Matthew 9:5 (NIV) Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

It occurred to me the other day that I always treated this comment by Christ to the Pharisees as kind of a throwaway line. Like it was really more difficult to say “get up and walk” with the miracle behind it rather than to just forgive the sin.

“just forgive the sin.”

I realized what others have known for millennia, Christ knew just exactly how hard it was to say, “Your sins are forgiven.” since “for this reason” He came.

So yeah, it was way harder to go to Calvary than to do a miracle.

But I couldn’t leave it there. I kept mulling it over in my head and it occurred to me that man is approaching the ability to do some of those miracles, like giving the lame the ability to walk again, or to enable the blind to see. This is truly awesome and a wonderful thing.

But we can’t even begin to say, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Oh some will argue that psychologists have been doing this for years, but not really. They may be able to help deal with the guilt, but they can’t cleanse the soul.

What Jesus did on Calvary, and what God sealed with the Resurrection was bonafide sin forgiveness. Wiping away the guilt and regret, really and truly giving us a way to know we have peace with God. Not the hope that if we are good enough, or try hard enough the mistakes we make and have made will somehow be outweighed by our efforts. He gives us the Hope that God through Christ has made a way for us, the way for us, to finally be free from the vicious cycle of failure and disappointment.

Not that we never fail again, but we need not be condemned by it.

And that freedom transforms us, making us the people we have always wanted to be, secure, confident and satisfied, knowing that we are His children and he is watching over us.

That is a miracle indeed.