"Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins."

 

         Jesus returned to Capernaum, presumably to continue his ministry of healing. But there is in chapter 9 a surprise. Michael Wilkins summarizes it.

         "Just as the healing miracles of Jesus confirmed his proclamation of the good news of the kingdom of heaven, now healing confirms the forgiveness of sin." Jesus pushes ahead with his mission, spoken by the angel to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, "He will save his people from their sins."

         So, in this passage we see Jesus saving two men from their sins: a paralyzed man and Matthew the tax collector.

         But what was their sin? It seems hidden.

         What sin did Jesus see in this paralyzed man?

         And why was Matthew considered to be a sinner? He had to work on the Sabbath, since his tax booth was probably a customs station. He also had close financial dealings with Gentiles, who were considered "unclean." These things would have been considered sin by the Pharisees. There was also the reputation of tax collectors to overcharge and get rich off the extra amount they exacted. This sin would have been prominent in the thinking of the people. Jesus says Matthew is one of the sick who needs a doctor.

         We then notice that both the paralyzed man and the tax collector rise up and walk: Matthew from his tax booth in order to follow Jesus, and the paralyzed man from his bed to go home. It is interesting that Matthew follows Jesus to his own house for dinner. So both rise up and go home. "Going home" may signify a restoration to community.

         What had sin done to the paralyzed man and to Matthew?

I recently read a testimony of one who came to faith in Christ later in life. Of his earlier days, he said, "My sinfulness brought me a loveless marriage." That struck me: a loveless marriage. Sin can bring people into marriages, families, and friendships where there is no love. Perhaps Matthew, who seems to have had a circle of friends, was still isolated, was in an empty or loveless fellowship of sinners. When Jesus came to dinner in that group, perhaps he brought something special, something they longed for, a fellowship of love. Perhaps too the paralyzed man was alone. He had friends, and his friends had faith. But maybe, because of his condition, he felt alone. It was only after his healing that he could truly go home.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes this in his book, Life Together:

         "Sin demands to have us by ourselves. It withdraws us from the community. The more isolated we are, the more destructive will be the power of sin over us, and the more deeply we become involved in it, the more disastrous our isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person."

         In Jesus the Messiah the life of the age to come, the qualities found in the Kingdom of God, are breaking into the world, and into lives of individuals who are being pushed towards death by the destructive power of sin. Jesus, who has authority over sickness, storm and demons, now proclaims his authority to forgive sins.

         As Jesus looked at this paralyzed man he saw the power of the Evil One, pushing people toward death; invading their lives, corrupting them, lurking in the dark corners. It is not that this man's sin or his parent's sin caused the paralysis. Jesus did not believe that.

         When Jesus looked at the paralyzed man, he saw vulnerable humanity. He saw the same thing in Matthew, and the same thing in those called "sinners" by those who saw themselves as "righteous." He saw in fact the same condition in the scribes who did not know that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. He saw the same thing as he hung on the cross and prayed for forgiveness for all those who "do not know what they do." Jesus saw in these people that Satan has staked a claim in all of us through the power of sin.

         The response of Jesus was to use his authority over Satan, to forgive sin and then to heal, to set free this man. The language used is different with Matthew, but it is the same authority and the same action.

         "Follow me."

         For a teacher to call a sinner to discipleship implies forgiveness of sin. And that forgiveness is then validated in the table fellowship. So in these two men, there is healing and forgiveness and inclusion in the community of grace.

         But the scribes saw in Jesus' action blasphemy against God. Why did they see blasphemy? R.T. France says that the issue is that Jesus forgave sins on his own authority, without any formal act of atonement having been made. Donald Carson says it is because Jesus used God's power to do what only God could do. Only God can forgive sins, was the thinking of the scribes. It is hard to find the scripture that says only God can forgive sin. But in Isaiah 43:25, the LORD says, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sin no more." That is about as close as it gets to saying only God can forgive sin.

         I used to think of the scribes as the bad guys here. Of course they are wrong! But now I am coming more to understand this caution of the Jewish leaders concerning forgiveness. It is easy to misuse forgiveness. For example, an addict or alcoholic will seek forgiveness, and will say anything in order to get it, believing that forgiveness wipes the slate clean and restores what was lost, whether money or job or marriage or family, so that he can continue in the addiction. Forgiveness is used to enable the sinful behavior to continue.

         Forgiveness is complicated and can be tricky. Forgiveness can get manipulated into permission to continue in sin. It can short circuit justice, if one expects that forgiveness will eliminate unpleasant consequences. It can postpone healing if there is no responsibility taken for the damage that has been done. So the scribes and Pharisees gave the power to forgive to God alone. There may be some wisdom in that.

         But the authority of Jesus to forgive outweighs any risk of its misuse. In the latest issue of the Covenant Companion, Michelle Clifton Soderstrom, who teaches theology at North Park Seminary, writes about Paul Peter Waldenström and his view of forgiveness through the cross. She writes that during the revivals in Sweden in the mid-19^th century, the renewal movements "experienced their faith in terms of a heavenly Father who moved by love would do all that was necessary to reconcile himself and humanity." They saw in the parable of the Prodigal Son a vision of God who is the Father who runs to forgive his repentant son.

         Waldenström found in his study of scripture the teaching that Christ's death was an atoning sacrifice. Then Soderstrom writes, "Nowhere, according to Waldenström, does Scripture say that God's justice demands punishment for sin to be forgiven. The debt of sin can be forgiven, but it cannot be repaid." See how important forgiveness is; how central to the Gospel. Sometimes we forget.

         We are always in need of being brought back to the power of forgiveness. The debt of sin can be forgiven. It cannot be repaid.

         Jesus Christ has authority to heal and to forgive sin.

         Both sin and evil are real, enslaving powers that are defeated in the Kingdom of God, through the cross.

         The church must bear witness to the victory of Christ by being a community of the forgiven. We are to welcome Jesus into our isolation, and into our fellowship whenever it begins to feel empty or devoid of love. The life of our church is to be found in the presence of Christ, who forgives our sin.

         Forgiveness is the victory over the power of sin. That victory takes place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are to uphold the power of the cross.

         The power of forgiveness points to our hope. Forgiveness can seem weak in the perspective of sinful humanity. But in the kingdom of God, it wins a great victory.                   Forgiveness is powerful because it is always a taste of the Kingdom of God, and it leads us in hope to expect it will one day be fully known.

         Forgiveness and healing draw us to Christ and to life in him.

         Amen.