The man has been let down to be healed. And Jesus said, son, your sins are forgiven you. Your sins are forgiven you.
And the preachers said, how dare he? Only God can forgive sins And Christ either heard them whispering, saw and knew what they were doing or knew, you know, how are we going to know miraculous things? Christ knew people. And he said, here’s what he said. Hey, which is easier to say?
Your sins be forgiven you or rise up and walk to the man paralyzed, which is easier to say. What if we were company together and I came to this business, I can forgive sins, you see? And you said, you can’t forgive sins. And here’s this paralytic man. And I say to you, which is easier for me to say?
your sins are forgiven or rise up and walk, which is easier. Well, you would know fine well what was easier. Easy to say your sins are forgiven.
Why is it easier? Because you can’t see anything for pity’s sake. But if I were to say, get up and walk, and the guy doesn’t get up and walk, then I’ve made a fool of myself, haven’t I? Jesus said to them, I said, your sins are forgiven you. You’re all exercised about it, which is easier to say.
Your sins are forgiven you or get up and walk. Well, they would have said, well, of course, your sins are forgiven you. You said, well, look, so that you will know this is all in the text. the Saint John five. OK, ⁓ this is all in the text so that you will know that I have the authority and the power to forgive sins. So you’ll know that.
That’s an invisible claim. I want to tell you what I’m going to do. It’s just as easy for me, just as easy for me to say your sins are forgiven as it is to say to Him, get up and walk.
Get up and walk. Get up and walk. Don’t you love Christ?
He said to the fellow, get over there, the fellow gets up. I wish I had a picture of all that going on, see all those faces. He said, that I have the authority and the power to forgive sins.
get up and walk and my gets up and walk. And Jesus, I can almost see him go, you know, how does that grab you?
You see our gospel, I can understand people not believing it. This is what Dorothy Sayers said, but it’s certainly your conviction in mind. I can understand that people won’t believe it.
But they think it’s dull? Now that is intolerable and unforgivable. Our gospeling, we cannot, must not.
Make it dull.