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February 29, 2004
Festival of Friendship
Matthew 9:1-8
Pastor Robert Raasch

Jesus Solves Our Greatest Need

1. He does what we don't expect.
2. He does what many don't believe.
3. He does what truly changes our lives.

If you could ask God to change one thing in your life, what would you ask him to change? In other words, if there were one problem that you wanted God to fix, what would it be? For example, maybe what you want more than anything else is to be healthy again. You're tired of being sick. You're tired of not being able to do what other people do. You're thinking, "God, please just make me well."

Or maybe, as you look at your life, it's not your physical health that you're concerned about. It's your financial health. You're thinking, "God, I don't know how I'm going to get these bills paid. I'm falling behind. The cost of childcare and healthcare are going up. And now I'm afraid my job might be eliminated. God, if you could just let me win the lottery or something, man, then everything would be all right."

Maybe, the issues you're wrestling with in life run deeper than the balance in your checkbook. Maybe what's really bothering you has something to do with your relationship to other people in your life. Maybe your marriage isn't what it used to be. It seems like you're always fighting about something. There's no joy. There's no love anymore. And that bothers you. You're thinking, "God, can you just make it better? Can you turn back the hands of time?" Or maybe it's not the relationship to your spouse that's hurting. It's the relationship to your child or your parents. It's like you just don't see eye to eye at all. When she wants you to do something-that's the last thing you want to do. There's just tons of tension in the house. You think, "God, why can't you just make this situation better?"

Or maybe you take a little broader view of life. Maybe you're convinced that your biggest problem-the one thing you want God to fix more than anything else has something to do with the world we live in-whether it's crime or poverty or racism or injustice or nuclear war. Maybe what you'd like God to do more than anything else is to make the world a better place.

Or rather than ask that God make the world a better place, all you're really looking for God to do is make you a better person. "God, if you would just make me a little more patient. Or help be not to worry so much. Or help me get a handle on my temper or put an end to my bad habits. God, I just wish you'd make me more like Jesus."

I think that if we're honest with ourselves, we'd admit that we all have things that we'd really like God to do for us. We see holes in our lives that we'd like God to fill. Problems that we want him to fix. Needs that we'd like him to meet. And oftentimes, it's these kinds of needs that bring us to a worship service like this. Often times we're hurting in some way. We're looking for a way to improve our situation in life. And some way or another, we figure that God can provide us with the help we're looking for. And so we come to God, or in this case come to church, hoping that in some small way God can help us with our problem.

You know, I guess there's nothing wrong with that concept. For centuries, people have been turning to God for help with their problems. In fact, in our Bible reading for today, we meet a man who did just that. He looked to Jesus for help in solving his problem. The man was absolutely right to look to Jesus, because Jesus solved the man's problem. Only the solution that Jesus offered was not exactly the one this man expected. No rather, as the true friend of sinners, Jesus miraculously solved this man's greatest problem. In fact, Jesus still does the same thing for us today. This morning/evening, as a part of our Festival of Friendship let's focus on this thought:

Jesus Solves Our Greatest Need

1. He does what we don't expect.
2. He does what many don't believe.
3. He does what truly changes our lives.

First, Jesus does what we don't expect. Here in our text, we read about a man who was paralyzed. For some reason or another, he was unable to walk. And so he had to be carried around on a mat, maybe more like a stretcher. Matthew tells us that some men brought the paralyzed man to Jesus. Now, why did they do that? What were they expecting Jesus to do? What problem did they expect Jesus to solve?

Well, isn't that obvious? They were expecting Jesus to heal the man. I mean, "Hello!" The guy's sprawled out on a stretcher. His legs are probably all spindly from lack of use. The guy can't walk. He and his friends are looking for Jesus to provide a miraculous healing-just like he'd done for so many other sick, blind and lame people of his day. This man had every reason to believe that Jesus could and would heal him of his paralysis.

So when Jesus finally speaks to the man, what does Jesus say? Does he say, "Ok, you're healed; go home"? No, he says, "Take heart, son. You're sins are forgiven." Now, tell me, if you're that paralyzed man, and you're still lying there paralyzed, wouldn't you be tempted to say, "Uh, excuse me, what do you mean my sins are forgiven? That's not why I'm here. I'm here because I can't walk. Can't you see that my real problem is that I'm paralyzed?"

Of course Jesus saw that the man was paralyzed. But Jesus, as the very Son of God, saw much more than that. Jesus saw that this man's paralysis was merely a symptom of a much greater problem. Much worse than the fact that his legs weren't right is the fact that his soul wasn't right. Scripture says that sin separates a person from God. As long as this man had failed to live up to God's standards of perfect love, perfect trust, perfect obedience-as long as this man was guilty of sin, he was under God's condemnation and was headed for hell. The fact that the man couldn't walk was a minor inconvenience compared to the fact that he was headed to hell, should he die in that state of separation from God.

So what did Jesus do? You might say that he performed "triage." Do you know what triage is? When the wounded soldiers are coming off the battlefield or accident victims are flooding into the emergency room, the medical staff has to kind of sort patients according to the severity of their injuries. The people whose lives are in the greatest jeopardy are treated first. Likewise, if you come in with your fingernail torn off and a hole blown in your chest, guess which wound the doctors will treat first? That's right. The one that is the most life-threatening.

So it is with Jesus. As the master physician of body and soul, Jesus evaluates the paralyzed man and says, "We need to take care of his biggest problem first. This man is currently separated from God. He's carrying the guilt of his sins on his soul. That's his biggest problem. Therefore I'll take care of that problem first." And so Jesus says, "Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven!"

My friends, do you realize that today, Jesus Christ said the same thing to each one of you? "Take heart, son. Take heart, daughter. Your sins are forgiven." Did you hear him say it? He said it in the words of the absolution which I (or Pastor Berger) spoke to you a few minutes ago. He/I said, "God, our heavenly father, has forgiven all your sins. What gives us that right? Jesus gives us that right to announce what he has already accomplished for you by his death on the cross.

Do you realize what that means? It means that Jesus Christ has already taken care of your greatest need. He has forgiven all your sins. That is maybe not what you came for today. It's maybe not what you expected him to do. And honestly, it's not something we deserved to have him do. But Jesus, as the friend of sinners, has done it anyway. He's forgiven all your sins.

Unfortunately, not everyone believes that. The fact that Jesus solves our greatest need is something that: II. Many People Today Don't Believe.

Isn't that the case with the people in Jesus' day? When Jesus says to the paralyzed man, "Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven," what do the teachers of the law think to themselves? They think, "This fellow is blaspheming!" Do you know what blasphemy is? Blasphemy is the sin of claiming to be God. These Jewish officials regarded Jesus' actions as the height of arrogance. They're thinking, "Who does Jesus think he is-forgiving this man's sins???"

You know, there are a lot of people today who still feel the same way about Jesus. They think to themselves, "Yeah right, some guy who lived 2000 years ago supposedly has the right to just erase all the wicked things a person has done? And somehow Jesus' death on a cross changes my standing with God? I don't think so."

My friends, you realize that there is a part of each one of us that really chafes under this idea of needing Jesus to forgive our sins. We think to ourselves, "C'mon God, I'm not that bad. I think that the good things that I do more than make up for the bad things I do on occasion. I deserve a little credit here." The reality, however, is that each one of us has failed miserably to keep God's law. We deserve to be condemned by a just and holy God. Our only hope is to throw ourselves on God's mercy. To bow down at the cross of Christ and plead, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." And then believe with all our heart those precious words, "Take heart, your sins are forgiven."

And you know something? When we do that, when we realize what an incredible price Jesus paid to wash away our sins, then things start to change. You see, when Jesus solves our greatest need, he also does III. What Truly Changes our Lives.

Certainly Jesus changed the life of this man in our text, didn't he? After healing the man of his spiritual malady, Jesus goes on to heal him of his physical malady. Jesus tells the paralyzed man, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And that's exactly what the man did. He gets up and goes home. No actually he probably jumped and skipped and ran all the way home. You talk about a changed man. Everybody could see that that man was different than what he had been before.

You realize that the same thing is true for you and me, too? When we come to grips with the fact that our sins are completely forgiven by a gracious God in heaven, it changes our perspective on life. Suddenly all of those things that we thought were such big problems begin to resolve themselves. Remember that list of things that you wanted God to fix in your life? Go back to those a moment and review them in light of the fact that your sins are forgiven. If your problem was you are sick or hurting, now you can know that your particular ailment is not some kind of punishment from God. God can't punish you for some sin you committed. He's already punished Jesus for every sin you committed. In Jesus' blood, you are perfectly healthy in God's eyes-even if your body is gradually wearing out.

And if you thought that your biggest problem was all the verbal abuse you were taking from your parents or your children or your spouse, you can step back and say, "Wait a minute. I've been guilty of those very same sins and more-and what has Jesus done? He's forgiven me. He's assured me that he still loves me. And in so doing, he empowers me to go back to those who sinned against me and tell them the same thing, namely, "In Jesus, I forgive you. I still love you." It's Jesus' forgiveness of us that provides the love to restore those broken relationships with others.

And finally, if we thought that the one thing we needed from God was just a little help being more patient, or more generous, or more pure, we now realize we need more than a little help from God. In and of our selves, we are helpless. We are thoroughly corrupted by our sinful nature. But what has God done? He's not only taken away our sins. He's made us holy. Scripture says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17 NIV) You may have walked in here today as a grumpy, tired old man or cynical young lady. But Jesus says, "No, that's what you used to be. Now you are forgiven. You are a new creation.

My friends, maybe you came here today with a whole list of problems. I pray that by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you now see that all those little problems are really just symptoms of a much greater problem-a problem which Jesus has already solved for you by his innocent death on a cross. Your sins are forgiven. So now, go in peace, and live as the forgiven child that you are, in Jesus Christ. Amen.