Sunday 6th October 2024. Trinity 19.
Pastor Pete Myers explains Matthew 9:1-8.
What is Jesus really all about?
What is Jesus really all about?
What is Jesus really all about?
There are all sorts of different people who claim to be “the church” and claim to be preaching the message of Jesus. But, it doesn’t take long to see that these people do not all say the same thing.
And the huge variety of different things that different churches preach really boils down to this question: What is Jesus really all about?
We get three hints that this passage is about that question: v. 1
And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
v. 3,
some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
and v. 8
When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
In these three verses Matthew explicitly points out that:
- Jesus is coming into his home town
- some people are questioning whether he has a right to do the things he’s doing
- and by the end of the story, the local populace have decided: “Wow! God has given humanity something awesome through this guy!”
So what is it that Jesus does that is so significant? What is Jesus really all about?
Don’t confuse Jesus’ two kingdoms!
Well before we look at how this passage answers that question, let’s take a moment first to think about why there is so much confusion about Jesus’ purpose and His preaching. And the key message on that is very simple: Don’t confuse Jesus’ two kingdoms!
Take a look again at vv. 3-4:
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?
The heart of the problem here is that the scribes are confused about the nature of the Messiah’s authority.
And Jesus knows they’re thinking this, precisely because, as God, he has authority even to know the thoughts of their hearts.
And the reason why so many churches preach so many different things today is also because people are confused about the nature of Jesus’ authority.
Jesus is king of kings and lord of lords, but he exercises his kingship in two different ways.
One way to describe it is that there are two realms, two kingdoms, each dealing with two problems and so each has two different types of solution.
One of these kingdoms is the church. By that I don’t mean a particular church. Or the legal charity that is the Biblical Lutheran Church of the UK. Christ’s kingdom is the invisible church, that’s everyone in the world who has faith in Christ.
The other of these kingdoms is civil society.
Christ is lord of both, and a Christian lives in both. But Christ rules differently over both of them. And a Christian should not confused either of them. Church and society both have their place, but one should not stand in place of another.
Each of these things is given by God in response to a different problem: Humanity has two problems: —sin —and death, the consequence of sin.
Sin is the source of all other problems. Sin means this: By nature the intentions of the thoughts of our hearts are only evil all the time.
Death is the consequence of sin. Death means this: Our lives do not fulfil the good created purpose that we were made to rule creation and are instead beset by problems, decay, and corruption and end in eternal judgement.
And here is the purpose of the two kingdoms: The church is given to apply God’s solution to the first problem of sin. Civil society is given to help mitigate and lessen the second problem of death.
And these two kingdoms operate in different ways. The solution to sin is faith in God’s Word. Whereas we mitigate the corruption of death by applying reason to God’s works of creation.
The reason there is cancer, depression and crime in the world is because of sin. The church has the solution to sin. But, the church does not have the cure for cancer, the solution for depression, or the silver bullet for crime.
- The people with responsibility to fight cancer, are biologists and doctors, who study the human body and apply reason to heal it.
- The people with responsibility to help with depression, are psychiatrists, psychologists, and counsellors, who study the human psyche and apply reason to heal it.
- The people with responsibility to prevent and punish crime, are the government, police and social workers, who study human behaviour and apply reason to help improve it.
And God commands all human beings to subdue the earth and rule. The reason we don’t do that is because of sin. But while the church has the solution to sin, the church does not advance science, teach maths, or design the latest fashions. That’s the job of scientists, teachers and designers.
As Christians we live in both these kingdoms, but we should not confuse them.
What is Jesus really all about? and What problem does the Gospel solve? We confuse Jesus’ two kingdoms when we don’t answer these questions correctly.
If you think the Gospel is here to solve the problem of sickness, then your church will hold “healing” services, and try to do the work of doctors and hospitals.
If you think the Gospel is here to solve psychological problems, then your church will try to draw psychological tips from the Bible and try to do the work of counsellors and psychologists.
If you think the Gospel is here to solve societal issues, then your church will get involved in local politics or become a climate change champion or centre its ministry on a foodbank.
These are all wonderful things that Christians may do while living out their vocations in love, but they are not the purpose of the church, so: Don’t confuse Jesus’ two kingdoms!
Because when Jesus first came into the world, He did not come to rule with the sword or create a physical kingdom. We will not see Jesus’ rule over civil society until he returns.
So, until he comes again: What is Jesus really all about?
This short story about the paralytic teaches us three things:
- Jesus forgives your sins
- Jesus preaches forgiveness of sins and
- Jesus gives you authority to forgive sins
Jesus forgives your sins
Think about the first of those: Jesus forgives your sins. Please look again at v. 2,
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.”
There are two events in this story that Matthew describes using the same structure:
- and behold…
- then Jesus sees something…
- and so Jesus speaks in response…
In this first event, Jesus sees the faith of the paralytic and those who carried him. And what Jesus says tells us everything about what Jesus understands this man’s biggest need is:
The man’s physical disability is not his biggest need. The man’s inevitably poor economic situation is not his biggest need. The man’s social status, career, training, education, or self-expression are not his biggest need.
His biggest need—according to Jesus—is for forgiveness of his sins.
And Jesus seems to think that this man, by faith, will also understand that, when he says:
“Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
What does Jesus think will most encourage this man of faith? The assurance of forgiveness of sins.
Jesus forgives your sins.
Jesus preaches forgiveness of sins
Secondly, Jesus preaches forgiveness of sins. Please look again at v. 3:
And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
They take offence, because they rightly understand that the authority to forgive sins is the highest authority there is.
And whereas previously Jesus had seen the other people’s faith, now He sees the scribes’ doubt, vv. 4-5:
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’?
And while the authority to forgive sins is the highest authority there is, of course it is a lot easier to say “your sins are forgiven” because if you speak without authority, nobody can see it.
This is why Jesus and his Apostles performed miracles alongside their preaching, as Paul says to the Corinthians in his second letter 12:12:
The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.
Jesus and the apostles were preaching a new covenant, and so they performed the signs of the Messiah and apostles. Those signs and wonders were not the point or substance of the preaching itself. The signs pointed to something beyond themselves. This is the way we should read all Jesus’ miracles. And that’s exactly what Jesus now shows in vv. 6-7:
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.
Jesus did not perform His miracles for their own sake. Jesus did not perform His miracles to establish a kingdom. Jesus did not perform His miracles to suggest that people’s physical needs are our biggest problem.
No, Jesus performed his miracles for this purpose: To preach the forgiveness of sins.
That preaching is what He gives to his disciples. That preaching is what He gives to the church. We hear that preaching every Sunday: —in confession and absolution —in the sermon preached from the Word —in the liturgy and when we take the Lord’s Supper.
That is the purpose of the church, the good news of the Gospel, and here’s what that means for our other needs: It doesn’t mean that we will live free from the consequences of sin now… It means we can have absolute confidence that Jesus has authority and control over those consequences.
The apostle Paul performed more signs of an apostle than anyone, and still lived with a thorn in his side.
That didn’t mean Paul lived in despair… …he lived in confidence that God has a good purpose for allowing that to happen.
So, because sin is the ultimate source of all problems, the authority to forgive sins means authority over the consequences of sin.
That’s why Jesus preaches forgiveness of sins.
Jesus gives you authority to forgive sins
But finally He goes even a step further than this… Jesus gives you authority to forgive sins. Look at v. 8:
When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
Why does Matthew phrase the final verse in that way? That’s an odd thing to say isn’t it? And it is a unique emphasis in Matthew.
Mark ends the same story by saying:
they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
And Luke says something similar:
they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
Only Matthew adds:
“who had given such authority to men”
His unique emphasis serves a purpose to point forward to Matthew 16:18-19:
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
What is Jesus really all about?
What is Jesus really all about? Well… Praise God for His work through civil society protecting us from the consequences of sin and advancing our rule over creation.
Praise Him for doctors, psychologists, counsellors, scientists, lawyers, politicians, social workers, teachers, designers, artists, waiters and refuse workers.
Praise Him for these civil works, and as a Christian fulfil your vocations from faith.
But… Don’t confuse God’s two kingdoms! Those are wonderful purposes of civil society, but they are not the purpose of the church.
And again and again in history, when the church tries to replace civil society, it simply doesn’t do as good a job as those trained and dedicated are able to do, and the church loses clarity on what Christ’s true purpose for his kingdom of priests is, which is nothing more complex that this:
Jesus forgives your sins.
So Jesus preaches forgiveness of sins.
And, amazingly, Jesus gives you—yes you—authority to forgive sins.
Whatever your suffering, your employment, your family situation, or your past mistakes… He forgives you… and he anoints you to be a priest, a minister, to all and any around you to utter those words on His behalf that were so blasphemous to the scribes’ ears:
Take heart… your sins are forgiven
May God be glorified, who has given such authority to women and men.
This is what Jesus is really all about.