What Have I Got to be CHEERFUL About?

Matthew 9:1-8

So Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, "Son be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" - then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, who bids us "be of good cheer," Dear Fellow Redeemed,

"Cheer up!" -Those are words we've all used at one time or another. If somebody we know seems worried or depressed, and you can't think of anything else to say, sometimes all you can come up with are the words, "Cheer up!" But that can be kind of a hollow encouragement, can't it? Especially if things really are bad in that person's life. He might reply, "What have I got to be cheerful about?" And that may be a question you can't answer, especially if there's really nothing you, personally, can do to help! From a human standpoint, the simple words, "cheer up" don't really do a whole lot of good.

Perhaps you yourself have felt that way now and then. Maybe you've run into distressing situations that seemed beyond human help and, in disgust, have said to yourself, "What have I got to be cheerful about?" Well, if you'd like to be able to meet and beat those situations - if you want to be the kind of person who can face even the worst problems of life with a smile on your face - then today's text is for you. It shows us different types of people who come to see Jesus. One of them, the Jewish scribes, should have good reason to be cheerful, but aren't. The other, the paralytic man and the friends who brought him, seem to have no reason at all to be cheerful, and yet Christ gives them great happiness. Our theme today is a question - a question you can ask yourself:

"What Have I Got to be CHEERFUL About?"

I. VERY LITTLE...if Jesus is just a man to you II. VERY MUCH...if Jesus is your God and Savior!

The hard fact is: for people to whom Jesus Christ is anything less than true God, there really is very little to be cheerful about! And we have a good example of this type of people in our text: the Jewish scribes.

As our text begins, Jesus had just returned from a preaching trip. As soon as He got back to His home town of Capernaum, crowds of people jammed the house where He was staying. Among them came the scribes and Pharisees. We've seen these men before: they were the hypocritical religious leaders of the Jews. They didn't show up in Capernaum that day to hear God's Word, they came because they hated Jesus. As always, they hoped that they could catch Him saying something wrong, so that they could condemn Him before the Jewish council. Well, this turned out to be their lucky day! Jesus finally said something that sounded - to them - like downright blasphemy. The crowd was hushed; everyone was listening to Jesus preach, when something interesting happened... "They brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, 'Son be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.'"

Well, that did it! The scribes didn't know exactly who this Jesus was or where He got His power, but one thing they did know: only God can forgive sins! "And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, 'This Man blasphemes!'"

They were outraged! The scribes knew that, with those simple words, "Son be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you," Jesus was making Himself equal with God. If only they believed that, they too would have known their Savior. They, too, would have had good reason to be cheerful! -But they didn't. Even though the scribes were Bible experts, and even though they knew every passage about the promised Messiah by heart, they didn't believe that Jesus could possibly be that Messiah. To them, He was just a man - and a blasphemous man at that!

The other day I spent twenty minutes wandering around the house trying to find my glasses. You can guess where I finally found them: on my face! I had them on the whole time! That's the way those scribes were; they didn't recognize their Savior when He was standing right in front of them. Do you think the scribes are gone now? Oh no, they're not! There are plenty of modern-day scribes. These are people who by their words or actions don't give Jesus the credit for being true God. Many say that the Bible is just a old book full of legends and fairy tales. They may admit that Jesus was a good man, and that He set a fine example for us to follow...but true God, no. Some of today's liberal "Lutherans" don't believe that Jesus performed any miracles (like the one in our text. Some say He may not even have risen from the dead! But Paul says, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins." -- I Cor 15:17. You see, if Jesus is just a man, then it's back to the drawing board. There is no salvation, and there is certainly very little to be cheerful about.

And what about you? Do you give Jesus the credit He deserves as God? -Don't be too quick to answer "yes!" When you face difficult problems in your life and don't bring them to the Lord Jesus in prayer...isn't that denying His power to help? When you allow yourself to become depressed by "hopeless" situations, when you worry yourself sick about what tomorrow might bring, what are you really saying? Aren't you saying, "No one is strong enough to help me - not even God"? What have you got to be cheerful about?? If you don't let Christ be your almighty, true God, then your answer will be: very little.

Jean Henri D'Aubigne is known as the great historian of the Reformation. When he was a young man in college, he came to one of his professors with a number of doubts he had about the Bible. To his surprise, the professor refused to answer his questions. He said, "If I solve these doubts, new ones will just come in to take their place. But if you really let Jesus be to you God, Savior and the Lord of your life, then He will give you a faith that no doubts will ever be able to defeat!"

D'Aubigne was much cheered by that advice, and we can be, too. When you ask, "What have I got to be cheerful about," the answer is: VERY MUCH...if Jesus is your God and Savior.

For a good example, let's look at the paralyzed man in our text, and the friends who brought him to Jesus. The parallel account in Mark fills in the details of the unusual way they were able to get the sick man near Jesus (remember, the house was packed with people): "Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. When they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. And when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying." -- Mk 2:3-5. Here was a precious opportunity - the Son of God was available to help their crippled friend. They wouldn't let the opportunity slip by.

"And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, 'Son be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.'" First things first! Jesus first takes care of the most urgent need - the healing of the soul. Note that the crippled man didn't say a thing. He didn't have to - Jesus knew what was on his mind. The Lord saw a fear there, the fear that perhaps his sins would stand in the way of Jesus healing him. But then Jesus' tender words, "Son, be of good cheer;" literally, "Have courage! Don't be afraid! I have the power to forgive your sins, and I have already done so. There is nothing for you to fear!"

My Christian friends, Jesus says the same thing to you today. "Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you." He is the great Physician that heals your soul of every sin you have ever committed. The blood He shed on the cross of Calvary is all you need to cover your sins and stand before God perfectly righteous and holy. And that's the difference between the rich comfort Christ gives and the hollow comfort of the world - when Jesus says, "cheer up!" He means it! To all His disciples He says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." -- Jn 14:27. Ours is the peace of a past forgotten, of sins forgiven, and of heaven opened to us once and for all by the dying love of our Redeemer.

That, in itself, should answer the question, "What have I got to be cheerful about?" When something's getting you down, and you feel the blues coming on, find a quiet place and just think about that for a while. Because of the sacrice Jesus made for you, He guarantees that you're going to spend endless ages in perfect happiness with Him! That should put things in perspective; if that doesn't cheer you up, nothing will! When you and I get to heaven, I know we're going to look back together at the troubles we faced in this life and wonder how we could ever have shed tears over such inconsequential things.

While we are still in this world, though, we have the promise that our Savior will protect us and care for our bodily needs, just as He did for that paralytic. He showed His power as God and His compassion for the crippled man at the same time when he said to the paralytic, "'Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.'" And he did: "He arose and departed to his house." Let Jesus really be your God and your Savior, and it will become obvious to you - if He love you enough to give His very life for you on the cross, He's certainly going to take care of all the other little problems that come your way! "Therefore," says Jesus, "do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." -- Mt. 6:31-3.

May God grant us grace to believe His promises. Let's not let anything keep us from our Savior. Rather, let's be like that man and his four faithful friends - let's muscle our way through the crowd, let's tear off the very roof, if necessary, to get close to our Lord Jesus! He's the only one who can give us true healing both for the soul and the body. What do we have to be cheerful about? With Jesus Christ as our God and Savior...VERY MUCH INDEED! AMEN.

ONE THING IS NEEDFUL

Lutheran Sermons for the Church Year by Pastor Paul Naumann