Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

If anyone should have been upset it should have been the paralyzed man, but he offered no complaint when after being carried to Jesus (the great Healer) he heard Him say, “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2). Instead, it was the scribes who thought ill in their hearts, perhaps even scoffing at the declaration of forgiveness made by Jesus. For truly, who can forgive sins?

 

That is the question, isn’t it? Who can forgive your sins? God can, but only Him? Jesus claimed to do so for Himself, which was a problem for those who didn’t believe that He was God. Can a man make a declaration of forgiveness of sins?

 

Let’s take a moment to be clear. Anybody can forgive what has been done against them personally. You have that authority for yourself. If someone slaps you across the face, you can forgive them or not. You can decide whether or not you are going to make them pay for what they have done. You can decide if you are going to slap them back or turn the other cheek. You can decide if you are going to a higher authority to press charges of assault, or just let it go. You can decide whether or not you will harbour resentment against that person, and whether you will trust them or befriend them in the future.

 

That is not what we are talking about in regard to today’s Gospel reading. For Jesus did not forgive the paralyzed man for a slap in the face or for telling lies about Him personally. He pronounced the forgiveness of all of his sins. Sins are by definition not just personal assaults of thought, word, and deed. Rather, they are offences committed against God. For God is the one who defines what is a sin. And when we commit any sin, even if it is to slap someone across the face or to tell lies about them, we are also giving offense to God who has defined that such a thing is wrong. It is evil. It deserves to be punished. It is an attack against Him and what He holds dear and His order for the preservation and good of His creation.

 

It was clear not just to the scribes standing by but to the paralyzed man himself, that when Jesus said, “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven,” He was speaking of a forgiveness that applied not only to what he may have done against Jesus of Nazareth, but what he had done to all people at any time, and especially what he had done against God in every transgression. Jesus declared to the paralyzed man that he would not be judged for those things, that God would not demand satisfaction for any of it, that God would not dismiss him as a beloved child, but continue to love and care for him in every way.

 

“Take heart, My son;” You are still a child of God. He has not turned away from you. Do not fear. Take heart. Be enheartened by His love for you. Be sure of His care for you. Be confident that He will bless and preserve you. Do not think that your physical infirmity means that your heavenly Father does not love you because of something you might have done or said or thought. “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.” You can live even with such a debilitating infirmity, knowing that God still loves you and will care for you and will uphold you in every sickness and trial.

 

And there was no protest from the paralyzed man, who was indeed still suffering his paralysis after Jesus had spoken these precious words to him. He did not voice any doubt or harbour any evil thoughts about it. It was enough for him to be forgiven, to be healed in soul even if not in body. He had received his greatest desire, to be forgiven and assured that he is God’s beloved child. He had faith in the words coming from the mouth of Jesus, that he was forgiven before God. There was no need for him to be immediately healed. With the declaration of forgiveness, he was willing to wait until the day of the resurrection of his body.

 

But the paralyzed man received an additional benefit because of the incredulity of those standing by and watching Jesus so as to criticize and condemn Him. The paralyzed man received full bodily healing in addition to the spiritual healing of forgiveness—not because he lodged a complaint with the manager or went to the customer service department to say that he did not receive from the Healer what he had expected. The paralyzed man was fully satisfied with the forgiveness he had received from Jesus of Nazareth.

 

But there were third party bystanders who were not pleased. Even before they could find the courage to speak up, Jesus knew the evil thoughts in their hearts: their warped thinking and their malicious intent against Him. They thought that in speaking the word of forgiveness Jesus was guilty of blasphemy, that is, bringing dishonour to God. For who can forgive sins but God alone?

 

Jesus claimed this authority for Himself, a man. Jesus publicly declared that the authority and power that belongs to God alone could be dispensed by a mere mortal. It was an infinite magnification of taking the glory of a World Series Grand Slam home run away from a baseball player by saying, “Anybody could do that. I could do that.”

 

Well, certainly anyone can say the words, “your sins are forgiven.” But who actually has the authority to say it? Who is there who can say it and it truly happens: your sins are forgiven, the divine judgment against them is dismissed, your relationship with God is restored in full, you are loved and blessed by Him, you will not be condemned to hell, but have everlasting life? Who has the authority to say that?

 

Well, God does. Not even the scribes would deny that. In fact, that is their point. God has the authority to do this, so you don’t. Therefore, they accused Jesus of blasphemy. But we know that Jesus is God. So He does have the authority to forgive sins. He is God in the flesh, God who became man, the eternal Son of God who came into the world to suffer Himself the punishment for the sins of all mankind.

 

He took on our human nature. He took on our sins and infirmities. He took our place under the wrath of God against sin and suffered and died upon the cross. His holy and divine blood was shed. His life was given, and when all was fully and completely atoned He rose from the dead so that we might know we have full and complete forgiveness for all of our sins through Him.

 

In His response to the scribes Jesus even referred to Himself as “the Son of Man,” whom the scribes would know as the One who appeared to the prophet Daniel in a vision (Daniel 7). The Son of Man is the One to whom God gives all authority and dominion, who is seated with the Ancient of Days, God the Father, in equal glory and majesty, and to whose authority the judgment of men is committed—the authority to forgive sins or to condemn for them.

 

But further, by the end of the Gospel reading, the crowds glorify God, not just because Jesus is the Son of Man, but because God has given such authority to forgive sins to men (Matthew 9:8); not just to one man but to men. It is through the incarnate Son of God that the authority that belongs to God alone is passed on to mankind. Jesus has the authority to forgive sins on earth, but then He also gives this authority to His disciples (John 20), and to His Church (Matthew 16, 18).

 

The question of this authority was central to the Lutheran Reformation of the Roman Catholic Church. The abuses that had become evident in the medieval church (to afflict consciences, to exert control and power, and also to extort money from believers) largely rested on the question of who has authority to forgive sins. If it is God alone, then we are left to wait until we see God at the judgment to know if He has forgiven us or not; and our life will be one of tormenting doubt and anguish of heart. If Jesus has given this authority to the Church, then there is a way for our conscience to be relieved now and for us to live with peace. But who in the Church exercises this authority and what will they have us do so that we might receive the forgiveness we desperately need?

 

Through our Gospel reading for today and other passages of the Bible, those who would be called Lutherans pointed out that the pope and the officials of the church do not control the ebb and flow of God’s forgiveness. It comes to us through His Word of grace which can be spoken by any Christian to another. The knowledge that God has provided forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus enables the believer to share this message with others.

 

One friend is not only able and willing, but has the authority from God to share the good news of forgiveness in Christ. Every Christian parent has the authority to tell their children, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

 

Pastors do not have any special infusion of God’s power to be able to forgive sins. That is not what, “in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all of your sins” is meant to suggest. It does mean that pastors have a specific calling from God to do this to the people to whom God has sent them to preach His Word and to administer the other means of God’s forgiveness (Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper). God has given you a man whom He has commanded to tell you this precious news. But every Christian has a calling, by virtue of their faith (their belief that God does indeed forgive sins for the sake of Christ), to impart that good news to one another.

 

The Lutheran confessions repeat over and over again that “Our churches teach that private Absolution should be retained in the churches” (AC. XI. 1). The Large Catechism includes an exhortation for the us to go to the pastor to confess our sins before him, so that we can be sure of the good and glad news that Jesus wants us to know. “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.”

 

Live with the knowledge that God does not count your sins against you but considers you His own beloved child. He will not condemn you in the day of judgment. He will not withhold His grace and mercy from you now. The trials and infirmities that you bear are not a sign that He has cast you away, but that He is at work to bring blessing and strength to you and to share His honour and glory with you as He upholds you in your afflictions.

 

“Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.” Don’t feel you have to hide that message within yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak it also to others. Take courage to speak it especially to those who have offended and hurt you. You have nothing to fear. God is rich and grace and mercy. Take courage. Don’t be afraid that you might be forgiving someone God does not want to forgive. He desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Take heart. Don’t think that His grace could ever be wasted. It can only be received by those who believe what Christ has done for them. But how will they believe unless the are given the good news.

 

“They glorified God, who had given such authority to men” (Matthew 9:8). May we so glorify Him and see others whom we forgive do the same.