Bible Questions and Answers

Matthew 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Mark 2:4  And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? 9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? 10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

Luke 5:19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

Salvation is only possible for those whose sins are forgiven.

Sin came about through the serpent’s deception of Eve.

In cursing the serpent God prophesied that a seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

This was symbolic language, the bruising of the serpent’s head represented the undoing of the consequences of the serpent’s deception.

This meant that forgiveness of sin would come through a seed of the woman.

To obtain this forgiveness men and women first had to believe (have faith in) God’s promise and try to obey him in their lives.

Genesis 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

As time went on God’s plan was unfolded little by little.

God chose Abram and promised him a seed in whom all nations would be blessed.

Abram believed God and his faith was counted for righteousness.

Abram’s offspring through Isaac and Jacob became the nation of Israel.

Out of the 12 tribes of Israel God chose the tribe of Judah; and from the tribe of Judah chose David to be their king.

God promised David that one of his descendants would also be a Son of God and he would establish David’s throne and reign forever.

God is fulfilling his promise in Jesus Christ.

Mary conceived Jesus by the power of God.

Jesus Christ overcame sin in himself and gave his life as a sacrifice for sin, thus, in a figure, ‘bruising the head of the serpent’ and making possible the forgiveness of sin.

His sacrifice is efficacious for those who lived from Adam onwards who believed God’s promise and lived a faithful life.

It is also efficacious for those who believe and obey the gospel preached by Jesus and his apostles.

God is prepared to freely forgive men and women of faith of all generations.

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Romans 3:30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Forgiveness of sin depends:

1. On the faith of the individual.

2. On the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

What Jesus was teaching forcefully, was that he had the power to forgive sins.

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins,

They should have understood that the healing was done by the power of God, not by the power of Jesus.

Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

The miraculous healing of the paralytic was God’s endorsement of the words of Jesus.

That God healed the paralytic when Jesus said the words ‘thy sins be forgiven thee’ was intended to show the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the one through whom sins would be forgiven.

Physical healing was temporary, the forgiveness of sins is permanent.

Jesus insisted on faith that he could heal as a prerequisite for healing – but the real teaching was that faith was necessary for the forgiveness of sins for those who wanted to be in the kingdom of God.

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

I hope you find this helpful.

God bless,
Glenn