AN UNEXPECTED HEALING

In Jesus’ interactions with various people, He often seemed to be answering a different question or a different request than the obvious one.

A group of men brought a paralyzed man to Jesus to be healed. Jesus noticed the collective faith of the group and, rather than healing the man, told him to be encouraged because His sins were forgiven. We can only guess at what the man’s friends might have thought about that response to their obvious request. They may have even been concerned that they might be disappointed and have to carry their friend home again after all.

We might be tempted to think that Jesus was trying to make a point to the teachers of the law nearby, who were quick to express their dismay at Jesus claiming such a prerogative. But it doesn’t make sense that Jesus would use a man who came seeking help in such a way. Instead, it seems more likely that Jesus somehow knew this man’s real unease—or dis-ease—and that his healing would be complete, perhaps could be possible, only if his heart issue was addressed first. Perhaps this first step of receiving forgiveness gave the man courage to even attempt a physical step in response to Jesus’ later command, “Get up, take your mat and go home” (Matthew 9:6). Our bodies, hearts, and minds are intimately connected, and a dramatic healing of the body will always have mental and spiritual implications. Sometimes, when someone gives us an unexpected response to a question or request, it makes sense in a way that we would not have imagined. In this case, it seemed that the response Jesus gave really was the unsought answer that made all the sense in the world.