9:1-8 What was the point of Jesus' question, "which is easier to say, thy sins are forgiven thee, or arise, take up thy bed and walk"?

9:1-8 What was the point of Jesus’ question, “which is easier to say, thy sins are forgiven thee, or arise, take up thy bed and walk”?

(cp also Mk 2:1-12; Lk 5:17-26) Jesus asked this question when He perceived that the scribes were reasoning in themselves what authority He had to forgive sins, which only God could do, so to prove that He was empowered to grant both forgiveness of the man’s sins and heal his body, Jesus healed him.

The man’s healing authenticated Jesus’ right to forgive His sins. But there is another teaching here as well, and that is that bodily healing and forgiveness of sins go hand in hand – they are mutually inclusive benefits in Christ’s atoning death (cp Isa 53:4-5).

Every time Jesus contemporaneously healed someone and forgave their sins He was demonstrating that bodily healing is an integral part of the atonement (cp Mt 9:22; Mk 10:46-52; Lk 17:13-19; Jn 4:46-53). Sadly though, a great many Christians in the contemporary church do not believe there is bodily healing in the atonement – only salvation, and as a result cannot receive healing for their bodies.

They believe that Isa 53:4-5 and1Pe 2:24 only refers to spiritual healing, and that physical healing is not included, but if that were so, not only are those scriptures meaningless, but so is Ga 3:13 (cp Ga 3:13). This very clearly teaches that Christ died for our sicknesses as well as our sins. The curse that Jesus died to redeem us from includes every sickness and disease imaginable (cp Deut 28:15, 22, 27-28, 35, 58-61).

Jesus’ atoning death was not only for Christians to be contemporaneously forgiven and healed in Bible times, but throughout every dispensation since then too, until He comes again. This is the ongoing ministry of the church (cp Jas 5:14-16).

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