The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Jesse Jacobsen

Time-stamp: "Sat Oct 1 16:56:12 2005"

Matthew 9:1–8

So 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.”

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'? 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 multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

Jesus' Words have Hidden Power

It's a fact of life that there are crooks. Some people rob banks, burglarize homes, or even attack innocent people. The Madison police have lately given special attention to the downtown area, where there have been more muggings than usual. We try to stay away from bad places at the wrong times. We have locks on our doors. But what if you find yourself cornered? Someone threatens to beat you up if you don't give them all your money. A lot of people would tell you to give them the money and let the police handle it. But then again, you may get beat up anyway. These things really happen, and it's because of them that some people try to prepare themselves. There are different ways to prepare yourself, but a common way is to learn one of the martial arts: karate, jiu jit su, tae kwon do and the rest. The idea is that if you're prepared, you won't become a victim.

Of course, it would also be nice to tell the gospel of Christ to the crooks, so maybe they will repent and be saved. But sometimes self-defense requires more than speaking the Gospel. Sometimes you need a hidden power to help you.

There are spiritual robbers and thugs too. One kind are devils. Their temptations are designed to lead us away from the light of Jesus until we become lost. The other kind are human beings who teach us things that oppose what God says. Jesus calls them wolves. If the spiritual robbers and thugs are successful, we are left in the guilt of our sins, and will face punishment for them. That's what Satan and his servants want to happen. But Jesus has not left us defenseless. There is a hidden power that He wants us to use. In fact, we should prepare ourselves by practicing it regularly. That power is found in His words, and we see it working in today's text. Jesus' words have hidden power; power over guilt, hidden for the sake of faith.

Power over guilt

Most of us have heard our text before. Saturday morning I heard an English professor at George Mason University talking about fiction and nonfiction books. He said that any writer will tell you than every book is fiction, and every book is nonfiction. In other words, there's some truth in everything you read, and some of it is made up. It makes sense, though, doesn't it? Even nonfiction books have to be presented in a creative way by their authors. What about our text?

Our text is not fiction. It's also not nonfiction. It's in a different category altogether. It's divine revelation. In other words, the Bible is what God has revealed to us on earth, in written form. God doesn't write fiction, and He doesn't present facts in a creative way. God tells us truth. So the miracle in our text may be hard to believe, but that doesn't matter. We know that it happened anyway. We know that Jesus said exactly what Matthew wrote, though He may have said more.

When Jesus performed a miracle by healing the paralitic man, He did it for a purpose. It wasn't entertainment. It was to show that He had the very power of God hidden within himself.

With that power, Jesus could know the needs of the paralytic. He needed the use of his legs, but he needed something else more. Only Jesus could have seen it. So Jesus pronounced his sins to be forgiven. We call this “absolution.” Jesus absolved the paralytic. That was the best thing that happened to the man that day. Even if Jesus did't heal them, his legs would be restored in heaven. But if he had not been forgiven by Jesus, and only his body had been healed, then no matter where he walked on those legs, he would end up in hell.

Forgiveness from Jesus matters most. When we hurt each other as children, our parents teach us to say we are sorry, to ask forgiveness from our brothers and sisters and friends. That's a good thing. But even as adults, do we realize that there is someone much greater that we offend? Do we realize that without His forgiveness, all is lost? Do we realize that not asking Him to forgive us is like asking Him not to forgive us? If we knew how important is God's forgiveness, we would put everything else on hold until we knew where we stand with Him. He has the power of life and death, of eternal bliss and everlasting misery. If you know of some sin in your heart, don't gloss it over. Come to Jesus and confess it. You might be able to hide it from yourself, but nothing is hidden from Him. Forgiveness from Him matters most.

Why did Jesus forgave the paralytic? That's what God wants to do. Because the Father sent His only-begotten Son, and because the Son obeyed Him cheerfully, God wants to forgive every sin. The only ones He does not forgive are the ones we want to keep for ourselves. So don't keep any sins for yourself. Repent instead.

But let's get back to the text. When Jesus forgave this man's sins, some men present thought in their hearts that Jesus had committed the sin of blasphemy. That is, that Jesus was sinfully claiming the status that belongs to God alone. Well, He was claiming that status, but it wasn't sinful. He wanted them to know it. That's why He also healed the paralytic. Jesus was showing them a glimpse of his hidden power, a power that He set into action by speaking. The power they saw was the power to heal paralysis instantly. Only God can do that. The power they couldn't see was the power to forgive sins, but only God can do that too.

At other times, Jesus told His disciples that they also have the power to open and close the gates of heaven. He told them to use it exactly how He did: forgive those who repent, but bind the sins upon those who will not repent. Of course when that happens, some people think it's blasphemy, because mere human beings don't hold God's power. But it's not blasphemy. When the need arises, every Christian can speak to another as Jesus' minister to forgive sins. Every Christian congregation has the power — even the responsibility — to bind the sins of those who do not repent. As a pastor, these things are exactly what Jesus has called me here to do for all of you.

But there's more. We also know that the very Word Jesus has given us has the power to carry out his will. Jesus has joined His Spirit to His Word, so wherever you find His Word, the Holy Spirit is there too. When a father teaches God's word to his children, or when a mother sings a sacred hymn to herself, the power is working. When you tell your neighbor what the Bible says, and even when you meditate upon it quietly, the power is working. It's the same power Jesus used in our text. It still does the same today, admonishing, comforting, forgiving, saving. It works on God's schedule, in His way, but we can be sure that it works. Jesus' words have a hidden power: power over guilt.

Hidden for the sake of faith

You might want to know why this power is hidden. It's hidden for the sake of faith. We know we have guilt before God. If we want His mercy, then we have only one option: to trust Him when He says our sins are forgiven. We'd like to have some corroboration, another witness to tell us that it's true. But what witness can there be? If God speaks, will anyone call Him a liar? Will anyone, by adding their weight to what He said, make the difference in your mind? I hope not.

All we have to go on is Jesus' Word. Sometimes He gives us a little more, the way Jesus did when He performed miracles. But the message of those miracles is the same message that Jesus spoke in words: He is the Son of God, come to take away our sins. But even miracles can be disbelieved or ignored. If you are inclined to disbelieve His word, then you will be inclined to disbelieve His miracles. That's our natural inclination.

God has hidden the forgiveness of sins in His word. You see, He wants to save us by faith in what He tells us: “your sins are forgiven you.” But even when Jesus spoke it, the people who heard His word did not always believe. It's puzzling, really. It's God's power, but it doesn't seem to work all the time. Even you and I may doubt sometimes that we need to be forgiven, or we may doubt the words when we are forgiven. Why is that? Who can resist God's power to forgive?

Nobody can resist God's power, but we can resist, ignore, or despise His Word the way some resisted, ignored, or despised Jesus himself.

Can we take credit, then, for believing? No. The Holy Spirit works through the Gospel in His own way. Sometimes a terrible enemy of God is converted instantly, while it takes years for another person. We can take no credit, because the Holy Spirit creates faith where and when He pleases, in those who hear the Gospel.

So let faith be faith. We have this sure and certain Word from Jesus: your sins are forgiven you. This message — even in the sacraments — takes away your guilt. Trust Jesus' Word, and have peace. Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.