away, every sin cleansed, every sin dealt with.
The Glory of Forgiveness: Micah 7
Turn to the prophet Micah, just a few sample passages concerning the forgiveness of sins and the prerogative of our Lord Jesus to forgive sins. Micah chapter 7. It's a beautiful passage. And we can multiply texts.
Sometimes pastors or preachers say that when they don't have much to say. I got a whole litany of texts, but I don't want to take you too far in the day here. But in terms of Micah 7, 18, and 19, who is a God like you? The prophet is basically speaking concerning his own name.
The name Micah is that. Who is a God like you? So he's sort of musing now, using his own name as a reference point. Who is a God like you?
Notice what does not blow the prophet's mind. It's not the justice of God. It's not the righteousness of God. Because as image bearers, we are inherently convinced that persons who do bad things should be punished.
If you doubt that, have kids. If you doubt that, watch the news. If you doubt that, live for like five seconds in this world. We know that people who do bad things should get punished.
Nobody says, who is a God like you punishing the iniquity of sinners? Who is a God like you casting vile reprobates into hellfire created for the devil? That's not a perplexing issue. The justice of God and the righteousness of God, even in the most obliterated image bearer, Still, they understand it is just with God to punish criminal offenders or to punish sinners.
What blows the mind of the prophet Micah, and what I suggest ought to blow our minds as well, is the forgiveness of God. It's the reality that He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Again, 718. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He doesn't retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea, and you will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. It is that which promotes in the prophet this question, who is a God like you?
It's at the display of mercy and forgiveness and loving kindness and grace. We read it in the outset of worship. David understands Psalm 130 verse three, if you Lord should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? None of us is obviously the answer, not a one.
But, he says, there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. One of the big problems that Wilk culture has promoted here in North America is a demand for self-atonement and no forgiveness. There's no forgiveness to be had out in the world, but there's forgiveness to be had with the One who matters. There is forgiveness to be had with the God of glory and majesty and excellence and power.
We want to identify people as something in their past. They just pulled down the statue of the first Prime Minister of Canada because he wasn't perfect. How do you remember David? Do you remember David as an adulterer and a murderer?
You might just be woke then, because I remember David as a man after God's own heart. What about the good kings in Judah? Were they perfect? Not by a lick.
Did they all remove the high places? No, but there is commendation by the sacred writer under inspiration of the Spirit, commending the likes of those men. There is forgiveness with God that he may be feared. If this culture doesn't want to preach it, the church had better continue to proclaim it, because we're dealing with a whole host of people that are bruised, broken, and battered, not because of their physical maladies, but because of their sin against a holy God.
And deep down in all of our heart of hearts, we know this is the case. We know that things are not right between us and heaven. And so the Christian gospel comes to men, women, boys and girls and says, believe on Him and you will be forgiven. There's woke among the professing churches that have disenfranchised the likes of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.
Brethren, are they more holy than God himself? They can't find it in their hearts to forgive persons that weren't perfect? Never anyone ever thought they were perfect? This idea in our day that we have to atone for the sins of the past or atone for our own sins and there's never any forgiveness coming.
They can have it. The world can have it. They can die in it for all I care. We preach a gospel.
Actually, that's a bit harsh. I want them to come to our side and hear the truth as it is in Jesus and get washed in the precious blood of the Lamb of God. Because it is He who takes away the sins of the world. And if you're not a believer here this morning, that's it.
Believe. Not go out and try harder, go get more woke, go get better, go fix yourself, go become perfect. That's not the answer. The answer is to look and live.
It's to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the Savior and what a blessed reality it is that our sins are forgiven. God, I pray that all of my brothers and sisters in this church would think on this, be daily encouraged by it, and that it would empower us to worship and to praise and to glorify you and live as we ought in this world.
The same emphasis in the book of Romans, chapters 1 to 11 show us the the method, the way that Jesus saves us from our sins. And then chapter 12 calls us to live in light of that. I pray that we, as those forgiven, would be of good cheer and that we, as those forgiven, would shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and preach forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God, be merciful to sinners here.
Open hearts and cause sinners to look unto the Lord Jesus and find that blessedness in him, and we ask in his most holy name, amen. We'll close our service this morning by singing 568. 568, the doxology, and we'll stand together. ♪ Praise Him, all creatures there below you ♪ ♪ Praise Him above the earth below you ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is abundant redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Father, thank you that this psalm is true. Thank you that it's the Son of David who brought these things to pass.
Thank you that the Son of Man has power, had power, in His earthly ministry to forgive sin. And we know that He has that power now to forgive sin for the believer who still struggles and for the unbeliever who needs that grace, that mercy, that life. And I pray that you would be gracious to each one here, that you would bless the Word of God to our hearts and minds, and that you would go with us now, help us to enjoy the Sabbath, to call it a delight, and to rejoice in the God of heaven and earth. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen. Please be seated for a brief time of meditation.