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Jesus said, “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.”

᛭ INI ᛭

((5. Oops!: We think we’re mostly good people and not really sinners.))

Are you a bad person? Are you a good person? That question (“Am I a good person or a bad person?”)—that question is usually our gauge for how we judge ourselves. And by and large we’re mostly good people! We are! We’re generally not running around being bad people, but because of that we wrongfully think that we’re not all that sinful.

But that’s a human way of thinking! It has nothing to do with how God defines us or judges us according to His Law. To be a sinner doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Being a mostly good person doesn’t mean you’re a saint. When it comes to our human judgment, there are many good people, and they may not be believers. In fact, according to world, we’re “bad people” for believing what the Bible says about marriage and sex and gender.

Anyway, we look at ourselves, and, by what we can observe, we’re generally nice, good people, and that means we delude ourselves, deceive ourselves, into thinking we’re not sinful, or not really all that sinful, or maybe we think that we’re “sinners in name only.” Thinking, “Yeah, I know I’m supposed to say I’m a sinner, but I don’t really think I am.”

((4. Ugh!: We major in minors—not the forgiveness of sins!))

Because we wrongly equate “bad person” with “sinner” and “good person” with “saint,” we get everything wrong about what it means to be a Christian, about Jesus, and about the forgiveness of sins.

When it comes to Christianity, we end up majoring in minors. We focus on the wrong things! We don’t highlight forgiveness. It’s why we can so often skip over the forgiveness of sins and our need for it! For one, if you need forgiveness, then you’re a sinner, and sinners, are well “bad people;” they’re losers, and who wants to be in that crowd?

We’re always wanting to find something more than forgiveness. What good does it do? We don’t believe it’s power to give us new life and everlasting salvation, which means we don’t believe Jesus has the power to give us new life and everlasting salvation.

So, there’s so-called practical or pragmatic or principle preaching, which often doesn’t include Jesus’ death, or blood, or His Word, or His Sacraments. The human heart wants life advice, or steps to implement Jesus’ principles to bless marriage or parenting or finances or job, or how to implement God’s plan, or take part in God’s mission. So, there are many church buildings where people have gathered preachers who will tell them only such things.

But look at your life. Sure, you’re humanly speaking a good person, but you don’t really treat your spouse, your kids, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers, your enemies like you should. “Scripture shouts everywhere that [you] are far away from the perfection [God’s] Law requires. [Don’t] imagine that God’s Law [is only about] outward and civil righteousness[—being a “good person”]. [I]t requires true love for God ‘with all your heart’ [Deuteronomy 6:4][,] and it condemns all lustful desires in human nature. Therefore, no one does as much as the Law requires.” (AP XIIb (VI) § 45) (Only forgiveness sets you free from guilt to truly live for others.)

((3. Aha!: JESUS’ MISSION IS CLEAR: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS.))

Today’s Gospel reading destroys all human ways of thinking. Jesus Himself destroys it! He wants nothing to do with our spiritually inane and insane ideas. Part of our problem is that we think this is just a healing story. And the paragraph headings that are in your Bibles are of no use at all—even those published by CPH! Most get it all wrong! They all entitle this story something like “Jesus heals a paralytic.” But if we actually listen to what Jesus says, we’ll understand that that’s not the point.

Matthew’s very clear: “Jesus said, ‘That you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he then said to the paralytic, ‘Rise, take your bed and go home.’” Jesus only healed the guy to prove He had authority on earth as the Son of Man to forgive sins. This story is about Jesus forgiving sins. Because that’s what He’s really all about. JESUS’ MISSION IS CLEAR: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS.

((2. Whee!: Jesus does forgive you all you sins!))

And Jesus does forgive you all your sins! That’s the chief article of the Christian faith! Our need for forgiveness runs so deep, we can’t actually tell by what we can sense or understand. That’s how much we’re sinners according to God’s standard.

So, Christ comes to forgives you all your sins. It’s why He went to Calvary. Forgiveness of sins is so greatly needed and impossible to gain by human effort, that God Himself, the Son of God, became a human being to live perfectly in your place and also take the punishment you deserve. By His sinless life and innocent suffering and death Jesus forgives you all your sins.

It’s still JESUS’ MISSION today: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS. It’s why preaching, His Word, and His Sacraments all deliver, in various ways, the forgiveness of all your sins! When we see so much forgiveness we’re like, “Why? I don’t need it that much, do I? Isn’t once enough?” Clearly not, because Jesus and the Inspired Apostles are very clear.

Holy Baptism gives you a clean conscience before God (1 Pet 3) because it is for the forgiveness of sins! (Acts 2) Baptism, is the washing of water with the Word, because it washes away your sins (Acts 20). (It also gives the gift of the Holy Spirit and faith. (Acts 2; Tit 3; Mk 16))

Jesus sends out His Apostles and pastors to preach the Gospel to all creation. (Mk 16) They go out to preach two things: repentance and forgiveness of sins. That’s what Jesus says: “repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.” (Lk 24)

He gives the Keys of the Kingdom in order to open the gates of heaven to sinners. (Mt 18) He gives the Gift of Absolution, which is nothing other than the forgiveness of all your sins, spoken by the Pastor. (SC V) For, Jesus says to His ministers: “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven.” (Jn 20)

Communion, too, is for the forgiveness of sins. “Take, eat; this is My body, given for you. Drink of it, all of you, this cup is the New Testament in My blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

“Both the Gospel that is preached and the Gospel that occurs [in Communion] contain one and the same gift, though in different forms: the forgiveness of sins. This is not some doctrine about the possibility of a forgiveness of sins, not an illustration of such a possibility, but the actual forgiveness itself, this unfathomable miracle of God’s mercy that blots out our guilt and gives us everything that comes with forgiveness: life and salvation, redemption of the whole person, both soul and body. Both the Gospel and [Communion] bring this forgiveness, for in both the Lamb of God who died for the sin of the world is present [FOR YOU.]” (Sasse, “Word and Sacrament” in We Confess the Sacraments, p. 26)

In all these ways Jesus again and again and again forgives you all your sins. That’s HIS MISSION: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS. He instituted all these ways to do it! The problem with forgiveness isn’t that the Lord gives it too much, but we believe it too little, and thankfully, the Lord gives forgiveness on the basis of his mercy, and not our faith. And so, either Jesus is wrong about how much you need forgiveness, or our thoughts about “too much” are wrong. You pick…

((1. Yeah!: Forgiveness prepares sinners for and assures them of resurrection.))

JESUS’ MISSION IS CLEAR: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS. That’s what His mission was in Capernaum with that paralytic. Seeing his faith, and the faith of those who brought him, Jesus forgave his sins! (Forgiveness of sins is always and only received by faith in Jesus, by believing in Him.)

Forgiveness isn’t for the forgivable or for good or mostly good people. It is for sinners. It is not for the “good people” of this world nor the “bad people” of this world. Those are just human measurements. Jesus’ forgiveness is for sinners—those whom He declares are sinners. (That’s you.)

JESUS’ MISSION IS CLEAR: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS. But there’s another promise delivered when He heals the paralytic. It’s the promise of resurrection on the Last Day. Forgiveness prepares sinners for and assures them of resurrection to life everlasting. Those with faith are assured again and again of that promise, the promise of resurrection, in the forgiveness of sins. Those without faith will rise to eternal condemnation. But those with faith in Jesus, who received His forgiveness by faith, not trusting in anything they bring to the table, they will be raised to live with Christ “in righteousness and purity forever.” (SC II) “For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.” (SC VI)

JESUS’ MISSION IS CLEAR: TO FORGIVE YOU ALL YOUR SINS. So you are forgiven. His cross did so. His Baptism, Absolution, Gospel, and Supper continually do so.

᛭ INI ᛭