Genesis 288:10-17/Ephesians 4:22-28/St Matthew 9:1-8
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
He had been there before. His own town. Capernaum. It was there that He taught doctrine as One who has authority, not as the scribes; preaching the Sermon on the Mount. It was there, in Capernaum, that He healed many, including a leper, the paralyzed servant of a centurion and St Peter’s mother-in-law. He exercised demons, cast out spirits with a Word, and healed all who were sick. This was done, records St Matthew, to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Mt 8:16-17).
Then, crossing over to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus healed two demoniacs; but upon seeing His power and authority, the citizens begged Him to leave. For apart from faith the power and authority of Christ strike terror into the heart. A god who can do anything is no comfort to sinners who deserve only temporal and eternal punishment.
Thus does Jesus get into a boat and cross back over to Capernaum where He forgives a man’s sins and confronts the religious establishment with His most provocative and scandalous behavior yet. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. Now it is apparent to anyone what afflicts this man. He can’t walk! The religious establishment would certainly see this as his most pressing need. He had a miserable life each and every day. No wheelchair ramps. No handicap access. He was completely dependent on the charity of his friends to get him from here to there. He couldn’t even use the bathroom without help!
And nobody could heal him. So when his friends hear that Jesus is back they seek Him out. They bring their friend to Jesus for healing. That’s what friends do. And when Jesus saw their faith. He saw their faith. This is necessarily a usage of His divine omniscience. He sees their faith evidenced by their love, by their good work for this their friend in need. For true faith is bound to bring forth good works. True faith always returns to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith.
Upon seeing their faith in action, what does Jesus do? He looks at this pathetic man, unable to stand, unable to walk, requiring help from others to accomplish the most basic functions of life, and looking at the man’s needs for bodily healing - a need obvious to anyone - Jesus does not heal his body. He forgives him. Jesus says to him, Have courage, My son; your sins are forgiven.
What?! How does that help? Imagine you’re this pathetic, miserable man. What do you expect from Jesus? You have just been brought before the One who has demonstrated power to cast out demons, still a storm, cure all kinds of diseases with a Word. You are paralyzed, lying on a mat. What do you expect from Jesus? What do you need?
How you answer that question reveals the difference between Jesus and the religious establishment. The religious establishment treats religion like a commodity; a market good. Take a demographic survey and see what people want, then meet those needs. Check it out some time. Take a look at the unsolicited fliers, brochures, and literature bulk mailed to your house from various churches. (Don’t get any? Stop by the church office sometime and see what we get.) The Gospel is a commodity. Advertised, packaged and sold. Something that will improve your life, your relationships, your finances, and so forth.
So what do you expect from Jesus? What do you need? What do you really need? You may not in fact know. You think you know. Jesus knows. And He doesn’t do what you expect. He does what you need. Like the man in our Gospel text you may not be able to walk. Your life is severely limited. You have few options open to you. But there is something you need more than the ability to stand up and walk. That is the forgiveness of your sins. Your sins are a greater burden that your paralysis.
In fact your paralysis is only symptomatic of the deeper problem. This is not to say that you are morally culpable and therefore punished for your sin. You are not. Nor is this paralytic. But his paralysis and yours - of whatever version or type - is a symptom of sin. Anxiety, worry, frustration, anger, fear, boredom, whatever your own paralysis or ailment, this is not your deepest problem. The deep problem is sin. For where there is sin there is death. Eternal death. Jesus knows this. And only He has authority to do anything about it. Only Jesus has authority to forgive sins. And He has given this authority on earth to men.
And this sets Him apart from the religious establishment and those ecclesiastical entrepreneurs who have just what you’re looking for! Jesus knows what you need and He alone has the authority to provide it. You need the forgiveness of sins. No other need in your life comes close.
A few years ago a man visited St Peter’s. He was disheveled and dirty. Smelly. Had noticeable problems with his eyes and perhaps mental faculties. It was apparent to everyone this man needed help. When he approached the communion rail I laid my hand upon his head and spoke the very words Jesus says in our Gospel today, Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven. He remained kneeling after others were dismissed and I had to inform him to return to his pew and we would talk after service. We did. He briefly told me of his life. How difficult things had been and that he came to this church today looking for a blessing. I praised his desire and told him he came to the right place for he received the blessing of forgiveness of his sins. He looked funnily at me and said, “Well that don’t do me no good. I can’t buy a White Castle with that!” And he stormed out. He hasn’t been back.
Though very unfortunate, that man’s words candidly proclaim what our sinful flesh expects of Jesus - a physical, material blessing - some kind of earthly peace, fulfillment, health, success, wealth, whatever. The marketability of religion. The corporate packaging of faith. A spiritual commodity that will provide material success. But Jesus doesn’t do those things. He doesn’t promise those things. Jesus gives the forgiveness of sins. He promises life and salvation to those who believe in Him. (And He promises a cross.)
And this is actually not easier than saying, Rise and walk. Faith healers and televangelists promise this kind of thing all the time. And its easy. Its cheap. For them. Because if it doesn’t work, if you aren’t healed, if your health worsens, if your relationships fail, if your finances aren’t fixed, well, its not because they’re fraud and charlatans, but because you didn’t believe enough. Its not their fault; its yours. That kind of religious marketing is cheap, both financially and theologically. Those men are frauds and liars. They are blasphemers.
For it is not easy to say, Your sins are forgiven. Not for Jesus. When God the Father canceled the debt of your sin He didn’t just hit the reset button. St Paul writes, He canceled the record of debt that stood against you with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the Cross (Col 2:14). Nailing what to the Cross? Sin. Your sin. In Jesus Christ! For our sake He made Him to be Sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).
Healing the sick, curing palsied limbs, raising the dead - these are all temporary fixes. At the Word of Jesus, in order to prove His authority on earth to forgive sins, the man picked up his bed and went home. But he returned to his bed at his death. And lying there, his comfort came not from the fact that Jesus once made him walk, but his comfort was found in the fact that Jesus forgives his sins. The healed get sick again. Restored limbs get weak again. Those raised from the dead die again.
In the end, the forgiveness of sins is what matters. That’s what Jesus is about. That’s what He does. That’s why He died and rose again.
And that’s what His Church does. And what His Pastors do. Glorify God, for He has graciously given this authority to men for your sake. Apart from faith the power and authority of Christ is not only terrifying, but also offensive. Every so often we have a visitor who is offended by the Absolution, that the pastor says, “In the stead and by the command of Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is the offense taken by the scribes. How can a man forgive my sins? Only God can do that!
But of course faithful Christians don’t take offense at such authority given to men, but rejoice that Christ has given this authority on earth. For that is where you dwell. That is where forgiveness is needed. Actual forgiveness for actual sinners. The ladder in Jacob’s dream was set up on the earth and reached to heaven! Christ is that ladder! For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven and was made Man. And the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He proves it by the miracle from the lesser to the greater; from the bodily healing of the paralytic to the full and free forgiveness of all your sins.
And He gives this authority on earth to men, to His Pastors and His Church, to forgive sins. “He does it by the general preaching of the Gospel, by the giving of Holy Baptism, and by the eating and drinking of His Body and Blood in the Holy Supper. Whoever in faith holds firmly to these three testimonies of God’s grace toward all penitent sinners has the forgiveness of sins and can be joyfully certain of it.
“But Christians know from experience that even among those who hold God’s Word as true, those who do not doubt that God wants to be gracious to all sinners when they believe, were an be doubt in an individual’s heart as to whether he too, is in this courageous estate. When that happens, he may need to be comforted with more than general promises of grace” (Walther, God Grant It, 785).
For these instances, dear Christians, our Lord Jesus Christ gives the wonderful blessing of individual, that is private, confession and absolution. Where the Pastor speaks specifically and directly to you, in your desperation and need, and forgives your sins in the stead and by the command of Christ. This is just as valid and certain here on earth and in heaven as if Christ our dear Lord, dealt with you Himself.
This is what Jesus does. This is what the Church does. This is the central teaching of all Christianity: poor, miserable sinners are justified by God and forgiven all their sins freely by His grace through faith alone in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. His promises to His apostles and to His Church hold true and bring special comfort: If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven (Jn 20:23). Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Mt 16:19). And, Take heart, My child, your sins are forgiven.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
He had been there before. His own town. Capernaum. It was there that He taught doctrine as One who has authority, not as the scribes; preaching the Sermon on the Mount. It was there, in Capernaum, that He healed many, including a leper, the paralyzed servant of a centurion and St Peter’s mother-in-law. He exercised demons, cast out spirits with a Word, and healed all who were sick. This was done, records St Matthew, to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Mt 8:16-17).
Then, crossing over to the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus healed two demoniacs; but upon seeing His power and authority, the citizens begged Him to leave. For apart from faith the power and authority of Christ strike terror into the heart. A god who can do anything is no comfort to sinners who deserve only temporal and eternal punishment.
Thus does Jesus get into a boat and cross back over to Capernaum where He forgives a man’s sins and confronts the religious establishment with His most provocative and scandalous behavior yet. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. Now it is apparent to anyone what afflicts this man. He can’t walk! The religious establishment would certainly see this as his most pressing need. He had a miserable life each and every day. No wheelchair ramps. No handicap access. He was completely dependent on the charity of his friends to get him from here to there. He couldn’t even use the bathroom without help!
And nobody could heal him. So when his friends hear that Jesus is back they seek Him out. They bring their friend to Jesus for healing. That’s what friends do. And when Jesus saw their faith. He saw their faith. This is necessarily a usage of His divine omniscience. He sees their faith evidenced by their love, by their good work for this their friend in need. For true faith is bound to bring forth good works. True faith always returns to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of faith.
Upon seeing their faith in action, what does Jesus do? He looks at this pathetic man, unable to stand, unable to walk, requiring help from others to accomplish the most basic functions of life, and looking at the man’s needs for bodily healing - a need obvious to anyone - Jesus does not heal his body. He forgives him. Jesus says to him, Have courage, My son; your sins are forgiven.
What?! How does that help? Imagine you’re this pathetic, miserable man. What do you expect from Jesus? You have just been brought before the One who has demonstrated power to cast out demons, still a storm, cure all kinds of diseases with a Word. You are paralyzed, lying on a mat. What do you expect from Jesus? What do you need?
How you answer that question reveals the difference between Jesus and the religious establishment. The religious establishment treats religion like a commodity; a market good. Take a demographic survey and see what people want, then meet those needs. Check it out some time. Take a look at the unsolicited fliers, brochures, and literature bulk mailed to your house from various churches. (Don’t get any? Stop by the church office sometime and see what we get.) The Gospel is a commodity. Advertised, packaged and sold. Something that will improve your life, your relationships, your finances, and so forth.
So what do you expect from Jesus? What do you need? What do you really need? You may not in fact know. You think you know. Jesus knows. And He doesn’t do what you expect. He does what you need. Like the man in our Gospel text you may not be able to walk. Your life is severely limited. You have few options open to you. But there is something you need more than the ability to stand up and walk. That is the forgiveness of your sins. Your sins are a greater burden that your paralysis.
In fact your paralysis is only symptomatic of the deeper problem. This is not to say that you are morally culpable and therefore punished for your sin. You are not. Nor is this paralytic. But his paralysis and yours - of whatever version or type - is a symptom of sin. Anxiety, worry, frustration, anger, fear, boredom, whatever your own paralysis or ailment, this is not your deepest problem. The deep problem is sin. For where there is sin there is death. Eternal death. Jesus knows this. And only He has authority to do anything about it. Only Jesus has authority to forgive sins. And He has given this authority on earth to men.
And this sets Him apart from the religious establishment and those ecclesiastical entrepreneurs who have just what you’re looking for! Jesus knows what you need and He alone has the authority to provide it. You need the forgiveness of sins. No other need in your life comes close.
A few years ago a man visited St Peter’s. He was disheveled and dirty. Smelly. Had noticeable problems with his eyes and perhaps mental faculties. It was apparent to everyone this man needed help. When he approached the communion rail I laid my hand upon his head and spoke the very words Jesus says in our Gospel today, Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven. He remained kneeling after others were dismissed and I had to inform him to return to his pew and we would talk after service. We did. He briefly told me of his life. How difficult things had been and that he came to this church today looking for a blessing. I praised his desire and told him he came to the right place for he received the blessing of forgiveness of his sins. He looked funnily at me and said, “Well that don’t do me no good. I can’t buy a White Castle with that!” And he stormed out. He hasn’t been back.
Though very unfortunate, that man’s words candidly proclaim what our sinful flesh expects of Jesus - a physical, material blessing - some kind of earthly peace, fulfillment, health, success, wealth, whatever. The marketability of religion. The corporate packaging of faith. A spiritual commodity that will provide material success. But Jesus doesn’t do those things. He doesn’t promise those things. Jesus gives the forgiveness of sins. He promises life and salvation to those who believe in Him. (And He promises a cross.)
And this is actually not easier than saying, Rise and walk. Faith healers and televangelists promise this kind of thing all the time. And its easy. Its cheap. For them. Because if it doesn’t work, if you aren’t healed, if your health worsens, if your relationships fail, if your finances aren’t fixed, well, its not because they’re fraud and charlatans, but because you didn’t believe enough. Its not their fault; its yours. That kind of religious marketing is cheap, both financially and theologically. Those men are frauds and liars. They are blasphemers.
For it is not easy to say, Your sins are forgiven. Not for Jesus. When God the Father canceled the debt of your sin He didn’t just hit the reset button. St Paul writes, He canceled the record of debt that stood against you with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the Cross (Col 2:14). Nailing what to the Cross? Sin. Your sin. In Jesus Christ! For our sake He made Him to be Sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).
Healing the sick, curing palsied limbs, raising the dead - these are all temporary fixes. At the Word of Jesus, in order to prove His authority on earth to forgive sins, the man picked up his bed and went home. But he returned to his bed at his death. And lying there, his comfort came not from the fact that Jesus once made him walk, but his comfort was found in the fact that Jesus forgives his sins. The healed get sick again. Restored limbs get weak again. Those raised from the dead die again.
In the end, the forgiveness of sins is what matters. That’s what Jesus is about. That’s what He does. That’s why He died and rose again.
And that’s what His Church does. And what His Pastors do. Glorify God, for He has graciously given this authority to men for your sake. Apart from faith the power and authority of Christ is not only terrifying, but also offensive. Every so often we have a visitor who is offended by the Absolution, that the pastor says, “In the stead and by the command of Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is the offense taken by the scribes. How can a man forgive my sins? Only God can do that!
But of course faithful Christians don’t take offense at such authority given to men, but rejoice that Christ has given this authority on earth. For that is where you dwell. That is where forgiveness is needed. Actual forgiveness for actual sinners. The ladder in Jacob’s dream was set up on the earth and reached to heaven! Christ is that ladder! For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven and was made Man. And the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He proves it by the miracle from the lesser to the greater; from the bodily healing of the paralytic to the full and free forgiveness of all your sins.
And He gives this authority on earth to men, to His Pastors and His Church, to forgive sins. “He does it by the general preaching of the Gospel, by the giving of Holy Baptism, and by the eating and drinking of His Body and Blood in the Holy Supper. Whoever in faith holds firmly to these three testimonies of God’s grace toward all penitent sinners has the forgiveness of sins and can be joyfully certain of it.
“But Christians know from experience that even among those who hold God’s Word as true, those who do not doubt that God wants to be gracious to all sinners when they believe, were an be doubt in an individual’s heart as to whether he too, is in this courageous estate. When that happens, he may need to be comforted with more than general promises of grace” (Walther, God Grant It, 785).
For these instances, dear Christians, our Lord Jesus Christ gives the wonderful blessing of individual, that is private, confession and absolution. Where the Pastor speaks specifically and directly to you, in your desperation and need, and forgives your sins in the stead and by the command of Christ. This is just as valid and certain here on earth and in heaven as if Christ our dear Lord, dealt with you Himself.
This is what Jesus does. This is what the Church does. This is the central teaching of all Christianity: poor, miserable sinners are justified by God and forgiven all their sins freely by His grace through faith alone in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. His promises to His apostles and to His Church hold true and bring special comfort: If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven (Jn 20:23). Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Mt 16:19). And, Take heart, My child, your sins are forgiven.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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