Matthew 9: Something New Is Here

Matthew • Sermon • Submitted a month ago • Presented a month ago

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Introduction

Matthew is spending this section of his Gospel highlighting the Lord’s power. Chapter 8 contained a string of increasingly powerful miracles including healings, calming the storm, and overpowering demons.

Chapter 9 will continue this theme of miracles, but the Lord will begin sprinkling in the theological underpinnings of these miracles - primarily the forgiveness of sins. As we will see, this act was far more controversial than the miracles themselves.

9:1-8: Healing a Paralytic

We last saw Jesus in the disciples over in the Gentile region of the Gadarenes where he had cast out the demons of two men there. In response, the people asked Jesus to leave, which he did.

They returned to Galilee and to his “home base” of Capernaum. Jesus performed many miracles here, including healing the Centurion servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, and countless others. It’s no surprise that someone else was brought to him again to be healed.

Mark and Luke add that Jesus was teaching when this happened, and that there was a large crowd - so large in fact that the man’s friends had to climb up on the roof and cut a hole in it to lower their friend down!

It’s a simple question but, what would you do for a friend in need?

I don’t know if it was considered rude to interrupt a Rabbi while he was teaching, but these people didn’t care. They trusted (faith) that Jesus could, and would, heal their friend.

The Lord does in fact recognize their faith. Which I find very interesting. Just like with the Centurion, it wasn’t the faith of the person being healed that counted - it was the faith of the intermediary.

Is our faith powerful enough to save others? Maybe so!

The Lord himself, by his own faithfulness, saved the whole world when He became an intermediary for us.

When Abraham bartered with God on whether to save Sodom and Gomorrah, the deal was finally made that if just a handful of righteous (faithful) people could be found, the entire cities would be saved.

If nothing else, this story and others like it should show why we should boldly go before the throne of God in prayer to intercede for others.

James 5:15 “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

Our faith really is powerful, are we using that full power for others?

Despite their bold move of faith, Jesus didn’t immediately heal the man. Instead he said, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

I wonder if this surprised the man’s friends. Was it what they were expecting?

Maybe not, but it’s what the man needed. And it showed the crowd, and us, that the Lord’s mission wasn’t just about healing physical wounds. It was deeper than that. It was about healing souls.

Maybe they hadn’t thought about it all that much, and maybe we don’t think about it enough either, but as terrible as paralysis was, it was not the biggest concern in this man’s life. Sin was. And sin is the biggest concern in our lives.

We aren’t told why this man was paralyzed. Considering the Gospel writers usually note when someone is afflicted by something “from birth” and here they don’t, maybe this man had had an accident.

That would be significant, because many people might have assumed that the accident was punishment for some sin he had. Most severe afflictions were believed to be punishments from God for sin.

The disciples even asked this about a man who was born blind in John 9:1–2 “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?””

Jesus himself acknowledged this reality after healing another paralytic in John 5:13–14 “Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.””

Whether the paralyzed man had committed a specific sin that had led to his paralysis, or just in general, the Lord knew that his soul needed healed more than his body, and so He declared the man’s sins forgiven.

We might not find this declaration all that remarkable anymore. But that’s because Christ, and Christianity, normalized what was, and still is, the most incredible part of the Gospel: forgiveness of sins.

This was and is controversial. Why? Luke’s account tells us why in Luke 5:21 “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?””

They weren’t wrong! Only God can forgive sins! So for Jesus to be forgiving sins, what does that mean? He was claiming to be God! If He wasn’t God, then He was in fact committing blasphemy.

Outside of Christianity, this is still controversial!

The Lord Jesus shows them, and us, that forgiving sins shouldn’t be controversial. He does this by giving an embarrassing comparison: which is easier, speaking forgiveness, or healing an incurable disease?

The answer is obvious! But to avoid their “evil thoughts” of thinking Jesus was committing blasphemy He had to demonstrate to them that He truly had the authority to forgive sins - and that demonstration was physically healing the man, too!

Just like the religious leaders, we can be offended by Jesus’s words, but we cannot deny his power and the authority that it brings!

If this man can heal us physically, how much more can He heal us spiritually! It should come as no surprise that this miracle caused both fear and worship.

They glorified God “who had given such authority to men”. Notice the plural. I think this authority is both to heal infirmities and to forgive sins.

And this is truly one of the most beautiful and powerful parts of Christianity. All authority was given to the Lord Jesus, who then bestowed that same authority on his followers (us!).

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

John 20:21–23 “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.””

Here is why I think this is so important today for Christians to embrace: our world, and especially our particular culture, is in desperate need of forgiveness.

We live in a “cancel culture” where it doesn’t take much to get you “cancelled”. Say the wrong thing. Do the wrong thing. Post the wrong thing. 20 years ago or 2 days ago. It doesn’t matter.

Committing any number of offenses, regardless of intent or criminality, can leave someone ostracized, with real world consequences like loss of livelihoods.

What’s worse: this culture has no method of redemption. There is no path to return to the camp. There is no forgiveness.

As much as Christians complain about this unjust system, it really shouldn’t bother us. We can’t truly be “cancelled”, and if we are actually cancelled for doing good, then we will be blessed.

But for non-Christians, this system is exceptionally brutal. I think it gives Christians an opportunity to shine the light of forgiveness and hope onto many dark situations. And guess what? It will anger people.

Instead of saying, “Only God can forgive people.” I’ve heard it said, “Only the group that person offended or hurt can forgive them!” But that’s just not true. The Lord Jesus has given his followers exclusively, the power to forgive sins. Which makes sense - only God can forgive sins, and we are Children of God.

And when we do this, it can break the vicious cycles that the world creates, and lead to real healing, real redemption.

As it happens, we see this scenario play out in the very next story.

9:9-13: The hard part

It’s almost like Matthew tells us this story of the paralytic and then said, “Okay but I need you to know that this looked like in practice. I know that it works, because it happened to me.”

This is Matthew’s testimony of how the Lord Jesus transformed his own life by forgiving his sins. As far as words go, it’s not a long testimony. It doesn’t have to be. It really only took five words, “sitting at the tax booth”.

When Mark (2:14) and Luke (5:28) tell this story, they tell us that Matthew’s name was also Levi. As a sign of how scandalous, and dangerous it was, to be identified as a tax collector, it seems like the two writers were trying to protect their friend. They only later identify him as Matthew when not associated with being a tax collector (and probably how he, or Jesus, changed his name.)

Here, Matthew lays all out on the table and says, “It was me. I was the tax collector.” Tax collectors were so hated by the Jewish people that they had their own category! You had the “sinners” and the “tax collectors”. They were considered traitors who worked for the Romans, and stole from their own people.

And yet, Jesus still called Matthew to follow him. It’s as if Matthew is saying, “If Jesus called me to follow him, He can call you, too.” The other Gospels testify that Matthew really did leave everything to follow Jesus.

Luke tells us that Matthew threw a party for Jesus, and invited his friends....who were also “sinners and tax collectors”. Matthew himself humbly describes the event in lesser terms.

First forgiving sins, then healing people, and now eating with sinners and tax collectors? Who did Jesus think he was? Once again, this situation raised the eyebrows of the pharisees.

Apparently they were too scared to ask Jesus directly (maybe a subtle admission of his power?), so they went to his disciples instead and asked why he ate with these people.

I think it was a reasonable question if we are truly able to grasp just remarkable and controversial this dinner party was in this culture.

We may not use the categories of “sinner” and “tax collector” in our culture, but we still very much have “sinners” that nobody wants to associate with.

Many people will claim that these “social outcasts” include minorities and/or the LGBTQ, but those groups aren’t really outcasts - they part of every day society that by and large get accepted just fine.

To truly understand the scandal and how uncomfortable everyone would have been with Jesus eating with these people, I want you to instead picture him eating with the likes of racists, sex offenders, alcoholics, and maybe even members of the political party you don’t really care for.

Now ask ourselves this question: would we be caught eating lunch with a skinhead?

How about dinner with the leader of Black Lives Matter?

Breakfast with Malcom X?

Brunch with an abortion doctor?

Take out with a registered sex offender?

Throwing a party with all of them at the same time?

If any of these make you uncomfortable (and they should), I think we’re starting to get to the heart of how the Pharisees were asking, “Why is he eating with them?” Wouldn’t we ask the same thing?

The normal assumption in those situations would be, “If he’s hanging out with them, he must be one of them.” And I’d say that’s often why even as Christians we don’t hang out with the “sinners” of our culture - we don’t want to be associated with them and their sins, nor do we want it to look like we are endorsing them.

The Lord’s response to their question shows that none of those were true. He wasn’t greenlighting their sins, nor was he partaking in them. In fact I think his response doesn’t really paint them real well. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Nobody was pretending that these “sinners” were good. They probably weren’t even pretending. But that’s who he came for “not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

He says, “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” (quoting Hosea 6:6). And this is a hard thing to learn: radical mercy for those who need it most.

Because of the Lord’s example, I don’t think we should shy away from socializing with the “sinners” of our culture (like those previously mentioned, and so many more).

It’s always going to be uncomfortable at first. People will ask questions. But like Jesus, we don’t have to sugarcoat anything: these people are sick, and I’m just trying to help them get better.

And learning mercy gets easier the longer we realize that we are also sinners in need of God’s grace. Our sins may not be as bad as theirs, but at the end of the day, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” and forgiveness becomes easier when we fully comprehend how much we ourselves have been forgiven.

Conclusion

Matthew tells us this as part of his story. But it wasn’t an isolated incident. In fact, all of the disciples were a band of misfits. Racists, revolutionaries, thieves, and more. And all of them were radically transformed by the mercy of our Lord. They heard the call of the Great Physician and had their sins forgiven, mercy shown, and souls redeemed. I hope we have all experienced that call, and like them are now being sent out to bring the same spiritual (and sometimes physical) cure to a sick world that so desperately needs it.

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