Jesus' Authority Over Sins

It's good to be with you this morning.

It's good to be here with you guys,

to bring God's word to you.

Yeah, I just want to say Brittany and I

! and our family, we have delighted in being here.

It's almost been a year now.

We've been loving getting to know each one of you

in this church and the countless ways

you guys have served us and our family

in this season that we've had.

So I can't thank you guys enough for that.

So I hope this morning then

this word will bring you great courage

and it will build us up this morning.

So let's now stand together as I read the word for us.

We're in Matthew chapter 9,

Matthew 9:1–17

verses 1 through 17 this morning.

If you don't have a Bible,

we have some extra Bibles in the back table there.

If you need a Bible, want a Bible,

someone can get it to you.

So would you raise your hand?

Can you hand actually for us real quick?

No?

Okay.

Okay, great.

Great.

So again, Matthew chapter 9,

Matthew 9:1–17

verses 1 through 17.

And getting into a boat,

he crossed over and came to his own city.

And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic,

lying on a bed.

And when Jesus saw their faith,

he said to the paralytic,

take heart, my son,

your sins are forgiven.

And behold,

some of the scribes said to themselves,

this man is blaspheming.

But Jesus,

knowing their thoughts,

said,

why do you think evil in your hearts?

For which is easier to say,

your sins are forgiven,

or to say,

rise and walk.

But that you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins.

He then said to the paralytic,

rise,

pick up your bed,

and go home.

And he rose

and went home.

And when the crowd saw it,

they were afraid,

and they glorified God,

who had given such authority to men.

And as Jesus passed on from there,

he saw a man called Matthew

sitting at the tax booth.

And he said to him,

follow me.

And he rose and followed him.

And as Jesus reclined

at the table in the house,

behold,

many tax collectors and sinners

came and were reclining

with Jesus and his disciples.

And when the Pharisees saw this,

they said to the disciples,

why does your teacher

eat with tax collectors and sinners?

But when he heard it,

he said,

those who are well

have no need of a physician,

but those who are sick,

go and learn what this means.

I desire mercy

and not sacrifice.

For I came not to call

the righteous,

but sinners.

Then the disciples of John

came to him saying,

why do we and the Pharisees fast?

But your disciples do not fast.

And Jesus said to them,

can the wedding guests mourn

as long as the bridegroom

is with them?

The days will come

when the bridegroom

is taken away from them

and then they will fast.

No one puts a piece

of unshrunk cloth

on an old garment

for the patch tears away

from the garment

and a worse tear is made.

Neither is new wine

put into old wineskins.

If it is,

the skins burst

and the wine is spilled

and the skins are destroyed.

But new wine

is put into fresh wineskins

and so both are preserved.

May the Lord add

a blessing to his word.

You guys can sit down.

And I'm going to pray

real quick for us

as we launch into this sermon.

Lord, thank you.

Thank you for your word.

Thank you for giving us

all things for life

and godliness.

Thank you for your son, Jesus.

Father,

help us this morning

to see your word.

Open the eyes

of our hearts, Lord,

to conform us

to your image,

to make us

more like you,

to throw off our flesh

and put on the new,

to walk in step

with your spirit.

We pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So this morning

we have these three stories,

three different scenes

you have most likely

heard,

taught on individually

at different times,

drawing out the small details

of each account.

But today we are going to be

looking at these three accounts

together

and I believe

we will find

that they are all

more interconnected

than we first realized.

I want you to see

that these are narrated

not so much

for the small details

that we are accustomed to

of each event

but for the radical pronouncements

made by Jesus

to which they give rise.

And radical they are.

They are radical

especially for the Jewish audience

that he is speaking to

here today.

For the first time

the kingdom of God

we see

Jesus that is

the kingdom of God

that Jesus is ushering in

begins to encounter

overt criticism

from traditional Jewish piety.

So this morning

as we walk

through each of these

different scenes

my hope is that

you will see

Jesus Christ

didn't come

to receive our sacrifices.

He came

to show mercy.

He came

to be

our sacrifice.

Again

that's

Jesus Christ

didn't come

to receive our sacrifices

but he came

to show mercy

and he came

to be

our sacrifice.

sacrifice.

So let

let us then

dive into

the scene one

here

our first point

the authority

to forgive sin.

In verses

one through eight

here we see

Matthew telling

his readers

of his account

of the healing

of the paralytic man.

Jesus leaving

the guardians

to get into a boat

to cross back

over to the sea

of Galilee

to his hometown

Capernaum

where he did

most of his ministry

he resided

at this time.

The town

that actually

welcomed him

compared to

the guardians

the guardians

didn't want him

they wanted him

to leave

but Capernaum

we see people

coming to him

wanting to hear

more from him

to interact

with him

to meet him

they wanted

to hear

his teaching

so people

are coming

to Jesus

they want

to hear

from Jesus

so the story

of the paralytic man

often involves

the description

of immense crowds

coming around

the house

and this paralytic man

coming

carried by his

three friends

and lowering him

into the house

ripping open the ceiling

and all the dirt

falling in

and Jesus seeing this

we usually have

all of that

in description

but most of the time

it's referenced

from the gospel of Luke

who gives much more detail

than Matthew

so this prompts

the question then

for us

as we look at this text

why?

why does Matthew

leave out most

of these details?

and I believe

that Matthew

this morning

today

wants us

to see

there's an important

interaction

that's happening here

he gets down

to the specifics

and the specifics

here

he wants us to see

I believe

is that Jesus

has the authority

to forgive sins

and this is the first time

in the gospel of Matthew

that we actually

get to see that

we see Jesus

doing such a thing

the first time

he does

forgive someone

an individual

of their sin

we have though

seen that he holds

a unique

authoritative teaching

he holds

the authority

over all of the cosmos

healing ailments

calming storms

and casting out demons

but one could even

be a prophet

sent by God

and do these things

Moses parted

the Red Sea

as we see

in Exodus 14

Elijah healed

the widow's son

in 1 Kings

but Jesus

Jesus is no

ordinary man

no ordinary prophet

Jesus is the only

one of the prophets

priests

kings

to ever speak

and act

with such authority

as we're seeing

here today

he doesn't need

a staff

that God gave

and instructed him

to use

he doesn't need

to ask God

for the power

to heal

or cast out demons

and now

right now

we're seeing

that he doesn't

need the temple

system

the Judaism

temple system

of sacrifice

to forgive

someone of their sin

as he says here

take heart

my son

and know

that your sons

your sins

are forgiven

this was not

just a future

forgiveness

this was instantaneous

your sins

are forgiven

the paralytic

was reaping

the benefits

of that forgiveness

immediately

he did nothing

though

to receive it

he did nothing

but there's

no only one way

that this is possible

there's only one way

that it's possible

for Jesus

to forgive

this paralytic

sins

which is why

it doesn't sit

well with the scribes

who are watching

this happen

right before them

they say

this man is

blaspheming

because Jesus

is doing

only what God

can do

what only God

alone can do

and that is

forgive sins

as Psalm

Psalms 130:3–4

130

verses 3

through 4

says

if you

oh Lord

should mark

iniquities

oh Lord

who could stand

but

with you

there is

forgiveness

that you

may be feared

so it was

clearly known

that this was

the prerogative

of God alone

no ordinary

created being

could do this

so this

so any

ordinary

created being

that makes

this claim

puts himself

into the creator's

place here

yet

as we have seen

have been seeing

in this gospel

Jesus is

no ordinary

man

Jesus calls

them out

calls these

Pharisees out

these scribes

for their

unbelieving hearts

and his

accusation of

breaking the

third commandment

why do you

think evil

in your hearts

and he responds

with this

rhetorical question

for which is

easier to say

your sins

are forgiven

or rise

and walk

I mean

of course

between these

two

it is easier

for one to say

your sins

are forgiven

since divine

forgiveness

of sin

cannot be

verified

or falsified

on this

side of heaven

right

but physical

healing

can be tested

it is

empirical

the proof

is in the

pudding

as some

people

will say

so today

one is

healed

but

if he's

healed

then we can

measure it

we can see it

but if he's

not healed

he's not

healed

we can see

that

so it

makes that

man a liar

if he is

not healed

and it

makes him

be crazy

so to show

them that

this

that he

actually has

the power

and his

declaration

of divine

forgiveness

is not just

wishful thinking

not just some

Disney fairy tale

that he's

conjuring up here

no he declares

then

the paralytic

healed

and not only

does he send

him on his

way

but I find

this humorous

but he picks

up his own

bed on his

way out

he carries

his own

bed

and goes

home

that's a

pretty incredible

measure of

healing

like

he's not

only just

healed from

being paralyzed

which if you

guys know

in physical

therapy

I mean most

of you know

we've had

church members

here going

through physical

therapy

it takes

months for

some minor

injuries or

surgeries that

you go through

it takes

months even

years to

find rehabilitation

but you

suffer something

major like

being paralyzed

it could take

a lifetime

if you are

to even

see progress

so this

guy gets

up and

literally

carries his

bed out

so the

crowd here

has a

right response

they respond

correctly

and they

have awe

they have

fear

and they

see that

God is at

work here

they see

that Jesus

has the

authority

and the

power to

forgive sins

and they bring

praise to

God

we could

go on

and I

could say

a lot

more about

this passage

but what

Matthew wants

us to take

away from

this event

is that

Jesus holds

the divine

authority

to forgive

sins

Jesus

begins to

show the

great magnitude

of mercy

he brings

in this new

kingdom he is

ushering in

he may heal

us when we

are ill

but he

came to

fundamentally

forgive us

of our

sins

so now

as we

move on

to this

next scene

this next

story in

verses 9

through 13

we'll see

that it

goes deeper

than that

it goes

deeper

still

Jesus not

only holds

this authority

but he has

the desire

his heart

is to

forgive

sinners

as we'll

see here

in point

number two

his heart

of mercy

so in

this next

scene

Jesus

makes the

next move

and he's

walking along

and he

calls

Matthew

he calls

a tax

collector

and he

says to

this tax

collector

come

follow me

now

you guys

probably know

a little bit

about tax

collectors

in the

Bible

they were

they were

not the

most loved

people in

this time

during this

culture

in this

time period

you could

say

people probably

even found

them a little

bit loathing

repulsive

they had

disdain

for them

so even

today

I would

say

most of

us

probably

don't

enjoy

tax

collectors

or what

they represent

that is

the IRS

taxes

they're not

great

you know

and especially

saying this

here in

Boston

of all

places

Bostonians

can resonate

it wasn't

too long

ago

you know

Bostonians

tarred

tax collectors

right across

the river

here

and threw

a bunch

of tea

into the

harbor

to protest

the oppressive

regime that

they felt

from Britain

especially

from the

tax collectors

so the

tax collectors

in the

Roman Empire

ones like

Matthew

they could

assess

the goods

subjectively

they could

assess their

value subjectively

and they could

take whatever

they want

they could

take the

extra

on top

of what

they assess

and keep

it for

themselves

so this

created an

extra level

of disdain

for these

tax collectors

for the

Jewish people

especially

when one

was their

own

when one

was their

own

like

Matthew

supporting

the oppressive

regime

taking money

from his

own people

and giving

it to

Rome

so what

Jesus does

here

is rather

bold

and shocking

for his

audience

he calls

Matthew

a tax

collector

to be

one of

his own

to be

his

disciple

and more

than that

though

he doesn't

just call

Matthew

what do we

see next

that he

does

he's in

Matthew's

home

as we know

from context

from other

gospels

he's in

Matthew's

home

he's in

Matthew's

home

not just

there

present

but with

Matthew

alone

but he's

also

reclining

as Jesus

as Matthew

says

he's

reclining

at table

he's

dining

he's

feasting

but not

only with

Matthew

but with

other

tax collectors

other

other buddies

of Matthew's

that he

works with

with other

undesirable

sinners

as well

as one

commentator

said

these people

were the

undesirable

individuals

of Jewish

society

they were

most likely

Jewish

by upbringing

but did

not observe

the Jewish

rituals

they did

not go to

the temple

like they

should

they didn't

observe

the ordinances

the rituals

the forms

that they

should have

they were

unclean

sinners

so this

gives a

prime

opportunity

for just

more

tension

to build

for more

confrontation

once again

with Jesus

and the

Jewish

leaders

and this

time

it's

the

Pharisees

the

Pharisees

now

are

jumping

in

on this

they were

looking

in

and they

were

seeing

Jesus

reclining

at table

eating

feasting

drinking

with tax

collectors

in this

home

probably

a lavish

feast

as well

knowing

the tax

collectors

with a

bunch

of other

undesirable

unclean

outcast

people

of the

town

so they

were probably

pretty

confused

pretty

appalled

at what

was going

on

this

was

pretty

scandalous

for

Jesus

to

do

it

brought

a lot

of

confusion

so it

led

Jesus

to

ask

why

does

your

teacher

eat

with

tax collectors

and sinners

why is he

doing this

this question

though

isn't really

a wrong

question

to ask

for the

Old Testament

does

celebrate

and encourage

and even

command

God's

people

to not

associate

with

the

sinner

with

the

unclean

as

Psalm

Psalms 26:4–5

26

verses

4-5

says

I do

not

sit

with

the

men

of

falsehood

nor

do

I

consort

with

hypocrites

I hate

the

assembly

of

evildoers

and I

will

not

sit

with

the

wicked

or

Psalm

1-1

says

blessed

is

the

man

who

walks

not

in

the

counsel

of

the

wicked

nor

stands

in

the

way

of

sinners

nor

sits

in

the

seat

of

scoffers

but

a

gentle

tactful

response

those

who

are

well

have

no

need

of

a

physician

but

those

who

are

sick

go

and

learn

what

this

means

I

desire

mercy

and

not

sacrifice

for

I

came

not

to

call

the

righteous

but

sinners

Jesus

is

trying

to

take

a

moment

here

he's

trying

to

help

I

believe

he's

trying

to

help

the

Pharisees

along

and help

them

remember

what

the

scriptures

actually

teach

to

remember

the

heart

of

God

Pharisees

you

of

all

people

should

know

that

the

Messiah

comes

to

save

sinners

and

in

fact

if

you

would

see

your

own

desperate

need

for

forgiveness

if

you

knew

the

scriptures

as

well

as

you

claim

if

you

let

the

scriptures

seep

down

into

your

heart

you

would

know

this

as

psalm

Psalms 14:2–3

14

verses

2-3

says

the

lord

looks

down

from

heaven

on

the

children

of

man

to

see

if

there

are

any

who

understand

who

seek

after

God

they

have

all

turned

aside

together

they

have

become

corrupt

there

is

none

who

does

good

not

even

one

but

we

also

see

the

heart

of

God

then

in

psalm

86

15

but

you

oh

lord

are

a

god

merciful

and

gracious

slow

to

anger

and

abounding

and

steadfast

love

and

faithfulness

they

were

missing

this

and

Jesus

was

calling

them

out

on

their

own

self

righteousness

righteousness

is

not

necessarily

wrong

here

it

should

be

the

aim

of

becoming

a

good

disciple

to

grow

in

holiness

and

Christ

likeness

and

God

likeness

but

the

sort

of

righteousness

here

that

Jesus

has

in

view

and

he

mentions

here

put

sacrifice

before

mercy

it

is

not

the

righteousness

of

the

kingdom

of

heaven

it

is

a

self

made

righteousness

focused

on

one's

own

performance

these

Pharisees

these

people

they

knew

the

ins

and

the

outs

of

the

temple

sacrificial

system

they

became

more

focused

on

the

system

rather

than

the

purpose

of

the

system

the

heart

behind

the

system

you

Pharisees

he

said

he

he

Jesus

looking

at

the

Pharisees

you

Pharisees

have

forgotten

God's

heart

of

mercy

they

lost

sight

of

God's

heart

and

his

goodness

given

to

them

in

this

sacrificial

system

in

his

word

and

they

became

more

focused

on

their

own

performance

thinking

highly

of

themselves

not

seeing

that

they

too

were

in

need

of

a

physician

they

too

were

sick

and

ultimately

they

could

not

extend

compassion

and

service

to

others

they

lost

sight

of

that

they

lost

sight

of

mercy

and

thus

they

became

a

hindrance

to

God

displaying

his

mercy

to

his

people

the

temple

of

the

living

God

and

the

sacrificial

system

was

a

place

and

a

way

for

sinners

to

come

and

receive

the

forgiveness

of

their

sins

to

meet

with

God

and

to

know

his

presence

now

this

is not

to

say

that

the

system

was

a

failure

rather

it

was never

the

end

goal

it

was

never

meant

to

be

the

final

say

so

and

I

believe

these

Pharisees

probably

thought

that

Jesus

would

continue

this

on

to

make

this

a

better

system

a

better

Judaism

it

was

a

tool

though

used

to

do

exactly

what

it

was

intended

for

to

reveal

the

holiness

of

our

God

to

reveal

our

complete

and

utter

sinful

depravity

and

yet

to

provide

mercy

to

provide

a

way

to

come

to

commune

to

meet

with

God

the

temple

and

its

sacrifices

pointed

to

this

truth

that

our

heavenly

father

is

completely

and

utterly

committed

to

reconciling

sinners

to

himself

he

is

completely

and

utterly

committed

to

reconciling

sinners

to

himself

so

church

we

have

a

wonderful

and

merciful

father

that

we

do

not

deserve

!

to

live

homeboy

!

Jesus

here

wasn't

just

coming to

indiscriminately

hang out

with sinners

hang out

with a

bunch of

drunks

and

prostitutes

and tax

collectors

being an

easy

live

and let

live

homeboy

no

he was

fulfilling

his

mission

as he

says

to

call

sinners

and

sinners

were

drawn

to

him

he

gladly

spent

time

with

those

who

were

open

to

hearing

his

gospel

he

forgave

sinners

and

he

embraced

repentant

sinners

as

his

own

so

please

don't

hear

me

this

is

not

a

license

to

just

go

hang

out

with

sinners

and

hang

out

in

the

bars

and

just

kick

it

with

them

no

there

is

an

intent

there

is

a

heart

there

is

a

mission

that

Jesus

had

and

that

was

to

come

and

to

give

his

gospel

to

call

them

to

repentance

to

provide

a

way

for

them

to

have

mercy

to

receive

mercy

this

is

why

he

God

sent

his

only

son

Christ

Jesus

into

the

world

as

we

read

to

leave

heaven

to

embrace

humanity

into

this

world

to

be

our

perfect

sacrifice

he

didn't

come

to

condemn

the

world

not

to

shake

his

head

at

us

in

disgust

he

didn't

come

to

meet

us

halfway

rather

he

went

the

full

length

to

call

to

call

us

to

call

sinners

to

repentance

he

came

to

meet

us

right

where

we

are

in

our

sinful

unclean

state

to

extend

the

fullness

of

his

mercy

through

his

son

Jesus