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Here we have the whole Christian life summarized in 12 verses. For this
man, however, it all takes place in one day. For us it is stretched out
over our lifetime. He is brought to Jesus; He forgives his sin; the man
is raised up. This reality is also described in the explanation of the
3rd article of the Apostles’ creed.
At first, we see crowds. In the house no room; there is not even room
outside the door. There is no easy approach to Jesus. Our eyes are moved
quickly from the crowd to four men with a man lying upon a cot. They
seek entrance but none is found. The men go to the roof and there begin
to dig a hole through the roof. A hole large enough for a cot to be
lowered through. Upon that cot a paralytic. A man incapable of moving; a
man incapable for doing for himself. He was utterly dependent upon
others, even to live. These four men bring this man to Jesus. In front
of everyone, this man is lowered to where Jesus was. Lowered not only
physically, but lowered emotionally even spiritually.
For what reason was this man brought to Jesus? He was sick; he was a
paralytic. His home, by virture of his sickness, was this cot-this
stretcher. He was confined due to his sickness to exist on his eventual
death bed. Ah! They brought this man for healing; that he would possibly
be cured from his paralysis and get off his death bed and live once
again.
Jesus saw their faith (notice the plural). Only Jesus can see faith.
Those crowds saw the deeds: bringing, digging, lowering...so did Jesus.
The crowds can only see outward action not what is in the heart. (This
is also true for us). He is being lowered so that Jesus can physically
heal him. So it seems. Next, Jesus makes a remarkable statement: "son,
your sins are forgiven." That’s not what is expected. This man needs
physical help and Jesus speaks about forgiveness.
There is a deeper problem and its not a new. Jesus sees the real
problem. In fact, it is a problem that goes back to the fall of Adam and
Eve. We see it displayed when Adam and Eve hid in the garden. They hid
because they were afraid. They were afraid to acknowledge that they had
sinned. And when confronted, they blamed someone else. Ultimately, they
blamed God.
Like this paralytic, we are incapable of coming to God. We seek cover
away from God’s presence. There is not even a desire to gather among
others much less to be before God Himself. He had no strength, no
ability. What was left to him was to die physically broken and spiritual
destitute with no one else to blame than himself. "I believe that I
cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, My Lord, or
come to Him."
And so we are brought, carried by others, in front of all, to the only
location where life is given: To Christ. All other avenues have failed;
literally dead ends. Jesus speaks and gives what is absolutely
necessary: Absolution: Your sins are forgiven.
Yet amidst such heavenly gifts being given, there were some questioning
and doubting His words. How can He say such things, "Your sins are
forgiven," only God alone can forgive sins. True enough! "I, even I, am
he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers
your sins no more." Do you not remember that Jesus saw their faith? Do
you not remember that Jesus knew what they were thinking in their
hearts? Here are qualities that God alone possesses. But you know that
Jesus is true God. You have no difficulty with what Jesus said. Or do
you? "I believe that when the called ministers of God deal with us by
His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant
sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of
their sins..., this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if
Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself." The heavenly gift of
forgivenness is given by our Lord to the Church. That gift is conveyed
and bestowed through the Office of the Ministry. Christ’s words in the
text for this morning are no different than the Holy Absolution given
this morning: Your sins are forgiven. Christ is present here. Not in
some abstract or general sense, but precisely where He has promised:
"The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples and said: ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not
forgive them, they are not forgiven.’" This man received what was truly
needed: Forgiveness.
Last week Jesus pointed to Himself as the Sacrifice to end all
sacrifices. Moses by inspiration had recorded the sacrifical system all
pointing to the greater One: Jesus the Christ. When Jesus came to John
he declared: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world." Jesus makes atonement by the shedding of His blood. His innocent
suffering and death redeems, purchases us from all sin, death, and the
power of the devil. By that fact, forgiveness is certain. That certainty
is now given and bestowed by Christ in His church on earth.
"In the same way, He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the
whole Christian Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the
one true faith."
To those thinking otherwise Jesus says: "Which is easier: to say to the
paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘raise up, take your cot
and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on
earth to forgive sins...’" For the teachers of the law and the crowds,
what difference would they have seen in this man receiving forgiveness?
Forgiveness, after all, is received by faith and not sight. Week in and
week out we come into Christ’s presence. Christ and His forgiveness
remains central, yet we walk out not seeing anything different, no
change. At least, now yet. Nevertheless, we think: how seemingly
useless, maybe even a waist of time. Until we look a bit closer at the
text.
Christ tells the man to get up. But the word for "get up" is in fact the
word for resurrection. This man is resurreceted by Jesus from even a
more profound deadness than simply the body. By all outward appearances,
this man seemed alive. How more wrong could we be? His resurrection from
the cot displays the profound reality that he is a new creation brought
about by the life-giving words of Christ. For where there is
forgiveness, there is life and salvation. We see ahead of time, what
this man receives, is what we already have...by faith: the resurrection
of the body.
Day in and day out we lay down upon our cot; we rise up after a quiet
night of slumber. Daily we die to sin in our baptismal waters; daily we
arise from those waters a new creation. Maybe Jesus telling this man to
take his cot home was to daily recall for him the place of his death to
sin and the place of his resurrection.
Amazed were the crowds as they exclaimed: "We have never seen anything
like this!" Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. Fearful at first
were the apostles but soon that fear turned to joy. Christ’s
resurrection from His stone cot is the certainty of our forgiveness and
with that the resurrection of our body from the dead. This man
experienced in one day this reality. For us that reality is certain but
stretches over a lifetime. Listen to the last two lines of the
explanation of the 3rd article: "In this Christian Church He daily and
richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last
Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and
all believers in Christ." This is most certainly true.
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