The “Gospel” According to the Gospel of Matthew

“Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you” – Matthew 9:2

 

Do you know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is? I hope you do because your eternal destiny depends on it. The  Gospel is stated as follows:

1 Corinthians 15:1-6 – Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. ⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ¹¹ Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 

This is the gospel Paul preached to the Corinthians , which they received, and in which they stand and are saved by believing. Jesus died for our sins “according to the Scriptures,” died and was buried and rose again on the third day “according to the Scriptures.” This is the Gospel attested to by the Apostles and early Church. This is the gospel that will get you to heaven. Do you know this gospel?

Generally speaking, life is a vapor; it is very delicate and fragile.[1] Death is a certainty for all people.[2] This is because of the curse of sin that cancerously kills everyone infected with it and at death every person faces judgment before God.[3] Thankfully Jesus Christ is the cure for this cancer of sin.[4] Life is a vapor, death is sure, sins the curse, Christ the cure. That is the gospel in a nutshell.

But did you know that there is more than one gospel? There is a “gospel” of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There is a “gospel” of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Christian Science has a “gospel.” Oneness Pentecostals have their version of the “gospel.” Word of Faith churches have a “gospel.” Scientology has a “gospel.” Unitarians have a “gospel.” The New Age teaches Jesus is an avatar with a “gospel” of the Age of Aquarius. The New Apostolic Reformation has a politicized “gospel.” Arguably there are different aspects of the “gospel” found in Roman Catholic churches and Reformed or Calvinist churches. The “gospel” of the Methodist church is far different than the gospel of John Wesley’s days. Progressive and woke churches have their own versions of the “gospel.” Denominations have their versions of the “gospel.” Non-denominational churches have their versions of the “gospel.” If you are in one of these groups maybe you are getting a little nervous about your version of the “gospel.” Well, that’s not a bad thing. Your nervousness is worth the risk because your eternal destiny depends on getting the gospel right.

Not all “gospels” are the same. There are many examples of what the Bible refers to as “a different gospel.” The Apostle Paul said, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” He explains, “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted – you may well put up with it!” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4). We are strongly warned against following any other gospel than the one revealed to us by God in His word. If we follow the wrong gospel or one different than the one given by God in His word, we are accursed (Galatians 1:6-10). Getting the gospel right is vitally important.

But there’s a problem. The problem is that those who promote “another gospel” claim that their gospel comes from the Bible. This tension has led to an almost legalistic spirit in sharing the gospel. It seems that if the devil can’t get someone to accept a false gospel, he will settle for a rigid Spirit-less wooden sharing of the gospel. So I ask you, do you know what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is? If you do, are you sharing it as God would have you share it with the lost?

To discover the true “gospel” of Jesus Christ we don’t need to focus on all the false gospels. Instead we need to be like federal agents assigned to expose counterfeit currency. They are trained not in all the different counterfeit bill types; they instead focus on and get to know the approved authentic bills. They know every square centimeter of each bill, front and back so that when a counterfeit bill comes across their view, instantly they know there’s something out of place. Let’s look at the Biblical description of what the Gospel truly is.

The word “Gospel” means good news. It is good news because it solves the problem of sin in humanity. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). All people have sinned (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23a). On our own we can do nothing to solve this sin problem (Romans 3:23b). The consequence of sin is death, not annihilation, but an existent state of separation from God for eternity in a justly deserved Lake of Fire (Luke 15:24; Romans 6:23a; Revelation 20;14-15; 21:8). That’s how serious sin is. And that is simply some very serious truth. We are all going to die and all of us will face judgment (Hebrews 9:27). On Judgement Day if we haven’t dealt with our sin problem we will be judged and sentenced to eternity in the Lake of Fire (e.g. Matthew 25:41). Thankfully, there is a “But God. . . .” in the word of God.

“But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) (Ephesians 2:4-5). God sent His Son Jesus to pay our death penalty due to sin (Romans 6:23b; Ephesians 2:1-9). Jesus was made sin for us that whoever believes or trusts in Him as Savior (and Him alone) will not perish but be forgiven, given eternal life, and the regenerating indwelling Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-7). Jesus became sin for us and when we put our faith in Him, His righteousness is put to our account (2 Corinthians 5:21). Incredible.

The only unforgiveable sin is rejecting this incredibly gracious offer of salvation from God in Jesus (Matthew 12:31-32). Any and all other sins can be forgiven if the sinner simply turns from their sin to God, admits their sins to Him, and asks His forgiveness, receiving it through faith in Jesus. Only rejecting God’s magnificent offer of salvation and forgiveness of sins is unpardonable.

The grace of all this is seen in the prevenient or preceding work of the Holy Spirit with sinners. It is the Holy Spirit Who reaches out to the lost sinner and convicts them of their sin, their need of salvation. The Holy Spirit points sinners to Jesus as their Savior who is willing to save them from their sinful plight (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8-11, 14). The Holy Spirit working within us sanctifies us, cleans us up and gives us power over sin (Romans 6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). This is the power of the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17). All of this is offered to us by God as a gift of His grace received through faith in Jesus.

The “Gospel” in the Gospel of Matthew

But even though the true gospel is presented to us in scripture, it may not always be clear what it is in certain passages of scripture. That tempts us to confusion. For instance, when we read the Gospel of Matthew and compare it with what the Apostle Paul is inspired to write about the way of salvation, it’s different. Paul may not have actually walked with Jesus, but Jesus met him on the Road to Damascus where he was converted and called into ministry (Acts 9). The Apostle Paul received his gospel directly from Jesus (Galatians 1:11-17). The “gospel” communicated by Paul is clearly stated as salvation presented as a gift from God, not our efforts, and is received through faith in Jesus alone. Matthew doesn’t present the gospel in the same way though. How do we reconcile the apparent differences in the gospel presentations of Matthew and Paul?

The New Testament epistles emphasize salvation and forgiveness of sins is a gift of God’s grace, not our works, and this gift is received through faith in Jesus (e.g., Romans 1-8; Galatians; Ephesians 2:1-9). In the Gospel of Matthew it speaks of judgment.[5] Matthew records Jesus as calling us to be “perfect” as God is perfect (Matthew 5:48). In Matthew Jesus corrects and condemns hypocrisy and religious presumption (Matthew 23). Where is the grace of Matthew’s gospel? Is faith important in Matthew?

Why is This Important?

This is an important question for a number of reasons:

1. The “Gospel” is the “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16): it is the way to eternal life and heaven (John 3:16). The gospel is the door to receiving power over sin. If we don’t get the gospel right, our sins will remain unforgiven, we remain under the power of sin, and we aren’t going to heaven, we’re going to hell.

 

2. If God is the singular Author of the Bible (inspired through human agents), and He wants us to spend eternity with Him because He is Holy, Just, Good, and Loving, would He give us different ways to get to heaven that are conflicting and confusing? That wouldn’t be very Holy, Just, Good, or Loving. A contrary gospel communicates that God Himself is confused and confusing. The consistency of the definition of the “gospel” effects our understanding of the very nature of God.

 

3. How can we know for sure if we’re going to heaven unless we have a clear understanding of the gospel? Without a clear understanding of the gospel we’re still at the mercy of the devil and our sins. Without a clear understanding of the gospel, we have no assurance or security in our standing with God and eternal destiny.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE GOSPEL RIGHT, YOUR SINS AREN’T FORGIVEN, YOU DON’T HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, YOU WON’T HAVE POWER OVER SIN, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HEAVEN, YOU’RE GOING TO HELL. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

Different does not mean divergent. While the “Gospel” in the Gospel of Matthew is communicated differently than the way the epistles communicate it, they are compatible. Different does not necessarily mean divergent. When we do some digging and some thinking, some inductive Bible study, we find not so much a divergent different gospel, but the same gospel communicated in a different way.

“Grace” in the Gospel of Matthew

The word “grace” (charis in Greek) is essentially absent from Matthew’s Gospel. It does not appear in any theologically significant way in Matthew. This stands in sharp contrast to Paul’s letters, where “grace” or charis occurs over a hundred times and is one of the most central and frequently used terms..

But does the absence of the word “grace” mean there is no grace in the Gospel of Matthew? Matthew communicates the substance of grace without using the word. The concept is present in Jesus’ table fellowship with undeserving sinners, his healing of the undeserving people, and his sovereign calling of undeserving disciples.

Matthew is a Gospel written to a Jewish audience and his vocabulary reflects this. Paul was an Apostle to the Gentiles.[6] The early Church was composed of Jews who received Jesus as their Messiah/Savior. Gentiles didn’t really enter the Church until later (Acts 10). It is believed by some that Matthew is placed first in the New Testament canon of scripture because it is the earliest gospel. Being the earliest gospel means it was written primarily to Jews and therefore that would be reflected in its contents. This is actually an important lesson in hermeneutics, the study of scripture. It’s important when studying the word of God to take into account the recipients and historical context of the passage under study.

Matthew’s gospel may not use the word “grace,” but it is full of grace. From the start of the Gospel of Matthew, the initiative to make a way of salvation is entirely God’s, which is Grace. Matthew’s genealogy includes Tamar, Rehab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, all women, and all social outcasts. That is grace. In Matthew, Jesus calls fishermen, a tax collector, sinners to follow Him, that is grace. Surely Matthew, a tax collector hated by society, when called by Jesus to follow Him, was impressed with the grace of God. The parables of the lost sheep and the workers in the vineyard stress that God’s generosity operates outside human merit (Matthew 20).

Faith is explicitly the instrument of receiving Jesus’ benefits. Matthew repeatedly links faith to healing and salvation: “Your faith has made you well.” The centurion’s faith was commended by Jesus (Matthew 8). Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah/Christ is an expression of his faith (Matthew 16:16).

Why Then Does the “Gospel” in the Gospel of Matthew Seem so Different?

We have to study God’s word INDUCTIVELY. That means we first read the text asking questions. Then we answer those questions to get understanding and interpretation IN CONTEXT. Then we seek the Lord about how to apply what we have learned. When we sutdy Matthew inductively what do we find?

Jesus is the Fulfillment of Jewish Scripture. Matthew constantly quotes the Hebrew prophets to show that Jesus is the promised Messiah. The phrase “this was to fulfill what was written” appears throughout, connecting Jesus’ life to prophetic words from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Micah, and Hosea. Moses spoke of “a Prophet like me from your midst” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Matthew in a number of ways presents Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy. Jesus, like Moses, escaped a murderous despot (Herod and Pharoah). Jesus, like Moses, entered and then exited Egypt. Jesus passed through the waters of baptism like Moses passed through the Red Sea. Jesus ascended a mountain and taught just as Moses ascended Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus gives five discourses in parallel to the Pentateuch. The fulfillment of God’s prophetic word provides gracious and assuring signs that strengthen our faith.

The Kingdom of Heaven. This is Matthew’s central theme. Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of Heaven is “at hand.” The incarnation of Jesus expressed there was a new reign of God breaking into human history. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) lays out the ethics and values of this kingdom: humility, sacrifice, mercy, peacemaking, and love of enemies. The Sermon on the Mount describes the character of kingdom citizens, not a checklist for earning entry into that kingdom. It is the shape of a life transformed by grace, not the basis of acceptance. It is a call to those who are not only converted from their sins, but who follow Jesus as a disciple after their conversion. The Kingdom of Heaven is a realm of God’s grace in Christ.

The importance of discipleship. Matthew’s warnings against false disciples (“Lord, Lord” in 7:21) are directed at those whose faith is only skin deep. Jesus confronts those who measure their spiritual status by religious performance without genuine trust and transformation. Real faith, in Matthew’s view, produces a changed life. Those who receive grace are transformed by it. You can’t genuinely experience the grace of God and stay the same. The effect of grace in a person is to serve and comfort “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). But such effect is not the means of securing grace, it is the evidence that the freely offered grace of God has been received by faith. God offers grace, we only receive it. Grace, by nature, is offered by God to people who do not deserve it. No one deserves God’s grace. We all fall short, but God still reaches down in grace through Jesus to lift us up and others also. This is the greatest lesson a disciple of Jesus must learn. Discipleship is activated by God’s grace.

Death and Resurrection. The climax of Matthew’s gospel is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus begins as “Immanuel” (i.e., God with us – Matthew 1:23). And it is God with us who goes to the cross for us and rises from the dead assuring us that trusting in Him is how sin and death can be defeated. Yes, Paul would say, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:18). That is the gospel. That is grace!

Salvation for All Nations. Matthew presents Jesus as prioritizing “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). But in the end, the disciples are commissioned to share the gospel with “all nations” making disciples of them (Matthew 28:19). The Great Commission offered to all people is evidence of not only a unified message of Jesus’ followers, but a unified mission to reach all people. More wonderful grace from God to the Gentile world.

A Gospel Antidote for Cheap Grace

The Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes and the people themselves historically had a bad habit of slacking off in following God. They were frequently guilty of presumption. They presumed just because they were the stock of Abraham, it didn’t matter what they did, they were going to heaven. There seems to always be a human tendency to slack off in their walk with God. Jesus warned that in the Last Days of the Church Age, the Church would be characterized by LUKEWARMNESS (e.g., the Laodicean church – Revelation 3:14-22). Such behavior is indicative of sick spiritual hearts. Jesus said lukewarmness made Him sick to His stomach. The Gospel of Matthew is an antidote to cheap grace. What is “cheap grace”?

In World War Two when Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in Germany were evicting Jews from their homes and businesses and isolating them in ghettos, the Church was mostly silent. Most of the Church feared that if they opposed the Nazi injustices they might suffer a similar fate than that of the Jews. But God has not given us a spirit of fear or cowardice. He has given us power, love, a sound mind to respond to our persecutors (2 Timothy 1:7). Not all churches and churchmen were timidly uninvolved.

A Lutheran Pastor by the name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer took a stand and opened his church doors to Jews. He resisted and spoke up against the Nazis. He knew this was the right thing to do and more importantly, what God would want one of His shepherds to do. So, he spoke up, resisted evil, and was arrested for it. His courageous faith inspired others but ultimately cost him his life.

Bonhoeffer believed grace is not an excuse to do nothing but is the resource and power we need to do what God would have us to do. There are times when we must step out in faith-full resistance to evil, even at the risk of life. He famously spoke about a brand of “cheap grace” that was unbiblical and unchristlike.

In his classic book The Cost of Discipleship, (greatly influenced by his personal study of the Gospel of Matthew) he wrote:

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. . .. Grace without price; Grace without cost! . . .. That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sin departs. Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.

Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance. . .. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. [7]

Matthew and Bonhoeffer were born of the same Spirit.

In Matthew, the gift of God’s grace is received by genuine faith, but genuine faith is never merely intellectual assent. It is a whole-person-trust-in-Jesus that reshapes how one lives. Grace is the root, transformed obedience is the fruit. The gospel in Matthew is not “believe and then do whatever you like,” nor is it “earn your way in.” It is: The King has come. Trust him completely. Follow Him. And such trust will change everything about you. Matthew’s gospel is fully compatible with the grace-through-faith definition, but it resists a cheap grace reading.

A Different Way of Communicating the Gospel

The world and our nation since the eighteenth century have seen Great Awakenings where gigantic crowds of people heard the itinerant preaching of the gospel and responded to it in life changing ways. An argument can be made that the Frist Great Awakening was the true beginning of America’s Declaration of Independence and birth as a nation. The Second Great Awakening under Chrales Finney brought Sinner’s Benches and Altar Calls. The next wave of the Spirit was embodied in Billy Graham brought worldwide Crusades and more Altar Calls. Out of this came such organizations as Campus Crusade for Christ and such evangelism tools as The Four Spirit Laws and other helpful instruments to make the gospel known. All of this is wonderful. But we make a wrong turn in our walk if we think that such tactics or practices are the only way the gospel is communicated by God.

The Gospel of Matthew is different than the Pauline Epistles. In Matthew we see Jesus reach out to people in ways that are different to that of what we see in Paul. This is true not only of Matthew’s Gospel. In Luke’s Gospel the climax on the cross has a sinner crucified next to Jesus requesting of Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom,” to whom Jesus responds, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). No Sinner’s Prayer, no Four Spiritual Laws, no ABCs of Salvation, just a “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” What’s my point? My point is that God works in unorthodox ways to reach the lost and we need to be ready for that.

With that in mind I draw your attention to the following account in Matthew’s Gospel. There is a lot to learn here. We need to be open to what the Holy Spirit wants to do to reach the lost. We need to guard against being stifled, closed, entangled in rigidly working in certain ways. We may have the best of intensions, but our rigidity can become more of a pharisaical hindrance than a help.

Matthew 9:1–8 (NKJV) Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26

9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.

After delivering the two men possessed by demons, Jesus got back into a boat to return to His home base Capernaum (Mark 2:1). Once there Jesus entered a house. Mark’s account tells us that the house was bursting at the seams with people who wanted to see Jesus, needed healing, and who wanted to hear what Jesus had to say. Jesus, “preached the word to them” (Mark 2:2). How does something like this happen? It happens when the Holy Spirit is moving on people and drawing them to Jesus. It is essential to rely on the Holy Spirit and to be prepared and available for His use when He does. Jesus was always ready in such situations. He is our example.

² Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.

Mark tells us it was four friends who brought the paralytic and that they let him down through the roof to Jesus (Mark 2:4). Sometimes we will be a “friend” that helps another friend by bringing them to Jesus. We need to be willing, available, and open to being available and used in extraordinary ways to bring people to Jesus. We can’t give up just because the front door is closed or there doesn’t seem to be any more room for our friend. We need to be like these four friends and be willing to carry our needy friend to the roof and through the roof, to get them to Jesus. Jesus is the focus of all evangelism. Jesus is the Savior.

When Jesus saw their faith,

What evidence of faith was there in these five men? All five had faith enough in Jesus to come to Him. They had faith enough to come to Jesus at great effort. All five climbed up to the roof (carrying the paralytic on a stretcher). Then they were bold enough to dig a hole in the roof. They were persistent, bold, and strong enough to lower the paralytic through the hole in the roof right down before Jesus. These were good friends. Perhaps they grieved for their paralyzed friend and his condition. Perhaps the friend asked or begged his four friends to help him get before Jesus. Perhaps the four friends told the paralytic, “There’s this teacher who heals people, you need to come and see him.” We don’t know the exact details that led to them coming to Jesus, but they all found themselves in the presence of Jesus by faith. Jesus recognized this.

He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer;

Jesus offers a cheerful word to those who come to Him for help. No matter how hopeless a situation appears, when you include Jesus in the life equation, there is hope and reason to cheer up.

your sins are forgiven you.”

There’s a couple of things to note here. First, by Jesus saying to the paralytic “your sins are forgiven you,” He may be indicating (through the spiritual gift of knowledge) that the paralysis is due to some kind of sin. Venereal disease was not uncommon in biblical times and if left untreated it could lead ot paralysis. The paralysis could be due to some other sinful circumstance. I don’t think Jesus is simply referring to this paralysis as the consequence of planetary sin because Jesus says, “your sins.”

Secondly, Jesus is indicating He has the authority and power to forgive sins.

³ And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”

Mark’s account clarifies that the blasphemy the scribes were claiming was because, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7). They were right in their claim. The Bible states God forgives sins:

Isaiah 43:25 (NKJV) – “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.

Micah 7:18 (NKJV) – Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in

The scribes knew that by Jesus saying, “Your sins are forgiven you” He was either overstepping His bounds or making a claim to have authority that only God has, to have authority to forgive sins. Jesus, in choosing such words, was making a statement that HE IS GOD WITH AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SINS.

⁴ But Jesus, knowing their thoughts,

 Remember, Jesus is our example. He is our example of One who has been baptized with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:13-17). Jesus is ministering in the power of the Spirit which would include spiritual gifting. Just as He knew what was in the hearts of the five friends, it appears Jesus has the spiritual gift of knowledge so that He knows what these scribes are thinking. He may also be exerting the spiritual gift of discernment to discern their thoughts. And what follows is evidence of a spiritual gift of wisdom.

said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

Their accusatory tone exposes their sinful envious hearts. Jesus calls this “evil.” The word “evil” (Greek πονηρός – poneros) means hurtful, evil, degenerate. We can always expect evil to oppose the gospel and those offering it to others.

 ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

 Don’t miss the point here. Jesus could heal the man with a word, but for Him to forgive sins He would have to go to the cross. Words are easy, actions are not.

 ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ⁷ And he arose and departed to his house.

 Jesus wants the scribes and doubters to “know” (Greek οἶδα oida) or to see and understand and be aware that He has the “power” (Greek ἐξουσία exousia) or privileged position, authority, jurisdiction, to forgive sins. Jesus irrefutably proves this to them. When Jesus says to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your home” the paralytic does exactly that. The message was undeniable; JESUS HAD THE POWER TO HEAL AS WELL AS THE POWER (JUST AS GOD DOES) TO FORGIVE SINS!

⁸ Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

The eyewitnesses to what Jesus had just done “marveled” (Greek θαυμάζω thaumazō), they were afraid, frightened, alarmed, in awe, revered, They may not have fully grasped the significance of what had just happened, but they recognized Jesus had just done something in their midst that was a God-incident.

“Your sins are forgiven you.”

Salvation is a matter of the heart. I have seen many people respond to an altar call and recite words of “salvation,” only to show little to no actual lasting life impact. The Bible says, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Heart belief precedes outward words. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). To “confess” (Greek homologeo) means to assent, to covenant, acknowledge, to agree with, to declare, profess, confess. A confession is only as meaningful and valid as it is first believed in the heart.

Jesus saying with authority that this paralytic’s sins were forgiven raises a few questions about the gospel and how sins are forgiven:

1. Jesus is not Michael the Arch Angel (Jehovah’s Witnesses) or the spirit brother of Lucifer (Mormons/church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Jesus is not a New Age avatar, or a spinless non-confrontative weak Savior. JESUS IS GOD. Accepting Jesus as God is central to the gospel message. That is true throughout the New Testament. Any teaching that denies the deity of Jesus denies the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3-4).

 

2. This paralytic didn’t say anything that we know of before Jesus said his sins were forgiven, e.g., no Four Spiritual Laws, no ABCs of Salvation, no witnessing tracts were used, nothing. This tells us forgiveness of sins (salvation) is more dependent on the heart response of a person than the words they say. Being there before Jesus was enough for Jesus to say, “Son be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

 

3. Jesus recognized the faith of the paralytic by the actions of the paralytic and his four friends to come to Jesus. Jesus’ focus is on the paralytic and his We don’t know the condition of the four friends, but surely if they hadn’t been impacted by the gospel to this point, they would have been impacted by what happened to the healed friend. Jesus interpreted the outward actions of the five as evidence of “their” faith. This is evidence that the presence of saving faith is demonstrated in an active response. No cheap grace here.

 

4. Mark’s account tells us Jesus “preached the word to them” (Mark 2:2b). Jesus preaching the word is instructive to us. The preaching of the word was involved with all that happened. God’s word is integral to ministry. The faith that saves is a response to the preaching of the word of God. The word of God assures that what is believed is what is necessary to be believed for salvation to take place.

 

5. Jesus forgiving the sins of the paralytic in this way is evidence that forgiveness of sins is received by faith in Jesus and is a gift of God’s grace. Jesus didn’t require these men jump through hoops or say certain things. Jesus saw their heart in their faith-full outward actions and that satisfied Him enough to say, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The Bottom Line

There is only one Gospel. Life is a vapor. Death is sure. Sin is the curse. Christ is the cure. We need to get the Gospel right. The Gospel of the New Testament is graciously communicated to us by the Holy Spirit in the word of God. The Holy Spirit reveals to us that we are sinners because we do not believe in Jesus, that we can’t work our way to heaven, and that until we believe in Jesus, in our heart, we are destined to be judged and eternally damned to Hell along with the devil and his angels (John 16:8-11). The Holy Spirit reveals to us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God loves us. He wants us to spend eternity with Him. A prayer that expresses this would be:

Father in Heaven, I come to You in Jesus ‘name. I admit I have sinned against You even though all You have ever done is love me. I know I don’t deserve Your forgiveness, but I believe Jesus died to pay my penalty for my sins. I trust Your Son Jesus as my Savior. Please forgive me because of what He did for me. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and give me spiritual life. Holy Spirit help me to live fully for Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

To those who know Jesus. This unorthodox incident in the ministry of Jesus challenges us, it raises questions. That is not a bad thing. Rather than rely on cookie-cutter patterns of how to share the “gospel,” we need to follow in the steps of Jesus and follow the circumstances ordained by the Holy Spirit. We need to bring people to the feet of Jesus and seek the help of the Holy Spirit in doing so. And we need to be ready to dig a hole in a roof or follow the leading of the Spirit in unexpected, extraordinary ways.

Father, we come to You in Jesus’ name. We admit our unworthiness. But we thank You for Your grace in hope that You would use us to bring lost sinners to the feet of Jesus and that they would be saved by Your grace through faith in Jesus Your Son. We pray Holy Spirit that You will empower us and gift us to reach the lost. We pray you would help us to be open to Your ways of reaching the lost. We pray You would make us what we need to be, to do what You call us to do, for Your glory, until Jesus returns. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

[1] James 4:14

[2] Hebrews 9:27

[3] Romans 6:23a

[4] Romans 6:23b

[5] Matthew 7:21-23; 10:15; 11:20-24; 12:36-37; 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50; 16:27; 18:8-9; 24:45-51; 25:1-13, 14-30, 31-46

[6] Romans 11;13; 15:16; Galatians 1:1; 2:17-18; Ephesians 3:8; 1 Timothy 2:7; Acts 9:15; 22:21; 26:17-18

[7] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, (NYC, New York: McMillan Pub. Co., 1961) pages 45-47.