inward, outward, beyond

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

1 Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town.2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man,"Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven."
3 But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, "That's blasphemy! Does he think he's God?"
4 Jesus knews what they were thinking, so he asked them,"Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?5 Is it easier to say `Your sins are forgiven,' or `Stand up and walk'?6 So I will prove to you that the Son of Mans has the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!"
7 And the man jumped up and went home!8 Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority.

matthew 9

so putting everything in context, we acknowledge that in the past couple of passages, Jesus has been healing and performing a number of miracles. the people loved it until it affected them in a negative way, they had to give up something, the people in the country of the gadarenes didn't like that Jesus had cast demons into their pigs, resulting in the loss of the drive of their economy. instead of coming to Jesus and praising Him for getting rid of the demons, they ask Him to leave. now, this next part is another defining point in Jesus' ministry. for a while, Jesus was already tiptoeing the line with the pharisees, and they didn't have too big of a problem with Jesus, until now. Jesus tells the paralytic to be encouraged for His sins are forgiven. i'm guessing if you were a pharisee knowing and studying for years that only God forgives sins, your ears would perk up as well hearing this "man" was starting to do something that only God could do. now, to the religious leaders, Jesus wasn't just performing miracles, He was allegedly blaspheming. they couldn't stand it! they were absolutely furious that He would claim to have the same power to forgive sins as God, and in essence, claiming that He, Himself, was God.

Jesus knew what they were thinking and so asks them what is easier to do! what is easier to physically see? sins being forgiven or a man being able to walk knowing full well that he's a paralytic? to prove that He forgives sins and has authority on the earth, Jesus calls the man to stand up, pick up his mat, and go home! and he does! and the crowd praises God and affirms Jesus' authority.

so, here we see Jesus proving His divinity to the people, one of the many instances where we start to see who Jesus really is, more than just the Son of God, but God incarnate. so what's the bigger picture here? i think this is the most important part, that Jesus forgave the paralytic. but even Jesus asked this question Himself, "what's easier to see? sins being forgiven or a physical representation of that taking place?" and i guess we live in a christian society where it seems that the inward forgiving of sins is enough and it never really seems to be revealed in our lives. people never really see the divinity of Jesus through us, or even the divinity of the Father. and yes, to be forgiven for our sins is all good and beautiful, but to just have that and do nothing about it is the part that Jesus doesn't like. He wanted to show the authority He had on earth. we, as Christ followers, know that He has authority, but does the world see that in our lives?? so, Jesus' question is then given to us! "what's easier to see, thien? your sins that are forgiven inside of you? or how you start living in response to that??" whoa. i want the world to see the authority that Jesus has. i want everyone to see the power that He has to change lives. i want my friends and family to see that He's not just a God that changes inwardly and secretly, but changes our hearts so radically that it affects every aspect of our lives. let the world see the forgiveness of your sins through the way that you respond to it. let it show outwardly and beyond.