| 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. |
Mark 2:1 And again he
entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the
house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. |
Luke 5:17 And it came
to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and
doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee,
and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal
them. 18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day. |
| This story is as
much about the friends of the one with palsy as about the man himself.
It wasn't his faith that moved Jesus, but theirs. In the same way, our
faith in praying for someone who is sick can result in their healing even
when the one we're praying for is unwilling or unable to pray for
themselves. Jesus' response, though, emphasizes the priorities of
prayer. It does no one any good to be healed physically if they're
still lost in their sins. A healthy person who dies without accepting
Christ will still go to Hell. As important as it is to meet the
physical needs of those who are sick and hungry, we should also pray for
their spiritual needs, especially if they don't know Christ. Jesus
clearly says that the power required to forgive sins is much greater than
that needed to heal; salvation, the gift of new life, is the greatest
miracle of all, and one that we as Christians take for granted too often. One way of judging the spirits directing someone who professes to serve Christ is their attitude toward salvation. Any preacher, or any ministry, which gives greater priority to the working of miracles than to the saving of souls is either sadly misdirected, or not of Christ at all. Nothing else is more important than obtaining the gift of eternal life, including physical and mental health. We shouldn't neglect ministering to the needs of the body, but the world has a multitude of organizations that already do that. If we do no more than the world, any ministries we support lose their reason to exist. People like the Pharisees who scoff at the working out of salvation through witness and testimony are not only fools, but instruments of evil, as pointed out in Matthew's account. |
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| Matthew 9:9 And as
Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and
followed him. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. |
Mark 2:13 And he went
forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, and he
taught them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him. 15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. 16 And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? 17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. |
Luke 5:27 And after
these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me. 28 And he left all, rose up, and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. 30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. |
| There is always
a danger in having fellowship with unbelievers, in that at the very least we
are judged by the company we keep, as Jesus was. The difference in
this case is that Jesus was not visiting some establishment of ill repute,
but the home of a new follower. Levi, or Matthew, still had friends
who were unbelievers, and he invited them to see Jesus. It is exactly
that invitation that we are expected to give those we know, and meet; we
don't join in with their sinful lifestyle, but invite them to join us in the
body of Christ. Although we meet and interact with lost people every
day, most Christians tend to form relationships with other Christians as the
years go on, leaving their old friends behind in the world. The best
time to get our unbelieving friends to church, or witness to them about
Christ, is just after we are saved, as was the case with Matthew. The
one exception is probably our families, if we maintain a relationship with
them. While they are hardest to witness to many times, they are also
often the ones closest to us. Whether it's an unsaved spouse, unsaved
children, or unsaved siblings and cousins (not to mention aunts and uncles),
we have a built-in "pool" for witnessing. People with critical spirits, whether professing Christians or not, are always looking for occasions to tear down the reputation of believers. No Christian should be seen in a bar, or in any kind of compromising situation, short of some dire emergency. There are infinitely better places to witness, and any potential gain we may obtain is far outweighed by damage to our overall witness. I would never question a clear leading of the Lord to go into a den of evil seeking someone who is lost, but as a rule we should leave the places of the world to the world. |
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| Matthew 9:14 Then came
to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft,
but thy disciples fast not? 15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. |
Mark 2:18 And the
disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say
unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy
disciples fast not? 19 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. 21 No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles. |
Luke 5:33 And they
said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers,
and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink? 34 And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. 36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. 37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. 38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. 39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better. |
| It is
interesting that both the disciples of John and the Pharisees joined forces
to pose this question to Christ, prompted by his feast with Matthew like the
earlier charge of eating with sinners. This view is typical of
churches now that emphasize form over spirit, liturgy over true worship.
There is nothing inherently sacred in the act of fasting, or even in the
repeating of prayers. If God's Spirit is not in our worship, it is
nothing but an empty exercise in futility. As long as we are in
fellowship with Christ, and in the center of his will, fasting is not
necessary. The purpose of fasting is to refocus our thoughts and
spirits on the Lord, either in response to a specific need or because of our
general spiritual state. Jesus uses two similar illustrations about the impossibility of trying to make old habits and traditions, derived from human sources, fit into God's plan. This is not meant to imply that a part of God's Word ever becomes obsolete, and should be discarded, as some would do with the Old Testament. It does mean, as Christ pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, that old ways of looking at, and understanding, the truths of Scripture must be reexamined in the light of the insights that come from the Holy Spirit. The last statement Jesus gives here, found only in Luke's account, is very revealing; people who used to doing things in a certain way, and are in their comfort zone, have no desire to change. The Spirit is quenched, and the church itself is on its way to slow death, if it refuses to consider the "new wine" of the Spirit's inspiration, and contents itself with living in the past. That doesn't mean we should desert the "old paths" insofar as these reflect what the Bible teaches, but it does mean we should be open to new tools to accomplish the work of the ministry -- like the Internet. |
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