Jesus forgives sin
“Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “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 so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
And 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 men.” Matthew 9:2-8.
Here we have an incident in which Jesus heals and forgives sin. Sin is something the religious leaders of his day and today agree that only God can do.
The healing part could not be denied the man was healed and God received the Glory.
The forgiveness of sins however rubbed the religious leaders the wrong way. As I said, only God can forgive sins. Thus Jesus was saying in effect He is God.
This is something people who claim Jesus is not God incarnate can’t explain to me. Why would Jesus and his followers claim Jesus could forgive sin?
If the fledgling Church was to succeed why would Jesus and later his apostles be so bold as to say Jesus is God. The writer of Hebrews states,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
Jesus provided purification for sins. This is a fundamental belief of all Christians. There is no middle ground. To be a Christian you must believe that Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. That He can and does forgive sins.
The apostle John writes,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
I know for many this can be a stumbling block even the apostle Paul wrote,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
The thing is God does not do things the way we mortals do things.
Let’s face it God could have come down from heaven with hundreds of angels and said, “see I am real. I want you to worship me.” and I’m sure the majority if not all mankind would worship Him some because they genuinely loved him others however out of fear of what he would or could do to them.
God however does not want people to worship him and serve him out of fear. Instead He wants each individual to make up their own mind about him. He asks for faith. The writer of Hebrews telling us,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
Faith defined by the writer of Hebrews as,
Please think about it.
“Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “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 so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
And 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 men.” Matthew 9:2-8.
Here we have an incident in which Jesus heals and forgives sin. Sin is something the religious leaders of his day and today agree that only God can do.
The healing part could not be denied the man was healed and God received the Glory.
The forgiveness of sins however rubbed the religious leaders the wrong way. As I said, only God can forgive sins. Thus Jesus was saying in effect He is God.
This is something people who claim Jesus is not God incarnate can’t explain to me. Why would Jesus and his followers claim Jesus could forgive sin?
If the fledgling Church was to succeed why would Jesus and later his apostles be so bold as to say Jesus is God. The writer of Hebrews states,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3.
Jesus provided purification for sins. This is a fundamental belief of all Christians. There is no middle ground. To be a Christian you must believe that Jesus is God incarnate, God in the flesh. That He can and does forgive sins.
The apostle John writes,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
I know for many this can be a stumbling block even the apostle Paul wrote,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
The thing is God does not do things the way we mortals do things.
Let’s face it God could have come down from heaven with hundreds of angels and said, “see I am real. I want you to worship me.” and I’m sure the majority if not all mankind would worship Him some because they genuinely loved him others however out of fear of what he would or could do to them.
God however does not want people to worship him and serve him out of fear. Instead He wants each individual to make up their own mind about him. He asks for faith. The writer of Hebrews telling us,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
Faith defined by the writer of Hebrews as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
God wants men and women of faith because God knows someone who has true faith in anything are the true followers willing to even die for their cause.Please think about it.
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