Trinity 19 Sermon

Trinity 19 – Matthew 9:1-8 – October 22^nd and 23^rd, 2022

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

    “Take heart, My son, your sins are forgiven.” With those words, Jesus throws the scribes into a tizzy – indeed with these words that Jesus sees still spoken to you here in His house, Jesus throws the entire world into a giant tantrum of epic proportion. I do not know if there is anything that Jesus says that more fully and quickly encapsulates drives to the heart of the Gospel, the Gospel that Satan and this world are bound to oppose.

    Consider the story in our lesson. Jesus comes back to “his own city” - this would be Capernaum, the big town by Nazareth from whence Jesus started His ministry. So Jesus is in a place where people know that He is preaching and healing – and thus when the friends of a man who is paralyzed hear that Jesus is back in town, they pick the guy up and carry Him to Jesus. And Jesus sees this fellow, looks at him laying there and says, “Take heart, M y son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes pitch a fit, how dare this bloke say he forgives sins, that's something only God can do, harrumph, harrumph, harrumph.

    Now, to be fair, these scribes have a point. Forgiveness is a God thing. We acknowledge that all sin is against God – remember that love God, love your neighbor thing? Even when you sin against your neighbor, you are also sinning against God who gave you that neighbor. So while you as an individual ought forgive anyone who sins against you, they also need to know how they stand before God, they need God's forgiveness. The problem with the scribes is that, even with all the Scripture pointing to Jesus, teaching that the Messiah would be true God and true man, they don't buy it. So, Jesus, True God and True Man, knows their thoughts. He sees right through them... because He's the Son of God. And then Jesus decides to heal the paralyzed man – and why? Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Rise and walk”? 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.” And he rose and went home. The physical healing was secondary. The important thing was forgiveness. In fact, I'd argue that the paralyzed man needed forgiveness more – especially in the culture of that day where if there was some physical misfortune there was also crushing guilt and the assumption that your sin caused it. Forgiveness would have made the man ecstatic. The healing was good, the forgiveness was better.

    And so, the key, the center of this whole text isn't the healing – the healing is just so you know that Jesus can back up what He said earlier - “Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.” That sentence is completely true – see, this man walks again. And this sentence is something the world hates, something Satan fights against in your life daily and routinely.

Consider the first part - “Take Heart” - that is, have courage, have boldness, don't shrink, don't be intimidated. Sin and Satan try to intimidate you all the time. How often this week did the world try to get you stupid Christians to just keep your traps shut? Don't you dare bring that stuff up around here! How often did the wiles of Satan shine forth to kick you in the shin? How often did the overbearing wickedness and stupidity out there try to crush you? How often did the Accuser reveal to you your own sinfulness, to break you, to tell you how terrible and wretched you are and leave you in despair? A common tactic that Satan uses, that the world excels in using, is breaking you down – is just overloading you with how much vice there is in the world, or telling you that the cost of being a Christian is just too high, or even throwing your own guilt in your face and rubbing your nose in it – all of this to rob you of courage, to rob you of strength, to make your life miserable. And the thing is – Satan doesn't even have to lie to do this. The world is full of wickedness. People probably don't want to hear about your faith. You do have sins, many of them nasty. And frankly, if we were supposed to rely upon ourselves, there'd be no reason for us to have any courage, any heart whatsoever.

       But Jesus isn't telling us to ignore reality when He says, “Take heart.” Hey there guy, I see that you are paralyzed. Take heart. Jesus says Take heart to a man who is weak, who can't walk. Why? Because the reason we take heart, the reason we are bold, isn't because of ourselves, because of who we are or how strong we are – we have courage because Jesus is here. With might of ours could naught be done, soon were our loss effected – but for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected! We are weak, but He is strong! Therefore, because Jesus is here, take heart. Jesus isn't merely telling the guy to buck up, don't worry fellow – just keep a stiff upper lip. No – Jesus is there with Him, and Jesus is his strength – and the world hates that because while it can steamroll some paralyzed guy or knock over you or me, it can't do anything to Christ Jesus. So the world hates it when Jesus says, “take heart” - because it takes our eyes off of sin and death and weakness and puts them squarely on Jesus.

    But it gets worse for the the world. Jesus says, “My son.” The world is quite content to have you believe in “god” as long as this “god” is some faceless, distant entity. “Oh, he's out there somewhere, awfully far away, kind of cold and indifferent – maybe powerful, maybe not... but what's that got to do with anything.” The world will allow for that type of god – a god that has nothing to do with you. But that is not the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. My son. That's what Jesus says to this man. It's not just that there's some god who is far off and just leaves this man to the deprevations and attacks of Satan – no, no – My son. There's a tie here, there's a bond here, you have value to Me, and there's no way on My green earth that I'm going to just abandon you or forget you. You're Mine, you're My creation, My child, My brother, one for whom I would and indeed, for whom I will give My own life on the Cross to save.

    God is not indifferent to you. Jesus knows you – He knows your name. He called you by name at the font – that's why I ask that old fashioned, formal question, “How are you named” - that's why I baptize kids “So and so, I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Because there fundamentally is a personal relationship between you and God. You don't need to get one – you have one. God is your Father – and even if you're mad at God and pitching a fit – tough. He still is your Father and He still loves you. Even if you run away – you're His child and He will care for you. The world doesn't get to eliminate God, remove Him. He remains your Father, much more in truth than any of us human fathers are dads. Jesus doesn't disown you, He doesn't undo the promise of your baptism. You're His – and the world can't do a thing about it.

    And then, there's the phrase that caps it all off. “Your sins are forgiven.” But what if you have pitched a tantrum at God, what if you have ignored what He has said, what if you've been on the run forever – what if that person that you come across this week out there has been on the run? Your sins are forgiven. That's what Jesus says. That's what Jesus does. He comes and becomes man, and He takes up your sin, He takes up the sin of the world, and He drags them all to the Cross in His own Body and He puts them all to death. See the Cross – there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because He took it all up. And Jesus, who has come to be with you and give you courage, who is always your Creator, says to you that you are forgiven. Period. Did I stutter? Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. As far as the east is from the west, so far will I remove your sin from you. Father, forgive them – it is finished.

      There is nothing that Satan and this sinful world hate more than Jesus' forgiveness. We all see it, the rage, the anger – the drive to keep the rage going, to never forget, to never reconcile, to cancel forever, to keep the grudge alive. The world despise the forgiveness of Christ Jesus. Oh well. That's what Jesus does. He forgives. He forgives you. Your sins are removed from you, they are taken away, and you are clean in God's sight, and you are going to be raised again from the dead. Period. But what's more, my friends – When they saw it they were afraid, and they glorified God who had given such authority to men. Forgiveness, the authority to proclaim Jesus' forgiveness, has been given to you. It's the family treasure, the birthright of every baptized child of God. The forgiveness that God has declared to you, you speak it as well. Now, as a Pastor, I do this publicly, here – in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ. And when doing the absolution from Divine service 1 or 3, I'll make the sign of the Cross over y'all in blessing, because I'm addressing the baptized children of God. But you all have that authority as well – you announced God's pardon and forgiveness to me today as we used the old “Confititor” form of Confession and Absolution where we take turns confessing and forgiving. You're baptized, you've received God's forgiveness, you get to declare it to other people because they are people for whom Jesus has died.

    And this forgiveness is spoken to you so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who forgives sins. It's the Word of eternal life, and it is given to you for you good and for you to use for your neighbor – there is no greater love than this, that Jesus laid down His life for you and for your neighbor. And even though the world will try to muzzle you, to terrorize you, to make you think that God is distant and far – no, you know the truth, you know reality. Christ Jesus has come, God Himself has taken up the battle against sin, death, and the devil for you – and He has won you the victory with His death and resurrection. And this victory, this forgiveness and life and salvation has been applied to you. You are baptized. Christ is indeed present for you, He comes you to this day – and there's not a cotton picking thing Satan or the world can do about it. Take heart, My son, your sins are forgiven. Amen.