Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven
When Jesus does not do what we want Him to do, it’s hard and confusing. We receive His refusals as a lack of care or a lack of love. “Why don’t you heal me?!” we cry. “Why don’t you make a way?!” “Why don’t you give me what I need?!”
That last question holds the key: Jesus always gives us what we need, but sometimes we think what we want is what we need because the desire inside of us is so great. Other times, we are correct that there is something that we need that Jesus isn’t giving us, but it’s a timing issue. Sometimes the thing that we need must be proceeded by something else that we need.
The paralytic man in Matthew 9 needed physical healing. In fact, that’s the reason that his friends carried him to Jesus. Jesus moves near to and looks down at the man. The friends of the paralytic man grow excited. Jesus opens His mouth to speak. The tension of expectation builds, and Jesus does not meet the need. Jesus avoids it. Jesus tells the man: your sins are forgiven.
What?! Can you imagine? I imagine his friends thought, “Jesus, you can see that our friend cannot move! You can see that he needs to walk again so that he can live like as You desire. Why don’t you give him what he needs?!” The reason is that Jesus wanted to take care of another need first. Perhaps, Jesus might have needed to take care of the other need first.
Jesus took care of the need of the man in his heart and soul before He took care of the need in his body. We cannot know for sure from the immediate context, but perhaps Jesus knew that if He healed the man’s body first, the man would not have allowed Jesus to attend to the broken sickness in his soul. Would the man have paused long enough to allow Jesus to touch the need that impacts eternity?
Sometimes we want God to meet a need, and it’s a need indeed. Sometimes Jesus differentiates the eternal need from the temporal need even if the temporal need is more obvious to us. In differentiating, Jesus will always take care of the need that impacts eternity first.
Do not grow frustrated in the waiting. He cares about the need in your situation. He cares about the need in your body. He cares about your humanity. First things first; eternal things first. He sees your needs.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to trust that He sees your needs, inside and out. Perhaps God is asking you to bring a friend with a need to His presence. Maybe you need to forgive God for what felt like ignoring a need of you or someone you love. Perhaps today God wants to grant you His perspective. Maybe God wants to meet a need in your heart and soul today as He approached the need in your body.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 213-218, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 9:1-8) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).