Please take a few minutes to pray for God's inspiration as you look at the short passage from Matthew Chapter 9 (below) and consider your responses to the questions after the pssage. [Andrew]
"Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.
2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 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.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man."
With the key questions being:
Q1: Why were Jesus' words to the paralytic so surprising? How did the teachers of the law respond (verses 2-3)
Q2: What do we learn about the extent of Jesus authority from this passage? (verses 6 - 7)
Q3: What was the crowd's reaction to the healing? What does their reaction reveal of their thoughts about Jesus? (verse 8)
Q4: In verse 2, we read that Jesus acted when "He saw their faith". Think of a particular situation you faced/are facing where you need to act in faith. What specific steps can you take to show faith in Jesus?
Q5: Following the example of paralysed man's freinds, how could you go out of your way to help another person who is experiencing pain and suffering?
Q6, Matthew tells us that Jesus has authority over the physical and spiritual world. In what areas(s) of your life do you need to put rust in the authority of Jesus?
(Optional additional 2 questions)
Q7: Throughout His ministry, Jesus constantly displayed divine compassion. How can a Christian become more compassionate? is it actually possible to develop this quality or is it a matter of temperament?
Q8: Why is it critically important for people to recognise and confess their own sinfulness? How has this passage made us keenly aware of our need for forgiveness?
