In the Fulness of Time/Part 47

By: Dr. Thomas O. Figart; ©2007

Jesus demonstrates his authority over spiritual forces by healing the paralytic in Matthew 9.

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Jesus’ Authority over Spiritual Forces: Saving and Healing the Paralytic Matthew 9:1-8

Faith Produces Forgiveness. 9:1-2

Matthew 9:1-2 “And he entered into a boat and passed over, and came into his own city. And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed; and Jesus, seeing his faith, said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.”

Unwelcome in the country of the Gadarenes, Christ and His disciples sailed back “to his own city,” which was Capernaum (Mark 2:1). Without mentioning how, or how many, Mat­thew merely says “they” brought the sick man. Mark 2:3 indicates that he was “borne by four.” Like the man in Matthew 8:5, he was a paralytic, unable to walk at all, “lying on a bed,” a pallet or a mat which could easily be carried up to the roof and let down through the opening they made (Mark 2:4).

All three synoptic Gospels indicate that Jesus saw “their” faith, but do not elaborate. Certainly the four men bearing the paralytic had faith, since they sought a means to get him to Jesus in spite of the crowd. Their faith was unwavering; they had no doubt that Jesus would heal him; it was unwearied; they saw no obstacle too great to overcome. But what of the man himself? The first statement of Jesus reveals that the paralytic had true faith; He said, Tharsei, teknon, “Child, cheer up” and then added, “thy sins be forgiven thee.” There must have been a real sense of need in the man’s heart for Jesus to encourage him to cheer up, and to use the more tender word “child” rather than “son.” While it is true that in some cases Jesus healed without mentioning the faith of the sick one, still, it is also evident that no man’s sins are forgiven apart from faith. Was the man hoping for physical help as well? It would certainly seem so, since he permitted himself to be lowered in front of Jesus. Why go to all this trouble if he did not seek to be cured? There is nothing in this text to imply that his sins caused the paralysis; whether he was born with it, or suffered some accident is totally unknown, and to accuse him of sin is just as wrong as those who as­sumed the man in John 9:1 was blind because of sin on his part or that of his parents!

Reasoning Promotes Rejection. 9:3

Matthew 9:3 “And behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, this man blasphemeth.”

In contrast to faith, reasoning brings doubt, which eventuates in rejection of the truth. So it was with these scribes (and Pharisees). Matthew mentions only the scribes and records briefly the accusation of blasphemy. In addition to Mark 2:7 and Luke 5:21, in John 10:33- 35 there is yet another accusation of blasphemy against Christ because He claimed to be one with the Father. The Jews accurately interpreted His claims and sought to stone Him. Later, at the time of His trial and crucifixion, Christ again was accused of blasphemy for making the same claims (Matthew 26:65; Mark 14:64). The word “blasphemy” comes from blax, which means sluggish, stupid; from two words, blapto (to injure) and pheme (speech).” It is primarily a defaming of God, but is used in a general way of any contemptible speech.

In the parallel passages (Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21) the scribes were reasoning this way; “Who can forgive sins but God only? Luke’s account is especially revealing since it includes that “there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea and Jerusalem” (Luke 5:17). Could it be that the cleansed leper had really gone to Jerusalem and had shown himself to the priests, and that the priests had told these rulers? Only God can heal leprosy, and now this same Jesus claims to forgive sins! Either you must believe He is God manifest in the flesh, or you must by every means possible oppose such blasphemy! The elders chose to reject His claims.

Sovereignty Proves Authority. 9:4-8

Sovereign over Thoughts: Omniscience. 9:4

Matthew 9:4 “And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why think ye evil in your hearts?”

Omniscience, an attribute of God only, is affirmed of Jesus here, in agreement with John 2:25; “And needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man.” His knowledge extended to “all things that should come upon him” (John 18:4). Jesus knew the evil they were thinking in their hearts; it was evil against Him. In the true sense then, it was the scribes and Pharisees who were the real blasphemers; they were saying within them­selves that Jesus was not God, that He was a sinner. In 9:11 they will accuse Him of eating with sinners, and much worse, in 9:14 that He cast out demons through the prince of de­mons!

Sovereignty over Sin and Sickness: Omnipotence. 9:5-7

Matthew 9:5-7 “For which is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.”

Anticipating their possible rebuttal, Jesus wanted to show that He was not only authorita­tive in the physical realm, but also in the spiritual realm, so He performed the healing; either statement was equally easy, if He is God; but they might have said, “It is easy to say that you forgive sins, but who can prove that? Words are cheap; let’s see your works!” When the work was accomplished and He proved that He, the Son of man has “power” (exousia, authority) on earth to forgive sins, they still rejected His claims as their Messiah/ King. In Matthew 12:38 they continued this approach saying, “Master, we would see a sign from thee.” The demands of unbelief are insatiable! The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 closes with this sad affirmation: “And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

History has confirmed this statement, for Jesus died and rose again, but the nation of Israel was not persuaded that Jesus is their Messiah/King.

Sovereign in the Minds of the Multitude. 9:8

Matthew 9:8 “But when the multitude saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given power unto men.”

First, the cured man glorified God (Luke 5:25) and then the multitudes added their re­marks (Mark 2:12): “They were all amazed and glorified God saying, We never saw it in this fashion”; in Luke 5:26: “They were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.” Luke’s remarks are filled with unusual words. They were amazed, from ekstasis, from which we get ecstasy; they glorified God,

from doxa, indicating their favorable attitude toward Jesus as well; they were filled with fear, from phobos, no doubt because of their sense of the presence of God; and finally, they had seen strange things from paradoxa, which means, beside and beyond all opinion and expectation of men.

So this miracle produced ecstasy, wonder, fear, glorification of God and things beyond expectation on the multitude; yet official Israel could only say, “He blasphemeth!” If Jesus had not been able to forgive sins and cure sickness, He would not have fulfilled prophecy and could not have been their true Messiah; but He did all this and more, yet His own people received Him not. But “in the fulness of time” when He comes to earth again, it will be too late! Then He will be their Judge!

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