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Matthew 9:1-8
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1Jesus stepped into a boat,
crossed over and came to his own town.
2Some 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.”
3At this, some of the
teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4Knowing their thoughts,
Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
5Which is easier: to say,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
6But I want you to know that
the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the
paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”
7Then the man got up and went
home.
8When the crowd saw this, they
were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to
man.
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1)
According to verse
2 whom did some men bring to Jesus?
o
They brought to Jesus
a paralyzed man, lying on a mat.
2)
In accordance
with verse 2 how did Jesus see their faith?
o
Their faith was
made manifest in the action.
o
That
o
They had taken.
3)
In accordance
with verse 2 whose sins did Jesus forgive?
o
Jesus forgave the
sins of the paralyzed man.
4)
According to verse
2 what does it take for sins to be forgiven?
o
It takes faith in
Jesus for sins to be forgiven.
5)
Did the men who brought
the paralyzed man to Jesus have their sins forgiven too and why?
o
Yes, because they
had faith in Jesus too.
6)
What was the
endpoint of the responsibility of the men in helping secure the forgiveness of
the paralyzed man?
o
The endpoint of
their responsibility was getting the paralyzed man to Jesus.
7)
Did people expect
it when Jesus said to the paralyzed man that his sins were forgiven and why?
o
No, because
§
The paralyzed man
and the men were expecting
Ø
Physical healing.
Ø
Not forgiveness
of sins.
§
And the teachers
of the law considered Jesus to be blaspheming.
8)
Of all the
incidents of healings by Jesus in the bible, it was always those who approached
Jesus for healing that initiated the conversation but for this incident, why?
o
Jesus initiated
the conversation with the paralyzed man in order to set the theme of the
conversation.
o
That
o
He had authority
on earth to forgive sins.
o
Otherwise people
would have been fixated on the healing as usual.
9)
In accordance
with verse 3 why did the teachers of the law consider Jesus to be blaspheming?
o
The teachers of
the law held that only God alone could forgive sins.
o
They considered
Jesus to be a mere man.
o
Therefore they
considered Jesus to be blaspheming.
10)
What was Jesus
implying from the perspective of the teachers of the law when he forgave the
sins of the paralyzed man?
o
Jesus was
implying that he is God.
11)
According to
verse 4 what did Jesus know about what was going on with the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law?
o
Jesus knew what
they were thinking.
12)
How did Jesus
know what the teachers of the law were thinking?
o
Jesus knew
§
Because they held
that only God could forgive sins.
§
And because he
Ø
Is God.
Ø
And therefore
knows all things.
13)
From a human
perspective which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get
up and walk’, and why?
o
It is easier to
say, “Your sins are forgiven,”
o
Because
o
No one can tell
whether the sins of the paralyzed man have indeed been forgiven or not.
14)
When Jesus said
to the teachers of the law, "But I want you to know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . .” what was Jesus more clearly
pointing out?
o
Jesus was more
clearly pointing out that he is God.
15)
In accordance
with verse 7 had Jesus’ authority to forgive sins been confirmed and why?
o
Yes, because the paralyzed
man was healed.
16)
What did Jesus’
authority to forgive sins further prove?
o
It further proved
that Jesus is God.
17)
How do we see the
faith of the paralyzed man in action?
o
Though he could
not get up by himself, he was healed.
o
While
o
He was trying to
obey Jesus’ words for him to get up.
18)
According to
verse 8 what was the crowd’s reaction to
the healing of the paralyzed man?
o
They
§
Were filled with
awe.
§
And praised God,
who had given such authority to man.
19)
What were people awed
by, what Jesus did or what Jesus said, and why?
o
People were awed
§
By the miracle
Jesus did in healing the paralyzed man.
§
Not by Jesus’
words that his sins had been forgiven.
20)
Did people
praise God because the paralyzed man had been
healed or because his sins had been forgiven?
o
People praised
God because he had been healed.
21)
What did people
actually miss when they were filled with awe and praised God for the healing?
o
They missed the
fact.
o
That
o
Forgiveness of
sins is more important than physical healing.
o
Because
o
Physical healing
is temporal.
o
But forgiveness
of sin is eternal.
22)
Is it really
easier to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ than to say, ‘Get
up and walk’ and why?
o
No, it is actually
easier
§
To heal the paralyzed
man.
§
Than to forgive
his sins.
o
There are other
incidents of people in the bible working miracles to heal paralytics.
o
But these people
could not forgive sins.
o
Only God can.
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Matthew 9:1-8
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