Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We see this in the first story of Matthew 9.
verse 1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.
verse 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
his own city: Capernaum. The four major towns in Jesus life are Bethlehem (his birth), Nazareth (where he grew up), Capernaum (where he did many miracles and taught and drew in disciples), and Jerusalem (where he taught, did miracles, was arrested, tried, crucified, buried and resurrected).
when Jesus saw their faith: It’s helpful to read the version of this story in Mark 2:1-12. This is the story where the men take off part of the roof to lower the paralytic through. It is the faith of all of them that Jesus commends and responds to. And it is because of of their faith that the paralytic is forgiven his sins and healed.
Take heart: One the surface, Jesus’ encouragement here could be the fact of the paralysis and maybe the audacity/trepidation of coming through the roof. Down deeper, though, this might be something sweeter and deeper if he struggled with faith and confidence and discouragement.
my son: In this same chapter Jesus refers to a very broken and unclean woman as daughter. Jesus’ tenderness should sink in for all of us. We are included in these terms.
your sins are forgiven: They seek healing. Jesus will do that second. First, he declares the man’s sins are forgiven, which is far more important. Our sins must, must, must be dealt with.
Ailments are often thought to be connected to sin. People think of them as punishments. There is some truth in this, but not always. Job and Paul suffered ailments and they were not connected to sin.
This man is made completely right with God on the basis of his faith. This is how grace works. Jesus initiates the forgiveness before it is asked for. This is seen all through the Bible. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. John 3:16
Again, our sins must, must, must be dealt with. Confess, confess, confess. Repent, repent, repent.
The Men's Bible Reading Idea 