#DailyDevotion What Is It That We Really Need?
Matt. 9:1-2 Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. 2There people brought Him a paralyzed man, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Cheer up, son! Your sins are forgiven.”
There’s nothing like having good friends. Here we have a man who was a paralytic. We don’t know how long he was in such shape. But his friends brought him to Jesus to be healed by him. Then again, maybe I’m making an assumption these people were his friends. They could just be people who heard about Jesus’ ability to heal people and they saw this laying around begging and so they bought him to Jesus to be healed by him. In either case, they believed Jesus was able to heal the man.
But instead of healing the man, when Jesus sees their faith, he tells the paralytic, “Cheer up, son! Your sins are forgiven.” Well, that was unexpected. Why tell him his sins were forgiven? Couldn’t he just go offer a sacrifice to get his sins forgiven? Well if you’re a paralytic, you’re probably not making it across country to the Temple to do that. Did the man commit some particular sin that caused his paralysis? We don’t know, but probably not. So why tell the man his sins were forgiven instead of get up, take your mat and go home? Because man’s primary need is not a physical one. Man’s primary need is a spiritual one. Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Some may argue today, and they do, that before a man will sit and listen to God’s Word you need to provide for their spiritual needs. Jesus apparently thinks otherwise. Based on my ministry to many people suffering all sorts of ailments, always in the back of their minds is this thought that haunts them, “I must have done something wrong that deserves this.” Well, on one hand they are correct, because of our sinful nature we deserve no good thing from God. If we weren’t sinners to begin with we would be immortal and would get sick and die. Most of the time though, there is not a particular, individual sin that a person has done that has caused their malady. They are just sinners under the hand of an angry God (in their minds).
This is why the righteous must live by faith. Jesus gives the man the Gospel so he can live by the faith given in this pronouncement by him. He no longer has to live thinking God is angry with him because if He wasn’t, then he wouldn’t be in this condition. In Jesus, we know we are called to each bear our own cross. The hardships we endure is not because God is angry with us but because He is disciplining us like sons. (Heb. 13) Through our trials and tribulations are purifying our faith. Everything in our lives may tells us God is angry with us and is punishing us. Faith hears Jesus’ words, “Cheer up, son! Your sins are forgiven.” Then we can bear up underneath these crosses laid upon us with the joy we have in Christ knowing what we are suffering is participating in the sufferings of Christ. (2 Cor. 1) They are preparing us to bear the eternal weight of glory. (2 Cor. 4) God using them to progress our spirituality and for our good. (Rom. 5 & 8) But we forget this sometimes and that thought in our old flesh nags us, “What did I do wrong to bring this upon myself?” We need to hear the words of Jesus from our pastor’s lips, “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace.”
Heavenly Father, may the words of Christ’s forgiveness ever be upon the lips of your children and your pastors so we may live with cheer and good spirits despite our the conditions you bring upon us in life for our good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.