About 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ lived on the earth He created. The angels announced His birth, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matt. 1:23).” I believe… How about you?
Need some proof? Okay, how about His Power To Forgive? Matthew 9:1 says, “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed.” Why? Christ had a reputation for healing the sick. “…and Jesus seeing their faith said, …Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” But wait a minute! This man came to be healed, not forgiven. A closer look at the passage reveals that he was sick as a result of his sin. When sin entered into the world, sickness and death entered too. These truths still hold true; the maladies of our day are the result of living in a sin cursed world, and your specific illness, or mine, could be linked to our personal sin.
Jesus addressed the more important issue with this man first; he needed forgiveness. “And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.” The Scribes were the religious leaders of that day, and they did not believe that it was right for Jesus, who appeared to be a mere man, to forgive sin. Only God could forgive sin! “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, …whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 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.”
Because this man’s sickness was the result of his sin: to heal his sickness would necessarily include forgiving his sin. “And he arose, and departed to his house.” Jesus IS able to forgive sin; He was and is God in the flesh, and you and I are sinners in need of His forgiveness. My friend, He is able to meet your most urgent need, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved (Acts 16:31).”