Jesus does not initially do for the paralytic what his friends were hoping. When the people bring the paralytic to Jesus in today’s Gospel, he sees the faith of the people and says “courage, child, your sins are forgiven” (Mt. 9:2). It is only after the scribes begin to grumble at the blasphemy of this statement that Jesus cures the paralytic. The miracle was not Jesus’ main objective when encountering the paralytic, but demonstrated He had the power to accomplish his main objective—the forgiveness of sins.
For all the reasons we appreciate Jesus, it can be easy to forget why He actually came to be among us: to forgive our sins so that we can draw near to God the Father. Our health, our healing, everything else is secondary to the fact that we can be forgiven and made clean. The things that keep us apart from God can be swept away. When we come to Jesus in prayer, then, what will be the first thing we ask—for material goods, or to have our sins forgiven?