Another
text commonly used to prove the Trinity is
Matthew
9:2-8,
και ιδου προσεφερον αυτω παραλυτικον επι κλινης βεβλημενον και ιδων
ο ιησους την πιστιν αυτων ειπεν τω παραλυτικω θαρσει τεκνον αφιενται σου αι
αμαρτιαι
2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the
palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the
palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
και ιδου τινες των γραμματεων ειπαν εν εαυτοις ουτος βλασφημει
3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within
themselves, This man blasphemeth.
και ειδως ο ιησους τας ενθυμησεις αυτων ειπεν ινατι ενθυμεισθε
πονηρα εν ταις καρδιαις υμων
4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore
think ye evil in your hearts?
τι γαρ εστιν ευκοπωτερον ειπειν αφιενται σου αι αμαρτιαι η ειπειν
εγειρε και περιπατει
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be
forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
ινα δε ειδητε οτι εξουσιαν εχει ο υιος του ανθρωπου επι της γης
αφιεναι αμαρτιας τοτε λεγει τω παραλυτικω εγειρε αρον σου την κλινην και υπαγε
εις τον οικον σου
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,)
Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
και εγερθεις απηλθεν εις τον οικον αυτου
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
ιδοντες δε οι οχλοι εφοβηθησαν και εδοξασαν τον θεον τον δοντα
εξουσιαν τοιαυτην τοις ανθρωποις
8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled,
and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
This
particular text can have many ramifications, if Jesus is not God, which are way
beyond the scope of this work. So, let
us just look at a couple of facts and ask a question.
The
first fact is that it is the scribes who claim that only God can forgive
sins. Jesus doesn’t claim or confirm
this. He only asserts that he has the
right to tell the man that his sins are forgiven.
The
second fact is
John
20:21-23,
ειπεν ουν αυτοις [ο ιησους] παλιν ειρηνη υμιν καθως απεσταλκεν με ο
πατηρ καγω πεμπω υμας
και τουτο ειπων ενεφυσησεν και λεγει αυτοις λαβετε πνευμα αγιον
αν τινων αφητε τας αμαρτιας αφεωνται αυτοις αν τινων κρατητε
κεκρατηνται
"Then
said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so
send I you. And when he had said this,
he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose
soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye
retain, they are retained."
When we
examine the scriptures, are they necessarily saying that Jesus is God simply
because he tells a man that his sins are forgiven? If that is so, then, logically, wouldn’t that
make the disciples gods, according to John 20: 21-23?
And
lastly, pay close attention to verses 6- 8 of Matthew 9.
6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the
palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
7 And he arose, and departed to his house.
8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled,
and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
It says
in verse 8 that God had given men (meaning Jesus) this power. It specifically calls Jesus a man and says that
he had this power because God had given it to him. How much clearer can the Bible be? Yet, Trinitarians insist on stating that
Jesus had to be God in order to have this power.
Note, I
am NOT saying that humans have, through their own power, to say that
someone’s sins are forgiven. The source
of the power is still God. Matthew 9:8
makes it clear that Jesus received this power from God. And John 20:21-23 makes it clear that Jesus
passed this power to the disciples. It
is still God who does the actual forgiving.
This is
a topic that needs to be fleshed out at another time and place. The point is that Jesus’s words in Matthew 9
and John 20 show that he disagreed with the Pharisees’ assertion about the
forgiveness of sins. The Pharisees were
wrong, but the Trinitarians continue to repeat what the Pharisees said.
