Matthew 9:2
Tuesday, 1 April 2025
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Matthew 9:2
“And, you behold, they presented Him a paralytic having been cast upon a bed. And Jesus, having seen their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘You embolden child! Your sins, they are forgiven you’” (CG).
In the previous verse, it noted that Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city, meaning Capernaum. Now, Matthew continues with, “And, you behold, they presented Him a paralytic.”
This is now the third time the word has been used. In verse 4:24, it noted that He healed paralytics. In Matthew 8, the servant of the centurion was noted as a paralytic. So, it would seem this was just another paralytic out of many. But it is how the matter is approached that makes this account different. As for the paralytic, it says of him, “having been cast upon a bed.”
The word kline, translated as bed, is introduced here. It signifies a bed or table. Strong’s notes that the word is used to describe a bed for sickness, sleep, sitting, or eating.
As for the words, there still appears to be nothing unusual in the account. If someone is paralyzed, they would be immobilized, usually on a bed. Today, we have wheelchairs and the like, but at this time in history, a person in such a state would be confined to the home or carried on a litter. Next, Matthew notes, “And Jesus, having seen their faith.”
This is where the words in Matthew jump over events that are recorded in Mark and Luke. Without understanding the context, it seems odd to go from a guy on a bed to “having seen their faith.” Anyone in such a state who wanted to be healed would naturally be brought in.
In Mark 2, it says –
“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.” Mark 2:1-4
It is this extraordinary effort that brings Jesus to His words about their faith. When they could not approach Him due to the thronging crowd, they came up with an innovative way of dealing with things.
Their actions demonstrated that they truly believed that Jesus could heal the man. Otherwise, they would not have bothered, figuring they would look foolish for putting in so much effort just to return home disappointed. Because of their actions, which were based on their faith in Jesus’ capabilities, “He said to the paralytic, ‘You embolden child! Your sins, they are forgiven you.’”
Rather than performing a physical healing, as one would expect with a person who has come to be healed, Jesus deals with a more important issue, the man’s sin. These words set off a firestorm among some of those who are there with Jesus. That will be seen in the verses ahead.
Life application: If you go to churches where healing is the focus, the physical aspect of the healing takes priority. It is as if a Hollywood presentation is going on when the supposed faith healer may run around on stage, laying hands on people, pushing them backwards with gasps and fainting, and people jump to their feet as if victoriously healed of whatever malady they supposedly possessed.
Benny Hinn used to take off his coat and swing it at people, as if he had the power to heal them by slapping them with it. All of the false faith healing in the world does nothing to deal with the issue of sin. And it is sin that keeps one from God. It would be better to be forgiven of one’s sins and to lay on one’s bed for an entire life as a paralytic than to be denied entrance into heaven because the gospel was not properly shared with him.
We should keep the main purpose of Jesus’ work in mind at all times. He came to save humanity from sin. Without that, the rest just doesn’t matter. What ultimately happens to us in this temporary, futile, fallen world makes no difference without Jesus and His cleansing us from our sin.
Heavenly Father, thank You that we are forgiven from our sins because of what Jesus has done for us. Without that, we are just specks of matter, formed together for a breath in the stream of time, destined to perish and return to nothingness. But we know that is not true. We were created by You and we must return to You through Jesus. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.
