I am pausing on the man who was paralyzed because these passages have always confused me and I think they are key to understanding God’s invitation for us to forgive. Why did Jesus forgive a man’s sins when he was paralyzed and came for healing? When Jesus said, “Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” I never knew the answer. Which is easier? What point is Jesus trying to make? Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give a description of this occurrence. Mark and Luke give us details that Jesus was teaching or preaching “the word.” He is interrupted by these friends who drop their friend on his mat in front of Jesus, interrupting the very crowded teaching.
We read almost the same words in all three gospels, “‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’
Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….’He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’”
Jesus calls himself “Son of Man” all through the gospel accounts. It is important for us to think about this as a focus of his. He wants us to see that he was human, a man. The Son of Man is a reference to a passage in Daniel 7:13, “one like the Son of Man will come.” Jesus refers to himself over 80 times in the gospel stories this way. Paul writes in Philippians 2:6-8
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something
to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as
a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”
Marty Solomon, a Bible teacher who has a podcast called BEMA, elucidated Jesus’ emphasis on himself as a human offering forgiveness. He asserts that what Jesus was teaching/preaching on was likely forgiveness since that is what he demonstrated when the friend was lowered in front of him. Many scholars agree based on Jesus’ teachings and style. He taught and then he demonstrated. So this demonstration, which has always seemed so random to me, is related to what he was teaching before he was interrupted. In the kingdom that he has ushered in, the invitation and power for humans to forgive is given. God is no longer the only one who forgives sins. Jesus, as a human, forgave the sins (which is invisible) of the paralyzed man and to prove the point or drive the point home, he also healed him (a visible sign).
Wow! The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’ demonstrations of the kingdom, and his actions are showing us one after the other that forgiveness is key in the kingdom of God and that we are empowered, invited, and commissioned to join God in this important work.
It isn’t Candy-Coated, Though
In fact, forgiveness is part of the suffering we will experience as Christ followers. His life and his teachings demonstrate that doing God’s work will cost us. Jesus invites us to join the work of forgiveness but he never promises it won’t hurt or cost us. It may be the most costly aspect of discipleship.
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An Invitation to Forgive Continued...