God can forgive everyone. Yes anyone! No matter what you have done, God has the power to forgive you of those sins. NO MATTER WHAT IT IS!!
Matthew 9:1–13
Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 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.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
The Calling of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus showed that he can forgive sins. He does not send anybody away.
In 8:23–27, Jesus had authority over everything that God created.
In 8:28–34, Jesus had authority over all of the spirits.
Now, in 9:1–8, Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins. The Bible tells us that only God can forgive sin. (Read Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18; 43:25; 55:6–7; Jeremiah 31:34 and Micah 7:19.) Matthew wanted to emphasize that Jesus is ‘the Son of God’ (8:29).
Pick up your bed! (Verses 1–8)
Jesus now began a new part of his work. Before this time, people could think that He was just a teacher. He could even do miracles. But this was different. He forgave sins. No ordinary teacher could do that.
The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees had to choose. They could agree with Jesus’ claims or they could refuse to accept Him. They made the wrong choice. They started to oppose Him when He did this miracle. They were against Jesus until He died on the cross.
In the next verses, we read about how they opposed Him. The teachers of the Law said things against Jesus:
He speaks against God (verses 1–8). This would be a very serious sin.
His morals are bad (verses 9–13).
His religious practices are not good (verses 14–17).
He is a friend of the devil (31–34).
They accused Jesus of all these things. This would lead to His death.
Sometimes, illness can be the result of personal sin. (Read 8:17.) The man here seemed to believe that this was true about him. But his friends tried very hard to get him to Jesus. The man was lying on his bed. This was because he could not move. Many people wanted to get near to Jesus. And this meant that his friends could not get into the house. So, they took away part of the roof. Then they put him in front of Jesus.
Jesus saw the man’s greatest need. Jesus was very gentle with the man. He called him ‘son’ (verse 2). Then, He told the man that He forgave his sins. Jesus may have meant to teach the man that he was now a child of God too.
Only God can forgive sin. The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees knew this. They realized that Jesus was claiming to be God. To them, this was a most serious sin. They never even thought that Jesus’ claim might be right. They just accused Him. Jesus showed them how wrong they were. He asked them a question (verse 5). Is it easier to heal, or is it easier to forgive someone? They would think that it was harder to heal this man. So, Jesus healed him. He just spoke and the man was completely well. (Compare 8:15. Jesus healed by a touch.)
The ordinary people who were in the room saw this miracle and knew that they had seen God’s great power. They praised God for what he had done.
The call of Matthew (verses 9–13)
Jesus came to forgive sins. Matthew had made this clear. But this must lead to two more questions. First, whom will Jesus forgive? Second, how will He forgive? In these 5 verses, Matthew spoke about himself. He recorded how Jesus called him to be His disciple. Then Matthew told about a meal that he had for his friends. He wanted them to meet Jesus too. (Read Mark 2:13–17 and Luke 5:27–32.)
Matthew was a tax official. Tax officials were called ‘tax collectors’. There was a main route for trade. It was from the country called Syria to Egypt. This route went through the district called Galilee. The city called Capernaum was a tax station. It was the boundary between two districts. There would be a tax as goods went from one district to another. The leaders of the two districts were Philip and Herod Antipas. Matthew worked for Herod.
The Jews did not like these tax officials.
The tax officials often took extra money from other Jews. They became rich.
They were working for the people who had defeated the Jews.
They did not obey the laws of the Jews. This was why the Pharisees called them ‘sinners’ (verse 11). They did not follow the Pharisees’ ideas of the Law. Many tax collectors did not care about God. But this was not always true.
Jesus and His disciples were at Matthew’s meal. This was why the Pharisees accused Jesus. They said that His religious practices were wrong. (Read 9:1–8.) The Pharisees believed that any link with a bad person made them bad too. They did not understand how Jesus could have a meal with bad people. Jesus heard their remarks and gave His answer. They had not understood what the Messiah’s work would be. They had the wrong idea about how God could forgive them. They thought that to please God depended on ceremonies. They thought that they must work to please God too. (Read 5:17–6:18.)
Jesus gave an answer to the Pharisees’. He told them that:
He had come like a doctor. A doctor cares about sick people and those in need. Jesus had come to help sinners. The Pharisees thought that they did not have any needs. And they had no interest in people who did have needs. Jesus meant that they were neglecting their duty.
He used one of the religious leaders’ phrases. Jesus said: ‘Go and learn what it means.’ He used the phrase against them. Jesus repeated Hosea 6:6. Real religion must have spiritual attitudes. The Pharisees knew the Old Testament well, but they had never understood this basic truth.
Jesus’ final words were a test. Salvation is an invitation. Some people think that they are good. So, salvation is not for them. It is for those whose needs are desperate. Jesus came to help people who have no hope or help. (Note: Everybody needs salvation. But Jesus cannot help anyone who does not want His help.)
Questions
1. Jesus died so that He could forgive your sins. How can you be sure that your sin has gone?
2. The church (the people, not to the building) is a place for sinners. What does this mean about our churches? Do we expect a standard that is too high from each other?
3. The church(the people, not to the building) exists for those who are not its members. No other organization is like this. Think about Jesus’ work in this passage. How could we copy Him as we try to bring people to Jesus today?