Jesus came to the city - Matthew 9:1-8

When Jesus came to the city, he made an impact.  First, people came to him with a need.  They had a paralytic friend and they hoped that Jesus could help.  When confronted with this need, Jesus pointed out that the paralytic had a greater need- the forgiveness of sins.  The scribes had their own need that they did not yet understand, unbelief in God's revealed plan of salvation.  To meet both of these needs, Jesus healed the paralytic.  What an impact this made to the people of the city.
Jesus is still coming to the city.  He does that through the ministry of His Church.  The church in the city is Christ in the city.  Many times people come to the church with their need.  This is a gift of God.  We may not always see it like that but that person has come through your doors because of what the church represents- God's representatives here and now.  Whatever need that persons comes with, he comes with the need of the forgiveness of sins.  Both needs must be addressed.  Sometimes we are not able to provide their need which brought them through the door.  We can always provide their need of forgiveness of sin for that ministry has been entrusted to us.
As the church, we can never lose sight of nor undermine the authority that God has given to men.  We can never forget that God has placed His church where He has placed it because there are sheep without a shepherd, who wander through life hungry, hurt, and lost.  We can never forget that the Lord has given us the message that alone brings the healing all people need.  We can never forget that these people will go back into the community and tell others how we ministered to them.  Hopefully the reaction will be similar to that of the people in Jesus' time.  They will praise God because such authority had been given to men.