“‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven’” ( Matthew 9:2 2 And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven. ).

Jesus’ ultimate words to the paralytic, “your sins are forgiven,” represent the greatest of all divine miracles and definitely the most desirable for the one who hears them. This is the holy Son of God forgiving the sins of an unholy man. He could control nature with a word, and with these words He dismissed the man’s sins and graciously made him right with God.

The verb translated “are forgiven” means send away or do away with. David declares, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12; cf. Mic. 7:19). “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance,” Paul asserts, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Tim. 1:15). That means Jesus came to forgive sinners who trust in Him.

Sin is hostility and rebellion against God and His law (Lev. 26:27; 1 Tim. 1:9; 1 John 3:4 4 Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. ). It is incurable by human power (Jer. 13:23), affects all people (Rom. 3:23), affects the total person (Eph. 2:1–3), and subjects people to hell if they do not repent (2 Thess. 1:9).

Such a bleak portrait means the best news anyone can ever receive is the word that his or her “sins are forgiven.”

Ask Yourself

As you pray through a particular issue of need in your life right now, what are you really seeking? Are you only wanting the resolution of a conflict, the alleviation of pain, the mending of a relationship? Or does God want your eyes on even greater spiritual matters?

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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