Genesis 28:10-17; Ephesians 4:22-28; St Matthew 9:1-8
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Dear people loved by God, today you have set before you a beautiful and wonderful passage, a sedes doctrinae, a seat of divine doctrine, for the Fifth Chief Part of the Small Catechism, the Office of the Keys. Which is that special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent. This is the authority with God has given to men; generally to His whole Church, to all Christians, but also particularly to His called ministers who deal with you by His divine command. Let us consider the context.
And getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over and came to His own city. After the Sermon on the Mount Jesus traveled to Capernaum where He healed many. He then went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee where He healed two men afflicted by demons in the country of the Gadarenes. When the residents saw what He had done they begged Him to leave their region (8:29). Getting into a boat Jesus crossed back over the Sea of Galilee and returned to His own city.
That the evangelist details that Jesus has His own city is of immense comfort to us. This is not Bethlehem, where He was born. Nor is it Nazareth, where He grew up. His own city is Capernaum. This is where Peter and Andrew fished. Where Matthew was called from the tax booth. Jesus’ own city is where His people dwell. Not only Jerusalem, but Capernaum, Judea, Samaria, Indianapolis, Fishers, Noblesville, Nashville, Frankton, wherever you live, and to the ends of the earth. As the Psalmist writes, You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel (Ps 22:3).
The same Psalm continues, In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them (Ps 22:4). So perhaps they had witnesses Jesus’ miracles while He was previously in Capernaum; perhaps they had heard His teaching. The trusted and behold, some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heat, My son; your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus saw their faith. He is not using His divine omniscience here as He possibly does later when He knows the thoughts of the scribes. Their faith was not silent, hidden away in their hearts. It was visible in their deeds. Perhaps they told their friend, “Jesus is in town, we are taking you to see Him.” Maybe he asked them to do this good work. Either way, they go to Jesus, for this is what faith does. It is the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, as St Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus.
For we know that faith alone justifies. But saving faith is never alone. In his commentary on Romans, Luther wrote, “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. And so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises, it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them.
Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. This confidence in God’s grace and knowledge of it makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all His creatures.
And this is the work of the Holy Spirit in faith. Hence a man is ready and glad, without compulsion, to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, in love and praise to God, who has shown him this grace.
And thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate burning and shining from fire” (AE 25).
And so Jesus sees their faith in action, active in love, and He said to the paralytic: Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven. Why not heal his paralysis? Well, let me ask you this: How is your conscience? Hmm? You come before Jesus in repentance and trust; and what do you really need? Heather bodies? Lower blood pressure? Better joints and limbs? Sure! There’s no denying that we are soul and body. But what is most needful?
The campus studies are reading a book by Craig Parton called Religion on Trial: Cross Examining Religious Truth Claims. The author, who is a trial lawyer in southern California, likes to poke fun at the west coast “religious,” by asking such ridiculous questions as, “Who needs a Savior who heals hemorrhoids? What if Jesus went around Galilee and healed all the cases of hemorrhoids? What would that prove?” Palsied limbs aren’t the same, I know, but the point is still made.
Pick up your bed and walk and we don’t know how many steps that man had. Did he make it home? Was he run over by a chariot? Even if he lived out all his days in perfect health, without the forgiveness of sins, it wouldn’t matter. Everyone eventually ends up back on the death bed in front of Jesus. What do you need? You need life. You need salvation. You need the forgiveness of sins.
For this is none other than the gate of heaven, the door of paradise. The forgiveness of your sins unlocks, unbinds you from your troubled conscience, frees you from death’s grasp, and flings wide the gate of heaven for you. This is no dream. This is reality. You can’t see it, like Jesus saying to the man, Rise and walk, that’s why its “easier,” to say, but its just as real, in fact I say its more real. Its eternally real. Doctors, nurses, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, etc they can all heal the body; make one palsied limbs work again. Only the Divine Physician can restore your soul and guide in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
And so Jesus speaks to the most desperate need of this immobile man. He soothes his troubled conscience with His word of peace and forgiveness. He calls this sinner “son” and in that the heart rejoices and to that word of absolution faith clings.
But some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” For only God can forgive sins. This is true. But God works through means. He uses water and His Word to regenerate and renew by His Holy Spirit to create in you saving faith. He uses bread and wine joined to His Word to distribute to you the true Body and Blood born of the Virgin Mary, crucified on the Tree, buried in the tomb, raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. And He uses His powerful Word, spoken by His unworthy servants, to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
I visited our dear sister in Christ Donna, last week. In the context of Divine Service I read and preached on this text. At the end of the sermon she told me, “Pastor, you know, I know all that. Everything you just said, I know it. But I needed you to come and tell me again.” Yes! As she sits there dying, doctors unable to cure her and make her well, this is what she needs - the forgiveness of sins. That is how our Lord operates in His kingdom on a non-stop basis. Sending out His Word going forth from His Cross to the ends of the earth in the mouths of His Pastors and His Christians. Outside of us. For our good. Bringing peace to our conscience.
And so that you may know that Christ Jesus has this authority on earth and gives it to men, he healed the paralytic. Rise, pick up your bed and go home. And he rose and went home.
And that’s actually the easier thing to say. Everyone assumes its easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because you can’t see it. You don’t know if it really worked. If Jesus said, “Rise and walk,” and the man didn’t actually get up and walk they would have known He was a fraud, a fake, a charlatan. But its not easier to forgive sins.
For Jesus to forgive sins. For His Pastors to forgive your sins in His stead and by His command may sound easy. Sure, anyone can say it. Its easy. Its free. Its grace. But its not cheap. It came at a hefty price.
In order to forgive your sins the Son of Man must take them into Himself. He must swallow up and absorb every sin, every ill word, every cruel act, every vile thought, every hate, slander, and lie, every sexual immorality, every idolatry and greed and vice. In order to forgive sins Jesus Christ must become a curse and Sin itself. And He must pour out His life blood, drain every drop of the cup of suffering and woe, all the while remaining perfectly sinless Himself and forgiving those who sin against Him. He must become a Worm and not a Man. That’s not easy.
But that is exactly what He did. For without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22).
And behold, that sacred Blood fills the Cup again this day. Here is the Blood of the Lamb that washes away all sin. Here is the Blood which bespeaks you righteous. The Blood of Jesus Christ, received by faith - just like the paralytic - which says, Take heart, My child, your sins are forgiven. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. For this is the Medicine of Immortality, the Antidote to death itself. This is the Blood of the Word Made Flesh which shall say to you on the Last Day, as He stands over your grave, Rise, pick up your bed and go home.
Dear Christians, what we learn in this text is that you have that reality now. The forgiveness of sins spoken in the stead and by the command of Christ by your Pastor is the voice of the Lord to you. It is the verdict of the Last Day slipping out ahead of time. The forgiveness from the Pastor is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with you Himself. Glorify God who has given such authority to men. Give Him thanks and praise, for this authority is exercised for your benefit and given for your sake.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Dear people loved by God, today you have set before you a beautiful and wonderful passage, a sedes doctrinae, a seat of divine doctrine, for the Fifth Chief Part of the Small Catechism, the Office of the Keys. Which is that special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent. This is the authority with God has given to men; generally to His whole Church, to all Christians, but also particularly to His called ministers who deal with you by His divine command. Let us consider the context.
And getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over and came to His own city. After the Sermon on the Mount Jesus traveled to Capernaum where He healed many. He then went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee where He healed two men afflicted by demons in the country of the Gadarenes. When the residents saw what He had done they begged Him to leave their region (8:29). Getting into a boat Jesus crossed back over the Sea of Galilee and returned to His own city.
That the evangelist details that Jesus has His own city is of immense comfort to us. This is not Bethlehem, where He was born. Nor is it Nazareth, where He grew up. His own city is Capernaum. This is where Peter and Andrew fished. Where Matthew was called from the tax booth. Jesus’ own city is where His people dwell. Not only Jerusalem, but Capernaum, Judea, Samaria, Indianapolis, Fishers, Noblesville, Nashville, Frankton, wherever you live, and to the ends of the earth. As the Psalmist writes, You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel (Ps 22:3).
The same Psalm continues, In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them (Ps 22:4). So perhaps they had witnesses Jesus’ miracles while He was previously in Capernaum; perhaps they had heard His teaching. The trusted and behold, some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heat, My son; your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus saw their faith. He is not using His divine omniscience here as He possibly does later when He knows the thoughts of the scribes. Their faith was not silent, hidden away in their hearts. It was visible in their deeds. Perhaps they told their friend, “Jesus is in town, we are taking you to see Him.” Maybe he asked them to do this good work. Either way, they go to Jesus, for this is what faith does. It is the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, as St Paul writes to the Christians in Ephesus.
For we know that faith alone justifies. But saving faith is never alone. In his commentary on Romans, Luther wrote, “Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. And so it is impossible for it not to do good works incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question rises, it has already done them, and is always at the doing of them.
Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it a thousand times. This confidence in God’s grace and knowledge of it makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all His creatures.
And this is the work of the Holy Spirit in faith. Hence a man is ready and glad, without compulsion, to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, in love and praise to God, who has shown him this grace.
And thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate burning and shining from fire” (AE 25).
And so Jesus sees their faith in action, active in love, and He said to the paralytic: Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven. Why not heal his paralysis? Well, let me ask you this: How is your conscience? Hmm? You come before Jesus in repentance and trust; and what do you really need? Heather bodies? Lower blood pressure? Better joints and limbs? Sure! There’s no denying that we are soul and body. But what is most needful?
The campus studies are reading a book by Craig Parton called Religion on Trial: Cross Examining Religious Truth Claims. The author, who is a trial lawyer in southern California, likes to poke fun at the west coast “religious,” by asking such ridiculous questions as, “Who needs a Savior who heals hemorrhoids? What if Jesus went around Galilee and healed all the cases of hemorrhoids? What would that prove?” Palsied limbs aren’t the same, I know, but the point is still made.
Pick up your bed and walk and we don’t know how many steps that man had. Did he make it home? Was he run over by a chariot? Even if he lived out all his days in perfect health, without the forgiveness of sins, it wouldn’t matter. Everyone eventually ends up back on the death bed in front of Jesus. What do you need? You need life. You need salvation. You need the forgiveness of sins.
For this is none other than the gate of heaven, the door of paradise. The forgiveness of your sins unlocks, unbinds you from your troubled conscience, frees you from death’s grasp, and flings wide the gate of heaven for you. This is no dream. This is reality. You can’t see it, like Jesus saying to the man, Rise and walk, that’s why its “easier,” to say, but its just as real, in fact I say its more real. Its eternally real. Doctors, nurses, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, etc they can all heal the body; make one palsied limbs work again. Only the Divine Physician can restore your soul and guide in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
And so Jesus speaks to the most desperate need of this immobile man. He soothes his troubled conscience with His word of peace and forgiveness. He calls this sinner “son” and in that the heart rejoices and to that word of absolution faith clings.
But some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” For only God can forgive sins. This is true. But God works through means. He uses water and His Word to regenerate and renew by His Holy Spirit to create in you saving faith. He uses bread and wine joined to His Word to distribute to you the true Body and Blood born of the Virgin Mary, crucified on the Tree, buried in the tomb, raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. And He uses His powerful Word, spoken by His unworthy servants, to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
I visited our dear sister in Christ Donna, last week. In the context of Divine Service I read and preached on this text. At the end of the sermon she told me, “Pastor, you know, I know all that. Everything you just said, I know it. But I needed you to come and tell me again.” Yes! As she sits there dying, doctors unable to cure her and make her well, this is what she needs - the forgiveness of sins. That is how our Lord operates in His kingdom on a non-stop basis. Sending out His Word going forth from His Cross to the ends of the earth in the mouths of His Pastors and His Christians. Outside of us. For our good. Bringing peace to our conscience.
And so that you may know that Christ Jesus has this authority on earth and gives it to men, he healed the paralytic. Rise, pick up your bed and go home. And he rose and went home.
And that’s actually the easier thing to say. Everyone assumes its easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because you can’t see it. You don’t know if it really worked. If Jesus said, “Rise and walk,” and the man didn’t actually get up and walk they would have known He was a fraud, a fake, a charlatan. But its not easier to forgive sins.
For Jesus to forgive sins. For His Pastors to forgive your sins in His stead and by His command may sound easy. Sure, anyone can say it. Its easy. Its free. Its grace. But its not cheap. It came at a hefty price.
In order to forgive your sins the Son of Man must take them into Himself. He must swallow up and absorb every sin, every ill word, every cruel act, every vile thought, every hate, slander, and lie, every sexual immorality, every idolatry and greed and vice. In order to forgive sins Jesus Christ must become a curse and Sin itself. And He must pour out His life blood, drain every drop of the cup of suffering and woe, all the while remaining perfectly sinless Himself and forgiving those who sin against Him. He must become a Worm and not a Man. That’s not easy.
But that is exactly what He did. For without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins (Heb 9:22).
And behold, that sacred Blood fills the Cup again this day. Here is the Blood of the Lamb that washes away all sin. Here is the Blood which bespeaks you righteous. The Blood of Jesus Christ, received by faith - just like the paralytic - which says, Take heart, My child, your sins are forgiven. And where there is the forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. For this is the Medicine of Immortality, the Antidote to death itself. This is the Blood of the Word Made Flesh which shall say to you on the Last Day, as He stands over your grave, Rise, pick up your bed and go home.
Dear Christians, what we learn in this text is that you have that reality now. The forgiveness of sins spoken in the stead and by the command of Christ by your Pastor is the voice of the Lord to you. It is the verdict of the Last Day slipping out ahead of time. The forgiveness from the Pastor is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with you Himself. Glorify God who has given such authority to men. Give Him thanks and praise, for this authority is exercised for your benefit and given for your sake.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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