The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
00:00:01 [Applause] [Music] today's scripture reading is taken from matthew 9 verses 1 to 17. jesus stepped into a boat crossed over and came to his own town some men brought to him a paralyzed man lying on the mat when jesus saw their faith he said to the man take heart son your sins are forgiven at this some of the teachers of the law said to themselves this fellow is blessed filming knowing your thoughts jesus said why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts which is easier to say your sins are
00:00:48 forgiven or to say get up and walk but i want you to know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins so he said to the paralyzed man get up take your mat and go home then the man got up and went home when the crowd saw this they were filled with all and they praised god who had given such authority to men as jesus went on from there he saw a man named matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth follow me he told him and matthew got up and followed him while jesus was having dinner at
00:01:28 matthew's house many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples when the pharisees saw this they asked the disciples why does the teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners on hearing this jesus said it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the same but go and learn what this means i desire mercy not sacrifice for i have not come to call the righteous but sinners then jon's disciples came and asked them how is it that we and the pharisees fast often but your disciples do not fast
00:02:09 jesus answered how can the guest of the bridegroom moan while he is with them the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them then they will fast no one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment for the patch to pull away from the garment making the tear worse neither do people pour new wine into all wineskins if they do the skins will burst the wine will run out and the wine skins will be ruined no they pour new wine into new wine skins and both are preserved this is the word of the lord
00:02:51 praise be to god good morning first service good afternoon second service and those who are watching later come and join us on zoom our text today is shrunk together by three conversations with religious people that arose because of two events there was a paralytic and there was a party and together they tell one powerful message forgiveness of god in christ jesus let us pray father we thank you for your word we ask for your holy spirit to speak to us and reveal the glory of your son jesus christ
00:03:31 in jesus name we pray amen this is the sermon outline forgiveness of a savior feasting for sinners and fasting of the saints we can see forgiveness right at the beginning of our text right jesus saw their faith and he said to the paralytic take heart my son your sins are forgiven what is forgiveness forgiveness is when someone wrong you and you don't insist on compensation right when they hurt you and cause you offends you choose to overlook it you choose to not let that offense or their heart ruin the relationship
00:04:10 but since sin is more of a bible word isn't it uh what is sin it's a bible word to mean to miss the mark uh it's like it's like driving on a straight road right you're supposed to drive between the lines two hands on the wheel and going straight right but your wheel right is steered a few degrees to the left it's just a bit off but it can lead to much destruction you can hurt people on the side you can ruin your car it can hurt you you can hurt the buildings and the people it can lead to much destruction just a
00:04:49 little bit off the mark the bible talks about god is the creator of everyone and everything we are his creation our true nature through our conscience and through his word he has revealed to us how we should live what are the lines what other straight path to sin is to miss that to steer away from the lifestyle and the purpose that he has created us to live up as a result we make a mess out of our lives and the lives of those around us and we often the creator who appoints a day of judgment for our sins which is why
00:05:32 forgiveness of sins is so important forgiveness among friends and loved ones are so precious isn't it because it opens the door for reconciliation and restoration and forgiveness from god is far more infinitely more precious because we are reconciled to our master now of the many healings that jesus performed from chapter 8 until now this is the first time that he offers forgiveness to someone that comes to him for healing why why did jesus do it here and not elsewhere well jesus knows the heart and the
00:06:18 thoughts of men and that's let's review in verse four uh so probably jesus saw that the paralytic's greatest concern was was more than just his paralysis maybe his greatest concern was his guilt before god perhaps the paralytic felt that his sickness was directly connected to his sin now we know that sickness may not always be related to sin you may be ill because god has other purposes not necessarily a judgment or discipline not all illnesses are god's discipline or judgment not illness not all illnesses are
00:06:58 because we sin but probably the paralytic felt that way he maybe he felt like you know this sickness is a representation of how much i have messed up my life maybe jesus saw that and maybe that's what moved jesus to say take heart my son your sins are forgiven maybe what we can know for sure why jesus forgive this man's sin jesus is revealing who he is jesus does not want to be just recognized as a miracle worker or a healer his healing powers are meant to reveal his identity his healing powers are
00:07:42 meant to reveal who he is he is the son of man who forgive sin we can know this for sure because of the conversation that ensues he he says your son your my son your sins forgiven verse 3 and behold some of the scribes said to themselves this man is blaspheming that's the first conversation with religious people the scribes are the experts of the law and according to the law sin can only be forgiven by presenting an offering to the priests in the temple but now there is no sin offering there is no priest and there is
00:08:20 no temple how can you say that someone's sin has been forgiven besides all sins are ultimately an offense to god and so only god has the right to forgive sin imagine you and your husband and wife fight right and the husband's always wrong right so so the husband uh asks for forgiveness okay and then instead of the wife saying i forgive you suddenly the child comes and say i your sins are forgiven i accept your apology it's it's off it's it's not right the the right to forgive is to the one who is offended
00:09:00 okay for jesus to forgive sin he is essentially taking the place of god which is why they accuse jesus of blasphemy it's a serious accusation but jesus does not back down verse 4 jesus knowing their thoughts say why do you think evil in your heart for which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise up and walk which which is easier both are things only god can do both are things that are impossible for mere mortals both are easier said than done but to say your sins are forgiven right
00:09:44 oh that one that one's a bit easier because no one can prove whether it's done or not but if you say rise up and walk wow you have to you have to present evidence this person really have to rise up and walk jesus says i'm gonna heal this man so that you know i have authority to forgive sins i'm gonna restore this man's health and save him from decades of suffering so that you know i have the power and the authority to forgive sin and save you from an eternity of suffering the miracles show what jesus can do but
00:10:27 even more it shows who he is notice verse 6 but that you may know the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sin now first let's talk about authority matthew 7 onwards elder idion already mentioned that he was the one who teach with authority he was teaching as one where authority all right that's why the crowd was astonished in in matthew 8 we see that his authority expanded he he heals to see his authority over sickness right the the story with the centurion and the servant jesus has authority over time and space he has
00:11:09 authority over demons even uh even when he come the storm right the disciples said what sort of man is this that even the wind and sea obey him now jesus claims he has authority to forgive sins and all of this authority is wrapped up in that identity that jesus mentioned he is the son of man that title is found in daniel 7. let's read it i saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him and to him was given dominion and
00:11:54 glory and a kingdom and all peoples nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed jesus claims to be this son of man god's appointed king over all the earth ruling with dominion and glory that is given to him by the ancients of days by god his kingdom indestructible and everyone every people nations and language should serve him that is the extent of the power and authority of jesus over the world
00:12:40 yet here we find that this authority figure this son of man uses his position of power to do what to forgive sin that is the good news of jesus christ the king has come come to confront the rebels but first he offers grace and mercy and kindness in forgiving our sins jesus proves his authority to forgive sin by healing the paralytic he said to the paralytic rise pick up your bed and go home and he rose and went home and the crowd saw it they were afraid and they glorified god and given such authority to men
00:13:27 there are many of us who are dealing with various chronic diseases uh we're depending on medication on diet certain lifestyle street regimen to stay alive and we know that right now in malaysia the hospitals are filled with people who are suffering and when when we see stories like this miracles in the bible like matthew 8 and matthew 9 don't we long for jesus to heal us like that now he he has the power to heal and and when we see these stories we we ask why doesn't he do it now if you if you feel like that i want to
00:14:16 encourage you here if you are if you are going through a sickness and and pain if i want to encourage you if you have received the forgiveness of sins through jesus christ you are dearly loved by god if you have received the forgiveness of sins through jesus christ you are dearly loved by god in this life we will experience some of his healing power for the anxious and the depressed he provides relief through tears through prayers through friendship to therapy for for the cancer stricken it provides relief through medicine
00:15:02 through care for our loved ones occasionally we may encounter miracles just like the leper just like the paralytic and for that the church will continue to pray along with you but usually day by day god sustains us our every move how every breath his grace is sufficient each day in this life but in the next life we will experience his healing in all its fullness if you have received the forgiveness of sins you will experience the resurrection just like jesus had you are promised a resurrection like his
00:15:48 just as jesus died and rose again with an immortal body we too will rise immortal and live forever in heaven with him forever free from sin and sickness so take heart your your sins are forgiven and you will experience complete healing on that day forgiveness of the savior now we look at the feasting for sinners we look at verse 9 and 10. as jesus passed on from there he saw a man called matthew sitting at the tax booth and he said to him follow me and he rose and followed him and as jesus reclined at the table in
00:16:35 the house behold many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with jesus and his disciples while jesus healing of the paralytic displayed the extent of his authority jesus calling of matthew displays his extent of his forgiveness you see matthew is a tax collector is a jew collecting tax from fellow jews to give to the romans it's like someone who is betraying your own people someone who is willing to sell off your people and your country for personal gain for personal profit he is hated and
00:17:18 shunned by his own community matthew matthew would have heard jesus by now okay jesus is famous by now but we don't find him in the crowds following to see his miraculous signs to hear his teachings but instead we find matthieu sitting at his textbook why well perhaps he is as cold-hearted as people perceive him to be right he just want to focus on keeping his job and staying wealthy maybe he he didn't want to leave the comfort of of the lifestyle that he has accumulated for himself he don't leave his comfort zone right he
00:17:58 has too much to lose if he follows jesus or perhaps he feels unworthy to follow jesus because of the choice he made if if my fellow men reject me how much more will this holy man reject and despise me whatever the reason may be jesus broke down all those variants with just two words follow me now matthew wright is the writer of this gospel he he is writing this story and and to our surprise he doesn't in such much details this is the turning point of his life the calling of jesus upon his life he but
00:18:44 you know he doesn't say many things all he said was he saw me at my booth and he caught me still he called me he found me in my failed estate he found me in all my bad choices i i wasn't moving towards him but he was moving towards me jesus saw me at my textbook and he called me to follow him uh you if you experience playing in the playground as a kid right you want to play a match together you need to explain the teams right and and the the older ones they are trying to choose people to join their team right
00:19:32 imagine the kid who is in the playground always lasts to be chosen matthew is that kid he is the he's he's the kid last to be chosen because no one likes him no one wants to play with him and eventually he's just stopped going to the playground and and today is the day that he hears jesus shouting his name and inviting him to hang either the authority of jesus was so powerful that he pulled matthew off his seat or the kindness of jesus was so embracing that it melted matthew's heart the forgiveness of jesus
00:20:15 extended to matthew towards sinners resulted in a feast it's like it's like matthew through a dinner party to to celebrate his his forgiveness he the jesus the holy man the son of god welcoming him and true party is like he invited all his uh former colleagues to to meet jesus right is that he tell his former colleagues right he's cool guys he is holy and he's amazing but he doesn't hate us he he's cool he we can hang out with him and here's where jesus has a second conversation with religious people
00:21:00 verse 10 11 and as jesus reclined at the table in the house behold many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with jesus and his disciples and when the pharisees saw this they said to his disciples why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners pharisees were the religious authority of the day they were the kind of people who made laws around laws to protect themselves from breaking the law those those who have the best intentions in heart they they really want to they really care about obeying god okay
00:21:38 and and before we knock them uh for being such a kill join right imagine yourself at that scene seeing jesus eating and laughing and spending time with all the people you don't like people that you would give the stink eye too people who when they walk in the room you're like you you you don't want to be with them you don't want to hang out with them maybe it's that group of gangster who bully you in school that that group mate who didn't do anything with the the college assignment the group assignment right he he didn't
00:22:17 come for all the meetings he's lazy he didn't do his work and we all carry the weight but he get the same score that group made maybe it's that competitor who who slandered you who who gave a bribe and caused you a business or maybe is that politician who's betraying our country that politician who is corrupt and you see that he is hanging out with jesus you feel like bad things should happen to him not good things you you won't you won't say it out loud but you you feel you secretly believe right that they
00:22:58 don't deserve god's love it's like it's like you know yeah jesus i know you came for sinners but surely not these people verse 12 when when he heard it he said those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick now again jesus is telling us he is more than just a healer he is more than just a miracle worker the sick aren't just and just those who need physical uh healing the sick aren't just those who with who are with physical ailment the sick are sinners who have offended god
00:23:43 who have rebelled against their king men and women who have made bad choices those are the same and jesus said i came for them verse 13 go learn what this means i desire mercy and not sacrifice for i came not to call the righteous but sinners let me paraphrase that for you religious performance does not prove your allegiance to me caring for sinners does because i care for sinners religious performance does not prove your allegiance to me caring for sinners does because i care for sinners now please take note matthew is the only
00:24:32 one who has left his job if all the tax collectors in the city left their job the it's not the pharisees who come it is the roman soldiers who are showing up at this party okay jesus is hanging out with unrepented sinners okay they are still living in their bad choices but jesus still chose to hang out with them now this is a challenge for the church do we welcome non-christians to the church or into our circle of christian friends or do we tell them there are some things that they need to change or fix first
00:25:14 before they can start hanging out with us do we see people as people first or do we see them based on their most obvious sin jesus says i desire mercy go learn what that means now look at the last one the fasting of the saints jesus that conversation with religious people and this time the disciples of john the baptist came with their questions the disciples of john came to him saying why do we and the pharisees fast but your disciples do not fast so what are they saying they're saying shouldn't we be fasting instead of
00:26:03 feasting shouldn't we be praying for our repentance and dear repentance instead of being with them the disciples of john are basically saying you should perform religious duties not hanging out with sinners and jesus responds with three illustrations and once you understand the first one the other two will begin to make sense okay verse 15 and jesus said to them can the wedding guest mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and then
00:26:39 they will fast you see there is a time and place for everything when you are at the wedding join in the celebration feast and eat and drink together with the guests to celebrate the happy occasion you don't attend a wedding but go hide in the corner to fast and pray you do that someplace else you don't go to the wet a wedding and ruin the mood you're not standing at the corner when people ask you what you're doing why don't you join the meal you say oh i'm praying for our country oh i'm praying for lost souls no you
00:27:17 join in the celebration at that time there is a time to pray that it's time to fuss you have to recognize the timing the timing jesus says now is the time to celebrate why because the forgiveness of sin the embrace of god towards sinner is here now the illustration of the garment and the wine also emphasizes the same point you have to recognize right timing and the right doings and and are these two illustrations got one extra element which is there's a new thing and there is an old thing jesus is making
00:28:06 another powerful announcement he is the son of man who is coming to do something new jesus is saying i am doing something new here isaiah 43 behold i am doing a new thing now it springs forth do you not perceive it i will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert the wild beast will honor me the jackal and the ostriches for i give water in the wilderness rivers in the desert to give drink to my chosen people the people whom i form for myself that they might declare my praise jesus is saying right i'm not waiting up
00:28:52 for the wilderness and the desert to repent and bloom i'm not waiting for the dry land to produce water i'm not waiting for the leopards to change its spot i'm not waiting for the tax collector to to come out from his tax booth i am going to them i i'm building my kingdom and i'm choosing a people for myself and i'll shape them for myself and for my glory and these people that i'm choosing right they're not chosen based on their religious performance or their religious affiliation but they are chosen by my grace
00:29:30 and mercy and jesus speaks to the scribe he speaks to the pharisees to the disciples of john he speaks to the to the people of first baptist church he's saying i'm doing something new get with the program get with the program yes perform your religious duties but please include hanging out with sinners as an item hanging out with unbelievers as an item and please don't just wait for the church to launch a program yes we have programs we have alpha recently we have soup kitchen and we should all get involved when we
00:30:15 can but in our homes in our personal lives as a family when when when the rules permit holds those parties for the tax collectors and sinners people who you think don't deserve the love of god people whom you have developed a certain dislike and a disdain for pray for god to change your heart melt your heart so that you can welcome them and show them the love of christ in the midst of his illustration about the wedding jesus gave a prophecy it says that the days will come where the bridegroom is taken away from
00:31:04 them and then they will fast jesus is referring to his death and ascension you see the religious authorities right they eventually stuck that charge of blasphemy against jesus and he was taken away to be crucified on a cross jesus could forgive sin at the time without the temple without the sin offering and without a priest because on the cross jesus became the sin offering as he took the blame for all our sin and all are missing the mug and he died in our place so that we might be forgiven three days later he rose from the dead
00:31:54 and now he is at that place he is the place where we meet god he became the temple and after being with the disciples for many days he ascended to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of god to intercede for us as our high priest jesus was the sim offering jesus is the temple jesus is our high priest that's why he could forgive sins and jesus said in those days when he is he's taken away when he is ascended to the right hand of the father his disciples will fast and if you are a disciple of jesus right
00:32:40 you have to ask so do we fast or do we feast because earlier we say that you know we should we should host parties we should feast and welcome sinners right and invite unbelievers into our midst right so what do we fast now or do we feast note that jesus said it's not that the disciples should fast or disciples must fast he's saying the disciples will fuss the disciples of jesus will fast we will fast and pray because we long for his presence because he has been taken away we long for him to be with us his
00:33:24 presence because we know that when he's here everything is so much better we long to experience his fellowship the fullness of his kingdom we long for jesus to come again quickly to fulfill all the promises he has given to us we will fast because we long for him to come again but in another sense he is still with us isn't it galatians 2 20 i have been crucified with christ it is no longer i who live but christ who lives in me the life i now live in the flesh i live by faith in the son of god who loved me
00:34:06 and gave himself for me this is the experience of a disciple of jesus christ has given himself to us he lives in us romans 8 for i'm sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor heights nor them nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of god in christ jesus our lord this is the experience of a disciple of jesus the love of christ is not separated from us and the love of christ compels us to display the warmth and welcome and
00:34:50 embrace that we have experienced and shared it with those whom we think are undeserving because we too are undeserving of his love we are called to be generous and hospitable with our time and with our fellowship and our food to those who have yet to believe in jesus so yes we will fast but we must feast as well so let's summarize like this three groups of people if you are a disciple of jesus welcome the paralytic the tax collector the sinner like jesus would don't keep pointing out their sin or the
00:35:43 things that they need to change to the point that they don't feel welcome open your home throw a party for them eat with them show them the hospitality of god the warmth and embrace of jesus christ and don't forget to fast and pray also so that many many more may come to your house so that they may feast and experience the love of god don't forget to fast and pray so that many more may recline at the table of our lord jesus christ if you are like matthew you feel like you are not good enough for jesus you feel like you have made
00:36:28 too many bad choices that you cannot be saved that you are not worthy to approach a holy god that is not true jesus is ready to welcome you jesus is ready with his arms open white to embrace you hear the voice of jesus calling you today hear the voice of jesus calling you today to follow him leave your old life behind leave your textbook behind don't let the past define you anymore rise up and follow him and feast of the grace and mercy and forgiveness found in jesus christ if you are like the paralytic
00:37:18 you know you are in all sorts of mess and you are in need of a healer not just your physical pain but in any circumstances you are in need you're in pain you're in a mess come in faith to jesus christ i cannot guarantee that he heals your sicknesses or solves all your problems but i know he can forgive you of your sins and he can make you right before god to all who believe in him have faith in him he promises eternal life with him free from sickness free from sin come to faith come to jesus today
00:38:05 if you need someone to pray along with you you send pray to this to the host in zoom if you're responding to the gospel for the first time to hear that your first time hearing about the forgiveness of jesus christ that he is the son of man who has the authority to forgive sin and you decide to follow him or you want to learn more you know i i didn't there's so many wonderful things about jesus i only mentioned this part only come and join alpha you can attend a life group i think there are many lonely people
00:38:44 even in church right come and join the life group come and experience the warmth and embrace and forgiveness of jesus christ through his community and if anything you need prayer requests you can scan that code and we will respond together right uh in in song right now come to jesus in faith today you
