When a paralytic was brought to Jesus on a bed, instead of commanding him to stand and walk, Jesus said, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Matthew 9:2). While the scribes thought this was blasphemy, putting oneself in the place of God (Matthew 9:3), Jesus exposed their evil thoughts of Him to show that He is in the place of God (Matthew 9:4-6). Jesus, as Deity, had authority on earth to forgive sins.

The Greek verb that is translated “be forgiven” in verses 2 and 5 is in a tense that indicates the forgiveness took place the moment Jesus spoke the words. When Jesus said it, it was completed. He initiated and performed the act of forgiving the man of sins. Only God can do this. Jesus stated in Matthew 9:6 the desired conclusion His audience should reach is that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. This power is “the right to command, authority, absolute power, warrant.”[1]

Jesus’ question of verse 5 —“For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?”—would on the surface be answered that “Thy sins be forgiven thee” is easier. There is no empirical verification that sins are forgiven as there would be in whether a man can “Arise, and walk.” The bystanders could not with their senses verify nor disprove that the man’s sins were forgiven, but anybody could see whether or not he could walk. But Jesus means to show that He is not merely a prophet who could work healing miracles, He is the Son of God who can acknowledge His rightful place as equal with God and still have the miraculous confirmation accompany His statements. A mere healer could say he forgives sins, but would no longer have God’s miraculous attestation to his claims (Hebrews 2:3-4).

However, Jesus does not announce which of the two statements is easier. He has already forgiven the sins of the paralytic brought to Him. He then turns to the paralytic and uses the latter of the two statements, commanding, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house” (Matthew 9:6). Verse 7 reveals the fact that the man did just that; thus, there is no doubt that God assents to Jesus, the Son of Man, forgiving sins. While the scribes may have been angered at this, the crowds, who were neutral in this dispute, could see the clear significance: “But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men” (Matthew 9:8).

Jesus has all power/authority (Matthew 28:18). He has commissioned us to go into all the world to preach the good news about Him; we are to baptize those who believe this message and repent of their sins (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47). Those who thus submit to Christ’s authority are forgiven of their sins. We must first submit to Jesus’ authority as our Lord, then He will be our savior and forgive us of our sins.

-Mark Day

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Stating the purpose of the Gospel account bearing his name, John wrote, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:30-31). God attested to the fact that Jesus is truly the Son of God by means of miracles, wonders, and signs (Acts 2:22). A miracle is a display of power so mighty that it must have God—breaking in and causing an exception to ordinary processes—as its origin. A wonder emphasizes the astonishment which these works of God produce in the beholders. A sign is a mark or token, emphasizing the significance to which a miracle points. Jesus worked many miracles that were signs to convince people to believe in Him, but some people are so hard-hearted that even witnessing miracles right in front of them is not enough to persuade them to believe (John 12:37-40). But to those who are honest, the miracles of Jesus constitute sufficient proof for them to believe He is God’s Son and have eternal life because of how that conviction changes their lives.

John, like the other New Testament writers, documents a select number of the many miracles of Jesus. There would not be enough room to document all that Jesus did (John 21:25), but these selective signs are enough to produce saving faith. Six signs are recorded in chapters 2-11 of John: the water to wine (chapter 2), healing the nobleman’s son (chapter 4), healing the lame man (chapter 5), feeding 5,000 (chapter 6), walking on water (chapter 6), healing the blind man (chapter 9), and raising Lazarus from the dead (chapter 11). They are signs in that they point, respectively, to the fact that Jesus is Lord over quality, distance, time, quantity, natural law, misfortune, and even death. The seventh—and culminating—sign in John is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead in chapter 20. Of all the miraculous signs that indicate Jesus is the Son of God, the resurrection is supreme proof, and without it Christianity would never have gotten off the ground (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Miracles arrest our attention to tell us that God has something to which we need to pay close attention.  The great salvation provided by following the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important opportunity of our lives; we must not carelessly let it slip through our fingers:

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? Hebrews 2:1-4

This week we will be considering the miracles/signs of Jesus in our Vacation Bible School. May we come to have greater confidence in the saving truth that Jesus is indeed the Son of God as we fill our hearts with His miraculous credentials.

–Mark Day

The trials of Jesus leading up to His crucifixion can hardly be called trials. Travesty is a more fitting description than trial; breaches in justice were made at nearly every turn. The arrest of Jesus came through a bribe of thirty pieces of silver, blood money paid to Judas (Mt. 26:15; 27:3-6). No clear charges were pronounced to Jesus. Some said blasphemy (Mk. 14:64), or violating the temple (Mk. 14:58), yet the charges were changed to claiming to be king, causing social disruption, and refusing to pay taxes at His civil trial before Pilate (Lk. 23:1-2). These changes were made by the Jewish leaders so they could put Jesus to death (Jn. 18:29-31). His trial before the Jewish leaders began in the middle of the night on the feast day of Passover (Mk. 14); thus, the witnesses could be brought and a decision made while everyone slept, and in the morning plenty of travelers to the city, who knew little about Jesus, could be stirred into an angry mob to demand His death. The witnesses did not agree, even though they had the unfair advantage of testifying in the presence of each other (Mk. 14:56, 59). Physical force was used to try to intimidate Jesus (Jn. 18:22), and He was asked to incriminate Himself (Lk. 22:70-71); moreover, Jesus did not cross-examine the witnesses to show how fallacious their accusations were (Mt. 26:62-63). Jesus was convicted and executed the same day as His trial; the Jewish leaders hurried to get an innocent man crucified early, but had scruples about entering the Praetorium (judgment hall) because they did not want to defile themselves on the Passover (Jn. 18:28).

How could respectable religious leaders do such a thing? Why did they have no problem with bribery, fraud, and murder, but were conscientious about entering a Gentile house? They were chiefly concerned with maintaining their position over the Jewish nation, and Jesus posed a threat to their control (Jn. 11:48). Religion can be used as a means of self-aggrandizement. The Pharisees could list all of the things they did right to mask their glaring heart problems; even their prayers were used to put down others (Lk. 18:11-12). Having listed all the little things that made them appear pious in men’s eyes, they used their position to lay heavy burdens on the people, while making exceptions for themselves (Mt. 23:4). Control was their god, and they were willing to sacrifice anything for it. People in positions of power must be wary of this temptation. While many may get into these positions thinking they can wield a tremendous impact for good, if the heart becomes obsessed with living for one’s own glory and power then unjust means will be used to obtain that end. Having authority tries our hearts. Jesus told these people that justice, mercy, and faith were what they were lacking (Mt. 23:23); they exercised none of these when they put Him to death.

Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, yet he delivered Jesus to be crucified so that the people would not become mutinous (Mt. 27:23-24). He threatened Jesus with his power, but Jesus said the only reason Pilate had power was because God had given it to him (Jn. 19:10-11). If people in authority can really grasp that their power is given by God, then they could be more calm, secure, humble, and just. However, if they think it is through their own worthiness that they are in their position of power, they will persist in being fearful of losing control and cruel to any perceived threat.

-Mark Day

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• The Ethiopian was sincere, but sincerely lost until baptism (Acts 8:26-39). When Philip “preached unto him Jesus,” the eunuch wanted to be baptized immediately, because preaching Jesus equals preaching the necessity of water baptism for salvation (Acts 8:35- 36; Mk. 16:15-16). The Ethiopian did not rejoice at the point of belief in Jesus, but after obeying Jesus’ command to be immersed for salvation (Acts 8:39; Mk. 16:15-16; cf. Acts 2:38; 22:16).
• Saul of Tarsus was sincere, but sincerely lost until baptism (Acts 9:6,18-19; 22:16). Although Saul had been praying, fasting, and believing in Jesus after Jesus spoke to him, none of these things washed away his sins (Acts 9:9-11). Jesus told Saul that he would be told what he “must do” (Acts 9:6). Saul was not told to keep praying. He was not told, “You are already saved by God’s grace, because belief alone is enough.” Here is what he was told: “And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Did you know that although Saul had gone three days without food or water, he did not even get a bite to eat before he was baptized? (Acts 9:9,18-19). He wanted his sins washed away as soon as possible! This same urgency regarding baptism is found in other passages also (Acts 2:41; 8:36; 16:33). Why were 3000 souls baptized on the same day they heard the Gospel? They all understood that it was “for the remission of sins”! (Acts 2:38,41).
• Cornelius was sincere, but sincerely lost until baptism (Acts 10:6,35,48; 11:14). Cornelius’ prayers did not save him. Like Saul, Cornelius was told that someone would tell him what he “ought” to do (same Greek word as “must” in Acts 9:6). Peter told Cornelius that to be accepted by God, he had to fear God and work righteousness (Acts 10:35). Cornelius did what he “ought” to do and “worked righteousness” when he obeyed Peter’s command to “be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48; cf. 2:38). Then Cornelius was truly accepted by God (Acts 10:35; Heb. 5:9).
• Lydia was sincere, but sincerely lost until baptism (Acts 16:13-15). After her baptism, she was “judged…to be faithful” (Acts 16:15; cf. Gal. 3:26-27).
• The Ephesians who had been “baptized” were sincere, but sincerely lost until they were taught correctly and baptized with a proper understanding (Acts 19:1-5; Jn. 8:32; Rom. 6:16-18). Being sincere and immersed for religious reasons is not enough, according to the Bible. Today, one cannot be properly baptized without understanding that immersion in the name of Jesus Christ is for salvation, for forgiveness of sins, to wash away sins (Mk. 16:16; Jn. 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-5; Gal. 3:26-29; Eph. 5:25-26; Heb. 10:22; 1 Pet. 3:20- 21).
• What about you? Are you sincere? Do you believe in God and His resurrected Son, Jesus Christ? (Jn. 8:24). Will you repent of all past sins, deciding to live for God? (Acts 2:38; 17:30). Will you confess that you believe in Jesus as the Son of God? (Mt. 10:32; Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:10). Will you be immersed for the purpose of washing away your sins? (Acts 22:16). Will you try your best to be faithful in every way, following the New Testament pattern for worship and every aspect of life? (Jn. 4:23-24; Col. 3:16-17; Heb. 10:23-31; 1 Jn. 1:6—2:6; Rev. 2:10).

– Jason Patrick Hilburn

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