Stepping Up His Game – March 2, 2024, the Third Sunday in Lent

Joel 2:10-19, Matthew 9:1-17
March 3, 2024

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins…”  Jesus spoke those words in our story for today.  And this is another place where it’s hard for us to imagine what it was like for the people who were hearing this stuff for the first time, without knowing what we already know!

We think, “Of course!”  “Of course, Jesus has the authority to forgive sins!”  “Isn’t that one of his main jobs?”  “Isn’t that the reason he came to his earth in the first place – to forgive sins?”  But again, think about what it was like to have been there, hearing this for the first time – without knowing that! 

And why did he say that?  Why did he lead with telling this man his sins were forgiven?  Wasn’t being paralyzed the man’s real problem?  Isn’t that why he was brought to Jesus?  Jesus had healed lots of people by now.  What was happening this time?  Was Jesus intentionally challenging the religious authorities by making statement?  Or was he merely “stepping up his game,” giving them, and us, greater insight into who he really was? 

Well, whether intended or not, this was a challenge.  Matthew says, “Some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This man is blaspheming!’”  And as I’ve thought about this, it seems to me that they may not have been angry here.  I know I always pictured it that way.  But they may only have been concerned.  “Wait a minute!”  “Did you hear what he said?”  “His sins are forgiven?”  “Does he know that’s blasphemy?”  (“Does he know he could be stoned for that?”)  “He’d better not let the priests hear him say that!”  Eventually, their objections would rise to the level of anger.  But here, having heard this for the first time, they may have simply been reacting to it.

As the story goes, Jesus knew what they were thinking.  He discerned their thoughts, and he responded.  “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” he asked.  “Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven?’ or ‘rise up and walk.’”  And then the words I started with, “But, that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins,” (he turned to the man) “Rise, take up your bed and go.”

I think Jesus was “stepping up his game” here!  He was showing more of who he was.  And, as I said, intentionally or not, he was stepping up the controversy between himself and the religious authorities! And at the end of this, Matthew says, “When the crowds saw this, they were afraid.”  “And [yet] they glorified God.”  Why were they afraid?  Were they fearful of the awesome power of God they were witnessing?  Or were they afraid about this challenge – this conflict – between Jesus and the religious authorities, that they were also witnessing?

I think it’s more the latter.  Yes, witnessing supernatural events can be frightening.  Seeing a power that’s beyond us can be un-nerving.  But the more I read this, and the stories that follow, the more I see this as Jesus “stepping up his game.”  More and more, he’s confronting the “powers that be” with his teaching about the kingdom of God.  And what he was saying was more and more threatening to them.

And I wonder, are we sometimes confronted with Jesus “stepping up his game.”  Are there times when our ideas of God and his kingdom are challenged?  Does he call us to a kingdom that is more than just about the forgiveness of sins?  Does he call us to a kingdom that’s about things that are more challenging to us, like the promoting of justice to all people?  Are their times when we’d rather just be healed of our paralysis, when we’d rather just have him deal with our specific problems.  But then he challenges us so much more?

Jesus says to the man, “Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.”  And we know this about Jesus.  We know his mission was all about the forgiveness of sin.  So again, it’s hard to get the impact of the challenge he was giving this day.  But even in that statement there’s a challenge for us in our world.  Because in our world today, the whole idea of sin is being downplayed, as are the consequences of sin.  Paul told the Romans, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)  People in our world don’t want to hear that.

Because of that, the whole subject of sin sometimes makes us uncomfortable.  When we have our time of confession, and we come to the “Assurance of Pardon,” I often quote the words of John, who said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8-10)  As I say those words, I often think to myself, “the world doesn’t want to hear that, either.”

I think what’s happening here is that Jesus is “stepping up his game” in making this healing more than just a healing.  He’s making it, not just about the healing of the body, but the healing of our whole relationship with God!  And even more than that, he’s making it about God healing the relationship with the world “he so loved.”  That’s what was happening when he said that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins.

And if this story wasn’t enough of a challenge, enter Matthew!  His story is also about healing and forgiveness!  If you think about it, Jesus reaching out to him, and calling him to be a disciple, only increased the challenge to the religious leaders!  Now Jesus is really “stepping up his game!”  Now, he’s not just talking about forgiving sins, he’s acting on that forgiveness!  He’s dining with tax collectors and sinners.  And again, notice how tax collectors had their own category of sinfulness!

So the challenge was increased.  Jesus was stepping up his game even more.  Now the Pharisees didn’t just think to themselves, “What is he doing?”  Now they said it out loud!  They asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  Now Jesus doesn’t have to “discern their thoughts,” he could hear them talking!

So he gives them this analogy, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but rather those who are sick.”  That’s pretty innocuous.  We get that.  He was reaching out to the sinners, (and tax collectors!) and he didn’t need to reach out to them, the righteous.  But he doesn’t leave it there!  He challenges them even more – with their own scriptures!  “Go and learn what this means,” he said, “‘I desire mercy not sacrifice.’” 

As you’re probably aware, he was quoting scripture – as Jesus often did!  I Googled those words, and found them in the prophecy of Hosea.  The full verse is this.  “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)

The constant message in the Old Testament, and now in Jesus’ ministry, is that sacrifice and ritual are not what God wants of his people.  Certainly those are good things.  Don’t get me wrong.  They are good devotional things.  The structure of our faith is good for us.  But what God really wants is a relationship with his people!  And even more, he wants his people to heal their relationships with each other.

Think about that.  Think about relationships you might need to heal.  Remember how Jesus said, “If you’re offering your gift at the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift right there, and go and be reconciled with your brother and then come back and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

Did he mean that literally?  Maybe.  But what he did mean is that healing relationships with each other is just as important as healing our relationship with God.  It’s just as important as the devotional things in our faith.

Jesus was “stepping up his game” here to show us that.  Throughout his ministry and in all the ensuing years, Jesus was calling his people to live out the words of yet another prophet, the prophet Micah.  In chapter 6, Micah said,

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
Or with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my first born for my transgression?”

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
But to seek justice, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:6-8)

As we move through Lent, as we prepare to celebrate again the resurrection of our Lord, as we remember his victory over sin and death, may we remember also the kingdom of God he came to show us.  It’s the kingdom of the God who says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

The religious leadership didn’t seem to get that.  They let too many other things get in the way.  May we take time this Lent and think about the things we may have let get in the way of seeing the kingdom of God.  And may we seek to know better the one who now only heals our bodies, but who also heals our souls!

Prayer

Eternal God, your steadfast love and mercy toward us is so amazing!  We know we don’t deserve your love, and sometimes we don’t feel like we deserve your love.  But you have loved us, anyway.  We remember that it was while we were yet sinners that Jesus died for us.  Help us to follow his example of love and mercy.  May the world see glimpses of your kingdom through us.  For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.