Our paragraph topic is: (A paralytic at Capharnaum) Part 2.
The crowd has assembled and the major players are present. The stage is set. The paralytic is brought forward and Christ is ready to heal him. The nay Sayers are present and they are watching to see if all is real or fake. They look for the errors. Christ begins by saying to the paralytic, " Take courage son; thy sins are forgiven thee." The audience goes dead silent. One can hear a pin drop and all the scribes are thinking, "No he did not say that." He did not say that your sins are forgiven. He blasphemes. The shock is heart stopping. The words are mind wrenching. The death sentence is already pronounced. STONE HIM!!
Christ knew that the scribes were present. He knew the reaction that he would get when he spoke those words. And Matthew tells us that Jesus Christ knew their thoughts. He heard them speak, in their minds. And he said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts in your hearts?"
This one statement by Christ tells us some profound principles. He says to the scribes, Why do you harbor." He says to the scribes, "Why do you give shelter to." He says to the scribes, "Why do you offer refuge to evil thoughts in your hearts?" What is Christ saying? Is he making the statement that we shelter our thoughts in our heart? Thoughts come from the mind and not the heart. Yet Christ clearly states that the evil thoughts of the scribes take refuge in their hearts. How can this be?
Jesus knew their thoughts. Did their thoughts come from their hearts and not from their minds? Where do our thoughts come from? Do they originate in our hearts or in our minds. Modern science tells us that we think with our minds. Modern science tells us that our brain is the center of all of our mental functions. Learning, motor activity, understanding, recognition, cognition, and all of our mental abilities, we are taught, originate in our brains. Christ here implies, that our thoughts, or maybe our evil thoughts, come from our heart.
The scribes were shocked at his words. The scribes were the protectors of the Law. They knew the limits and the requirements of the Law. They were the spiritual police. Anyone caught breaking the Law was taken before the court and punished. And they were the enforcers of the Law. So for Christ to say that your sins are forgiven was a major violation of the Law that threw them for a loop and made them think of the transgression that he had just made by his words. Does God know us by what is in our minds or does he know us by what is in our hearts. Do we allow evil thoughts to take refuge in our hearts? Do we open the door to evil and allow it to take shelter in our hearts?
The crowd has assembled and the major players are present. The stage is set. The paralytic is brought forward and Christ is ready to heal him. The nay Sayers are present and they are watching to see if all is real or fake. They look for the errors. Christ begins by saying to the paralytic, " Take courage son; thy sins are forgiven thee." The audience goes dead silent. One can hear a pin drop and all the scribes are thinking, "No he did not say that." He did not say that your sins are forgiven. He blasphemes. The shock is heart stopping. The words are mind wrenching. The death sentence is already pronounced. STONE HIM!!
Christ knew that the scribes were present. He knew the reaction that he would get when he spoke those words. And Matthew tells us that Jesus Christ knew their thoughts. He heard them speak, in their minds. And he said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts in your hearts?"
This one statement by Christ tells us some profound principles. He says to the scribes, Why do you harbor." He says to the scribes, "Why do you give shelter to." He says to the scribes, "Why do you offer refuge to evil thoughts in your hearts?" What is Christ saying? Is he making the statement that we shelter our thoughts in our heart? Thoughts come from the mind and not the heart. Yet Christ clearly states that the evil thoughts of the scribes take refuge in their hearts. How can this be?
Jesus knew their thoughts. Did their thoughts come from their hearts and not from their minds? Where do our thoughts come from? Do they originate in our hearts or in our minds. Modern science tells us that we think with our minds. Modern science tells us that our brain is the center of all of our mental functions. Learning, motor activity, understanding, recognition, cognition, and all of our mental abilities, we are taught, originate in our brains. Christ here implies, that our thoughts, or maybe our evil thoughts, come from our heart.
The scribes were shocked at his words. The scribes were the protectors of the Law. They knew the limits and the requirements of the Law. They were the spiritual police. Anyone caught breaking the Law was taken before the court and punished. And they were the enforcers of the Law. So for Christ to say that your sins are forgiven was a major violation of the Law that threw them for a loop and made them think of the transgression that he had just made by his words. Does God know us by what is in our minds or does he know us by what is in our hearts. Do we allow evil thoughts to take refuge in our hearts? Do we open the door to evil and allow it to take shelter in our hearts?
