Bible In A Year | Read: Matthew 9
1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man. Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus asks an interesting question about whether it is easier to say “Get up and walk” or “Your sins are forgiven”. Forgiving someone’s sin is something only God can do, but healing someone can be immediately seen. Jesus does both. He also forgives Matthew, a tax-collector, by asking the man to follow him. At the time, tax-collectors were considered to be the worst kinds of sinners. So Jesus continues to demonstrate his power to perform miracles, but adds the authority to forgive sin as well.
Although we would all like to witness a miracle like one of the healings we read of here, Jesus’ greatest miracle is the forgiveness of our sin. A healing only makes life better until we die; forgiveness lasts for eternity.
Words are cheap – show me that you can do it.”
We say this to people who talk a lot but cannot get things done. Jesus is not one of these people. When He says things, they happen – even if we cannot see them. How do we know that He forgives our sins? Because He said they are forgiven. But how? Because He can do anything He says – like making a lame person walk.
There are times we wonder if Jesus will do what He promises – the answers sometimes never seem to come. However, the answer is “Yes!!”. He always keeps His promises and He always does what He says. Do not be afraid to hold on to promises of God and trust Him.
Time to Pray
Father, today I will keep Your promises before my eyes. I will remember that You are 100% faithful to keep Your word. Even if they take longer than I want, You will always keep them. Father, I ask that You remind me of promises You have given me but that I have forgotten. I do not want to have answered prayers – and I forget to say thank you because I did not remember Your promise. I want to be thankful for all the good things that You have given to me. I want to be thankful for the answered prayers for my friends as well. In Jesus’ name I pray Amen.
Action Step
What is God showing me? What am I going to do about it?
Have you ever thought it would be cool to hear some C3 leaders discuss the daily verses, share about their lives and mostly just talk about nonsense? Of course not!…even though nobody has ever thought that we are still doing it. You can follow along with us each morning in a brand new podcast – Thursday Christmas Eve & Trent AKA Pastor Dad.
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