Daily Devotional
"“For 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."
Matthew 9:5-7
Jesus asks a brilliant question. Which is easier to say? Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because no one can check it. There is no X-ray or blood test for forgiveness. But say to a paralyzed man, “Rise and walk,” and everyone will know in about three seconds whether you have any power at all. So Jesus does the thing everyone can see to prove the thing no one can see. If He can do the hard thing, we can trust Him with the other.
Notice the title He chooses: the Son of Man. It sounds humble, but it comes from Daniel’s vision of one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, to whom was given “dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him” (Daniel 7:14). The one who has authority over every nation has authority on earth to forgive sins. Then He speaks to the man on the mat, and the man who was carried in walks out carrying the very mat that once carried him.
Here is where this becomes personal. Many of us have confessed the same sin to God twenty times and still walk around as if it is hanging over our heads. We think that if we do not feel forgiven, we must not be forgiven. But Jesus has already proved His authority. He made a paralyzed man walk with a word. You can trust Him when He says you are forgiven. Your feelings are not the judge. His word is (Romans 8:1).
Today's Challenge
Is there a sin you have confessed and forsaken but still carry as if it were unforgiven? What does Jesus’ demonstrated authority say to that guilt? Where are you letting your feelings act as the judge instead of God’s Word?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are the Son of Man with authority on earth to forgive sins, and You proved it before the eyes of everyone in that room. I confess that I often trust my feelings more than Your word. Today I choose to believe what You have said. Lift the weight I keep carrying, and help me walk in the freedom You purchased for me. Amen.
