Matthew 38
Good friends and there will always be haters!
So back in Matthew! It’s been a while, but we are back! I love preaching books of the bible and we picked a great one! The Gospel of Matthew! We pick up in chapter 9, and Jesus is starting to kick His ministry off right, by loving on people and annoying the religious right!
Matthew 9:1–8 (ESV)
1 And getting into a boat He crossed over and came to His own city.
2 And behold, some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
7 And he rose and went home.
8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
We see a couple of things going on here, we see good friends, amazing followers, with amazing faith, and then we see the haters! So, let’s dive in and find some practical applications to all this!
Some Recap!
VS 1 And getting into a boat He crossed over and came to His own city.
· He had got run off for taming a couple of demons
· He sent them into some pigs and they ran over a cliff
· And His ability scared off the people that saw it
· So, He left, and we said that Jesus will not stick around where He is not welcome
· He constantly is searching for hearts that seek Him!
Friends matter!
VS2 And behold, some people brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
· Your friends really do matter
· And your prayers and hope in Jesus for your friends matter too
o Jesus not only saw the sick man’s faith but also his friend’s faith as well
· Their faith was:
o 1. A strong faith; they firmly believed that Jesus Christ both could and would heal him; else they would not have brought the sick man to Him so publicly and through so much difficulty.
o 2. A humble faith; though the sick man was unable to stir a step, they would not ask Christ to make him a visit, but brought him to attend on Christ. It is fitter than we should wait on Christ than He on us.
o 3. An active faith: in the belief of Christ’s power and goodness, they brought the sick man to Him, lying on a bed, which could not be done without a great deal of pain. Note, A strong faith regards no obstacles in pressing after Christ.[1]
Quote: “you ain’t got real friends until they do whatever it takes to get you to Jesus!”
“Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
· And notice the cheer and love in the answer
· Jesus loves those that come to Him willingly, humbly, and faithfully!
And the haters show up!!
VS3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
· Haters always look for the bad
· Even when Jesus Himself shows the power of heaven right in front of them, they still find a fault in it!
· And if we are not careful, we can become a “Modern Day Pharisee”
o If you start to see issues in black and white
o You spend more time talking about what you’re against, not what you’re for
o All your Christian friends look, act, and think just like you
o If someone tries to rebuke you and you get angry
· Haters think they are right and everyone else is wrong, they don’t listen well
· Be careful that you don’t become an Accidental Pharisee
There is a lot of sin in that head of yours!
VS4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
· Jesus knows every thought rattling around in your pretty little head.
Hebrews 4:12–13 (NLT)
12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.
· He knows every thought and desire on your heart
· And no matter how hard we try, most of it, is not good, it's sinful
· You start to become an accidental Pharisee when we convince ourselves otherwise!
Genesis 6:5 (NLT)
5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
· There is a great deal of evil in the hearts of every one of us
· The sign of a mature follower is they understand that we start to test every thought and desire against God's word, in prayer, and in wise counsel.
o We need to find people that will challenge us, and hold us accountable
o We need to test everything because we are all evil at heart!!
“we are our own worst enemy”!
The “Legalese” of it all!
5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
7And he rose and went home.
The problem with the haters is that:
· They see things in black and white
· They don’t look at intent, the heart, or outcome
· They simply see the wrong, through their own vantage point
Jesus was and is on mission
Acts 5:31 (ESV)
31 God exalted Him at His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
· Jesus shows them that wording does not matter
· That being perfect does not matter
· And what great Joy we should take in the fact that nothing will waiver Him from that mission
o To forgive sin
o To set your soul free
o No matter the argument against it
· Jesus will not allow anything to come between Himself and the body of Christ!
The power of Jesus!
“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
· This man hadn’t walked in years and was cured to the point of instantly walking
· Not only walking but carrying a load to his house
· What comfort we should take in this, that Jesus has the power to cure us instantly, without any sign of the old affliction
· That is how it is with all forgiveness of sin
o We are cured instantly, no remnant left,
o If we allow it, and therein lies the problem
o Do we allow it?
We can either believe or not, it’s your choice!
7 And he rose and went home.
· He believed
· He got up
· Carried his bed
· And went on home
· To be a blessing, where I am sure he was a burden before
· And we have the same choice, we can live in the past with our old hurts and sins
· Or get up and walk tall like we are children of God!
o Spotless
o Blameless
o Perfect
o Forgiven!
Jesus loved well!!
8When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
· Notice they didn’t give Jesus the glory.
· They gave God the glory!
· And it should be with us all
· Jesus loved well, He loved completely those who believed, and showed the world that love by the way He treated people.
· We should do the same, we should love well
· Jesus was this shining example of love
o What love looks like
o What love acts like
o What love feels like
· And we should be showing the world the same thing, LOVE
· Not legalistic, rule giving, life-sucking condemnation
· LOVE!
John 13:34–35 (ESV)
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
[1]Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume(p. 1654). Peabody: Hendrickson.
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