Matthew 9
1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
e read how Jesus went to His own city Capernaum as God led Him.
Jesus always did God’s will. That was His meat and drink. He said that not everyone saying Lord Lord shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven but those who do the will of God in heaven.
If you want your life to be blessed, ask God to reveal His will for your life and follow that your whole life long.
What does the Lord say to you today? Are you doing your own thing or holding out your hand to be led by Him? It’s not just young people who do their own thing, even older people follow their own way and do not know what it is to be led by God.
Go through the Bible and study the Bible to see what God wants.
Each one needs to ask himself “what kind of life am I living?” Are people like the king of pop your role-model or do you follow in the footsteps of the men of God?
Ask God to lead you even if you hadn’t done it in the past. Stay steadfast to His call and leading in your life, even if He leads you where you do not want to go.
From the second verse we read of the paralytic that they brought to Him. It starts with the word “behold” to attract attention to the new turn of events.
Jesus wants us to take careful note of this man. He was in great distress and pain. He had become a burden to those around him; he couldn’t do anything for himself anymore. He was totally paralyzed. But in his need he had heard about Jesus, His miracles and preaching, and he sought His help.
Note also that these four men brought the paralytic to Jesus out of love; they did not charge him anything. There are some who do everything they do only because they can get something out of it.
Whatever you need, firstly go to the Lord. Asa received a strong rebuke and lost God’s blessing because in his illness he sought the help of physicians and did not go to the Lord first with his need. It is not wrong to make use of doctors, but we must always go to God first with our need. Let He then lead us in the way we should follow.
Go to a child of God with your burden of sin or the need that you have and together you can bring it to the Lord in prayer. However do not go to one who is spiritually blind, without discernment but to those who live close to the Lord.
These four men were blest of God for bringing the paralytic to Jesus. Blessed are those who brings others to the Lord.
These people used drastic means to bring the paralytic to Jesus. They made a hole in the roof, big enough for the paralytic and his bed to go through.
We read that when Jesus saw their faith (all of them), He forgave him his sin and then healed him.
Note also that neither the paralytic nor the men who brought him spoke anything; the paralytic’s eyes spoke and the deed of the others spoke so that Jesus healed him.
He was physically sick but it was obvious that he had a greater need, his sins. So Jesus dealt with his sins first.
There are those who carry a burden of sin, not like those without a conscience who can lie, steal, slander, murder and lust without feeling any guilt. Their conscience is already seared as with a hot iron.
The state of the soul is of greater importance than the body. Jesus healed his soul first and then his body.
You may not be physically sick but be spiritually dying. It is a much greater disease than cancer or any other physical sickness.
Even if that man had not been healed physically he would have gone home rejoicing for he had received something far greater than physical healing.
When the scribes heard that he forgave his sins they said He blasphemed, for only God could forgive sins. They did not realise that Jesus was God. They thought He was blaspheming, while they were blaspheming.
So Jesus asked them, which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk.
To God both are alike easy. He heals both the body and the soul.
No matter what troubles you, depression, guilt, etc, you can come to Him with your problems for healing.