Their Faith

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

Matthew 8:23-26

I’ve always been fascinated by this passage. To begin with, there are some things we must not miss. The teachers of the law are right, only God can forgive sins. And yes, it would be blasphemy for anyone to say such things, unless of course - they were God. 

Matthew is showing us that Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, is also God the Son and that He has the authority to forgive sins.

Now if that wasn’t mind bending enough. We see that Jesus’ declaration was in response to their faith. Doesn’t this mess with our individualism! Now there may include the paralytic but in any case, it shows us something of the nature of God and community.

If the faithful parent prays for their child to turn to Jesus and the Lord answers their prayer, whose was the saving faith? In some sense we can say both. It’s a reminder to us who believe that our faith in Christ is not simply for our own salvation, but we should put our trust in Him as we pray for, invite and speak to others about the good news.

Today:

• Do you trust that Jesus has forgiven your sins?
• Who are you regularly praying for in faith?
• Write a list of three people you entrust to Jesus for salvation.

Pray:

• Praise the Father for His grace in Christ, sending a Messiah who can forgive sins once and for all. 
• Give thanks that Jesus responds to our faithful prayers and actions with grace. 
• Ask God for His Holy Spirit to bring one person you love to Jesus this year.