From Despair to Hope
When we are on the edge of despair, God’s grace can give us a light in the darkness. This “light” can lead us from despair to hope. The story of Jesus healing a man who was paralyzed is an excellent example of the movement from despair to hope.
In Jesus’ time, being paralyzed meant being completely dependent on others for food, shelter and care. There were no devices to help persons who were physically disabled with movement. In the following scripture, a man’s friends, because of their concern and loyalty to him, decided to carry him to Jesus for healing.
We can identify with this man not only in terms of his physical disability but other ways as well, because there are other ways to be paralyzed. Most often what paralyzes us in non-physical ways is fear. When we are afraid, we would rather not make decisions or take some kind of action. That fear can hold us back from doing God’s work and living the kind of life God wants for us to live.
Matthew 9:2-8 – 2 Some people brought to Jesus a paralyzed man lying on a bed. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, He said to the paralyzed man, “Courage, my son! Your sins are forgiven.” 3 Then some teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man is speaking blasphemy!” 4 Jesus perceived what they were thinking so He said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? 5 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up and walk?’ 6 I will prove to you, then that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So He said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home!” 8 When the people saw it, they were afraid and praised God for giving such authority to man.
Among the first words Jesus said to the paralyzed man were, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then He healed the man. Both the man’s body and his spirit were paralyzed - he could not walk and he did not know Jesus. But the man’s spiritual state was Jesus’ first concern. If God does not heal us or someone we love, we need to remember that physical healing is not Jesus’ only concern. We will all be completely healed in Jesus’ coming kingdom, but first we have to come to know Jesus.
The religious leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy in verse three because Jesus was claiming to be God by applying God’s characteristics to himself. (Since only God can forgive sins, Jesus was claiming to be God when he forgave the sins of the paralyzed man.) What these leaders did not understand was that Jesus is God in the flesh; therefore, He does have the authority to heal and forgive sins.
Jesus offered the man wholeness through a new relationship of love and forgiveness with God. This “inner” healing of forgiveness is also what Jesus offers us in our emotional and spiritual paralysis. The words, “You are forgiven” are the most hopeful words we can hear. When we are laboring under a burden of guilt over things we have done or things we should have done but we didn’t, we can despair of ever being whole or free. Forgiveness heals us by making whole a life torn by guilt.
Summary: To be paralyzed emotionally or spiritually can be a cause of hopelessness. When you don’t have the will and energy to move forward in any area of life, paralysis can be a source of despair. With forgiveness comes hope for a new and restored relationship with God, others and yourself.
Once the crushing burden of guilt is lifted, we need not be “paralyzed”. We need to overcome those fears and reach out to others, witness God’s unconditional love and His grace and share our stories of what the Lord means to us. Then we can live the life God wants us to live.