The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Hymns: 239, 351, 307, 356

Matthew 9:1-8 — “Be of Good Cheer”

Grace, mercy, and peace to you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

      The sermon text is the Gospel reading appointed for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 9:1-8:

     So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.
     When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
     And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
     But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins; then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
     And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

      In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Introduction

      In today’s text Matthew records the reason that the Lord Jesus ministered among the people. The ministry of Jesus was and is the gift of the authority to embolden and give cause for good cheer to those who live under the bondage and misery of sin. This authority is the authority to set sinners free from the power of sin so that they may live by and in God’s grace which is in Christ Jesus. This is possible because God takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. Therefore the one who receives this forgiveness is emboldened to live by faith in the God who forgives.

I.      Be of Good Cheer

     So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed.
     When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

      This is a curious situation that we encounter. Why did Jesus get into the boat and cross over the sea to His own city? Jesus was told by the people of the town that they did not want Him to stay but that they wanted Him to leave. Why? Why did they want Jesus to leave? They wanted Jesus to leave because His presence among them was costing them more than they were willing to sacrifice.

      Jesus and the disciples had crossed over the sea in the boat and a storm arose and made the disciples afraid. But Jesus was sleeping and getting some much needed rest. They wakened their Lord and He stilled the storm so that their courage would return to them. Then, as they came ashore, two demon possessed men who were so mean and powerful that no one could pass by that way ran out to meet Jesus. And the demons cried out in fear of the Judge of heaven and earth and of men and angels. Jesus cast out the demons but allowed them to go into the herd of pigs that were nearby. The pigs, having been demonized, ran down and drowned in the sea. Having seen that Jesus cost one swine herder his livelihood, the whole city became afraid and begged Jesus to leave. Therefore Jesus could work no good among them because they were afraid of what the pure blessings of God would cost them.

      But back in His own city, in His own house, the people came to Jesus to hear Him preach and to be healed by Him. One man, a paralytic, was brought to Jesus. Jesus sees the faith of those who brought the paralytic to Him and Jesus says to the paralytic, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.”

      Jesus addresses the paralytic as “Child.” “Tharsei, Child!” “Be bold, Child!” “Be of good courage, Child!”

      Child. Jesus addresses us as little children. He looks upon us as we are, helpless and dependent little children who are in need of His compassionate salvation. We are sinners who live in the daily confrontation of the curse of sin. Sin brings terrible things into our lives. Sin destroys everything. Sin steals away our peace, our joy, our hope, our courage. Sin manifests itself as suffering of body and spirit and mind and soul. These things stand as constant reminders of our hopelessness and of our powerlessness.

      To this paralytic, and to all of us who suffer the paralysis of sin in our lives and in our very being, Jesus declares, “Be of good cheer, Child!”

II.      Forgiven You the Sins of You

      This blessed commandment is not given, however, without the power that makes it possible. Jesus does not tell us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. He does not tell us to get a grip. He does not tell us to put aside our fears and act like adults. He does not tell us to grow up and get a life. He says, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.”

      How often must this poor paralytic have wondered what he did to deserve this miserable and hopeless condition. How many times people must have said stupid and thoughtless things, even judgmental things, things that made his fears even more powerful. “Why has God let this happen to me? What have I done that I should suffer like this? Why me? Am I worse than other people? Why are they able to walk? Why don’t their legs burn and ache? They can run and play and walk and work and go about wherever they please. O God, why have you brought this upon me?”

      Every person faces questions like this at various times and in various ways and degrees. Sin has brought death and destruction and suffering and trouble to us all. Sometimes things seem to go well enough that we can ignore the frightening reality of our sinfulness and our helplessness. But other times we stare sin and the curse square in the face.

      Therefore, to this paralytic and to all who suffer the paralysis of sin, the first words that the Lord Jesus declares to those who are brought to Him are, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.” Jesus knows that whatever other troubles that we experience are really only the symptoms and not the real problem. Our sinful condition into which we are conceived and then born into the world infected with in our very being, this condition that disposes us to choose for ourselves rather than trusting God, this condition that disposes us to think and act and speak according to our own reason and strength, our sinful reason and strength, this condition is what we need to have removed from us. This is the true healing that we desperately need, even though we often do not realize our true need.

      We encounter many troubles in our lives. We find ourselves trapped in situations that threaten us and we cry out to God for help. We experience pain in our bodies and minds and spirits and we cry out to God to take our pain away. Our bodies break down and fail us and we become afraid and cry out to God to give us strength. We look into the mirror of our lives and we see someone that we do not like, someone who has no real value, someone who does what disappoints and fails to do what is good, and we cry out.

      In response to all of these fears and doubts and depression and self-hatred and disappointment and judgment the Lord Jesus stands before us in the congregation in His house and says, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.”

      But like with the paralytic Jesus follows up with what we can touch, see, taste, and feel. Even though His words are enough, for they truly accomplish what they declare, nevertheless, for our sake, He gives physical form to His words. The paralytic was healed so that he could take up the bed on which he had been carried and to carry it home. Likewise, having come to the house of the Lord and having heard His declaration we also have been baptized with the water to which Jesus has conjoined His words of healing so that His holy absolution is actually poured over us and into us to wash us and regenerate us and to give us the renewal of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Then, having been washed with the water and the Spirit, He feeds us the bread and wine that have been connected to His words of consecration so that He says that we eat His body and drink His blood, and are thereby renewed in the unity of the one true faith and receive again the forgiveness by which we are emboldened to live by and in this one true faith.

      Ah yes, He speaks to us the words AND He heals us in our own bodies. He heals us of our sin so that we become children of good cheer, even in the face of all that we encounter that would steal away from us this good and cheerful courage that is ours by the faith that the Holy Spirit works in us.

III.       Having Seen then the Crowds Marveled and Glorified God

      Matthew records that the scribes accused Jesus of blasphemy for this. But the crowds heard the Gospel and saw the power of the Gospel with their own eyes and marveled and glorified God on account of the fact that such authority as this was given to men. Yes, such authority as this, that sinners should be set free of their fearful and miserable condition so that by God’s grace they may be of good cheer in the full knowledge that by God’s decree their sins are all forgiven them. When one lives in this confidence, bodily pain and suffering, worldly troubles and challenges, all have no power to discourage or dishearten. The joy of God’s forgiveness is more powerful than any trouble or suffering.

      It is truly sad to observe that it is the scribes who preach against the Gospel. It was true in this incident that Matthew records and it is true in the churches today. Today’s scribes do exactly the same as those in our text. Jesus and His true Church on earth declare: “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.” And today’s scribes insist that this is something that a person much choose to believe. They say that a person must decide to follow Jesus. They say that a person must commit himself to the Lord. This week I heard a radio preacher say of Ephesians 4:4-6 the exact opposite of what is written. St. Paul writes:

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

      After emphasizing many wonderful and true points about the unity of the body of Christ this scribe went on to define this “one baptism,” saying that Baptism is us identifying ourselves with Christ. This is the exact opposite of what Baptism is. Baptism is God identifying us with Himself as He places His seal of approval upon us. He marks us with His holy name, by which we then know ourselves as He has declared us to be. This is not something that we do but what the Holy Spirit does for us. This is why Jesus says that it can only be perceived and received through water and the Spirit. We cannot baptize ourselves but must be baptized by someone who has been given the authority among men to do so. It must be done to us, not by us for ourselves. This mark, this seal of approval, is done by means of the physical element of water by the hand of one who has already been baptized into Christ. Christ commanded this so that there would be no chance of misunderstanding how this is done.

      Yet today’s scribes deny the power of Baptism to do what Christ has declared and call Christ a blasphemer. They demand that you choose for yourself to be a disciple of Christ and a child of God. They demand that you must become a believer by choosing to believe the Gospel rather than simply continuing in the faith that the Holy Spirit works through the means of grace.

      In this world, the scribes always fight to save their church bodies where they can feel safe by their own activities. The scribes always direct people to the confidence of having the right understanding of the Bible affirmed by their formal training and by the line of succession that they have received.

      But the Lord Jesus stands before you today, speaking through the record supplied by Matthew, a publican and tax farmer. In the verses that immediately follow today’s text, in fact, the very text that we heard last Sunday, Matthew was called by Jesus to be joined with Jesus in the Way and to be one of His apostles. Matthew, a man despised by the scribes and counted as one who was beyond knowing the true way, heard the call of Jesus and arose from his life of sin and walked evermore with Jesus, while the scribes stood scoffing and later calling for Jesus to be crucified.

      Therefore, do not be intimidated by the scribes. Rather, hear the voice of your Savior as even the crowds did in our text. The crowds ignored the outcries of the scribes and marveled and glorified God that He had given such authority to men to declare to all who will hear it and receive it through the means of grace, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.”

Conclusion

      Truly, on this day, these words of Jesus are declared to you, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.” You have been baptized into the body of Christ. His body and blood are provided for you through the means that He has ordained. This is the Supper of life in His Holy Communion. Whatever fears have come over you, whatever doubts that you may have had, whatever pain you are suffering in body or heart or mind or spirit, whatever troubles await you tomorrow and the next day, hear the words of your Lord Jesus, “Be of good cheer, Child! Forgiven you the sins of you.” Come forward and receive His blood of forgiveness. Feast upon His body in the unity of the one true faith into which you have been baptized. Rejoice in His goodness and faithfulness and marvel at what is yours in His name. His glory is before you that you may acknowledge it and share in it as He feeds you and renews you and strengthens you in His grace, mercy, and peace. Rejoice and in full confidence be of good cheer, Child. Forgiven you the sins of you! In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

      The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus forever. Amen.

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Hymns: 239, 351, 307, 356

The Introit      (Ps.35:3;34:17;48:14)

The Collect     

O almighty and most merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldst have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

The First Lesson      Isaiah 44:21-23 (NKJV)

      Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you. Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And glorified Himself in Israel.

The Gradual     (Ps.141:2;98:1)

The Epistle     Ephesians 4:22-28 (NKJV)

The Sentence for the Season     (Ps. 119:124)

The Holy Gospel       St. Matthew 9:1-8 (NKJV)

Matthew 9:1-8 — “Be of Good Cheer”

Introduction

I.      Be of Good Cheer

II.      Forgiven You the Sins of You

III.       Having Seen then the Crowds Marveled and Glorified God

Conclusion