When God Acts

But when the multitudes saw this, they were filled with awe, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Matthew 9:8

Filled With Awe – Matthew is fond of expressions of amazement, but his fondness is not simply a literary device.  Long before Abraham Heschel mentioned it, Matthew recognized that the first step in transformation is awe, not conviction.  Unless we are confronted with a God whose power forces us beyond the limits of our understanding, we will have no need to listen to His instructions about life.  We have to be pushed to the edge before we admit that life is much, much bigger than we can control.  When we are filled with awe, there is nothing left to do but glorify God, and that starts the process of walking toward Him.

The Greek word, ethaumasan, comes from the verb thaumazo (to wonder, to marvel).  This word means to be struck with astonishment.  Notice that it presumes a lack of natural explanation.  I am not astonished at the fact that I can get on a 200,000 pound machine and be lifted off the ground to fly 3000 miles.  I know the physics of partial vacuums and the mechanics of curved wings.  I might be impressed that men can develop engines with enough power to create flight, but I am not astonished.  Neither am I astonished at the flight of a Saturn 5 rocket in spite of the fact that I can barely comprehend the amount of power it releases.  No, thaumazo is reserved for something greater than this.

When we read this story about Yeshua, we tend to think that the crowd’s reaction concerned the healing of the paralytic.  That was a miracle, indeed.  But was it astonishing?  Didn’t the Jews have a rich history of healing miracles?  Weren’t there examples from their past of much greater feats of power?  Unusual, yes.  Wonderful, of course.  But astonishing?  Hmm?  Maybe not.  So what were they astonished about?

This story involves two elements, only one of which can be explained.  The explainable element is the healing.  God heals through His prophets.  A prophet is on the scene, so the healing can be comprehended.  But forgiveness?  Only God can forgive (the scribes were right).  For a man to pronounce forgiveness of sins without acting as an intermediary with God was beyond comprehension.  No Jew could imagine such a thing.  For this man, Yeshua, to forgive sins directly and then demonstrate that His forgiveness was real by healing the paralytic as proof – now that is astonishing.  That requires me to fall on my face in praise.  That is beyond the edge of how I understand the world.

Matthew’s gospel has an objective.  That objective is to demonstrate that Yeshua is the Messiah.  This story provides evidence for Matthew’s claim.  A prophet may heal.  A holy man may heal.  Perhaps even someone quite ordinary may be used of God to heal.  But who among us can forgive sin?  We have become numb to a reality that the audience understood on that day.  Forgiveness is astonishing!  The holy God, the just God, the God of perfect integrity and unity – how can such a God forgive?  And how in all the world is it possible that such a God would give this authority to a man?  It’s beyond me.  All I am able to do is say, “Praise Him, praise Him, praise Him.”

Topical Index:  astonishment, amazement, awe, thaumazo, forgiveness, Matthew 9:8