THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason to doubt that this Gospel was written by Matthew. It presents the narrative of our Lord’s life from the standpoint of the pious Jew; and the evident design of the writer is to show how completely and continually our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. No other Gospel contains so many quotations from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In it the predominant aspect of our Lord’s character and work is the Messianic. He was great David’s Greater Son. The keyword of the book is “Behold your King.” As King, His line is traced through the kingly race. As King, He proclaims the kingdom of heaven. As King, He promulgates the laws, describes the subjects, and announces the rewards of the Kingdom. When describing His own action at the last, when He sits on His throne and all nations are gathered before Him, He speaks of Himself as King, Mat_25:40. It was on His avowal of kingship that He was condemned to die. From every viewpoint this Gospel is one of the most precious documents in the world.
By F.B.Meyer
{e-Sword Note: The following material was presented at the end of Matthew in the printed edition}
Find the outline of our Bible study on The Gospel of Matthew at the link below.
OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
The King of the House of David
3. Miracles of Healing, Mat_8:1-34; Mat_9:1-35
Today we will look at the following question in the outline.
27. How did Jesus show His authority to forgive sins?
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.
And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy;
Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said,
Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
The answer on question 27. How did Jesus show His authority to forgive sins?
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
And he arose, and departed to his house.
But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
Comments by F.B.Meyer
on
The answer on question 27 as presented by F.B.Meyer. How did Jesus show His authority to forgive sins?
THE FORGIVER OF SINS
How inventive and ingenious is human love! Not improbably this was a young man and the others had been his schoolmates and friends for years. They had come to a steadfast faith in Jesus, and it was in response to their faith that the miracle was wrought. If only four earnest Christians would take one unbeliever or sinner in hand, we should see new miracles of grace.
Sin lies at the root of all suffering and disease. God’s ideal is a fair and healthy body adapted to all the demands we make on it. In this ease there was evidently a close connection between the man’s paralysis and some former act or acts of sin that lay heavily on conscience and heart. It was as easy for our Lord to utter one sentence as another, and the power which accompanied His utterance in the physical sphere proved that He had equal power in the spirit-world.
His critics were perfectly right. Either He blasphemed or He was the Son of God. Note that title, Son of man. Jesus was the last Adam, the second man. See 1Co_15:45.
Believer’s Bible commentary
Book by William MacDonald
H. Power to Forgive Sins (9:1-8)
9:1 Rejected by the Gergesenes, the Savior recrossed the Sea of Galilee and came to Capernaum, which had become His own city after the people of Nazareth attempted to destroy Him (Luk_4:29-31). It was here that He performed some of His mightiest miracles.
9:2 Four men came to Him, carrying a paralytic on a crude bed or mat. Mark’s account tells us that because of the crowd, they had to tear up the roof and lower the man into Jesus’ presence (2:1-12). When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” Notice that He saw their faith. Faith prompted the men to bring the invalid to Jesus, and the invalid’s faith went out to Jesus for healing. Our Lord first rewarded this faith by pronouncing his sins forgiven. The Great Physician removed the cause before treating the symptoms; He gave the greater blessing first. This raises the question whether Christ ever healed a person without also imparting salvation.
9:3-5 When some of the scribes heard Jesus declare the man’s sins forgiven, they accused Him of blasphemy within themselves. After all, only God can forgive sins—and they were certainly not about to receive Him as God! The omniscient Lord Jesus read their thoughts, rebuked them for the evil in their hearts of unbelief, then asked them whether it was easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Arise and walk.” Actually it’s as easy to say one as the other, but which is easier to do? Both are humanly impossible, but the results of the first command are not visible whereas the effects of the second are immediately discernible.
9:6, 7 In order to show the scribes that He had authority on earth to forgive sins (and should therefore be honored as God), Jesus condescended to give them a miracle they could see. Turning to the paralytic, He said, “Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.”
9:8 When the multitudes saw him walking home with his pallet, they registered two emotions—fear and wonder. They were afraid in the presence of an obviously supernatural visitation. They glorified God for giving such power to men. But they completely missed the significance of the miracle. The visible healing of the paralytic was designed to confirm that the man’s sins had been forgiven, an invisible miracle. From this they should have realized that what they had witnessed was not a demonstration of God giving authority to men but of God’s presence among them in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. But they didn’t understand.
As for the scribes, we know from later events that they only became more hardened in their unbelief and hatred.
WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
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