The right kind of healing

There's a guy in the bible who can't walk. We get the idea that he's been sitting on a mat for quite some time. On a day when Jesus is in town, teaching inside a packed house, some of this man's friends attempt to bring him before Jesus. They anticipate that Jesus will make the man capable of walking again. When they get to the house they find it too full to enter, so they cut a hole in the roof of the building and lower their friend down on his mat. Inside the house, he finds himself right in front of Jesus.

Impressed, Jesus did something out of the ordinary. Jesus told this man his sins were forgiven.

The religious guys in the crowd found this offensive. They didn't think Jesus had the right to do something like this.

Knowing this, Jesus said, "4...Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,“Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” (Matthew 9)

The man stood up and went home.

It's so easy sometimes to marvel at physical healing. Culturally, we're obsessed with the physical.

But here, the physical healing was an afterthought. It was the proof that what happened first was real.

We always want to see and feel the change and the healing. Maybe we first need to believe that Jesus forgives our sins.

Maybe that's what really allows us to get up and walk.

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