Trinity 19

Text: Matthew 9:1-8

The most important thing every person needs is forgiveness of their sins. For this reason, the most important thing a person needs to hear is the absolution, the pronouncement of forgiveness.

No matter your place in life, whether you are rich or poor, whether you are healthy or wrestling with ailments, whether you have many possessions or very few, you need to hear the forgiveness of sins.

Life without this precious gift leads one down a treacherous path, one where there is no crown of life or entrance into Paradise. Yet, many in this world turn away as the thief on the cross who mocked Jesus. They do not hear the absolution; they do not hear the words, “You are forgiven.”

The Great Lutheran theologian C.F.W. Walther wrote about a person who lives without forgiveness, “You are like a person who sits at a well-set table while a deadly sword hangs by a hair above your head. You may have everything you desire, but without the forgiveness of sins, you are like a criminal on the way to the gallows. Without forgiveness, you cannot be a friend of Christ. Without hearing the words, you are forgiven, you cannot have a certain and joyful conscience.”

In today’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus heals a paralytic; we also hear how he forgives the sins of the paralytic. In fact, the first thing Jesus says to the paralytic is, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” This might seem insensitive to some, but the paralytic's friends brought the man to Jesus to be healed, and here He says, “Your sins are forgiven?”

But it’s this statement that drives the scribes who were present to charge Jesus with blasphemy. Who is Jesus, this man, to forgive sins?

The Scribes are often associated with the Pharisees. For them, forgiveness comes from God in heaven, not from this man upon earth. They believed forgiveness is not given but earned through merits and works, such as fasting, praying, and ceremonies.

We often sympathize with the Scribes’ view. Wouldn’t it be easier if showing up to church each week simply earned forgiveness, helping a friend in need during harvest season, or aiding those who cannot help themselves? We want forgiveness to take on a certain visible quality that rests upon us, our actions, and our works.

The scribes looked to their works to garner forgiveness; they doubted the forgiveness Jesus gave. In doing so, they stole God's honor and placed themselves in the Father’s seat. We do the same thing by making merit and works the sole focus of forgiveness, and by doing this, we allow doubt to blossom in our hearts.

The devil enjoys our doubt.

The fog created by doubt can prevent us from seeing Jesus for who He truly is.

The men who carry their friend, the paralytic, to Jesus see not only the man but also the Christ. They see Jesus as both God and man. Their faith is so great that they believe Jesus can and will heal their friend. The Gospel of Mark reveals how these friends go so far as to lower the man through an opening in the roof for Jesus to heal him.

Yet, Jesus first tells the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” The man wants healing, and these are Jesus's words.

We want healing, too. We experience disease and ailments in our lives, periods of uncertainty that sometimes last the entirety of life. We want healing in our relationships, marriages, and families so our loved ones do not meet untimely death. And to you, Jesus also says, “Take heart, my child; your sins are forgiven.”

Sin is the ultimate root of all human suffering and need. Sin and sickness are inseparably related. “The sin of Adam and Eve brought the curse of death, sickness, and every malady upon the human race.” (Gibbs, 459) Today’s text is one of the most evident testimonies of how sin and sickness are connected. However, this passage does not indicate that the paralysis suffered by the man in today’s Gospel or by any of us today is caused by any particular sin. Instead, in the fall, in the Garden of Eden, sin enters our world, along with disease, death, and the grave.

And this is precisely what Jesus intends to heal. Jesus wants to heal and restore the whole person. He goes below the surface of human reason and tells the man brought to him on a bed, “Your sins are forgiven.” This is why He entered our world: to address the root of all your problems in this life: the problem of sin.

This is what makes the angel’s announcement to Joseph in the first chapter of Matthew so wonderful, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sin.” (Matthew 1:21)

Notice, however, that when Jesus responds to the scribes who accuse him of blasphemy, he does not ask, “Which is easier to do, to forgive or to heal a paralytic?

Rather, he asks, which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven?’

Or to say, ‘Rise and walk!’?”

This is the conundrum.

In one instance, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ can come pretty easy because one cannot see the heart of man. Forgiveness requires and can only be received through faith.

Yet for Jesus, is it hard to say, ‘Rise and walk!’?” He’s been healing people throughout His ministry on earth.

Because of the often hidden nature of forgiveness, the easier thing to say here is, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’

It’s harder to say, “Rise and walk.” Partly because it’s visual and verifiable.

But there’s also a progression here: first, the forgiveness of sin, and then, the restoration of the body.

Look to the cross and you’ll see this same progression. The cost of your forgiveness is paid with the blood of Christ. Through beatings, mocking, and nails, Jesus suffered of the body between two criminals for the sin of the world. And when that first Good Friday came to an end, His lifeless body lay within the narrow chamber of the tomb, paralyzed by death. But on the third day, He arose and walked out of the tomb so you may both see and believe, that you would have faith in His forgiveness.

This forgiveness continues to flow from Christ’s body to you today. In the stead and command of Christ, pastors are sent to declare the good news of forgiveness to you at the beginning of every Lord’s Day through Confession and Absolution, freeing you from the gallows of this life. Along with bread and wine, the flesh and blood of Christ manifests the forgiveness of sins in a very tangible way, that you may not doubt, but come to the best-set table, believing and living confidently in the forgiveness of Christ, forgiveness that is placed upon your lips. Forgiveness that nourishes, restores, and grants healing for this day and for every day you are given in this life.    

In the collect for today, we prayed that we would be ready in both body and soul, to cheerfully accomplish whatever our Father in heaven would have us do. The greatest thing we can now do for our neighbor is to be ready to forgive as we have been forgiven. To forgive those who have done wrong to us, those who have hurt or harmed us. May our lives and words reflect the love and trust of the paralytic’s friends in today’s Gospel. With great hope and faith, they brought their friend to Jesus, entrusting their friend to the care of the Son of Man.

And we also entrust our cares, burdens, and eternity to Jesus. In Him, we see the power to forgive sins. He makes us new and washes us clean through His work on the cross. Let us praise and glorify God as the crowds who witnessed this miracle, and let us know that His words to the paralytic are for us, too, no matter the ailment of body or soul: “Take heart, child; your sins are forgiven.”

Your sins are forgiven, indeed. +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI