The First Sunday after Michaelmas – Pr. Anderson sermon
St. Matthew 9:1-8 “Take Heart, Your Sins are Forgiven”
October 5, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
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O mighty and everlasting God, by Your Son Jesus Christ You mercifully helped the paralytic both in body and soul: We beseech You, for the sake of Your great mercy, be gracious also to us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Your Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Your fear, and strengthen us by Your grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. (Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, by Veit Dietrich, p. 163)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 9th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.”
And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 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.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, who knows your heart and is the cure for your soul, forgiving your sins, dear fellow redeemed:
Jesus is early on in his ministry. After giving the sermon on the Mount, he has been performing many miracles. He healed 10 lepers; he healed a Centurion’s servant and the Centurion showed great faith. He continues to heal many and with his disciples he calmed a storm out at sea. There is so much for Jesus to do in his ministry, he continues to work. After healing two men who were possessed by many demons, Jesus is now on his way home.
Jesus upon going home is met with a crowd. As Jesus fame begins to spread, the crowds don’t just disperse once Jesus helps them, they travel. What a time for them to be alive. The world has not witnessed anything like this since the prophets of the Old Testament were prophesying for the Lord. The last prophet was roughly 400 years before the birth of Christ. Now this man is doing those same signs and wonders but in abundance. This is exciting so the people want to see. Jesus entered a house, and the people crowded inside around him. Some men came along carrying their paralyzed friend on a bed, but they could not get through to Jesus. So they looked for another way. For them this is so important. They cut a hole in the roof for him to be lowered down to Jesus.
What we expect is for Jesus to say to the paralyzed man, “Get up and walk!” But that is not what He says, not at first. He said, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” The Pharisees and scribes did not like this. “Blasphemy!” they thought. “Only God can forgive sins, not this man Jesus.” The Pharisees make a great charge against Jesus. They have had a problem with him ever since he came on to the scene. They were the religious leaders. They were in charge of the people’s spiritual needs. Now Jesus is stepping into the mix and stealing their thunder. They believe that Jesus is not the Son of God and that he doesn’t have a direct line of communication with God. The Pharisees think they know the Scriptures better than the people. Yet, they fail to see what is being said by the prophets. The Pharisees have failed their job in being the religious leaders of the people.
The Pharisees have failed their jobs as the religious leaders because they are looking at the works that they do. They think that they are living lives perfectly obeying the laws that they have put in place. They have created these laws that are not found in Scripture. They then take a step back and look down on the people. They are much higher than they. Their religious lives are so much better. So now they wonder how can Jesus say what he said. How can he say that the man’s sins are forgiven?
Like the Pharisees, we can get worked up when we hear Jesus say these words. As we try to hide our own sins, we can start to do the same thing, looking down on others with that evil in our hearts. We think forgiveness shouldn’t come so easily. We think people should have to prove that they are worthy of God’s love by living good lives like we do. If it were up to us, there are certain sins that we would not forgive. If people are let off too easily, won’t it just encourage them to sin even more?
The Pharisees call out Jesus as a blasphemer. Only God can forgive sins. They are right
about this. However now we see where they struggle with Jesus. They are watching a man do miracles, helping the people, things that they weren’t doing and Jesus gives them the question of which is easier, to forgive the man his sins, or to tell him to get up and walk? Jesus proves he is God. He tells them that he knows what is in their hearts. Then he shows them his power, that he is God guaranteeing that the man’s sins are forgiven he tells the man to rise and walk!
Jesus sees the root of the problem. He sees the sin in people’s hearts. The sins that they hold on to. Jesus sees the faith that the men had when they lowered their friend down to him. Jesus then addresses the man’s problem. A problem that only he could see. The man had guilt for his sins. Even though the man was coming to be healed physically, Jesus gave the man assurance that the sins that he had committed, that weighed him down, they were forgiven.
The man who is paralyzed has the same problem we all share. You and I are sinners. There will be many times where we will not want to acknowledge it. We will want to call others out for our troubles; we will want to play the blame game. We will try to hide our sins. We will bury them deep within us. Like that man we can be brought in front of Jesus and wonder can he really forgive my sins. Are you and I worthy to even have them forgiven? We have our faith that Jesus will do it, yet more often than not we doubt him. We would rather stay in our sins instead of confess them and then we end up at the point where they fester so much that we wonder if Jesus will even love us for what we have done.
It sounds so simple to hear the words “Your sins are forgiven.” But how can we be sure?
The Son of Man shows that he has the power to forgive sinners. He sees the problem at play. It isn’t the earthly problem of paralysis. It is the spiritual problem. Jesus addresses this problem by removing the sins. Jesus puts our sins away for good. There is no reason to wonder on if they can be forgiven. Jesus words are final. Your slate, like the paralytic, has been washed clean by Jesus’ blood shed for you on the cross. Jesus paid for all of our sins. The ones that you committed a long time ago, the ones committed last week, the ones that will be committed today, and the ones that will be committed in the future. All of these sins have been washed away by Jesus who paid for them with his perfect life and innocent death.
The paralytic man had a deeper problem than his paralysis. Jesus addressed it. Jesus answers the question of what is easier. He shows his power, he shows that he is God when he tells the man to rise and walk. The miracle happens showing that he is the Son of Man, that he is God. Because of what Jesus has done you do not need to ever question if your sins are forgiven. Jesus has paid for them with his death on the cross.
The Means of Grace bring you this forgiveness. This forgiveness is not something you have to look ahead for or try to earn. This forgiveness comes to you, right now. Every divine service in the absolution, you hear the words of Jesus, “I forgive you all your sins.” Confession and Absolution ties into your Baptism. Holy Communion gives forgiveness of sins right at the altar. A beautiful treasure receiving Christ’s body and blood, having your sins taken away. The sermon shows you your sin and shows how those sins are forgiven, the Law and the Gospel. The Benediction is spoken to give you peace, assuring that your sins have been taken away. There is no waiting, forgiveness is yours here and now. This is the assurance that you have because of what Jesus has done for you with his death on the cross. This is what you can be sure of, Jesus has died and risen, for you.
The physical and spiritual ailments of this life will only stay in this life. The troubles that plague us might look like they will never leave, and maybe some of them will stick with us until the day we die. Jesus has taken care of the spiritual problems for us so that God sees us through rose-colored lenses. We could be condemned because of the sin that we do, the sin that we do each day. God’s vision does not see what we have done because of what Christ has done for us. Our sins have been washed away in the blood of the lamb which is the greatest gift that you or I could receive. Just as the man was healed of his illness, so too when we die, we will be healed when our bodies are glorified. All of the pain, trials, and temptations will not come with us. We will have a home with Jesus forever.
The Son of Man does forgive sins. Jesus proves the sins of the paralytic are forgiven by healing him. This is our comfort as well. You know you are forgiven here and now. It is not something earned. It has been given to you. Your sins are not too big to be taken away. All of your sins have been washed away. The burden is lifted. You do not need to think that you have done something so evil that Jesus would turn his back. He has taken the punishment that you deserved. As he said to the paralyzed man, so he also says to you, “take heart, your sins are forgiven!” Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
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