Matthew 9:5-6 (ESV)
[5] For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are
forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? [6] But that you may know that
the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to
the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
A
paralytic was brought to Jesus by friends to be healed. Jesus responded, “Take
heart my son, your sins are forgiven” (Mt. 9:2). He didn’t come for forgiveness.
He came for healing, so why does Jesus turn the conversation to forgiveness? It’s
possible that the paralysis was the result of sin. We’re not told. But what we
do know is that Jesus saw this as an opportunity to make a larger point. Saying,
“Your sins are forgiven” is one thing. Forgiving them is quite another. Jesus
turned the topic from externals to internals, from body to heart. There are
ministries built around healing. God can and does heal, but a person physically
healed but left with a sinful heart is hardly whole. Forgiveness without
healing is better than healing without forgiveness. Jesus point in healing the
paralytic was to prove that he has the greater authority to forgive sins.
What
if we were more concerned about the condition of the heart than about the
condition of the body? It is fascinating to me that those in a lifestyle
unpleasing to God are often obsessed with enhancing and caring for their bodies.
Granted, we are stewards of our bodies and we need to care for them. There have
been many who have neglected care of the body and were likely less effective
for the Kingdom as a result. But great care of the body without spiritual life
is pointless. Jesus has the power and authority to heal us from the inside out.
Let’s focus on that which truly matters.
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