Daily Devotions
Matthew
The Correct Focus
Text: Matthew 9 : 1 - 8
Was Jesus wrong in speaking as He did? Should He not have just concentrated on the physical healing aspect? These and other questions might have flitted through the minds of the disciples as they watched the reaction of some of the bystanders.
“And at once some of the scribes said within
themselves, ‘This man blasphemes!'”
Matthew 9:3
A few days ago, one of the scribes asked if he could follow Jesus as one of His disciples. In this scene, we have a group of scribes who felt that they had heard blasphemous words from the lips of Jesus! Would the scribes have remained with Jesus as a disciple if there were such deep-seated feelings waiting to surface?
THE MISGIVINGS OF THE SCRIBES
In order to fathom what the scribes meant when they thought that Jesus had blasphemed, we need to look at Mark’s account of this event.
“And some of the scribes were sitting there
and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this
man speak blasphemies like this? Who can
forgive sins but God alone?'”
Mark 2:6-7
“This man blasphemes” Matthew 9:3
The word the scribes used to describe Jesus is most telling. As far as they were concerned Jesus was only a “man” – nothing more! He may be a gifted teacher, but only a man. He may be a great miracle worker even, but he was just a man! Despite the many miracles that had been performed, the scribes could not see beyond the external-physical!
“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark 2:7
This was the blind spot, not only with reference to the scribes, but with almost everyone else! No one was able to see that Jesus was the Son of God, the Divine Messiah. No one could fathom that He would be both Human and Divine simultaneously. Such was their lack of knowledge and depth of unbelief!
AN ATTEMPT TO PENETRATE THE DARKNESS
The scribes reasoned within their hearts. Little did they know that Jesus understood them as if they had voiced out loud their thoughts. They must have been astounded if not embarrassed when Jesus said what He did.
“But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said,
‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?
For which is easier, to say, “Your sins
are forgiven you,” or to say, “Arise and walk?” ‘ ”
Matthew 9:4-5
“But Jesus knowing their thoughts…”
How far did this feat of Jesus strike them? Could any man read another person’s thought? Would it not be true also to say that only God could read a person’s thoughts? Was Jesus only an erudite thinker who happened to guess what they were thinking? Or was He more than man?
“Why do you think evil in your hearts?”
Jesus wasn’t guessing was He? He not only knew their thoughts, He appeared to have known their innermost feelings. How they felt towards Jesus was nothing less than animosity. They had virtually concluded that Jesus was a sinful blasphemer. Were these noble thoughts? Had they examined what Jesus said and meant? Why were they so judgmental? Jesus not only knew what they were reasoning in their minds, He knew how they felt in their hearts! Was such a Person only a mere human being?
“Which is easier…”
A good question indeed. How would the scribes answer these questions? Would any statement be easy to carry out?
1. Would it be easy to say “Arise and Walk” ?
Could any of the scribes say those words and then cause a paralytic to be restored completely? Obviously none of them would be able to do that. Only a person with power and authority could do this.
2. Would it be just as easy to say “Your sins are forgiven you”?
No one would be able to say these words, unless that Person had full power and authority to do that! None of the scribes had the power to heal anyone. Jesus had effortlessly healed people time and again. Did it not strike anyone that no ordinary person could do what Jesus did?
What had the crowds learned about Jesus after all this while? How much better were the residents of Capernaum than the citizens of Gerasa?
DRIVING THE POINT HOME
There was silence among the scribes and the crowd as Jesus said these words. Had they not understood Jesus after all that He had said and done? Well then, perhaps this plain statement might help.
“But that you may know that the Son of Man
has power on earth to forgive sins…”
Matthew 9:6a