{"id":1214,"date":"2016-11-19T23:42:24","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T23:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takingeverythoughtcaptivetoobeychrist.wordpress.com\/?p=1214"},"modified":"2016-11-19T23:42:24","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T23:42:24","slug":"our-greatest-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/our-greatest-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Greatest Need"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, \u2018Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.\u2019\u201d + Matthew 9v2<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/span>This passage never ceases to increase my fascination with Jesus. Here we have some friends who have presumably heard of Jesus and the miracles he has done. They have heard of the many ways he has healed the sick. Out of faith, these fellows take their paralytic friend who his stricken to his bed, to see Jesus. It is obvious that what they desired was for their friend to walk. With their friend on his bed, it could not be more apparent to everyone watching that this man needed a physical healing. Yet, when Jesus fixes his eyes on this paralytic man his first reaction is not to heal him physically, but to forgive his sins. What a puzzling thing this must have been.<\/span> Was Jesus blind? Did Jesus not realize that this man had a much more urgent need than forgiveness of sins? No, Jesus was not blind. In fact, Jesus could see more clearly and could perceive more deeply than anyone standing (or lying) there. Jesus looked straight through this man\u2019s paralytic body and peered into his heart. It was there where he saw this man\u2019s greatest and most urgent need: forgiveness of sins. As Jesus looked into this man\u2019s heart he saw more than just a sickness, disease, or disability; he saw a heart dead in sin. Jesus provided exactly what this man needed, life through the forgiveness of his sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>As with the paralytic, our greatest need is not something outside of us to be fixed or changed. Our most urgent need is not physical health or a change of circumstances; it\u2019s forgiveness of sins. Until we realize the deadly power of sin we cannot begin to grasp this. We aren\u2019t just sick people who need healing. We aren\u2019t just hurt people who need comforting. We aren\u2019t just broken people who need fixing. We aren\u2019t just sad people who need cheering. We dead and depraved sinners, steeped in the wickedness of our hearts,<\/span> and<\/span> <\/span>we <\/span>desperately need the supernatural miracle of forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Later <\/span>in this passage Jesus goes on to heal this man physically. It is quite a miracle. But the fact that Jesus gave this paralytic the ability to walk isn\u2019t the greatest miracle in this passage. The greatest miracle is that Jesus forgave this man\u2019s sin. Jesus shows us here that not only <\/span>is<\/span> the forgiveness of sin a miracle, but it is a far more miraculous act than causing the lame to walk. This is because the power of physical disability is nothing compared to the destructive power of sin. In Christ, God meets our greatest <\/span>need. Happy is the man whose sins are forgiven. Jesus has far more power and authority than the ability to heal you; He has the ability to forgive you.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAnd behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, \u2018Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.\u2019\u201d + Matthew 9v2 This passage never ceases to increase my fascination with Jesus. Here we have some friends who have presumably heard of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[274,513,572,678,679,698,699,864,896],"class_list":{"0":"post-1214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-gospel","7":"tag-christ","8":"tag-forgiveness","9":"tag-greatest","10":"tag-jenkins","11":"tag-jesus","12":"tag-josh","13":"tag-joshua","14":"tag-need","15":"tag-our","16":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4039,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/who-is-jesus-christ-john-710-24\/","url_meta":{"origin":1214,"position":0},"title":"Who is Jesus Christ? John 7:10-24","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 10\u00a0But after\u00a0his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private.\u00a011\u00a0The Jews\u00a0were looking for him at the feast, and saying, \u201cWhere is he?\u201d\u00a012\u00a0And there was much\u00a0muttering about him among the people.\u00a0While some said, \u201cHe is a good man,\u201d others said, \u201cNo,\u00a0he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2020\/03\/tom-archer.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3908,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/taking-up-your-bed-on-the-sabbath-john-59b-18\/","url_meta":{"origin":1214,"position":1},"title":"Taking Up Your Bed On The Sabbath; John 5:9b-18","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Now that day was the Sabbath.\u00a010\u00a0So the Jews[a]\u00a0said to the man who had been healed, \u201cIt is the Sabbath, and\u00a0it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.\u201d\u00a011\u00a0But he answered them, \u201cThe man who healed me, that man said to me,\u00a0\u2018Take up your bed, and walk.\u2019\u201d\u00a012\u00a0They asked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/09\/317360.p.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/09\/317360.p.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/09\/317360.p.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3945,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/if-you-believed-moses-you-would-believe-me-john-530-47\/","url_meta":{"origin":1214,"position":2},"title":"If You Believed Moses, You Would Believe Me; John 5:30-47","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"November 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 30\u00a0\u201cI can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and\u00a0my judgment is just, because\u00a0I seek not my own will\u00a0but the will of him who sent me.\u00a031\u00a0If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.\u00a032\u00a0There is\u00a0another who bears witness about me, and\u00a0I know that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2019\/11\/download.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4391,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/friends-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":1214,"position":3},"title":"Friends of Jesus","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"March 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"14\u00a0You are\u00a0my friends\u00a0if you do what I command you.\u00a015\u00a0No longer do I call you servants,[a]\u00a0for the servant\u00a0does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for\u00a0all that I have heard from my Father\u00a0I have made known to you.\u00a016\u00a0You did not choose me, but\u00a0I chose you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Commentary"","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/commentary\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/stars-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/stars-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/stars-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/stars-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/stars-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2021\/03\/stars-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3890,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/faith-in-the-face-of-fatality-john-443-54\/","url_meta":{"origin":1214,"position":4},"title":"Faith in the Face of Fatality; John 4:43-54","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 43\u00a0After\u00a0the two days he departed for Galilee.\u00a044\u00a0(For Jesus himself had testified\u00a0that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)\u00a045\u00a0So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,\u00a0having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. 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