Evidence

“For which is easier, to say ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say ‘Rise, and walk?’” Matthew 9:5

To Say – Which is easier: to forgive or to heal?  As loyal followers, we might claim that forgiving is harder.  After all, ultimately only God can forgive.  Miraculous healings might be difficult, but they pale in comparison with divine forgiveness.  Of course, in the current age, forgiveness has been so watered down that we rarely think of the difficulty of forgiving.  We treat forgiveness as automatic.  Just ask, and God forgives.  No problem.  But the Jews of the first century realized that forgiveness wasn’t that easy.  They knew the agony of a society that had been disobedient.  They knew punishment.  They never forgot captivity.  No, forgiveness was very difficult – and costly.

Now take another look at this verse.  Did you notice that Yeshua does not say, “For which is easier, to forgive or to heal?”  His question is not about doing something.  It is about saying something.  Now which is easier?  It is far easier to say “Your sins are forgiven” because there is no observable evidence of this spiritual reality.  Anyone can say, “Your sins are forgiven.”  Of course, that does not make it true, but it is certainly easy to say.  No one can point to observable evidence and claim that forgiveness has not happened.  The “evidence” is invisible.  This is one of the reasons why claims of forgiveness today are thought of as internal states of feeling.  The “evidence” is in my heart.

Yeshua forces the scribes to confront the issue of observable evidence.  Then He ties this observable evidence in one realm to the invisible change in another.  If we say, “Rise and walk,” the evidence is obvious.  If the cripple gets up, then the command is true, and therefore the authority vested in the speaker is true.  If the man doesn’t get up, then we know there is no authority in the command.  Now we see that saying “Rise and walk” is considerably more difficult.  If Yeshua demonstrates His authority in observable reality with physical evidence, then He substantiates His authority in the invisible realm.

What do we learn when we pay close attention to the words of this text?  First, we discover that authority covers both realms.  The proof of the ability to forgive does not rest solely on the invisible reality of grace.  The proof of the ability to forgive is provided by authority in a visible realm.  God is sovereign in both.  Perhaps we can draw another lesson from this connection.  Can we claim to experience forgiveness when there is no observable change in the physical realm?  Are we allowed to sever the two realms, pretending that something substantial can occur in the spiritual realm without any connection to the observable world of physical reality?  Apparently, Yeshua didn’t think so.

Topical Index:  epo, to say, Matthew 9:5