What We Most Need
Read Matthew 9:1-8.
Jesus never wastes a moment. In each and every situation, he gives the person who is in front of him exactly what they need. In the midst of these healing stories, once again we are reminded that healing is about more than having physical ailments taken away. Healing is meant to reach much deeper into the soul.
Jesus is back home in this chapter, in Capernaum (again, remember, chronology and geography aren't Matthew's primary concern, but here he seems to want his readers—most likely Galileans—to see themselves in this story). And, as he arrives, some men bring a paralyzed man to him. They think the man's issue is his paralysis. He can't move. We're not told here how long he was paralyzed, but someone got the bright idea that Jesus could make him well again. And so he does, but not in the way the friends, the man or the religious leaders think he should. Jesus looks into the heart and gives the man what he most needs.
"Your sins are forgiven."
Jesus goes on to make the point (once the religious leaders start grumbling) that it's easier to say "you're forgiven" than to make a man walk, but to prove that he can forgive sins, he also gives the man back the ability to walk. However, I think there's something deeper here Jesus is trying to do. Beyond his physical illness, this man had a paralyzed soul. He had sin in his past, or in his present, that he believed was beyond being forgiven. His paralyzed body was only a symbol of what was going on inside of him. Rather than giving him what he thought he wanted, Jesus gave him what he most needed. He healed his soul.
How many of us long for the same thing? We may have physical illnesses that we long to have healed, but when we stop for a moment and look deep inside, we often have to admit that if there were only one thing we could ask for and receive from Jesus, it would be a healing of the soul. It would be a removal of the guilt we feel for that sin committed long ago, the one no one knows about. It would be a chance to take back those words we sharply spoke to that friend, the one who used to be closer than a brother. It would be the ability to stand in the communion line and not feel completely unworthy. Maybe we just long to hear Jesus say...
"Your sins are forgiven."
If so, then hear them today. Place yourself on the mat in the place of this paralyzed man. Look up into Jesus' face and ignore all the crowd around you. Tell him what you most want, what you most need. He already knows what it is. Look into his eyes and then listen really closely as he says to you...
"Your sins are forgiven."
And in the hearing of those words, be healed.
Jesus never wastes a moment. In each and every situation, he gives the person who is in front of him exactly what they need. In the midst of these healing stories, once again we are reminded that healing is about more than having physical ailments taken away. Healing is meant to reach much deeper into the soul.
Jesus is back home in this chapter, in Capernaum (again, remember, chronology and geography aren't Matthew's primary concern, but here he seems to want his readers—most likely Galileans—to see themselves in this story). And, as he arrives, some men bring a paralyzed man to him. They think the man's issue is his paralysis. He can't move. We're not told here how long he was paralyzed, but someone got the bright idea that Jesus could make him well again. And so he does, but not in the way the friends, the man or the religious leaders think he should. Jesus looks into the heart and gives the man what he most needs.
"Your sins are forgiven."
Jesus goes on to make the point (once the religious leaders start grumbling) that it's easier to say "you're forgiven" than to make a man walk, but to prove that he can forgive sins, he also gives the man back the ability to walk. However, I think there's something deeper here Jesus is trying to do. Beyond his physical illness, this man had a paralyzed soul. He had sin in his past, or in his present, that he believed was beyond being forgiven. His paralyzed body was only a symbol of what was going on inside of him. Rather than giving him what he thought he wanted, Jesus gave him what he most needed. He healed his soul.
How many of us long for the same thing? We may have physical illnesses that we long to have healed, but when we stop for a moment and look deep inside, we often have to admit that if there were only one thing we could ask for and receive from Jesus, it would be a healing of the soul. It would be a removal of the guilt we feel for that sin committed long ago, the one no one knows about. It would be a chance to take back those words we sharply spoke to that friend, the one who used to be closer than a brother. It would be the ability to stand in the communion line and not feel completely unworthy. Maybe we just long to hear Jesus say...
"Your sins are forgiven."
If so, then hear them today. Place yourself on the mat in the place of this paralyzed man. Look up into Jesus' face and ignore all the crowd around you. Tell him what you most want, what you most need. He already knows what it is. Look into his eyes and then listen really closely as he says to you...
"Your sins are forgiven."
And in the hearing of those words, be healed.
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