Trinity 19 October 18, 2020
Matthew 9:1-8
v.2 And behold, some people brought to Him [Jesus] a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
Dear friends in Christ, this past week was Canadian Thanksgiving—always a good time to ponder again what it is that we are thankful for—the many gifts and blessings that we have received this past year—and they are many! Too many to count. But have you ever gotten something that you weren’t too crazy about? Have you ever received a gift from someone, expecting one thing, and then totally surprised to discover something completely different? Like when you get your Christmas bonus and discover not a check, but rather a coupon for the jelly-of-the-month club. What is your typical response? “Gee...thanks!...I think?”
Well, we have before us this day a text which deals with similar circumstances. We have a man—a paralytic—whether born this way—or perhaps due to some injury he sustained later in life, we do not know. But this man is brought before Jesus by his friends. He is brought forth with the hope of healing on all their minds. This is Jesus, after all! This is the One who has been performing great miracles and wonders throughout the land that they have heard so much about.
Jesus sees them approach with the man lying on the bed—and let’s be honest—it’s quite obvious what they want Jesus to do for him. So they bustle forward with smiles on their faces, grinning expectantly. But what does Jesus do? He surprises them all with a gift that they didn’t even realize they wanted nor desired—when He “saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart (take courage, be of good cheer), my son; your sins are forgiven.’” You can almost see them struggle to keep the smiles on their faces at such a pronouncement. Really Jesus? We did all this work bringing our friend to you and this is all we get? Some trite words! The man is a paralytic for crying out loud! He needs help. He can’t work, he can’t walk, can’t care for himself, let alone his family—he needs healing. So...gee...thanks...for nothing.
Beloved, don’t you often feel the same way? Don’t we often feel let down by God when we pray and we pray and we pray and yet nothing seems to happen—or something completely contrary to what we had hoped and prayed for occurs. Sometimes, we get so distracted by the earthly blessings of God—and there are many—that we forget just how important the spiritual blessings are from God. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, pastor—heard it all before—we’re all a bunch of sinners going to hell—yada, yada, yada, yada—yes Jesus died for me—same old, same old. But what I really need is a way to fix my relationship with my spouse, my kids—I need to get a handle on my finances—I need to know the election is going to turn out all right.”
And so, we come to worship expecting one thing—and receiving another—and we end up being disappointed. We wind up forsaking the good gifts of God in the Divine Service wherein He descends to us to give us what we need most—the forgiveness of sins. Yes, I know you’ve heard it all before—and you’re going to hear it again—precisely because Jesus says this is what matters most. You and I are dead in our trespasses and sins—destined to everlasting damnation in hell apart from His grace and mercy. We are paralysed by our sin and cannot help ourselves. But God in Christ has come before us to give us that which we need most desperately—Jesus Himself—who came in human flesh to reach us with His mercy and forgiveness through His own shed blood on the cross.
And you see, Jesus isn’t through with the paralytic in our text yet, not by a long shot. For in the crowd watching this drama unfold was a group of scribes—close friends of the Pharisees—and they were shocked by what they had just heard Jesus proclaim to the paralytic man! For no one can forgive sins, but God alone—this man is blaspheming—speaking ill/falsely of God—a grave sin indeed.
To be sure, what Jesus said would have been a terrible sin, if He did not have the authority to forgive sins. Of course, only God can forgive sins—but this is exactly who Jesus is—God in the flesh—who comes to dwell among us—who richly dispenses His gifts of forgiveness of sins, which further leads to life and everlasting salvation—in Word and Sacrament. Think about it. The almighty God of the universe deigns to come to you—descend to you—on the ladder of the body and blood of Christ in bread and wine. He comes to you—in your mouth—to proclaim to you, individually, with utmost certainty—that you are a forgiven child of God despite your great sin.
That is why this text should give us great comfort and consolation all the days of our lives—especially when we are burdened with our sins. For herein we see Jesus act decisively to help sinners in need. As we have seen before, Jesus neither does what is requested nor expected—at least, at first. He forgave the sins of the paralytic man—and then to prove to the scribes and everyone else that He indeed had the authority to do so—Jesus then healed the man and commanded him to take his bed and go home.
For sure, it is easier for men to announce that one’s sins are forgiven than to heal a broken body with a word, but Jesus is God and Lord and His Word accomplishes both. What He speaks happens. And what is more, is that He has given this authority to men. This is what the purpose of the office of the holy ministry is all about—to forgive people their sins. This is why pastors never proclaim absolution based upon their own authority—but solely on Christ’s—it is in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ—at His authority—and in His name—that you are forgiven all of your sins. Otherwise, we would be blaspheming the holy name of God. But because He has instructed us to do so—we give glory to Him and His name by forgiving sinners according to His Word.
Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven you in His Word of Absolution—His washing of regeneration in Holy Baptism—and His Supper of His own shed body and blood that He gave up into death on the cross to pay for your sins and mine. He reaches you with His gifts of love and mercy over and over again—that you may be comforted and assured of His love for you, His dear children, all the days of your life.
Do you sometimes want something more? Do you want some miraculous sign of God’s favour—His healing of your broken soul? Of course you do, we all do. And that is why He comes in the tangible and concrete means of grace. So that when you hear the pastor absolve you—you know and believe that it is the very same as if Jesus Himself stood before you to forgive you your sins. So that when you doubt your salvation—when you question God’s love for you—you can look to that which is outside of yourself in the waters of your Baptism. So that when the devil seeks to undermine your faith by pointing out your many grievous faults and whispers seductively in your ear that because you are such a sinner God could not possibly love you or be your Father—then you can with all confidence say, “Get behind me Satan. For I am a baptized child of God. He has claimed me as His own—marked me as His child with the cross of Christ—and washed me clean of all sin—Jesus is mine and I am His—so begone!”
Furthermore, as Jesus came in the flesh to heal the paralytic, so He also comes in His body and blood to forgive you all your sins in, with, and under the bread and wine of holy communion. Know that as you come before this altar to receive this holy meal, which Christ died to procure for you, He is coming to each of you, individually, physically, tangibly, to forgive and restore your soul. And when your sins are crushing you with their weight—when the guilt threatens to overwhelm you—then you can receive the Lord’s body and blood with joy—knowing that in this meal you are pardoned for all your iniquity. Knowing as well, that you can come to your pastor at any time and privately confess the guilt of your sin and hear Christ’s forgiving Word for that sin preached right into your ear!
What joy! What blessing! What assurance! For God graciously gives us all good things—and particularly that which we need most. He has descended from on high in the flesh to open heaven’s gates for us. Taking the evil from our hearts and giving us His holiness and righteousness instead. What a gift! What a treasure! And He has given this authority to men. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Matthew 9:1-8
v.2 And behold, some people brought to Him [Jesus] a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
Dear friends in Christ, this past week was Canadian Thanksgiving—always a good time to ponder again what it is that we are thankful for—the many gifts and blessings that we have received this past year—and they are many! Too many to count. But have you ever gotten something that you weren’t too crazy about? Have you ever received a gift from someone, expecting one thing, and then totally surprised to discover something completely different? Like when you get your Christmas bonus and discover not a check, but rather a coupon for the jelly-of-the-month club. What is your typical response? “Gee...thanks!...I think?”
Well, we have before us this day a text which deals with similar circumstances. We have a man—a paralytic—whether born this way—or perhaps due to some injury he sustained later in life, we do not know. But this man is brought before Jesus by his friends. He is brought forth with the hope of healing on all their minds. This is Jesus, after all! This is the One who has been performing great miracles and wonders throughout the land that they have heard so much about.
Jesus sees them approach with the man lying on the bed—and let’s be honest—it’s quite obvious what they want Jesus to do for him. So they bustle forward with smiles on their faces, grinning expectantly. But what does Jesus do? He surprises them all with a gift that they didn’t even realize they wanted nor desired—when He “saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart (take courage, be of good cheer), my son; your sins are forgiven.’” You can almost see them struggle to keep the smiles on their faces at such a pronouncement. Really Jesus? We did all this work bringing our friend to you and this is all we get? Some trite words! The man is a paralytic for crying out loud! He needs help. He can’t work, he can’t walk, can’t care for himself, let alone his family—he needs healing. So...gee...thanks...for nothing.
Beloved, don’t you often feel the same way? Don’t we often feel let down by God when we pray and we pray and we pray and yet nothing seems to happen—or something completely contrary to what we had hoped and prayed for occurs. Sometimes, we get so distracted by the earthly blessings of God—and there are many—that we forget just how important the spiritual blessings are from God. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, pastor—heard it all before—we’re all a bunch of sinners going to hell—yada, yada, yada, yada—yes Jesus died for me—same old, same old. But what I really need is a way to fix my relationship with my spouse, my kids—I need to get a handle on my finances—I need to know the election is going to turn out all right.”
And so, we come to worship expecting one thing—and receiving another—and we end up being disappointed. We wind up forsaking the good gifts of God in the Divine Service wherein He descends to us to give us what we need most—the forgiveness of sins. Yes, I know you’ve heard it all before—and you’re going to hear it again—precisely because Jesus says this is what matters most. You and I are dead in our trespasses and sins—destined to everlasting damnation in hell apart from His grace and mercy. We are paralysed by our sin and cannot help ourselves. But God in Christ has come before us to give us that which we need most desperately—Jesus Himself—who came in human flesh to reach us with His mercy and forgiveness through His own shed blood on the cross.
And you see, Jesus isn’t through with the paralytic in our text yet, not by a long shot. For in the crowd watching this drama unfold was a group of scribes—close friends of the Pharisees—and they were shocked by what they had just heard Jesus proclaim to the paralytic man! For no one can forgive sins, but God alone—this man is blaspheming—speaking ill/falsely of God—a grave sin indeed.
To be sure, what Jesus said would have been a terrible sin, if He did not have the authority to forgive sins. Of course, only God can forgive sins—but this is exactly who Jesus is—God in the flesh—who comes to dwell among us—who richly dispenses His gifts of forgiveness of sins, which further leads to life and everlasting salvation—in Word and Sacrament. Think about it. The almighty God of the universe deigns to come to you—descend to you—on the ladder of the body and blood of Christ in bread and wine. He comes to you—in your mouth—to proclaim to you, individually, with utmost certainty—that you are a forgiven child of God despite your great sin.
That is why this text should give us great comfort and consolation all the days of our lives—especially when we are burdened with our sins. For herein we see Jesus act decisively to help sinners in need. As we have seen before, Jesus neither does what is requested nor expected—at least, at first. He forgave the sins of the paralytic man—and then to prove to the scribes and everyone else that He indeed had the authority to do so—Jesus then healed the man and commanded him to take his bed and go home.
For sure, it is easier for men to announce that one’s sins are forgiven than to heal a broken body with a word, but Jesus is God and Lord and His Word accomplishes both. What He speaks happens. And what is more, is that He has given this authority to men. This is what the purpose of the office of the holy ministry is all about—to forgive people their sins. This is why pastors never proclaim absolution based upon their own authority—but solely on Christ’s—it is in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ—at His authority—and in His name—that you are forgiven all of your sins. Otherwise, we would be blaspheming the holy name of God. But because He has instructed us to do so—we give glory to Him and His name by forgiving sinners according to His Word.
Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ has forgiven you in His Word of Absolution—His washing of regeneration in Holy Baptism—and His Supper of His own shed body and blood that He gave up into death on the cross to pay for your sins and mine. He reaches you with His gifts of love and mercy over and over again—that you may be comforted and assured of His love for you, His dear children, all the days of your life.
Do you sometimes want something more? Do you want some miraculous sign of God’s favour—His healing of your broken soul? Of course you do, we all do. And that is why He comes in the tangible and concrete means of grace. So that when you hear the pastor absolve you—you know and believe that it is the very same as if Jesus Himself stood before you to forgive you your sins. So that when you doubt your salvation—when you question God’s love for you—you can look to that which is outside of yourself in the waters of your Baptism. So that when the devil seeks to undermine your faith by pointing out your many grievous faults and whispers seductively in your ear that because you are such a sinner God could not possibly love you or be your Father—then you can with all confidence say, “Get behind me Satan. For I am a baptized child of God. He has claimed me as His own—marked me as His child with the cross of Christ—and washed me clean of all sin—Jesus is mine and I am His—so begone!”
Furthermore, as Jesus came in the flesh to heal the paralytic, so He also comes in His body and blood to forgive you all your sins in, with, and under the bread and wine of holy communion. Know that as you come before this altar to receive this holy meal, which Christ died to procure for you, He is coming to each of you, individually, physically, tangibly, to forgive and restore your soul. And when your sins are crushing you with their weight—when the guilt threatens to overwhelm you—then you can receive the Lord’s body and blood with joy—knowing that in this meal you are pardoned for all your iniquity. Knowing as well, that you can come to your pastor at any time and privately confess the guilt of your sin and hear Christ’s forgiving Word for that sin preached right into your ear!
What joy! What blessing! What assurance! For God graciously gives us all good things—and particularly that which we need most. He has descended from on high in the flesh to open heaven’s gates for us. Taking the evil from our hearts and giving us His holiness and righteousness instead. What a gift! What a treasure! And He has given this authority to men. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.