The Son of Man has Power to Forgive Sins

We have continued to observe a pattern in Matthew's Gospel, where he records critical teaching from our Lord, and then, surrounds this teaching with authenticating signs and wonders. Last time, we observed our Lord's healing of two demon-possessed men within the country of the Gergesenes on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, where the people there, out of fear, pled with the Lord to leave.

Moving on then into Chapter 9, this morning, we will find our Lord, once again, traveling across the Sea of Galilee, back into His home territory in Galilee. And here, we will encounter another essential truth attached to the authority of our Lord, which Matthew wants to convey to
his reading audience, namely, His power and authority to forgive sins. Remember, this letter was directed first to a Jewish audience, and so, these kinds of events, involving conflict with the religious leaders would have really gripped the attention of that original audience to whom
Matthew was writing.