1 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.REFLECTIONSWritten by Ryan Phung It’s common for non-believers to confuse, doubt, or even question the true identity of Jesus. Was he a real historical figure? Were his miracles real? Was he really the Son of God?I’ve been a Christian for a while now, so I’d like to think I’ve got the identity of Jesus right – he is surely the one and only Son of God! But more regularly than I would like to admit, my thoughts and actions do not reflect that. My thoughts often go astray and my prayer life becomes a list of demands. He becomes more like a convenient miracle worker (or a butler) than the merciful, yet powerful, Son of God.In today’s passage, Jesus communicates with those around him that he is far more than just a miracle worker. Instead of simply healing the paralysed man who was brought before him, he boldly proclaims and shows that the thing that is separating the man from God – that is, his sin – is now no more. He uses the physical healing of the man as a sign of his spiritual healing.What kind of authority could spiritually heal the paralysed man? Only the authority of God himself! So if we claim to follow Jesus as the true Son of God, do we come to him with full trust that he is able to forgive sins? Or do we come to him, treating him as something less than the Son of God – maybe just as a last resort, or a way out of our troubles, whether those are related to finances, health, employment, and so on.Like the teachers of the law in this passage, I too can miss who Jesus really is. Let’s stop, confess our sin to God, and ask him to help us to see and trust Jesus for who he really is.QUESTIONWhat do you think is more important: To have a healthy body, or to be forgiven by Jesus?ABOUT THE AUTHORRyan is a member of our Bossley Park congregation.