Why did Jesus say "thy sins be forgiven thee" before healing the paralytic?

Jesus went to the deeper need first. The man could not walk, but his greater problem was sin and separation from God. By saying, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee,” Jesus showed that forgiveness matters more than a healthy body. He also used this moment to reveal His authority to forgive sins on earth. When He later told the man to rise, take up his bed, and go home, the physical healing confirmed that His words of forgiveness were not empty but carried real divine power.

What does this passage show about Jesus eating with publicans and sinners?

When Jesus sat at a meal with Matthew and many tax collectors and other known sinners, He was not approving their sin but reaching out to them. The Pharisees complained, but Jesus answered that healthy people do not need a doctor, only the sick do. He quoted God’s words, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,” showing that God cares more about mercy to sinners than about empty religious acts. This scene shows that Jesus came to call sinful people to repentance, not to build a club for the outwardly religious.

What is the meaning of the new cloth and new wine pictures in this passage?

Jesus uses two everyday pictures: you don’t sew new, unshrunk cloth on an old garment, and you don’t put new wine into old wineskins. If you do, both are damaged. He is showing that His way is not just a patch on old religious habits. The joy of His presence could not simply be squeezed into the fasting practices of the Pharisees. There would be a time for fasting when He, the bridegroom, was taken away, but right then His coming brought something fresh. God’s new work in Christ needs a new, willing heart, not just old forms dressed up.

Why did Jesus compare Himself to a bridegroom regarding fasting?

When asked why His disciples did not fast like others, Jesus said that wedding guests do not mourn while the bridegroom is with them. He was saying that His presence with the disciples was like a wedding feast, a time of joy, not sorrow. There would be days ahead, when He would be taken from them, and then they would fast. So He is not rejecting fasting, but putting it in its right place. Fasting fits times of grief and longing, but when Christ was with them on earth it was a season of gladness.

What do the stories of the ruler’s daughter and the sick woman teach about faith?

Both stories show humble, determined faith in Jesus. The ruler believed that if Jesus would only lay His hand on his dead daughter, she would live. The woman with the bleeding problem believed that even touching the hem of His garment would make her well. In both cases, they came to Jesus in their desperation. Jesus honored this trust, telling the woman that her faith had made her whole and raising the girl by taking her hand. These accounts encourage us to bring our deepest needs to Him, trusting His power and kindness.

Why did Jesus tell the two blind men, "According to your faith be it unto you"?

The blind men cried out, “Thou Son of David, have mercy on us,” showing they believed Jesus was the promised king. When He asked if they believed He was able to heal, they said, “Yea, Lord.” By saying, “According to your faith be it unto you,” Jesus linked their healing to their trust in Him. Their eyes were opened, showing that He answers real faith, even when people are weak and needy. This does not mean faith is a power in itself, but that faith takes hold of Jesus, who has all authority to heal and save.

What does "the harvest is plenteous, but the labourers are few" mean here?

After healing many and seeing the crowds, Jesus was moved with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He saw that many people were ready to hear and respond to God, like a field full of ripe grain, but there were not many workers to help them. So He told His disciples to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest. This shows God’s heart for people and our part in praying for and being willing to go as workers among those who are spiritually lost and needy.

What does this passage teach about Jesus’ authority to forgive sins?

When Jesus told the paralytic, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” the scribes thought He was blaspheming, since only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew their thoughts and answered by healing the man openly. He asked which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Rise and walk,’ and then did the visible miracle to prove the invisible one. By this, He showed that as the Son of man He has authority on earth to forgive sins. The healing was a sign pointing to His deeper power to deal with sin itself, not just sickness.

How does Jesus show compassion for people in this passage?

All through this chapter, Jesus is moved by people’s needs. He comforts the paralytic by calling him “Son” and giving him forgiveness. He calls a despised tax collector and eats with outcasts. He answers honest questions about fasting. He goes with a grieving father, heals a woman who touches His garment in fear, raises a dead girl, opens the eyes of the blind, and frees a mute man from a demon. At the end, He looks at the crowds, sees them as helpless sheep, and feels compassion. His actions show a heart that notices, cares, and acts.

Matt.9.1

Matthew 9:1

Q: What does "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" mean?

Jesus is saying that His mission is to call those who know they are sinful and needy, not those who think they are already righteous. The “righteous” here are people who see no need to repent, like many of the Pharisees. Sinners are those who admit their guilt and come to Him for mercy. Just as a doctor is for the sick, Jesus is for people who know they are broken and cannot fix themselves. This verse invites us to drop our pride, admit our sin, and respond to His call to turn back to God.

KJV

And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

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 be forgiven thee.

3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6 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.

7 And he arose, and departed to his house.

8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.

10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Questions about Fasting

14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?

15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.

The Patches and the Wineskins

16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

The Healing Touch of Jesus

18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

19 And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.

20 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:

21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

23 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,

24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.

26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.

Jesus Heals the Blind and Mute

27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.

28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

32 As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.

33 And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

The Lord of the Harvest

35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.