“Who on Earth Can Forgive Sins?”

Who on earth can forgive sins? The scripture we are considering is Matthew 9:1-8. After the introduction, I want to speak about four points: (1) The Paralytic; (2) The Problem; (3) The Possibility; and (4) The Pronouncement of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Throughout his gospel Matthew presents Jesus as one having authority. He calls him “the Son of Abraham,” “the Son of David,” “the King of Israel.” He is “God with us – Immanuel.” People were amazed at his teachings, we read at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Unlike the professional theologians and the scribes, Jesus taught with authority. He said, “You have heard such and such things, but I say unto you – ego de lego .” Jesus is the one who has authority over diseases. He is the one who has authority over demons and nature. The wind and the sea obey him. “What sort of a man is this?” the disciples wondered. They thought they had known him, but somehow they did not know him. He was beyond their knowledge. And Jesus Christ has authority over death. He raises the dead.

In this particular passage in Matthew 9, we now discover that Jesus Christ has authority over sin. What is the greatest need of man? This text tells us it is not food, clothing or shelter. The greatest need of man is not for peace between nations. It is not economic prosperity, nor for the healing of various diseases. This scripture teaches us that the greatest need of man is not physical but spiritual. Man needs forgiveness of sins.

So our question is, “Who on earth can forgive sins?” In chapter 1 of his gospel, Matthew introduced Jesus in this way: “His name is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” Jesus alone can forgive sins. He alone is the Savior of the world.

Having gone for awhile from his headquarters in Capernaum to minister to other people, such as the man on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee who had been possessed of many demons, now Jesus returns to Capernaum and enters the house. He was there for many days. This house may have belonged to Peter and Andrew, or it could have been a house that was given to him for his use. Jesus himself did not own any house.

Having returned, then, for many days he was teaching in the house. What did he teach? The text says, “the word,” which is the word of God. He was preaching about the kingdom of God: how man should repent and believe on Christ to enter into the kingdom of God and to enjoy righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:12, “‘From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men will lay hold of it.'” Many were repenting and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Many were showing spiritual courage, vigor, power and determination to enter the kingdom, despite the ever-present threat of persecution.

In his account of this miracle Luke tells us that scribes and Pharisees from every village in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem were in attendance. The scribes were professional theologians, trained and ordained to function as custodians of religious orthodoxy. They were guardians of the teaching office of Judaism. Some of them were members of the Sanhedrin. They would challenge Jesus concerning his refusal to submit to the halachah – the oral law, the oral tradition, which the scribes regarded as binding in its authority. These scribes did not come to believe in Christ. They came to see whether Jesus was kosher or not, whether his teaching conformed to theirs or not. It was their duty to check him out and to report to the Sanhedrin.

The Paralytic

So the first point is that there was a paralytic, a paraplegic, a impotent man – a man of total inability. This man was being carried, borne by four other people. Jesus had not been in Capernaum for awhile, but now he was home. News of his presence spread abroad, and it reached, especially, the ears of five people, of whom one was a paralytic. This man couldn’t move. He had to be carried from place to place. But he and his friends had heard the stories of how this Jesus of Nazareth had healed many people – this Jesus who had power and authority, this Jesus who could calm the storm and the sea, this Jesus who could cast out thousands of demons from a man and make him instantly whole.

And these five, therefore, concluded that Jesus was able to heal this paraplegic, this paralytic, this impotent man. They all believed in Jesus. So the friends of the paralytic carried him to Capernaum. It was hard work. They probably had a long journey, carrying the paralytic, but these four loved their impotent friend. In the same way, it is good to have friends who guide us to Jesus the Savior.

Let me ask you this morning: Do you have such love for sinners? The Bible says, “God so loved the world that he gave up his only begotten Son.” “The world” means the world of sinners, the world of God’s enemies, the world of ungodly people, the world of rebellious men. May God enable us to carry sinners to the Lord Jesus, especially beginning with members of our own families. We must realize that every sinner is impotent, and that he is suffering from total inability to save himself. He must come to Jesus. He must be brought to Jesus. I hope your house is an open house, where you will not only invite fellow believers, but you will also invite sinners. You should have a sign outside: Sinners are welcome in this house. So the house of Jesus was an open house.

The Problem

But there was a problem. The house was an open house but it was filled. So these people looked, but there was no way to enter. Many people were crowded around the door, and there was no room for this sinner in the house. No one was going to give this impotent, wretched man entry into the presence of God. Most of the space was taken by the unbelieving critics of Jesus. So what could the five do? They probably had come from a far place. They were tired. Because of the crowd, they couldn’t meet with Jesus. Should they just go home? No. These five had faith.

Most of the people who were in the presence of Jesus in the house had no faith, but these five had faith in Jesus Christ. They heard of him. It could be that the four had met with Jesus before and received great grace, encouragement, forgiveness of sins and physical healing. Then they may have told the paralytic about Jesus, and he also believed. He may have said, “Please, take me to Jesus. I am sick and tired of being in this wretched condition. No one can help me. I believe Jesus will help me and heal me.” These five had vibrant faith. The kingdom of God, I said, is forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. Forceful men are men of faith in Jesus and his teaching. They are those who say, “Come what may, I believe in Jesus Christ.” These five were forceful men. They would not be deterred by any problem. They would say, “This mountain shall be removed.” Their faith in Jesus would move this problem mountain. Let me assure you, no problem can stand in the way of Jesus Christ.

Look at Mark 11, beginning with verse 22: “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.'” Faith in God! This means especially faith to meet with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way and he will remove your mountain. He will show you the way to come and meet with him.

The Possibility

So the third point is the possibility. The man said, “Yes, I have a problem. I am a sinner. I am a paralytic. I need to be made whole. There is only one who can make me whole and that is Jesus Christ, who has come down from heaven – ‘The word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ I must go to him.” So the five counseled together outside. No one was compassionate enough to give them entry into the presence of Jesus Christ.

“But we must get to Jesus!” So faith found a way. These five went up to the roof on the outside stairs. They removed some tiles and made a hole big enough to lower the paralytic down to the very presence of Jesus. “This is an emergency! We have no time for etiquette.” It was a little rude. Dust fell on Jesus and the unbelieving scribes. But these men knew Jesus would understand. It was an issue of life and death.

Oh, what a zeal, what vigor, what action, what labor, what motivation, what compassion! “Oh, yes,” they said, “we will repair the roof later on. But we must get to Jesus, that we may be saved and healed. We must place this needy sinner before Jesus.”

Brothers and sisters, let me ask you this: Do you feel such urgency? There are sinners all around us. They are in our own homes – people who are paralyzed in their souls, in their spirits. Do you have the faith to see their paralysis? And do you have any love and compassion for them? Do you see the emergency? Do you see the urgency? The wages of sin is death. Any moment some of yours will die. That father and mother and sister of yours will die at any moment, and will slip into this eternity of hell. Oh, we are living in urgent times!

The Pronouncement

But look at the pronouncement of Jesus. Jesus didn’t complain. I am sure that there was dust on his head and dust in his eyes, but he made absolutely no complaint. PGM He said, “Tharsei, teknon! Cheer up, son!” Oh, what an encouraging word from him who is righteousness, who is pure, who is holy, who is God. He said, “Cheer up, my son; thy sins are forgiven thee.”

This is the only place in the gospels that we find Jesus Christ meeting a person’s spiritual need first. Yes, the deepest need of man is not physical. It is spiritual. Man is not just a body. Man cannot be explained by deterministic materialism. Man is a soul. But man is paralyzed. Man is paralyzed in his soul. Man is a paraplegic in his soul.

What does that mean? Man is a sinner. He is born a sinner. He practices sin every day. He is against God and his law. He is an enemy of God. He is ungodly, the Bible says. He is under the wrath of God on a daily basis. So forgiveness of sin is man’s greatest need. Otherwise, he is incapable of happiness. How can a sinner be happy? The wages of sin is death. How can a person sentenced to capital punishment be happy?

This is why the world is not happy. Even after the best party a man is miserable. The wrath of God is staring at him in the middle of the night. He must die, not just a physical death, but an eternal death. He must go to hell. So let me tell you, despite all the shoddy, superficial signs of cheer and happiness, every sinner is baptized in depression. His happiness is only a delusion – a grand delusion.

So Jesus saw their faith and said, “Cheer up, son; thy sins are forgiven.” Now some people would say it was the faith of the four people, but not the faith of the paralytic. I don’t believe that. “He saw their faith,” and there were five – one being carried by four. They all believed in Jesus Christ. Let me tell you: the Bible says, “‘Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved – you and your household.'” So no one is going to be saved without trusting in Jesus Christ, in his person and in his work. It’s an impossibility. You cannot save someone by proxy. It’s impossible. If that were true I could make a lot of money. I could say to someone, “You sinner, you don’t have to believe in Jesus Christ, but I believe in Jesus Christ. I will intercede for you. Give me money!” But no, that is impossible. Everyone must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

The scribes did not believe in Jesus. They were critics. Now, they came to church, all right. Oh, how many people are in the church even today, like the scribes, to check it out, to see whether the gospel conforms to their own idea of salvation!

But here were five people who were full of faith in Jesus Christ. And Jesus said to this paralytic, “Tharsei, teknon – Cheer up, son!” Oh, that’s wonderful! That is the gospel, isn’t it? It is not simply saying, “Good morning.” We say all kinds of words of greeting that are simply formal. We are expected to say these things, and we ought to say these things. But when God’s Son, Jesus Christ, says to this paralytic, “Cheer up, son,” that’s the gospel. That’s the eternal God saying to a sinner, “You have nothing to worry about. I love you. Rejoice!”

Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have tribulations. But rejoice!” It is the same word. Why? What is the reason for your rejoicing? “For I have overcome the world.” Jesus was going to go to the cross to die for the sins of the whole world. He would be buried, but on the third day, according to the Scriptures, he would be raised up. Therefore, he says what? Rejoice! In this world you will have tribulations, but rejoice! I have overcome the world.

There is a reason for your joy, brothers and sisters. Cheer up, son! Cheer up! Your sins are forgiven thee. Oh, this is good news! This is great news! This is cause for celebration! Jesus said, “Rejoice!” That’s what he told me. Jesus called me “son.” I was trembling. I thought he would say, “I refuse to heal you. I refuse to have anything to do with you. You are a sinner. I condemn you because I am God. I am purity, I am holiness, I am perfect righteousness. I am the only one who has the authority to condemn all people.” But, no – instead, what did he say? He told me, “Rejoice,” and then he called me son. And then he said – he made this amazing, shocking pronouncement – what was it? “All your sins are forgiven thee.” Hallelujah!

Now, how can this be? That will be the question in the heart of every sinner: How can God forgive anybody’s sin and still be God? Does he make laws only to be flouted by human beings? Oh, no. Let me tell you, this Jesus Christ, who came from all eternity, from heaven – this transcendent, God of all majesty came to take upon himself human nature. In that human nature he offered himself as our atoning sacrifice, and received in his own body the wrath of God that is against every elect sinner. “He who knew no sin,” the Bible says, “became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.” He came to give his life as a ransom for many, he said. He is the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. He was given up by the Father to suffer the wrath that is against us. Isaiah says he would be crushed for our iniquities.

Yes, that is the truth. Read Romans, chapter 3. Here St. Paul explains this idea of propitiatory sacrifice, so that we understand that Jesus Christ would die for that woman who caught in the very act of adultery (John 8). When she was brought to Jesus, he said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Yes, he would die for the sin of this paraplegic, this paralytic, also. He would take his sin upon his body and would die upon the cross, that God would be just and would justify the ungodly.

So you see, this wonderful benediction, this wonderful pronouncement, “Rejoice, son; your sins are forgiven thee” was music in the ears of the paralytic. But it didn’t sit well with the religiously-orthodox people, the scribes. And they began to murmur in their hearts: “Who does he think he is? Everybody knows only God is able to forgive sins. We know that as rabbis. We know that even the Messiah will not be able to forgive sins. We know that. How dare this man say this? We know he is a man. We know he is the son of Mary. We know he is a carpenter. We know his brothers and sisters. How dare this man say, ‘Thy sins are forgiven,’ when we know that only God can forgive sin? And we also know that this man is not God.” And so they thought in their hearts.

Now Jesus was omniscient God and he knew their evil thoughts. In Matthew 9:4 he said, “‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?'” Isn’t that interesting? The heart of man is the problem. It is wicked. It is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Jesus said in Mark 7:21: “‘Out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.'”

Let me introduce you to Jesus Christ who reads your thoughts. Even now, what is going on in your hearts is read and seen by God. Jesus Christ doesn’t have to study anything. He knows. He is infinite God. He is omniscient God. And the scribes were saying, “Anybody can say that your sins are forgiven. It is an unprovable, uncheckable statement.” He understood this. So Jesus asked, “‘Which is easier: to say, “Thy sins are forgiven thee” or to say, “Rise up and walk”?'” He knew what they were thinking. The rabbis said this: “Sickness is the result of sin, and sickness cannot be cured until God forgives sins.” So they wanted proof.

Jesus took up that challenge. What did he say? All right, you can check it out now. He said, “Thy sins are forgiven thee,” and then he said, “Rise up and walk.” These are things that this man could not do before. But now, in an instant, by a miracle, the man rose, took up his bedroll and walked, we are told elsewhere, in the presence of all.

So, if you are sane in your heads, rabbis and scribes, you must draw this conclusion: Only God forgives sins; sickness is the result of sin; if one is forgiven, he should be well. So here is one who said, “Thy sins are forgiven thee,” and the man was healed; therefore, this Jesus Christ must be God! But is that what the scribes concluded?

It is amazing how wicked hearts will draw such illogical conclusions. Isn’t this the reason why people refuse to trust in Jesus Christ, that their wicked hearts cannot bring themselves to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God? And so what did they conclude? “Oh, no, no, no. This man is blaspheming. This man is pretending to be God. This man is doing something that wars against the majesty and authority of God – that is what blasphemy is – and Leviticus 24 tells us such a person must be put to death.” Oh, the twisted, unbelieving, wicked heart! No matter how much evidence is given, the heart is twisted and refuses to bow before the Almighty God, even Jesus Christ our Lord! That is pretty sad indeed, isn’t it?

So they came to this twisted conclusion: Jesus is blaspheming. He is just a man. He is just a sinner. He is not God. But if you asked them, “Why, then, did this happen,” do you know what their answer would be? They would say, “He is the demon. He is the chief demon. Jesus Christ is Beelzebub. He is the chief of demons, so he can do these things.” That is exactly the conclusion they came to, and it started right here with the accusation of blasphemy. Read Mark 14:64. That was the charge, finally, that they brought against Jesus Christ. And he was crucified for this specific charge.

But let me tell you again, even that is ordained by God. No one can crucify Jesus outside of God’s ordination. He was crucified according to the determinate counsel of God. When they put him on the cross and crucified him, they only fulfilled divine plan so that from the cross forgiveness of sins could flow to the woman who was caught in adultery and to this paralytic man, who was paralyzed in body and soul.

Unbelief will never acknowledge that Jesus is God. Although Jesus Christ gave them incontrovertible proof, they would not accept it. They said, “Oh, he is doing this by Beelzebub.” “No,” he says. “I want you to know something.” He said, “‘that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . .Then he said to the paralytic: ‘Get up, take your mat and go home.'”

Let me introduce you to Jesus Christ, the Son of Man. In Daniel 7 he is the heavenly being. He is deity. But he alone has authority on the earth to forgive sins. That’s why I said that no other religion can cause your sins to disappear. No other religion can help you in terms of the forgiveness of sins. No one else can make this pronouncement: “Cheer up, son; thy sins are forgiven thee.”

Let me offer Jesus Christ to you – the one Savior of the world, the unique one, who has authority in earth to forgive sin. No, he is not one of many who have authority to forgive sin. He is the only one. And we read what he says in the Great Commission: “‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me. . . And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'”

Let me give to you Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Let me give you Jesus Christ, who will save every person who trusts in him, who repents of his sins, who bows down before his majesty and says, “I am paralyzed in my soul and in my entire being. I am ungodly. I am wicked. I have sinned against you. I deserve to drink the full cup of the wrath of God.” Let me tell you what he would say to you: “Son, rejoice! Your sins are forgiven thee. Rise up, take up your burden and go.” That’s what he would say. Come to Jesus!

This Jesus is no longer on earth in his body. Jesus Christ ascended into the heavens and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. But he can be approached by people everywhere. There is no problem of room. There is room at the cross for you. Call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I was reading a Scottish theologian, and he had a hard time understanding that Jesus Christ is God. He couldn’t bring himself to say that. So he explained the idea of Jesus saying, “Thy sins are forgiven thee,” by saying it could be because Jesus was conveying God’s forgiveness to this person, as Nathan conveyed the forgiveness of God to David. Remember that? Nathan said, “The Lord forgives you.” Or, this theologian said, “You know, it may be because Jesus was given the power of attorney to do this.” When you give the power of attorney to somebody, what you do, he does. He is doing exactly what you want him to do. Or, thirdly, he said, “Oh, it may be that Jesus is revealing the attitude of God. God is perfect love, and so he was displaying God’s attitude: I love you; I forgive you.” This man is a great professor who has written a number of books, but he cannot bring himself to say that Jesus Christ is God, that he is deity! But that is exactly the truth, and that is what is being demonstrated in this passage. Oh, what blind scholarship, what unbelieving scholarship!

Yes, Jesus Christ is God who became flesh. There are three reactions, then, to this whole wonderful deliverance of the paralytic. One is the reaction of the scribes. Their hearts were twisted. They would not accept Jesus Christ as God, so they would say, “You are blaspheming.” If you asked the scribes, “How come he is doing these things?” they would say, “He is doing it by the power of the devil.” That’s one reaction.

How did the crowd react? They were excited. That word is used in the other parallel passages. They were excited. Crowds of people come, and what do they want? Excitement. They are the “Wow!” people. They come to church and follow preachers everywhere. They are looking for an opportunity to say what? “Wow!” Let me tell you, “Wow!” won’t take you to heaven. Let me assure you of that.

But then, there was the reaction of these five people and other believers. They believed in Jesus Christ. We are told in Luke 5:25 that this man went home rejoicing and praising God. You see, when you trust in Jesus Christ, from that point on your life is filled with joy and peace. You have been given entrance, not into a house, but into the kingdom of God, which we are told is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So this man went home praising God.

And can you imagine what he did when he went home? He was happy. He was rejoicing. He was speaking to everybody: “Do you know what happened when we went there? There was no room at all. The doorway was full of people. No one moved. No one showed compassion. But God granted us faith, so we took the stairs, went up on the roof, and dug a hole on the roof. They lowered me down, and as soon as I was in his presence Jesus said, ‘Cheer up, son.’ And then he said, ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee.’ Then he told me, ‘Rise up, walk, and go,'” and for the first time in my life, I walked!”

Yes, this man went home – not to sit in his house or to sleep for the rest of his life. He went home to declare the glorious gospel. He said, “Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ is Savior.”

And I offer to you Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ your Savior. There is no other Savior in all the earth. I have seen people from Canada and from the United States coming to my country looking for gurus, to hear great truths of wisdom from them. I have met with them and gone with them and lived with them. I have told them this truth: “You know, you are looking for a grain of wheat in the cow dung.”

I offer to you Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Let me assure you, there is room for you. You don’t need to go up the stairs and dig in the roof. There is room at the cross for you. Christ is risen from the dead, and Christ said, “I’ll be with you always, even to the end of the age.” Why? To save us, to heal us, to comfort us, to pronounce this great benediction: “Son, rejoice; your sins – all of them, past, present and future – are forgiven thee” Oh, that’s justification, isn’t that true? He took your sins completely, and he gives you his perfect righteousness. That is God’s double transaction.

That’s what he would say to you: “Son, daughter, rejoice! I have overcome the world. Son, daughter, rejoice! I have paid for your sins. Son, daughter, rejoice! I have drunk to the last drop the cup of the wrath of God so that you can rejoice. You can have eternal life.”

I urge you to come to Jesus. If you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you want to trust in him, if you want to be touched by him, if you want to be comforted by this Jesus Christ, I say, Come to him. If you want to be a scribe, you have that freedom, but God never saved an unbelieving scribe. “His name is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Come and meet with Jesus Christ! He is the way, the truth and the life. There is only one who always tells the truth, and he is the truth. If we don’t believe in him, we make him out to be a liar, the Bible says. Come to him and say, “Lord Jesus, meet my need.” And the first and deepest need is my sin and my guilt. “Have mercy upon me and forgive my sins. I confess that you are the Son of God, that you are God, that you are the Savior of the world, and that there is no other Savior.”

Or come to him and say, “God, I am a Christian but I need your blessing this morning.” And he will bless you and he will help you. Believe in him. I know Americans pretend that they have no need. We are not in the Third World. We are part of the industrialized economy. But we have needs. May God open our eyes to realize our spiritual needs. If God is speaking to you, come to Jesus today. “Come unto me,” he said, all who are weary and heavy-laden; I’ll give you rest.” That’s what he said. I’ll give you rest. “Come unto me,” he said, “and drink from me.” He said, “I am the living bread; come and eat.” To the Samaritan woman he said, “I will give you water that will spring up within you unto eternal life.” Do you think he is lying? Do you think he is exaggerating? We lie, we exaggerate, but God cannot lie, the Bible says.

Do you want to meet with the Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, our Savior? This same Jesus Christ will come again to judge everyone who rejected him, everyone who treated him with contempt, everyone who said, “He is lying.”

Would you pray this prayer?

Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to save me, to forgive my sin, to die in my place. Lord Jesus Christ, I believe in you. I believe in you by the faith you have given me. Save me, O Lord. Forgive all my sins. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Make me a new creation. Heal my body. Heal my soul. Heal my mind. Speak to me, Lord Jesus, “Son, daughter, rejoice! Your sins are forgiven thee. Rise up, walk and go home.” Praise you, heavenly Father, for hearing our prayers, for filling us with peace, for removing the burden of guilt and sin. We are forgiven forever, saved forever. Who said so? Jesus Christ the Son of God said so. I believe in him. Amen.