What does Jesus want to be understood as something more than the demon-caster-outer?
What is the logical connection between forgiving sins and being God?
Dale defines forgiveness as releasing someone from a debt. How have you heard forgiveness defined before? Does this definition from Scripture give you new insight into what forgiveness could mean for you?
If you think back over your life, of all the incautious words you’ve spoken, all the good things you’ve avoided due to busyness or cowardliness or self-deception, consider how the length of ledger of all the debts you owe God and others. All your own pollution. Now imagine God takes that list and tears it up and says, I’ve got you covered. Your debt is paid. How do you feel now? What would you do? This is what “Your sins are forgiven” means.
Jesus doesn’t favor the poor or the rich or the elite or the marginalized. Jesus was on the side of any who wanted HIM, rich or poor, Jew or Gentile. Do all people in any socio-economic or ethnic group want Jesus?
Instead of making church attendance or a denomination the way we identify Christians, what if we started looking for people who know they are soul sick or emotionally sick or mentally sick and know they need help? Would we expect to find Christians in different places? Where would you look for these people?