Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.  Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”  At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So, he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”  Then the man got up and went home.  When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

Matthew 9:1 – 8

Jesus and his disciples returned from their dramatic visit to “the other side,” where satanic and demonic forces reigned.  Assuming that Jesus took that trip to help his disciples to see who he is, they must have been amazed when they realized that those evil spirits knew Jesus.  In fact, they knew him in a way that the disciples were only beginning to understand. I believe this was a major part of Jesus’ self-revelation. As I think about it, no evil spirits in Galilee were so bold.

That was “on the other side.” They are now back in Galilee where the Jewish teachers tried to do away with Jesus.  They did not have much against him as a healer.  There were many such among the Jews.  Now, Jesus reveals himself as one who can do what only God can do, according to Jewish belief, that is to forgive sins. “But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”  These teachers knew that Jesus claimed to do what God, alone, can do, forgive sins which is a spiritual matter.  This distressed the Jewish teachers of the Law mthan Jesus’ healing.

The crowd of people who observed the healing did not seem to have a problem with Jesus as one who can forgive sin.  When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.

I suppose we set up reasons, “good ones,” that hinder our ability to believe. We need to have our minds changed, even our world-view, to see things as they are, not as we perhaps thought.