Jesus knew what they were thinking, 

so he asked them, 

"Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 

Is it easier to say 'Your sins are forgiven', or 'Stand up and walk'? 

So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins".

Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!"

Matthew 9:4-6 NLT

Lots going on here!

Jesus knew what the religious leaders were thinking.

And he decided to show his authority to forgive sins by his authority over the disability that the person suffered from. 

You can't see someones sins forgiven, but you can see someone who was paralyzed get up and walk away. 

Jesus was saying "I am who I say I am, only God has authority, and I'm exercising it".

I wonder how much the person who had been paralyzed cared about the theological argument?

I wonder how he felt the moment Jesus said to "stand up"?

I wonder what happened in him, to him?

It can be easy to see our needs that way, our need to be able to stand up, have something fixed, restored, and miss our need for spiritual restoration, to have our walk with God restored. 

#wordsofJesus

#redletterBible

#jesusrestores

#onedayallwillbemadenew