BY GREG CRUM
“And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For 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.” Matthew 9:4-6
There are several spiritual insights to be gleaned from every interaction that Jesus had with those he walked among during his days on this earth, but here in Matthew we see a startling connection between forgiveness and physical healing. It’s worth noting that Jesus could have gone about healing this man that was brought to him in numerous ways.
There are a lot of truths that he could have relayed in those moments in relation to this man’s situation. As always though, Jesus’ words were measured, purposeful, and to the heart of the matter. Jesus addressed the root of this man’s health deficiencies. He addressed his sin, and in doing so relayed the mindset of Heaven concerning our wellness. You see, in Jesus’ eyes forgiveness equaled health. If one was forgiven, that means he was eligible to be made every wit (or bit) whole!
Last week we wrote to get you thinking about the true source of sickness and disease. Illness has an origin story. It was conceived in the deception of the serpent, and birthed by the rebellious disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Sickness isn’t an “act of God,” but rather the repercussions of the actions of man.
When death entered this world through our earliest ancestor’s brazen sin, it brought with it associates to help accomplish its work. Those henchmen? Sickness, disease and injury. Despite what we’ve been taught through structured academia and modern medicine, sickness is a curse of the Fall, and that means it’s not a biological issue primarily, but a sin issue at its root. The good news for us in this whole mess? All the Fall caused has been resolved by the Cross!
We left off last week noting the keen understanding the people of God from the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry had concerning the origins of sickness. In the Jewish mind of that day, if you followed God’s commandments closely, you wouldn’t get sick. If you were in covenant with God, and your sins were atoned for, you were also free from the harm of sickness and disease. They got this idea from God’s Words to them established under that Old Covenant (Exodus 15:23-26, Deuteronomy 7:12-15). It’s a mindset we see displayed by the words of Jesus’ disciples in John 9, and by Jesus himself in John 5:6-16.
Why am I bringing up an ideology of a people lived long ago? Because I believe it’s a mindset that would benefit us to adopt. If, as Christians, we could understand sickness as a byproduct of sin, it could help us to live healthier lives. How? Well, you believe that God has forgiven your sins because of the finished work of Jesus at the Cross, right? Absolutely you do. And that has “cured” you from the ultimate effect of sin, which is eternal death, right? Yes, we are on our way to Heaven, fit for the Kingdom, not by our own works, but because of Jesus.
Okay, if your forgiveness cured you of eternal death, and qualified you for eternal life, how much more could that same forgiveness cure you of any temporal ailment and qualify you for the health that is promised in I Peter 2:24?
Friends, I know it’s a hard pill for us to swallow, growing up as we have, indoctrinated with half-truths of man’s science and reinforced by the realities that we’ve believed into existence, but the Scriptures paint a different picture of what is possible concerning a believer’s wellness. The world has become so full of faith in sickness right now, and because of that it’s easy to believe and receive this result of original sin.
While these are realities of our fallen world, we don’t have to live by these realities. We can live by a superseding set of realities in Christ. Death and his associates have been dealt with in this New Covenant. Our sins have been forgiven, and, now, like the man sick of the palsy brought to Jesus that day, we can rise up whole and live the blessings Jesus provided for us through the Cross.
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple in Lovely.