Matthew 9:2

‘And Jesus seeing their faith said to the sick of the palsy, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven.” ’

Jesus saw the faith of the men who had brought the paralytic and also the eager faith of the paralytic himself, and so He said to him, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven.” This must have surprised everyone. But it suggests that Jesus was aware not only of the man’s condition, but of his inner pain. He had only to look into his eyes to see that he was troubled. And that what he was troubled about was sin.

Sin is indeed often the thing that most concerns many people. The Psalmist recognised that forgiveness of it was his first need, for he cried, ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, -- Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases’ (Psalms 103:3). He was aware in the depths of his soul that forgiveness was the first of all God’s benefits. And this man’s heart was clearly crying out for forgiveness. So Jesus first went to the core of his real need.

The fact that Jesus addressed him as ‘Son’ suggests that he was a young man, and it is quite possible that his condition had made him more aware of sin than most, for he would often have asked himself, ‘why has this happened to me?’ And the answer that he would have received from most people at that time was that he must have done something which had greatly displeased God, that there must be something deeply wrong within him. So it would not be surprising if he bore a great burden of guilt. And it was that burden that Jesus wanted to remove. But this was something that did not please certain people who were listening at all.

What they cavilled at was not that Jesus was saying that God could forgive him. They also would have said that, on condition of course that he went through all the rigmaroles that they considered necessary in order for a man to find forgiveness. What they objected to was the clear statement of the man’s forgiveness as an undoubted fact no longer open to dispute, simply on Jesus’ word. This was to have a certainty that they could not allow.