Matt 9:1–8 — His Authority To Forgive Sins

The preceding passage displayed Christ’s authority over demons. This passage displays his authority to forgive sins. Both place the spotlight upon Christ and his saving power.

Individuals certainly receive the benefits of that power. The demon-possessed men are delivered from bondage, and the paralytic is freed from both sin and bodily affliction. Yet Matthew’s primary purpose is to reveal who Jesus is. He is the divine Son of God made man, the Messiah and Son of Man who possesses authority to heal, save, justify, and forgive.

We will first work through the passage verse by verse and then consider three truths it teaches about justification.

Jesus Sees Their Faith

Jesus crosses the lake and returns to “his own city,” Capernaum. Some men bring him a paralytic lying on a bed. The man is completely helpless, unable even to approach Jesus without being carried by his friends.

Mark and Luke provide further detail. The crowd around Jesus prevents the men from entering the house, so they open the roof and lower their friend into the room. Their determination reveals both desperate need and confidence in Christ’s power.

Matthew emphasizes faith: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.’” This includes the faith of the paralytic and of the friends who carried him. Their actions make that faith visible.

Jesus did not indiscriminately perform mighty works without regard to faith. Matthew 13:58 says that he did not do many miracles in Nazareth “because of their unbelief.” The Gospels thus teach through narrative what Paul teaches propositionally: salvation, forgiveness, and justification are received through faith rather than works.

Jesus does not first command the paralytic to walk. He says, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” The connection between sin and sickness lies in the background. Scripture does not teach that every illness results from a particular personal sin, but sickness and death entered the world through humanity’s fall.

Forgiveness here is equivalent to justification. Justification includes not only the cancellation of guilt but also the positive reckoning of righteousness and the right to eternal life. When Jesus later causes the man to rise from his bed, that physical restoration becomes a foretaste of the resurrection life belonging to those declared righteous.

The paralytic is justified at the moment Jesus speaks. Christ’s words are powerful and effective. As God said, “Let there be light,” and light came into existence, so Christ says, “Your sins are forgiven,” and accomplishes what he declares.

Faith does not unleash this power or cause justification. Faith receives Christ and his word. The authority belongs wholly to Jesus. He still addresses needy sinners through the gospel: “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

The Scribes Accuse Jesus

Some scribes hear Jesus and say within themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” Mark and Luke make their reasoning explicit: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Their premise is correct. Only God can forgive sins committed against him. Their error is treating Jesus as a mere man.

Matthew says that Jesus knows their thoughts and asks, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” This may itself display his deity and knowledge of the heart. It is also possible that he inferred their thoughts from whispered comments or visible body language. The text literally says that he “saw” their thoughts, paralleling the statement that he “saw” the faith of the paralytic and his friends through their actions. Either way, Jesus perceives their unbelief as clearly as he perceived the others’ faith.

The scribes’ objection amounts to a challenge: By what authority does Jesus claim the divine prerogative of forgiving sins?

Which Is Easier to Say?

Jesus answers with a question: “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?”

Anyone can mouth either set of words. The verb say must therefore be understood in an effective sense: Which statement is easier to speak with the power to accomplish what it declares?

The scribes would probably answer that “Rise and walk” is easier. God had sometimes enabled prophets to perform visible miracles, but no mere creature could forgive sin. Yet commanding a completely paralyzed man to walk is hardly easy.

The two statements also differ in visibility. Forgiveness is hidden and cannot be verified by sight. If Jesus tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven, an observer cannot see the result. If he commands the man to rise, everyone will know immediately whether the words possess power.

Jesus therefore says, “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—and then commands the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” The visible healing confirms the invisible grace. By accomplishing the harder-to-verify physical miracle, Jesus demonstrates that his declaration of forgiveness is equally effective.

The Authority of the Son of Man

Jesus’ title “the Son of Man” alludes to Daniel 7. Daniel sees one like a son of man approach the Ancient of Days and receive dominion, glory, authority, and an everlasting kingdom.

The Gospel narrative has not yet reached Christ’s passion, resurrection, and ascension. Nevertheless, Jesus speaks in view of that completed work. The Son of Man receives authority because he will obey, suffer, die, rise, and be exalted to God’s right hand.

His “authority on earth” to forgive sins rests upon the atonement he will accomplish. The benefits of the future cross are already reaching backward into his earthly ministry. Christ proclaims the gospel ahead of time to the paralytic and dispenses the fruit of his death and resurrection before those events occur in history.

The healing is therefore an outward sign of inward grace. It assures the paralytic that his sins truly are forgiven and refutes the scribes’ unbelieving challenge.

Obedience Follows Justification

Jesus commands, “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” The man immediately rises and obeys.

His obedience is not the cause of justification but its result. Before Christ’s gracious word, he could not stand or walk. Christ first forgives, heals, and transforms him; only then can he obey the command.

The same order governs the Christian life. We need a new heart before we can begin walking in obedience. Grace gives life to the helpless, and those raised by grace are enabled to serve the Lord.

Fear, Glory, and Worship

When the crowds see the miracle, “they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” This is the climax of the account.

Their fear differs from that of the Gadarenes, who asked Jesus to leave after he delivered the demoniacs. This is the reverent fear awakened by God’s presence and power. Psalm 130:4 says, “With you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” The crowd has witnessed forgiveness visibly confirmed, and awe gives way to worship.

They also glorify God. Praise is the natural fruit of salvation. God delivered Israel from Egypt so that the people might come to his mountain and worship. In the same way, Christ forgives and restores sinners so that they may honor God.

The crowd still has much to learn about Jesus, but it recognizes that God has entrusted extraordinary authority to him. The scribes respond to the forgiveness-bringer with evil thoughts; the crowd responds with fear and doxology. In Christ’s presence, we either recoil in unbelief or rejoice and glorify God.

Justification as a Mighty Speech-Act

The first doctrinal lesson is that justification is a mighty speech-act of Christ. A speech-act does not merely describe a reality; it brings about what it declares. In a wedding ceremony, the words “With this ring I thee wed” help enact the covenant being declared.

Christ’s declaration is infinitely more powerful: “Your sins are forgiven.” The authoritative Son of Man speaks, and the sinner is justified. His word creates the reality it announces.

This authority belongs to him because of both his person and his work. He is the divine Son with power to forgive. He is also the Son who became man, perfectly obeyed God, bore sin at the cross, rose from the dead, and was exalted to the Father’s right hand. The person and work of Christ cannot be separated. The one who speaks forgiveness possesses authority because of who he is and what he accomplished.

Abraham and the God Who Gives Life

Paul describes the same divine power in Romans 4. Abraham was “as good as dead” because of his age, yet he trusted the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” The language recalls creation: God speaks, and what did not exist comes into being.

Like Abraham, the paralytic possesses no power in himself. He lies helpless and must be carried to Jesus. Yet he looks to Christ in faith, trusting the one who creates life from death, releases prisoners from bondage, and justifies the ungodly.

Salvation is not a human achievement. It is the powerful word of Christ giving life to someone who cannot raise himself.

Justification Awakens Awe

The second doctrinal lesson is that justification is such an astonishing miracle that it should produce awe and worship: “They were afraid, and they glorified God.”

We easily take forgiveness for granted. Being justified, freed from guilt, and accepted as righteous before God can become familiar enough to seem ordinary.

If we understood the depth of our sin, the cost of forgiveness at the cross, and the majesty of the Son of Man who grants it, we would stand in greater awe of grace. We should not measure ourselves against people who appear worse. We must see our sin before the holiness of God and recognize that we deserve his judgment.

Only then does the gospel appear in its true glory. We do not deserve forgiveness. Christ bore an immeasurable cost to secure it. Awareness of our helplessness should cause us to melt in adoration when he says, “Take heart; your sins are forgiven.”

Justification and Assurance

The third lesson is that justification is an invisible act of God, but Christ wants his people to possess sure knowledge of it. Jesus says, “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”

Nothing visibly changed when Jesus first pronounced forgiveness. The scribes questioned the declaration, and the paralytic may also have struggled to grasp its reality. Christ therefore condescended to human weakness by adding a visible pledge: “Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”

As one commentator observes, the healing not only cured the paralytic; it assured him that his sins were forgiven. Christ’s spoken promise should have been sufficient, but he graciously added an outward confirmation. The pledge also refuted his adversaries.

The Promise and the Sacraments

God similarly joins visible signs and seals to his gospel promise for believers. The Heidelberg Catechism describes the sacraments as holy signs and seals appointed by God to declare and seal the promise of the gospel more fully.

The promise remains primary. Assurance does not arise from baptism or the Lord’s Supper considered in isolation. It would be too simplistic to tell a doubting person merely to look at the fact of baptism and infer salvation automatically.

Baptism provides assurance in relation to Christ’s promise. The gospel directs us to Christ; the sacrament confirms that promise and is received by faith. Just as a promise benefits us through believing reception, its visible pledge strengthens assurance as we receive it by faith in the Savior.

The focus must never shift from Christ to the sacrament itself. The crowd marvels not merely that a man has been healed, but that the Son of Man possesses authority to forgive. Our faith likewise rests in Christ and the gospel promise, not in baptism as an independent act.

Yet we should rejoice that Christ gives these outward pledges. He knows our weakness and wants us to know that we are his. The sacraments direct us back to his promise, strengthen faith, deepen assurance, and encourage the grateful obedience that follows justification.