Matthew 9:1-8 Your Sins Are Forgiven

Martin Luther’s first sermon on this text would cause a few Lutheran legalists to close the book quickly on him. He makes many powerful statements and I will highlight them rather than on the text that speaks to him and brings out these ideas.


“The kingdom of Christ is the words: ‘your sins are forgiven.’ "(1 - #2) For Brother Martin, these four words are the heart of the gospel, and he points out that they come without works, without commands, without law.


As long as I’ve been a Lutheran, I’ve never heard the following words attributed to Luther: “If the kingdom of Christ is to grow, we must keep out of it with the law…it is out of the sphere of the kingdom of Christ to urge people with the law.” (1 - #4) Other sermons of his remind us that after Christ has healed anyone of their maladies, he does not ask them to do anything in return. He doesn’t hold his grace over sinners’ heads as in, “Now that I’ve done this for you, you must follow with obedience to God’s commands or I’ll take it back.”


Luther points out that the gospel and the true word of God are blasphemed on many sides, getting from St. Paul that all false spirits are bold and proud in contrast to true spirits that are bashful. This reminds me of all the places in the NT where it says revilers, extortioners, theives, and coveters are in the same category as pedophiles and sodomites. The Greek concordance says 'thieves' is a metaphor for false teachers. Revilers are those who subject others to verbal abuse, and scold in harsh or abusive language. Extortioners are those who obtain what they want by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power. 1 Cor. 6:10 says they will not inherit the kingdom of God either. This sounds like the pot calling the kettle black in the church today.


The story in Matthew itself shows that you and I, and the church, can bring others to Christ because of our faith, as in the baptism of children, but then Christ gives faith to them so they can believe for themselves. Yet there are so many questions about why some accept the gift and others don’t. Another one of the mysteries.


Blessings - PWM