What Kind of Man Is This? / Matthew 9:1-13
What Kind of Man Is This?
If you think about this whole following Jesus thing, we bring all kinds of expectations and assumptions to the process, especially depending on our background. For me, I didn’t grow up in church. I kind of assumed I knew of Jesus, but I had never really read the Bible. I thought, Oh yeah, Jesus is kind of like Santa Claus. He’s going to hook me up. If I’m in trouble, I can call him. If I see a cop, I can pray, and maybe I won’t get a speeding ticket. Isn’t that what we think sometimes?
Then I started reading the Bible when I first trusted Christ, and I realized, Oh gosh, no. I full-on missed it. When you read about the Jesus of the text, He is utterly fascinating. He is blowing religious paradigms, loving shady people, hanging out with scoundrels, teaching with unmatched authority, and making everybody really, really nervous.
I don’t know what your picture of Jesus is, but whether you are a guest here with us live or joining us via video, I want you to know: we are going to make much of Jesus. Not our own perspectives or opinions, not our own thoughts, but what the Bible actually says.
Last week, we looked at a couple of interactions Jesus had, including a dude we called “Crazy Larry”—you’re welcome for that, because you’ll never read that text again without thinking of him! But the question was asked: What kind of man is this? What kind of man calms the winds and the waves with a word from His mouth? What kind of man takes His disciples to the other side of the tracks to “those people”? What kind of man casts a legion of demons out of a man and into a herd of swine with a single word: Go? What kind of man restores the broken and redeems those who are far from Him?
As we look at Matthew chapter 9, verses 1 through 13, we are asking that exact same question: What kind of man is this? But this time, it is: What kind of man is this who can forgive sin and heal the paralyzed? What kind of man is this who hangs out with scoundrels? As we walk through Matthew, I hope you are genuinely surprised by Jesus, because He is awesome. Whatever your flannelgraph picture was before, I hope we frighten you a little bit with the sheer depth of the riches of the love of Jesus our Christ.
Jesus Comes Home
The text begins with a little geographic pin in the map.
Matthew 9:1 (NASB)
Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over [the sea] and came to His own city.
Remember the context: they were in the Decapolis on the northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee, and now they get back in the boat and Jesus comes back to “His own city.” What is His own city? We know Jesus was born in Bethlehem according to Matthew 2:1. We know He was raised in Nazareth according to Matthew 2:23. But Matthew 4:13 tells us that Jesus left Nazareth and settled in the city of Capernaum by the sea. According to the text, Capernaum is now Jesus’ home base.
Matthew 4:13 (NASB)
and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
They cross over, processing that wild encounter with Crazy Larry. That whole interaction might have taken place with the waves of Galilee lapping at their calves while they stood there saving him! Now, Jesus comes back home.
Turn over to Mark chapter 2 for a moment. Why was Capernaum such a strategic place for Jesus to begin His ministry? He could have chosen anywhere. You and I might think He would pick Jerusalem, where all the major religious leaders were. But there were two major strategic reasons Jesus went to Capernaum.
First, it was religiously strategic. Capernaum had the largest synagogue in the region and the largest synagogue school, which was the training ground for rabbis. Capernaum was to rabbinic study what Harvard is to law school. If you went to school there, you trained with the best of the best. It was the perfect place for Jesus to begin, because the top scholars were all around. When He taught, people were blown away because He taught with authority, not like their scribes.
Second, Capernaum was commercially and geographically strategic. There were three primary north-south roadways in ancient Israel. The first was the Via Maris, which came up the Mediterranean coast, cut through Megiddo across the Jezreel Valley, and ran to the northern part of the Sea of Galilee right through Capernaum. The second was the Way of the Patriarchs, running along the central mountain ridge through cities like Shiloh, Shechem, and Bethel, dropping into the Jezreel Valley and heading to Capernaum. The third was the King’s Highway, coming up from the Dead Sea through the Jordan Valley, wrapping around to the north of Galilee to—you guessed it—Capernaum. All three major trade routes intersected in Capernaum before heading east toward Damascus. If you wanted to set up shop in a city with regional influence where everything and everyone passed through, that was the crossroads.
Mark gives us even more detail in his account.
Mark 2:1 (NASB)
When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home.
Jesus isn’t just in His own city; He is in His own house. When word got out that Jesus was home, the place packed out.
Mark 2:2-3 (NASB)
And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.
Homes in this culture were small. Nobody lived in a 3,000-square-foot house unless you were in the king’s palace. In Israel, when we lead biblical study tours, there is a reconstruction of one of these first-century Capernaum homes. You are hard-pressed to fit 40 modern people inside that single room.
So you have around 40 people crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, spilling out the front door. Who is taking up all that room? Mark 2:6 tells us: the scribes. Scribes were the religious scholars and text experts of the day. They copied the scriptures, studied the law, and knew every detail. They filled the room to evaluate this new teacher from Nazareth.
Through the Roof
Mark 2:4 (NASB)
Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.
First-century roofs were flat, accessed by an outside stairway. They were made of wooden crossbeams covered with thatch, brush, mud, and packed clay tiles. The house is packed with religious elites, and not one of them will budge to let a paralyzed man through the door. Isn’t that an incredible picture? The man who desperately needs restoration from Jesus can’t even get in because the religious are taking up all the space with zero thought for him.
So these four committed friends carry their buddy up the stairs onto the flat roof. They don’t have a button for a retractable sunroof; they have to dig. They start sledgehammering and tearing into the roof.
Imagine sitting inside Jesus’ living room while that happens. What is falling down on everyone’s heads? Dirt, thatch, chunks of dried mud. How long did it take? It must have been an awkwardly long time to clear away enough beams and clay to fit a full-grown man on a pallet. It was a hot mess. And whose house was it? It was Jesus’ house! Yet you never hear Jesus say, “Hey guys, seriously? I live here! Can we do this tomorrow? Let’s grab coffee in the morning and leave my roof alone!” Jesus just patiently waits while these friends rip open His ceiling and lower their paralyzed buddy right in front of Him.
Mark 2:5 (NASB)
And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’
Seeing their faith. Does that strike you as remarkable? The paralyzed man is lying at Jesus’ feet, and Jesus sees their faith—plural. Was it the friends’ faith? Was it the collective faith of the team? We know it wasn’t just the man alone. Jesus looks at this incredible act of love and community and says, That is faith.
Then Jesus says something nobody expected: “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
If you’re the paralyzed guy lying there on the floor, is that what you came for? Your legs don’t work! You were hoping for physical healing, and Jesus starts talking about sin. It almost seems completely out of place.
Take Heart, Your Sins Are Forgiven
Flip back to Matthew chapter 9. Why was this moment so tense? In the ancient world, there was a deeply ingrained assumption about disability. People looked at passages like Exodus 20:5—where God speaks of visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the third and fourth generations—and they wrongly concluded that all suffering and disability was the direct result of personal or generational sin.
Exodus 20:5 (NASB)
’You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Remember John 9? The disciples saw a man born blind and asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” That toxic theology taught that if you had cancer, blindness, or paralysis, it meant you were under God’s judgment for sin. We still hear prosperity preachers push that nonsense today—telling people they just need more faith (and need to send in money so the preacher can buy another private jet).
Imagine this paralyzed man lying on the floor. The room is filled with religious scribes glaring at him, wondering what terrible sin he or his family committed to deserve this condition. He is likely embarrassed, terrified, and ashamed.
Matthew adds a beautiful detail in verse 2.
Matthew 9:2 (NASB)
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.’
Jesus looks at him and says, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” Take courage means take heart. It means lift up your chin, son. Be encouraged. Life is about to change. Jesus addresses his deepest shame and fear first.
Matthew 9:3 (NASB)
And some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This [fellow] blasphemes.’
The scribes are furious: “This fellow blasphemes!” To blaspheme was to slander God or claim divine prerogatives, a crime punishable by death under Jewish law. This very charge is what they would later use to send Jesus to the cross in Matthew 26.
Matthew 9:4-6 (NASB)
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, ’Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? ’Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ’Get up, and walk ’? ’But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ’– then He said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, pick up your bed and go home.’
Jesus knows their thoughts and asks a brilliant question: Which is easier to say? It’s easy to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” because nobody can see whether it actually happened in the spiritual realm. But to say, “Get up and walk,” requires immediate, visible proof. So Jesus provides the visible miracle to prove His invisible authority. He turns to the paralytic: “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”
Matthew 9:7-8 (NASB)
And he got up and went home. But when the crowds saw [this], they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
The man stands up, grabs his mat, and walks out! The crowd is awestruck. In Matthew 8:27, when Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples were “amazed”—an emotional reaction. Here, the crowd is “awestruck” or astonished, recognizing genuine authority. But notice verse 8: they glorified God who had given such authority to men. They recognized Jesus was special, but they still hadn’t placed Him where He belonged—as Lord over all.
The Scoundrel at the Crossroads
Jesus walks out of His house—which now has a giant hole in the roof—and heads down the street.
Matthew 9:9 (NASB)
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, ‘Follow Me!’ And he got up and followed Him.
He spots Matthew sitting at a tax collection booth. In that culture, nobody with dignity, godliness, or morals wanted to be a tax collector. Tax collectors were contracted by the Roman occupying government to collect a set quota, but they were allowed to charge whatever exorbitant surplus they wanted and pocket the rest. Rome deliberately hired local men because they knew the language, the families, and who had money.
Capernaum sat at the intersection of three major international trade routes. Matthew’s tax booth was prime real estate. He wasn’t just wealthy; he was likely filthy rich, swimming in extortion money stolen from his own neighbors, countrymen, and family. Jews viewed tax collectors as the lowest, most despised traitors.
Jesus walks up to this notorious scoundrel, looks him in the eye, and says two words: “Follow me.”
No contract negotiations. No debates. No counters. Jesus speaks, and Matthew immediately walks away from his lucrative enterprise and follows Him.
What kind of man is this? What kind of man can forgive sins, heal a paralytic, and then compel a corrupt, wealthy tax collector to abandon his entire life with a two-word command?
Dinner with Scoundrels
They couldn’t party at Jesus’ house because the roof was destroyed, so they went over to Matthew’s place.
Matthew 9:10-11 (NASB)
Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining [at the table] in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw [this], they said to His disciples, ‘Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?’
Matthew throws a massive feast, and who does he invite? All his tax collector and sinner friends! Matthew was essentially saying, “You guys have to meet this Jesus. He is nothing like you expect. He blows every religious paradigm out of the water!”
Our Community Life director, Jack Shiflet—a wise man and former military guy—once shared a profound insight about this passage. He reminded our teaching team that we must be careful when we say Jesus was “comfortable with sinners.” Jesus wasn’t comfortable because He participated in their sin; He entered those roughneck environments to change them. He met them in their brokenness with grace, love, and truth to transform them into His likeness.
When the Pharisees see Jesus dining with outcasts, they lose their minds. “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” They were happy to take the front-row seats of honor in Jesus’ living room, but they were disgusted that Jesus would share a table with “those people.”
Jesus overhears them and exposes their self-righteous hypocrisy.
Matthew 9:12-13 (NASB)
But when Jesus heard [this], He said, ’[It is] not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. ’But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’
“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice.’”
If you don’t know the first-century context, you miss how devastating that statement was. “Go and learn” was a specific rabbinic idiom. If a rabbinic student gave a completely wrong answer in class, the rabbi would dismiss him by saying, “Go and learn what it means.” It was the ancient equivalent of saying, “Swing and a miss, boys. You totally flunked the test. Go back to kindergarten and start over.” Jesus drops this phrase in Capernaum, the premier center of rabbinic study, to the top religious experts in the land!
He quotes Hosea 6:6: “I desire compassion [mercy], and not sacrifice.”
Hosea 6:6 (NASB)
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
The book of Hosea is the story of a prophet commanded by God to marry an unfaithful woman and love her unconditionally through all her betrayal, to mirror God’s relentless love for His unfaithful people. The Hebrew word used there for compassion is hesed. It is one of the most critical words in the entire Old Testament, appearing roughly 249 times. It means steadfast love, lovingkindness, unshakeable covenant devotion. It describes God’s unconditional, never-ending, undying, faithful love toward us, the unfaithful.
Jesus tells the scribes: You know all the rules and rituals of sacrifice, but you have completely missed the hesed heart of God. You have external religion with zero love.
Then He delivers the punchline: “For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” This doesn’t mean the Pharisees were actually righteous; it means Jesus came for those who recognize their sickness. The irreligious acknowledged their depravity and embraced the cure, while the religious were blinded by their self-righteous pride.
The Heart of the Savior
What kind of man is this who heals the paralyzed and forgives sins?
What kind of man calls the scoundrel and causes men and women to abandon their old lives to follow Him?
What kind of man eats with tax collectors and sinners?
What kind of man reveals the heart of God as an unconditional, unchanging, undying, faithful love toward the unfaithful?
He is the Savior of the world. He is Jesus, our Messiah. He is the One who came to seek and save that which was lost.
I don’t know what expectations you brought into this room today, or what assumptions you have made about what Jesus should or shouldn’t do in your life. But God wants to blow your expectations out of the water.
To the broken, Jesus is the Redeemer and Restorer. He is the One who sets the captives free, heals the sick, takes the paralyzed man, and says, “My son, take heart. Rise and walk.” He restores us to life, to our families, and to community.
And to the religious, Jesus is a poke in the eye. He thumps our chest and says, “You’re going through all the religious motions, but you have missed the point entirely. Go and learn what it means to have compassion, grace, mercy, and kindness.”
Father, for those of us who have lived downwind of ourselves and recognize the depth of our moral paralysis and sin, thank You that You have redeemed and restored us by Your grace. And for those of us who have harbored hardened, religious hearts, remind us to go and learn what it means to reflect Your hesed love—a never-ending, undying, faithful love to the unfaithful.
Restore in us a heart of compassion. Whether we are broken and in need of restoration, or religious and in need of rebuke, remind us by Your grace that Jesus is worthy. What kind of man is this? He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Savior who died, was buried, rose again, and offers salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in His name alone. Transform us into His image, until the day He returns. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.