Your Sins are Forgiven – June 27, 2020

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
Matthew 9:1,2

Your Sins are Forgiven

Matthew chapter 9 is one of the most rapid-fire chapters of the Bible. In fewer than forty verses, we see Jesus perform at least seven miracles, answer questions and complaints from the teachers of the law, Pharisees, and even followers of John the Baptist. All the while we see him confidently going about his ministry, calling another Apostle, instructing his disciples, and explaining his purpose on earth: to forgive sins and save souls. He raises a girl from the dead. He reads minds. He heals the blind, the paralyzed, the demon-possessed, and a woman with an unknown malady of constant bleeding. Except for time out to eat at Matthew’s house, the text of the chapter suggests that these events happened in a very short period of time during a brief stay in Jesus’ “own town.”

Jesus’ “own town” was Capernaum. This was his base of ministry in Galilee. Often he visited there, but he wasn’t completely welcome there. In Matthew 11:20-24 we read that Jesus warned this city that it would be judged because the people refused to believe in him despite the miracles he performed in their midst.

But therein Capernaum Jesus shows us why he came into the world—he came to forgive sins. He said to the paralyzed man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

When God declares our sins forgiven, we can be assured that they are completely gone because God cannot lie.

If your sins are burdening you, if your guilt is weighing you down, take heart. In Jesus, your sins are forgiven!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, the forgiveness of sins you freely give assures me that I am free of God’s sentence of condemnation. Clinging to your forgiveness by faith, I am blessed with a close and loving relationship with God forever. With all my grateful heart, I thank you. Amen.