Welcome back my friends. We are continuing our journey through the Gospel of Matthew.
Faith That Carries You to Jesus
Today’s passage opens quietly. Jesus returned to His own city. But the stillness is quickly interrupted by a group of friends who refuse to let their paralyzed friend remain stuck in his brokenness. They carry him to Jesus.
Matthew 9:1–8 (ESV)
And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
There is beauty in being carried.
In ministry with the homeless, in grief work, and in the rhythms of our ordinary days, we sometimes forget that faith is not only personal. It’s communal. There are seasons when our own faith feels tired or thin and God uses the faith of others to bring us into His presence.
Matthew tells us, “Jesus saw their faith.”
Not the faith of the paralytic.
Their faith. The faith of his friends. The faith of those who loved him.
God honors the faith of those who stand in the gap for us, be it friends, mentors, church families, small groups, or strangers.
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone is to carry them to Jesus, even when they cannot carry themselves.
The Forgiveness We Didn’t Ask For But We Most Need
Before Jesus heals the man physically, He heals him spiritually.
“Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus addresses the deeper need.
Take heart.
In our world, we often look first for God to fix our circumstances:
– heal our body
– repair our relationships
– change our jobs
– calm our storms
But Jesus begins where the true sickness lies. Inside our heart.
Forgiveness is the healing we often overlook but always need.
This isn’t Jesus being dismissive of our physical suffering. It’s Jesus showing us that restoration begins with the soul.
Authority That Confronts and Liberates
The scribes bristled.
Inside they whispered: “This man is blaspheming.”
Forgiveness is God’s territory.
And that’s exactly the point.
Jesus doesn’t back away from their accusation. He leans in. He reads their thoughts and exposes the condition of their hearts.
Then Jesus asks a question for the ages:
“Which is easier?”
To forgive sins? Or to heal the body?
To change the inside? Or the outside?
Both are impossible for man.
Both are easy for God.
And to prove His authority—the authority of God in flesh—Jesus speaks a simple, world-shifting command:
“Rise.”
And the man rises.
His body healed.
His sins forgiven.
His dignity restored.
He picks up the bed that once carried him and walks home under his own strength.
Sometimes the very thing that once defined our brokenness becomes the testimony we carry with us forever.
Glory That Leads Us to Worship
The crowd’s reaction is honest: they were afraid.
A holy fear.
A trembling awe.
But awe turns to praise:
“they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”
Matthew wants us to see something unmistakable:
Jesus has the authority to forgive.
Jesus has the authority to heal.
Jesus has the authority to restore.
And this same Jesus still speaks into our broken places today.
Reflection Questions for Your Journey
- Who carried you to Jesus when you couldn’t walk on your own?
Who might He be asking you to carry? - Where in your life are you seeking outward change, but Jesus is calling you to receive deeper, inward healing?
- How does knowing Jesus has authority to forgive sins shape your confidence, your worship, and your daily walk?
A Prayer for Today
Lord Jesus, Thank You for seeing us—not just our circumstances, but our souls. Thank You for the people who have carried us to You in seasons when we could not move ourselves.
Heal us at the deepest levels.
Forgive us, restore us, and give us faith to rise when You call our name.
May our lives bring glory to the God who still heals and still forgives. In Your holy name, Amen.
Be salty, stay lit.
Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™
You can now find my articles in The Christian Grandfather Magazine.
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🙏 Thank you for reading, Julie.
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This is a good lesson, thanks for sharing 🩷
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Amen 🙏
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I’m happy to know that these questions are engaging, Jodi. For the record, I’m not known for being someone that needs to be enticed to share my opinion, either 😂.
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As you get to know me dear friend, you will see that SHARING my thoughts requires ZERO effort …
REFINING & lining them up in a way that makes sense to someone outside of me TONS of effort!
However
Questions like these … keep me willing to put in the effort!
Thank you so much!
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Thanks for reading and engaging with my post, Barb. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. Blessings.
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I agree with ALL of it
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Hallelujah and amen, Jodi! You ARE enough. God said so on the Cross.
Knowing people prayed for us while we were mired in our addictions is powerful. And thankfully, God continues working on us inside, as the Holy Spirit is faithful in continuing transform us into who God created us to be.
I’m glad this post struck a chord and I am thankful that you made the effort to share your thoughts, Jodi. Blessings.
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Yes, there is. I remember someone sharing with me how they prayed for God to rescue me faithful for decades. It brought me to tears knowing that someone had carried me and my burdens to Jesus even when I didn’t do anything to earn or warrant them doing so. Someone actually cared enough to pray for me and my soul.
Powerful.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts and blessings today, David. I pray you, Nancy, and the pups enjoy your Sunday as well (and your Fall Break, if that’s the case). Blessings 🙏
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For me, Barb, it starts with the people God places on my heart in quiet moments like family, friends, folks in our homeless community, or sometimes the person who crosses my path for just a minute, like a restaurant server, grocery store cashier, or fellow walker.
For me, carrying someone to Jesus looks different each time. It can mean praying with them or for them, being present, lending a listening ear, or simply refusing to give up on them (which a number of people did faithfully when I was steeped in my addictions).
What I’m asking is who is that someone in your life who weighs heavy on your heart that you need to carry to the Cross and ask Jesus to help?
Thanks for reading and asking.
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What an excellent – thought provoking post!
Thank you, I shall …
1 When I couldn’t walk, I was carried by grace in many forms … the people in AA who held space without judgment, my grandmother’s forehead taps, my furry travelers, water even steadied me … and the younger me who never stopped praying. Now I feel called to carry the ones who actually WANT TO HEAL: the addicts still suffering, the tender couples learning connection, the people who show up trembling … but willing.
The outward change I chase is usually some new project or way to prove I’m “enough,” but Jesus keeps turning me inward. He’s healing the old places where I was “shusssshed” where abandonment sank its teeth in, where I learned to NOT ASK QUESTIONS. He’s making my spirit breathe before He reshapes anything outside of me.
Knowing He has the authority to forgive sins lets me walk without dragging my past around like death chains. My confidence is rooted in GRACE now, not performance (but it’s still there … 😂) My worship comes from GRATITUDE as opposed to fear. And my daily walk feels LESS like surviving and MORE like stepping forward as someone who’s been carried, forgiven, and sent.
ALL IN THE SAME BREATH 🙏
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“There is beauty in being carried.” This is truth, my brother! God carries us and others carry us when we struggle to get to Jesus on our own. I also like the thought that Christ heals us from inside to outside. Amen, and Amen! I you and Terri and the cats have a blessed day!
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Who do I need to carry to Jesus?
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