It's That Easy :: Matthew 9:1-8
Which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven, or Arise and walk (v. 5)?
I know too many people who don’t like the fact that ... I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. I know too many people who want no part of that word of absolution. Who do you think you are? Only God can do that, “they” say.
I also know too many people who have taken offense when we pastors don’t use the special word for word announcement that Almighty God, our heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us and has given his only Son to die for us and for His sake forgives us all our sins. That’s one reason why you called me to be your pastor: You long for me to declare forgiveness in Christ!
I also know some Christians who would rather go to a Benny Hinn big top tent revival than to seek private confession and absolution from their pastor. In our society, naming the sins that trouble us is considered shameful. We don’t want to embarrass ourselves. We don’t want to expose sin. We say seeking forgiveness is a sign of weakness. Withholding forgiveness is expected. Never forget, we say. The world around us would rather experience something big and bold. ... They want the Pow and the Wow! They want solutions to life. They want healing. Now.
5.
But then we hear passages of scripture such as today’s Gospel reading. In our reading from Matthew Chapter Nine, we discover the wonderfully gracious Word that God has given to you and to me and to all of mankind. It is a word you are authorized to declare. It is a word we can speak to one another. It is a word of power and peace. It is a word you are inspired to believe. It is a word of healing and restoration. It is a word that leaves us in reverent fear and awe. It is a word of confidence, a word of life. This word is … Your sins are forgiven!
Did you hear that? It is so easy to say that, isn’t it? Your sins are forgiven. Try saying it now: Your sins are forgiven. Turn to the person on your left and tell them: Your sins are forgiven. Turn to the one on your right: Your sins are forgiven. Say it from the bottom of your hearts. .........
What a beautiful lesson for us today! I think I have a new favorite passage! God has given each of you to an extraordinary authority, declaring: Dear child of God ... dear brother, sister, son, daughter, mother, father in Christ: Be confident; take heart; have courage. Your sins are forgiven. But it’s so much easier and exciting to say, Pow and Wow! Isn’t it?
4.
The Christian church and religion is a religion and a church of forgiveness in Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ earned the forgiveness of sins for you ... and yes, for the entire world ... through his innocent life, his horrific suffering, his bloody death, and his glorious resurrection from the dead. Christ established his church and ordained his holy ministry so that this forgiveness of sins could be proclaimed throughout the world ... to you: That Jesus has lived for you, died for you, overcome death for you, ascended for you ... so that you can have confidence that the forgiveness of sins is yours. Isn’t that awesome? God has restored you.
Everyone who believes that God gives a no-strings-attached message of the forgiveness of sin through Christ has exactly what these words say: life and salvation. The Lord gave us his Word and Sacraments as tangible means to remove all doubt about this. He commissioned the church to make disciples ... baptizing them ... that is forgiving them ... and teaching them all things he commanded ... you know, receiving the Lord’s Supper for the forgiveness of sins. He urges you to have confidence that his means of grace impart these gifts.
This authority originated with Christ himself, and he has shared it with mankind, especially with those who occupy the office of holy ministry and who are duty bound to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. This authority was given so that when we discover you are troubled by your sin … we should point you to the gate of heaven (Gen 28:17) ... this place, and carry you to it, if necessary (v. 1)! Here, we learn to be confident in his truth: Your sins are forgiven. ... YHWH (our God is) compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in steadfast love and truthfulness ... (he is) lifting iniquity and rebellion and sin (Ex 34:6-7).
3.
I wasn't surprised earlier this week with the results of a poll I conducted both online and in person on why people come to church. As suspected, the No. 1 reason we go to church is for fellowship. Many also come for Bible study and worship, for fuel for the soul, and to praise the Lord. We come to sing. We come out of a sense of responsibility. We come for all kinds of reasons. But thankfully, a number of you said what I wanted to hear most. You come to receive the gifts of God through the Divine Service for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.
This is our confidence. That is what this service, even without the Lord’s supper, is all about: To forgive your sins. You may think that is too easy because it means you didn’t have to do anything to receive this forgiveness. But your good and gracious God, our Lord Jesus, has forgiven your sins. Oh, how lovely is your dwelling place, YHWH (Ps 84:1).
2.
In the Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus makes this perfectly clear. No sooner than he returned to Capernaum ... some people brought him a paralytic. It’s not hard to understand why. Contextually, in Matthew chapters eight and nine, Jesus is healing people everywhere. This is, in fact, the fifth of eight healing miracles in these chapters. Jesus has healed lepers, cast out demons, given sight to the blind, raised the dead. Everywhere he goes, people have flocked to him seeking help ... for themselves, for family, for friends. Today, they’ve brought him a man who couldn’t help himself by walking to church. So what does Jesus do? Having seen their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic: Be confident, Child! Your sins are forgiven (v. 3).
If only we could all be carried here every day! Each of us have come to God seeking relief and healing, from mental illness and addiction. We have come on behalf of others who desperately need help. We have come mourning our marriages, and the sin that is separating us … the sin that is destroying us. Look at our prayer list: It is chock full of people recovering from surgery, fighting cancer and heart problems ... We need relief. And when we don’t get it now, we become upset because we think God is ignoring us or not listening to us, that he isn’t giving us what we think we really need. I want the pain in my neck to go away. I want my children to come to church. I want my blood pressure to stay in check. I want a Pow and Wow.
So, instead, Jesus gives me what I need. He says: Be confident, Your sins are forgiven. And the scribes among us say, He’s blaspheming (v. 3). And we say only God can forgive sins.
It really is that hard to hear this declaration of forgiveness, sometimes. So Jesus, knowing the reflections of their hearts said, Why do you reflect on evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise and walk? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority upon the earth to forgive sins ... (Jesus turned) to the paralytic (saying) ... having been raised, take up your bedding and go into your house. And having been raised, he went into his house (vv. 4-7). What an amazing thing! No strings attached. Then having seen (this), the crowd had reverent fear and glorified The God, the one having given such authority to men (v. 8). Yes, it really is that easy!
1.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, your sins are forgiven, and Jesus has told you that you can and should forgive sins too. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven (Jn 20:23). Won’t you share this with everyone who has a broken life, too? Jesus did this for you because you couldn’t do it for yourself. He forgave you on his cross, living a life without sin, the sinless dying for the sinful, to set you free to live in forgiveness. And now, God is offering this forgiveness through the preaching of His Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, forgiveness that we should always and forever share with each other. Anyone who clings to what God offers has what they say.
There are many sinners who have doubts about this. They can’t believe that their sins will be forgiven. They think only God can forgive sins, ignoring all the passages such as this that say if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven. But you can be confident about this. Confident because Jesus has come to you, to bless you and declare to you that: Your sins are forgiven!
Jesus forgave you on the cross. Jesus forgave you in baptism. Jesus poured out his Holy Spirit upon you, washing you, making you clean, opening your eyes and ears to the truthfulness of the Gospel to forgive you. Jesus has prepared a feast of forgiveness for you that we should be receiving today and every day we meet. He is proclaiming the Good News of forgiveness to the whole world. Our God and Savior has guaranteed you that your sins are indeed forgiven forever.
Hear it. Believe it. Receive it. These means of grace are yours. That is why we are Lutheran. Jesus brings us the forgiveness of sins, no strings attached, and now we can share that with others, no strings attached. He sets us free. And this is why we should come to church every day. This is why we should receive the means of grace every day ... to hear and receive this good news. Won’t you join me? When we do, we truly can be confident.