forgiveness in Matthew’s Gospel

The Gospel According to Matthew 9:1–8 (NABRE) centers on the topic of forgiveness. Jesus equates forgiving a paralytic’s sins and healing his paralysis. The English language uses forgiveness in a few contexts. We can pardon or exonerate someone who has wronged us, or we can excuse a loan or a debt. In what way do you think it is that might these meanings equate to healing?

The Greek word for forgiveness is ἄφεσις (aphesis), which derives from a verb that means “to send forth” or “to discharge.” In Greek thought forgiveness is casting sin out. This Greek view is instructive in understanding this passage from the Gospel According to Matthew. By casting the sin out of and away from the paralytic, Jesus can be seen actually to remove something harmful. Forgiveness in this sense is far more than accepting something wrong. It is, rather, casting out the cause of that wrong and sending it away.

What things in your life that are in danger of causing wrong would you like to cast out and send away?

related topics: condemn; forgiveness; healing; sin

you also may like our two-part study of the prophets
Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided examines the prophets in their historical context using the First and Second Books of the Kings and other Old Testament passages written before the Babylonian Exile in 586 B.C. Volume II: Restoration & Redemption looks at the post-exilic prophets. This 51-lesson Catholic Bible study builds on The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King. Click on the books’ covers to view a sample lesson from each volume.

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