Saturday, 14 March Seeking the Messiah. Matthew 9:1–34
I suspect that Matthew’s intention is for us to read this long passage in one sitting. Of course, you could take any part of it as being worth a longer reflection, but in our limited Lent season, we will just scan the whole valley of 34 verses. I've chosen to see the end of v34 as the end of the passage, rather than the standard chapter end.
It’s always worth remembering that chapters and verses were inserted into our modern texts centuries after the original documents were written. Ancient texts were all written in capital letters, with no spaces between individual words, no paragraphs, and no page numbers – and certainly no little headings for sections. So, when we are reading, we are entitled to thoughtfully consider whether the chapter and verse divisions in our Bibles are what the original author intended.
My reasons for concluding that the intended end of this passage is at v34 will become clear as we proceed. Of course, I concede that I could be just as wrong on this as the person who inserted the original chapter headings. But you can weigh that up for yourself.
The entire passage is a whirlwind of healings, meetings, events, teachings, all marked by a growing, swelling support from the people for Jesus as Messiah, and a similarly decreasing acceptance by the religious leaders. We see a rush of people who are seeking Jesus, even Matthew himself, who tells the story of his deep satisfaction when he found his heart’s desire (v9).
Note, for example, the linking adverbs and time phrases: as, when, while, at this, just then… Even a rapid glance through the beginnings of each of the verses will give you this sense. Matthew wants us to see that although we might just be seeing little snapshots of Jesus teaching and healing and ministering to people’s needs, this activity is being multiplied tens and hundreds of times over as he travels through the land.
And this is, I think, his key point. Jesus performed thousands of miracles, gave thousands of little practical sermons. He did these to give credence to his claims to be the Messiah.
Matthew sets his scene carefully in the second and third verses: Jesus says to a man who was paralysed: Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven. The religious teachers respond with a not-completely-unreasonable objection:This man is blaspheming.
This conclusion was not unreasonable (had their hearts been pure), because the Jews have always had an immensely strong sense of the holiness and uniqueness of God. Not for them the uncountable gods of Hinduism, or the slow deification of the Buddha who started out life as an ordinary man. God was holy, deserving our deep respect and reverence. All sin was committed against him, and only he could forgive sin. This was their entire culture.
Then along comes Jesus, a young man from the backblocks with no formal religious training, not a member of the priestly tribe, and announces that on his word alone, another person’s sins could be forgiven. Can you see that they were quite right to be shocked?
As C. S. Lewis pointed out, if you owe me $100.00 and I forgive you the debt, that is OK. It was my debt to forgive. But if another party owes you $1,000.00 and I announce that his debt is forgiven and he doesn’t have to pay you, you would be somewhat dismayed. You would ask, quite reasonably, what right I had to go around forgiving other people’s debts.
So, the teachers of the law ask Jesus by what right he does this thing which everyone knows is the sole province of God himself. It’s actually a very fair question.
Jesus replies – read it in vv5–6: For which is easier, to say ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins [i.e. I am actually God, myself!] he then said to the paralytic – ‘Stand up, take your bed, and go to your home’.
After this, Matthew takes us on this frantic journey following Jesus around, watching him heal every imaginable kind of illness, and teaching about how God regards sinners and the righteous. This cascade of miracles and activity is the answer to the question raised by the teachers of the law, based on Jesus’ first response. If I can heal people who are sick, which we all know that only God can do, then I can also forgive sins, which is also the work of God. You work out the implications of that!
(This also helps us in the question we have considered earlier in this series – why do we not see so many healings today? Jesus performed his miracles to prove his divinity and his calling as Messiah. After the resurrection, no such proofs were ever needed again.)
Now you may see why I think this passage ends at v34. It is here that the religious experts enter the frame again. The Pharisees declare their judgement: By the ruler of the demons, he casts out the demons.
In effect, they are committing the unpardonable sin. They are attributing the work of God to the devil. They are denying God, and declaring God’s works to be evil. This is a long distance from the not-unreasonable question back at v3. (Though, to be fair to the text, Jesus already recognised the sin in their hearts even as they were asking that question – see v4.)
They asked the question; Jesus set up the boundaries of his proof; Matthew showed us Jesus meeting those parameters of proof over and over again; the Pharisees refuse to accept his divinity.
There are still people – even in the church, some of them holding high office – who refuse to accept the miracles that Jesus performed as a demonstration of his divinity. It is a dangerous place to stand. As for me and my house, we will believe the Lord.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I stand amazed at your ministry work. I believe that you are the Son of God. I believe that you are my Redeemer. I put my trust in you. Help me to have courage when I encounter people who refuse to believe your miracles to explain to them the reasons for my faith. Thank you, Lord God Almighty for coming to this earth, clothed in flesh, to ransom your people. Amen.
