Matthew 9:1-8; Psalm 92:1-3

Matthew 9:1-8
This is the account of the paralyzed man being brought to Jesus for healing.

What does this incident teach us about Jesus?

• He has the power to forgive our sins.
• He is God because only God has the power to forgive sins. Jesus gave the man physical healing as a sign that He also had the power to forgive sins.
• He has the power to heal physical infirmities.
• Apparently spiritual healing (forgiveness of sins) is more important to Him than physical healing. v. 2
• He knows what we're thinking! Yikes, I know I certainly need to be reminded of this! It's a sin to "entertain evil thoughts in our hearts." v. 4

What does this passage teach us about faith?

• The man AND his friends had a strong faith. They surely must have believed that Jesus could heal the man. The paralyzed man must have wanted his sins forgiven, and he must have believed that Jesus could do this. v. 2
• The friends had an active faith. After all, they went to quite some trouble to bring the man to Jesus. We might say that we have faith, but is it real if we don't act on it?

Psalm 92:1-3
It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

God likes music! It's perfectly appropriate to make music a part of our praise. We are to remember and proclaim His love and faithfulness day and night or whenever we have the opportunity. The mention of the instruments shows that this music is probably a part of a gathering of God's people, but there is never a wrong time to praise the Lord!