BibleProject | One Story That Leads to Jesusਨਮੂਨਾ

God’s Kingdom is moving through the port cities, trade centers, and tiny villages in Galilee as Jesus loves every neighbor he meets and confronts demonization, disease, and death. Jesus fulfills the intense longing for restoration woven into today’s psalm through loving, healing action.

Some friends bring their paralyzed companion to Jesus for healing. Jesus, in response to their faith, tells the man that his sins are forgiven. Some of the nearby religious leaders experience a full-body gasp. The audacity! Blasphemy! They wield significant power and see Jesus challenging their authority. Jesus remains undeterred, fully healing the man and instructing him to stand and return home. Jesus’ authority is self-evident.

Consider the way sickness and sin intertwine in this passage. At times, biblical stories connect sin and sickness closely. At other times, the differences between the two receive more clarification. Both somehow signal humanity’s current corrupted state, living in alienation from God’s life-giving, Edenic presence.

We experience sickness because of the world’s overall brokenness. Jesus’ healing ministry offers a glimpse of the Kingdom breaking in—banishing the powers of chaos, darkness, disease, and even death itself.

Reflection Questions

• Where else in Matthew have you seen the mention of Jesus’ authority? What do these descriptions say about who Jesus is? How does that compare or contrast with the crowd’s reaction in Matthew 9:8?
• When Jesus faces criticism for eating with tax collectors and sinners, he quotes the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” What does this say about the relationship between Jesus’ message and the Hebrew Bible? Where else do you see God’s mercy in the Scriptures?