Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 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.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
I went skiing with my niece Lexi. On the way to Monarch she said "I'm going to ski a black diamond".
Big talk for a nine year old! I was skeptical...
Well, not only did she do it, but she did it many times...and did it well. She did exactly what she needed to do to convince all of us. I left the mountain impressed.
Skepticism is natural when we hear big claims. Even more so when the claims cannot be empirically demonstrated. "Your sins are forgiven" is like saying "I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10". There is no way to prove it...except by the veracity of my character. So, Jesus spent a good deal of time demonstrating his ability to forgive sin. In this case he healed a paralytic man.
But, make no mistake...the healing was not the point. Although, there was clear benefit, at least for one man. There was a lot of "awe" after the miracle but...do you think it was over the miracle or over the claim of forgiveness?
How many times do we miss the point...simply because we want Jesus to prove, once again, that He is faithful? Jesus called it a "wicked generation, that seeks signs and wonders". We might understand the word "wicked" to mean "faithless".
We often get addicted to the pleasure of the miracle and forget the miracle worker. When Jesus does something supernatural in our lives do we know why? It's not about the job, or the health, or the relationship. It's about demonstrating that Jesus is truly all we need. And really...what do we want more? forgiveness of sin or a new job?
Live boldly out there today...
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