Do you have a purpose in life? An overarching goal? Or do you find your life is a series of random events unrelated to each other? In chapter nine Matthew continues to record the miracles of Jesus. One after another he records them, almost like a grocery list. Is this just a random selection of events? Are they related or connected for a purpose?
If we compared Matthew's accounts of Jesus' miracles to that of John we would find that Matthew's description is sparse. His narrative is minimal. In contrast John goes to great lengths to paint a picture of the scene and of the people involved. Matthew writes concisely. His style brings to mind a lawyer standing before a jury pleading his point, submitting layer upon layer of evidence to build a solid case.
And Matthew is, in a sense, building a case. As we discovered earlier in the book Matthew is writing to the Jews. His purpose is to give proof that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed Jesus Christ, the long awaited Messiah. Matthew bridges the gap between the Old and New Testaments by quoting the prophets. He builds his case by revealing how Jesus fulfills their predictions by the place, lineage and means of His birth. Matthew continues to solidify his claims by recording Jesus' authoritative teaching and miraculous healing.
But here in chapter nine the miracle working takes a turn. Not only does Jesus restore physical health, He forgives sin.
2Some 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."
The people were awe struck by Jesus' power! They were afraid! They were also mistaken. They thought God's new plan involved allowing 'man' to forgive sins.
8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
They were right in one sense that God had a new plan. However they were totally wrong about its form.
The teachers of the law were outraged by Jesus words. They understood the implications of Jesus' statement. Jesus was claiming to be God! Jesus' proclamation of forgiveness expanded His authority beyond the physical, the mental, and the natural to include power over the spiritual.
Jesus' claim to forgive sins not only pointed to Him being the Messiah but was His direct claim of deity. As God, Jesus' purpose was revealed. He came to provide forgiveness of sin.
The people were right - it was a new plan. Jesus explains:
16"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
Jesus' forgiveness of the paralyzed man's sins commenced the opening of a new means of relating to God. By Jesus' proclamation He revealed another aspect of the Kingdom of God: the end of sacrifices. After hundreds of years of following the sacrificial law Jesus' words to the paralytic opened up the means of grace. It wasn't a patching up of the law - a new patch put on an old garment - but a totally different vessel to hold the relationship between God and man; a radically different plan.
Jesus' mandate was to be the means of grace and to share the good news of this new way. His life purpose was clear. Because of this Jesus' life wasn't a random set of events. His miracles pointed to the truth of an alternate way of life, of God's existence on earth, of the way things would one day be, of reconciliation between God and man.
His authority to forgive sins and His purpose to be the means of this grace both shocked and rocked the first century world... and amazingly still has the power to do the same today.
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