QT 3 Apr 17, Matt 9:1-8, Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?

Matthew 9:1–8 (ESV) — 1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 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.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

NOTE: Matthew's account is the shortest of the three gospel's recording of this event. It is an extremely important event although not as important as what triggered it. The triggering event was the healing of a leper, something that had never occurred to a Jew since the law was written (that eliminates the stories of Naaman and Miriam). There were very specific instructions in Leviticus about this event, but never an opportunity to apply the instructions. Therefore, Rabbis and theologians conjectured this to be a messianic miracle. This fact is probably why a leper went to Jesus, in the hope that he was the Messiah. Anyway, the result (recorded more in Mark and Luke) is that a huge crowd gathered at Jesus' home, many from Jerusalem who were Rabbis, Priests, and scribes. This is the observation phase, and so they are there to decide if this truly could be the Messiah. Of course, Jesus throws them for a loop when he either makes a claim to be God or commits a gross sin of blasphemy, forgiving another person's sin. And then to top it all off, he heals a paralytic in front of them, something that should not have been possible given the blasphemy he just committed. So how did Jesus do it? He either is God or his power has another source. And if it comes from another source, why is it power for good? Today, the claims of Jesus still haunt man. How could a person make such claims? Is he a liar (doesn't seem to have the goals of a liar), a lunatic (certainly does act like one), or who he claimed to be -- Lord and God? Some people will try to make the argument that Jesus never claimed to be God, ignoring the reaction of the people and the culture to those very clear claims. But hiding behind misunderstood conclusions does not change the truth of Jesus' claims.