December 23, 2008 (Matthew 9:1-13)

The story of Jesus healing the paralytic is powerful (to make a gross understatement). However, the power in this story runs much deeper than I realized for many years.

Matthew says that when Jesus told the man, “Your sins are forgiven…” (9:2) some teachers of the Law began saying to themselves: “Does He think He’s God?” (9:3) In a dramatic move, Jesus calls them out for their evil thoughts, by saying “…I will prove to you that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He then turns to the paralytic and says, “Stand up. Pick up your mat and go home.” (9:6)

It’s pretty easy to see how this establishes Jesus’ power and authority. There is, however, a much subtler point being made that often gets lost. Part of the problem comes from the fact that we are not reading Matthew’s original writing (which was in Greek), but an English translation. In virtually all English bibles, the phrase “son of man” is capitalized. We translate this because we know that Jesus often used the phrase “son of man” to speak about Himself. In ancient Semitic culture, however, “son of man” was a common way of speaking about any human being. (e.g., Ps. 8:4; 144:3) No one standing in the crowd would’ve understood Jesus to be speaking ONLY about Himself. Notice the crowd’s reaction to His words: “…they praised God [for giving such authority to human beings].” (9:7)

So…am I saying that mere humans have the power to forgive sins? Absolutely! Not only am I saying that we can, I am saying that we must. Had Jesus not already warned the people that “…if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins”(6:14)? We sometimes shy away from the full implications of this verse by saying that to take upon ourselves the right to forgive sins is “presumptuous.” I can appreciate the humility that is being expressed…however, to forgive others is not to take on a right God has forbidden you…but to exercise a ministry and a calling that He has specifically given to you; And in the final analysis, which is really more presumptuous: to grant forgiveness…or (2) to deny it?

-- Justin

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