The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 9:2-6,
"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.'"
This is from the account when some men brought a paralyzed man on a mat to Jesus for healing. The message Jesus gave at this occasion could not be clearer: Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and he provided his bona fides to do so by violating the very laws by which he governs his own creation (the definition of a miracle) - our Creator has the authority to forgive sins.
John makes clear that the universe we live in was created by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, from out of eternity past. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3. We know that John is referencing Jesus Christ as "the Word" when he says a few verses later, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, 'This is the one I spoke about when I said, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me."')" John 1:14-15.
Since the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the Creator of everything, it is to him we must give account. It is his law we all stand in violation of (making us "sinners") and therefore subject to judgment. Jesus Christ will sit on the throne of judgment, so he, and he alone, can forgive sins. His act of healing the paralytic was his demonstration to us validating his claim to be the owner of the authority to forgive sins.
His comment, "I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." is a remarkable statement given by him to clarify who he was, and why he came. The miracles Jesus performed while here were done so to help us understand who he is and why he came: to save us from our sins.
Many "experts" reject the authenticity of Jesus' miracles. Do not be misled: they do so for no further reason than they reject Jesus Christ as their Savior and have decided to pass on his forgiveness to cling to their sin. So much the better, in their twisted thinking, to influence as many others as they can to their persuasion.
Do not make the mistake they do! It holds eternal consequences for each of us personally. Jesus did perform the many miracles we read of in Scripture (each and every one!) and provides us all we need to know about his claim to have the authority to forgive sin.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"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.'"
This is from the account when some men brought a paralyzed man on a mat to Jesus for healing. The message Jesus gave at this occasion could not be clearer: Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and he provided his bona fides to do so by violating the very laws by which he governs his own creation (the definition of a miracle) - our Creator has the authority to forgive sins.
John makes clear that the universe we live in was created by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, from out of eternity past. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3. We know that John is referencing Jesus Christ as "the Word" when he says a few verses later, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, 'This is the one I spoke about when I said, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me."')" John 1:14-15.
Since the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the Creator of everything, it is to him we must give account. It is his law we all stand in violation of (making us "sinners") and therefore subject to judgment. Jesus Christ will sit on the throne of judgment, so he, and he alone, can forgive sins. His act of healing the paralytic was his demonstration to us validating his claim to be the owner of the authority to forgive sins.
His comment, "I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." is a remarkable statement given by him to clarify who he was, and why he came. The miracles Jesus performed while here were done so to help us understand who he is and why he came: to save us from our sins.
Many "experts" reject the authenticity of Jesus' miracles. Do not be misled: they do so for no further reason than they reject Jesus Christ as their Savior and have decided to pass on his forgiveness to cling to their sin. So much the better, in their twisted thinking, to influence as many others as they can to their persuasion.
Do not make the mistake they do! It holds eternal consequences for each of us personally. Jesus did perform the many miracles we read of in Scripture (each and every one!) and provides us all we need to know about his claim to have the authority to forgive sin.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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