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Drawing from the gospel of Matthew 9.2, where Jesus said - 'take heart, son, your sins are forgiven', to receive from Christ and in turn to share the gospel with our families.
Serialized expositions reflecting on the message of the Bible with socio-cultural and spiritual realities we face everyday. Hosted by Ricky, a Christian preacher and thinker who has come from Reformed Baptist, Pentecostal, and Christian Missionary Alliance traditions. He has graduated two theology degrees at Masters level.
Hello and welcome to Over the Air Christian Podcast.
Today I am starting a 4-part Bible series on family,
This series is made possible by Hosanna Church from Montreal, Canada.
To find out more about Hosanna Church, or to visit on a Sunday morning for worship, you can see the information in this episode's podcast notes.
Family is a very special kind of relationship that lasts for a lifetime.
We often feel a loyal affection towards our family, with a desire to share and pass on the special joy we have in knowing Jesus Christ as our personal lord and savior. And that's a great burden to have, to live life loving Christ, and be loved by Christ together within the family.
Jesus personally visited, and ministered to families. Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, between brothers and sisters and relatives altogether. In this short series, we look at 4 different times Jesus ministered to families, from the 4 gospels of the Bible.
From the gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, verse 2, it says this - And just then, some people, were carrying a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man who was paralyzed, 'take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.' To this person, Jesus had 3 things to say. He said - Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven. We will take a minute to receive each of the 3 things Jesus had said. Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.
This, was the very first time, in all of the entire New Testament Bible, where Jesus addressed someone as, son. Depending what translation you read from, It may say son, or child. By calling him son, Jesus established one very important thing. Jesus extends God's love as a Father would, as, like a parent. From this expression we can see how Jesus demonstrated a family kind of love, coming from the God the father in heaven as it were.
Jesus would later tell his disciples, whoever has seen me has seen the Father, because Jesus is divinely united with the Father in heaven, Christ is in the Father, the Father is in Christ. No one can come to God the Father unless it is through Jesus himself. And for this person to meet Jesus, it is as though he himself met with his Father in heaven. This man isn't a stranger to Jesus, in the eyes of God is as a son and a child.
Only parents of a family get to call their own children, son, or daughter. It's an incredibly special word, a word that should be used often. It comes as simple as calling to children by using the word,
Son, or daughter - and invokes all sorts of feelings and emotions that comes with that family relationship. Just like a parent who always remember, the first time a child say papa or mama, there isn't names needed to be spoken. By calling sons and daughters it rekindles the celebration of life, memories of joy, and life giving. Parents get to call on to their children so simply as sons and daughters, with a heart that always harbor such delicate affection, as Jesus would, with the love of the Father
When Jesus called to this paralyzed man, no name was given. It is not as though Jesus didn't or couldn't know the man's name if he wanted. The way Jesus calls him a son welcomes him, fully recognizing, and affirming this profoundly intimate relationship, as father and mother would have, with sons and daughters.
When this paralyzed man arrives at Jesus, that's how Jesus called him. Jesus was ready to accept and receive him, solely on the basis of him being a son in the name of God, and he openly displays this fatherly, parental affection, intimately, even as the others look on in the whole house or in the street.
When you are in trouble, you are not just anyone in trouble, you are a son and daughter to God who is in trouble, and Jesus receives you readily. Every man woman, and child needs to know in Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, that is ready, and always available for them.
Parents - bask in the love of your heavenly father, that you may also give love that comes from above to your children and families. Anyone can come to the Father in heaven through Jesus, He is the inexhaustible starting point.
To give the gospel to our family, we have to know and love Jesus closely. So that as children and families know your love, they may also know the love of your Father in heaven also.
- take heart, son, your sins are forgiven.
Before Jesus called him son, Jesus said something else to this paralyzed man. First, he said - take heart. Take heart, as in, hang in there, stand strong, keep it together.
And with such a fatherly love from heaven, Jesus addressed, to the heart.
Take heart, keep it strong there. In life, it is the heart that takes our feelings high and low.
When life is well and good, full of everything that is good, your heart will tell it to you. When life becomes awful and difficult, your heart will tell you too-
About one quarter of all the psalms in the Bible contains the expression - my heart.
According to the Pslams and proverbs and even the book of Job,
my heart faints, my heart trembles, my heart can melt like wax,
my heart can be glad, my heart fears the Lord, my heart does not fear the enemy, my heart searches, my heart extols and worship, my heart leaps for joy
my heart - my heart does wonders to me, which no one else could do,
and Jesus was quick to say to this paralyzed man, whom he regards as a son, take heart.
As gentle as Jesus calls him son with a fatherly love, he is just as sensitive to the distress inside the hearts, of his sons and daughters. That's the family love that Jesus demonstrated. From the father's love, and without delay, Jesus, cheered him on, at the heart. The love of Jesus from heavenly Father is quick to cheer for sons and daughters when they're in trouble.
For Jesus to heal this man, it wasn't just a science project or medical procedure, Jesus did not ignore his feelings, Jesus did not simply does his wonder to prove something for everyone to see and be on his way again. Even though this man was paralyzed in the body, Jesus cheered him on in, the heart.
I can say this man was already lifted in spirit before the fact, upon hearing this from Jesus - for such a son to receive this tender love from the mighty savior, teacher and prophet and preacher and healer. Of whom all the towns and villages had already heard so much about by that time, and he of all people, Jesus the son of God himself, calls him son, take heart.
Jesus cared for the heart of his sons and daughters, Sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, all need the love of Jesus. An abundant life is full of God's love, to face paralysing perils, hardships, grievances, confusions, sometimes just an unexplainable sense of feeling lost.
These are the things that can also happen, in families, between families, away from families by themselves, who knows.
These are all the things that your hearts, will tell you about. And they are all situations that need the gospel love of Jesus, the cheering gospel of Jesus, from the love of our heavenly Father, to cheer us on.
There's many forces at work that could paralyze men or women, sons or daughters, that spiritually immobilize a person, unable to come closer to God on their own strength. Be they paralyzed out of guilt, full of shame and for fear of punishment, because of mistakes or failures, or uncertainties. You or someone you know may even wander into the distance and in hiding from God as we are so prone to do, lost in some godless endeavors. But we all need a love that come from Jesus that speaks into our hearts.
Exactly like this physically paralyzed man here brought to Jesus. He could have been discouraged in the heart for many proper reasons. There was no telling of the cause, It could have been a medical reason, could have been an accident, could have been his own fault. What matters most now, is that he is with him, as a son and daughter would, filled with a fatherly love from Jesus.
And that's how, from the fatherly love of God, Jesus weaved two simple phrases together, take heart, son, It does wonders to be cheered on, and it does wondrously more, when it comes from the love of a father and a mother and from family, Such like Jesus as he called his own, son! daughter!
The first spark of this healing process in the gospel of Jesus was simply, a word from someone to cheer them up, Just by saying take heart, like a tap on the shoulder to show that someone believes in them, or even a warm and hearty meal to fill them up. To put faith in to them, so that they may have faith in God.
Show faith in Jesus through your children, by cheering them on in their hearets. At their own pace, they eventually internalize that faith, and place it in your heavenly father with you. I believe that's exactly what's happening here when Jesus said 'take heart, son' to this paralyzed man. Jesus was putting faith in him, that he in turn can have faith in God. Since, who had the greater faith here in the Father, the one who came to be healed, or the healer himself. The savior had faith to give, Lord you are mighty indeed. The love of a parent that brings the gospel to loved ones and families, is such that will quickly and readily cheer on sons, and daughters.
And then, after affirming such incredible treasures, by calling him son, and cheering on to the heart, and let the heart beat strong, like a loud marching drum, then and finally then, Jesus says to him, your sins are forgiven. Your sins, are forgiven. Jesus does not allow sons or daughters, or family members of God's household to live in guilt, or remain living in guilt. He wouldn't allow it.
The godly love of a parent is a love, that is ready to forgive, as Jesus readily forgives this paralyzed man.
The love of a parent that is there, can be such heroic love, And yet, it is not invulnerable. Yes, most vulnerable even, to heartbreaks and heartaches of every kind. When sons and daughters are hurt, parents ought to feel their own flesh and blood are hurt, whether in the body or, in the heart,
when sons and daughters are sick, parents sometimes even wish rather they become sick in their place.
When sons and daughters makes mistakes, they reap consequences from folly and recklessness, parents ought to trust in God more than anything, lean on wisdom from above and rather than the world around, for sons and daughters to mature, and turn their ways around wisely, and that's why parents forgive, with a hope that they will mature in Christ.
And Jesus came to receive such a son, and daughter readily, to say, take heart, son, daughter, your sins are forgiven. That's a kind of family love in the word of Jesus. The love of a parent, and the love of a family is a love that is ready to forgive. Not merely to settle for the score of what's suppose to be fair,
but with the kind of love that is ready to forgive, for such a son and daughter of God who is always maturing. Because forgiveness gives hope. The kind of hope, and love, that carries us to forgive, and forgive and forgive, again and again and again, had it be 70 times of 7 times to forgive, until a son and a daughter turns around from mistakes.
With such a patience, to forgive, and to hope patiently, and to teach patiently. Tthis is the kind of the love that honors God. The bigger the trouble, the greater the love of God. In my picture, Jesus waited, very patiently, as this paralyzed man was being carried by, several people at once. The whole process was probably awkward, making a fuss, causing a scene when everyone looked on. Toppling things everywhere as they come in with a paralyzed man. Oh-don't mind breaking that vase, that vase, it didn't look good anyway. oh the carpet was ruined by the mud you carried in with your shoes, sandals, that's ok it needed a wash anyway.
Take the time you need getting here, as long as you are getting here. Jesus waits patiently, ready to forgive. That's the love of a parent and love of a family. Patiently, ready to forgive. Perhaps that is the process some of us will come to Jesus, through families, to the love of our Father in heaven.
The love of a parent is not invulnerable to heartbreaks, but where there is the love of a parent and family, filled from the love of the Father through Jesus, it is invincible to resignation, never giving up. Always forgiving, and by faith, not in vain, because of God. Because we know that Jesus has loved us first, so that we may go on to love as he does for us as well.
So Jesus said,
Take heart,
Son, daughter,
your sins are forgiven,
That's the word we can receive, as sons and daughters, even as fathers and mothers uncles or aunties, grandpas and grandmas, cousins or relatives even.