Pastor Scott Andrews | March 3, 2024
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Luke 5:17-26
Think about all those really cool miracles in the Bible. Which one is your favorite? Have you ever wished you could see one? I have. Have you ever thought, “If only I could actually see one of the miracles Jesus did, I think it would strengthen my faith”? I have. I mean, wouldn’t it be cool to see a leper, appendages gone, to see him completely restored right before your eyes? Wouldn’t it be great to see someone with a bona fide case of paralysis stand up right in front of you? Wow. The blind made to see, the deaf made to hear? How about seeing someone raised from the dead – right at a funeral? Stop the pall bearers, lift the coffin lid, and see the dead person sit up. How about demon possession – wouldn’t it be something to see someone flopping around on the ground, foaming at the mouth, and speak a word, and watch the demon flee?
Wouldn’t it be great to see Jesus take five loaves and two fish, and feed five thousand hungry men? To see Him stand up in a boat, in the middle of a major storm and say, “Peace, be still,” and watch the winds come to an immediate and abrupt halt, and to see the sea become like glass. Wouldn’t it be cool to walk on water? Would all that strengthen your faith?
We’re studying Luke’s gospel, and we’re seeing Jesus do some amazing miracles – driving out demons, healing people of all manner of illness, to include the dreaded disease of leprosy. And we’ve been impressed – more than that, we’re supposed to be convinced of who He is – the Christ, the very Son of God. That is, after all, the primary purposes of the miracles – to demonstrate Jesus’ authority – and to prove who He is – the Messiah, the Son of God, and God in the flesh So that we can have confidence in our faith in Him. I said at the beginning of our study – this gospel was written, among other reasons, to strengthen weak or tottering faith.
But again, have you ever wished you could see one of those miracles? You ever feel like you were living at the wrong time? “If only I could have been one of those who walked with Him, saw Him, heard Him, watched a miracle, my faith would be stronger. I wouldn’t have the doubts.” I know Jesus told Thomas, blessed are those who have not seen, yet believed. But come on, seeing is believing. I have some good news for you today. Jesus still does miracles. In fact, He still does the most amazing, mind-boggling, stupendous miracles of all, all the time. We read about it in our text, Luke 5:17-26.
This is amazing. Notice, the Pharisees had no issue with the paralytic walking – they took issue with his sins being forgiven – because only God do that. You ever feel left out – ever feel like you’d like to see a miracle? I have good news for you. Every time Jesus forgives sin, He performs the greatest miracle of all. When He said to you, or someone you know, “Your sins are forgiven,” He performed His greatest miracle – because only God can do that – when He took you from spiritual death to spiritual life. Jesus can still heal people – He can still calm storms – He can still drive out demons. But He can also meet your greatest need – He can still forgive your sin. He can still give you a clean conscience. He can still give you a brand-new heart. That’s a miracle. The message today is amazing, mind-boggling, stupendous, unbelievable – Jesus forgives sin.
Let’s look at the story together. While it’s another miracle story, it actually transitions to the rising opposition Jesus is soon to face. Remember, last week I suggested there are two responses to Jesus’ teaching and miracles. One is, people will flock to Him – as in this story. The other is, the religious will not like it – and will oppose Him. Here’s the outline of the text:
- The Setting (17) – with ominous music in the background.
- The Plight of the Paralytic (18-19)
- The Spiritual Miracle (20-23)
- The Physical Miracle (24-26)
Last week, we saw after Jesus healed the leper, contrary to Jesus’ command, Mark tells us the man began telling everyone about the miracle. As a result, Jesus could no longer go publicly into cities, but stayed in unpopulated areas. But, at some point, He’s back in a city. Mark tells us, He’s returned to Capernaum. We know by now Capernaum is the base of His Galilean ministry. People soon heard He was back – probably at Peter’s house.
Many gathered – so many there was no room in the house. Now very interestingly, Luke tells us there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law present – from every village in Galilee and Judea – even from Jerusalem. This is where the ominous music begins to play. This is the first mention of the Pharisees, but they will become His primary opponents. They were one of four religious groups in Israel at the time, along with the Sadducees, the Essenes, and Zealots. The teachers of the law, also called scribes, were the experts in applying the Law of Moses in any and every situation. While not necessarily Pharisees, most of them were.
Well, they’d heard about Jesus’ teaching and miracles, and they’d come to check Him out. To be clear, they were not there to put their stamp of approval on Him – they were there to examine this man who many were calling rabbi, teacher – and yet He’d not been to any of their rabbinical schools. Meaning, He wasn’t qualified, and they were there to get Him. So, we read Jesus was teaching, likely the message of the Kingdom – repent and believe the gospel, the good news of God’s salvation. Of course, His salvation culminates in the work of Christ.
So that’s the setting – big crowd, Jesus teaching, Pharisees present. Which brings us to the plight of the paralytic. Four men came, carrying this paralyzed man to see Jesus. It seemed obvious Jesus could do something about this man’s physical condition – word had spread everywhere He was a healer. Maybe, the man thought, I can get a miracle. Maybe, the men thought, we can see a miracle. Just an aside, here: if the greatest miracle is seeing Jesus take out a heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh – forgive someone their sins – maybe if we want to see a miracle, we should be bringing dead people to Jesus. So they came, but they were unable to get near because of the crowd.
Now, most houses then were single story. The roof was flat, where people could go to cool down in the evening – it was like the outside decks on our houses. Usually, there were stairs to the roof from the outside. We read these four men carried their paralytic friend to the roof and made a hole big enough to lower the man down on his bed – either a mat or a stretcher.
So get the picture: this man was a paralytic, lying on a bed. We don’t know if he was a paraplegic or a quadriplegic, but in some way, paralyzed. What caused his paralysis? We don’t know. People were paralyzed then the same way as today. Maybe, he had an accident, broke his neck, severed his spinal cord, which left him in this pitiful state. Maybe he was born that way, with some debilitating disease that caused paralysis. Maybe, because medical technologies were limited, he had some minor disease or virus that wrecked his central nervous system, leaving him an invalid. We’re not given enough information. We just know the man was hopeless and helpless.
But, we need to notice something here. This is not the normal healing routine. Jesus does not focus on the man’s pitiful physical condition, but on his spiritual condition. What do I mean? This man’s sin was highlighted. Now, we understand sickness and death are the result of sin generally speaking, and sometimes, frankly, the result of specific sin. For example, in I Corinthians 11, Paul says some of the people of that church were sick – some had even died – because of their sinful disregard of their brothers and sisters during the Lord’s Supper. Also, in James 5 we read, when sick, we’re to call for the elders of the church. But interestingly, in the context of praying for healing, James adds – and confess your sins. And if you have sinned, you’ll be forgiven. That kind of comes out of left field. Unless, James is leaving open the possibility that specific sin may cause specific sickness.
So why, in this healing, does Jesus mention the man’s sin? Because it’s very possible this man brought on his own problems – and everyone knew it. Did you hear what I said? It’s possible this man was paralyzed because of sin. We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible, maybe even likely.
One thing we know for sure, I made reference to this last week when we talked about the leper. Understand people like this were outcasts in society. Because then, if you were sick, you were a sinner, period. And so people like this – lepers and paralytics – were seen as people who somehow got what they deserved. Again, it was commonly held this kind of sickness was the result of somebody’s sin. Someone was responsible for his condition – either him or his parents or his grandparents – somebody sinned, most likely him, and he was paying for it.
Remember that story in John 9? There was a man who was born blind whom Jesus was about to heal. The disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” That was the prevailing thought: if you’re sick, if you’re diseased, if you’re maimed or blind or deaf or paralyzed, it’s your fault, you deserve it. It was like wearing a sign that said, Guilty. As a result, these people were usually shunned by society. They may not have to yell, “Unclean,” but they were seen the same way.
Remember Job? Job was called holy and blameless by God. Then he lost his wealth, his family, then his own health. Then the righteous people – his friends came to see him and said, “It’s obvious, this is your fault. You’ve got some sin. What’d you do Job?” Again, we do understand all sickness is a result of sin. We’ve talked about this – when sin entered the world, it drug in with it some other things – namely, sickness and death. And we’ve seen Jesus deal with one of the symptoms, namely sickness. We’re going to see Him deal with death later. But in this story, He deals with the root problem, sin itself. You see, regardless whether this man was a horrible sinner who deserved this specific illness – he was a sinner. That was the real problem with him – and well, everyone, to include you and me.
This sickness is a picture and a reminder of the awfulness and consequences of sin. There is nothing you can do about your condition. And so, this man had to bear the stigma of not only being sick, but being full of sin. And with every stare, this man was indicted.
So, get that picture. Here’s a guy who stayed away from crowds all his life – except maybe to beg. People did not like him. He was dirty, he was unclean. And one day came the news Jesus was back in town. He had no doubt healed other paralytics. So, his friends carried him to the house where Jesus was staying. He’s on the inside, teaching. There’s such a crowd gathered that they can’t get in the door – certainly not four men carrying a stretcher. His hopes begin to sink, but someone has an idea. Let’s take him to the top and lower him through the roof. We’ll make a hole if we have to.
When they get to the roof, they begin the demolition process. At this time, there were crossbeams across the top of the walls, which were covered with thatch, then packed down with mud to make it firm so you could stand on it. Put yourself in the room. You’re listening to Jesus. He’s speaking, as usual, with authority, words you’ve never heard before. Suddenly, there’s a commotion above. The roof literally starts to come apart. Once the dirt and dust settles, you look up to see a man being lowered on a cot. Slowly, every eye turns to Jesus. What will He do? I mean, He’s teaching here, and this guy just interrupted. Will Jesus rebuke the man? “I’m right in the middle of a talk, dude. What are you doing? Who’s gonna fix the roof?”
Put yourself in the man’s cot. You’ve been shunned, called names, cursed, maybe much of your life. You’ve carried the stigma of being a sinner. Some of the people there know you. They began whispering among themselves. You can hear them – but you can’t see them. You’re lying flat on your back, looking at the hole in the ceiling as your friends lower you down. You’re not sure where Jesus is – you look to the left, you look to the right as you get to the eye level of the people. And then you see Him. Your eyes lock. Your eyes are filled with terror – with fear. His eyes – is that compassion? What will happen? Will the people start to berate you as they had done so many times in the past? More importantly, what will Jesus do? Which brings us to our next point, the spiritual healing of Jesus.
Verse 20 – “Seeing their faith” – whose faith? Likely, the faith of the four friends and the paralyzed man – their faith that Jesus could something could do something about his condition. Jesus said to the paralytic, “Friend [literally, Man], your sins are forgiven you.” Wait, what? What did He just say? As your eyes lock, yours are filled with terror, His are filled with compassion. There’s no reason to fear. Matthew tells us Jesus said, “Take courage.” Don’t be afraid. But that’s not all He said. You thought you were coming for physical healing. You hoped that you would walk out of there. But never in your wildest dreams did you think you would hear those words. Your sins are forgiven – could it be?
What was Jesus doing? He was meeting the man’s greatest need. While he simply wanted to walk, Jesus was able to look into his heart and see he had a much greater need. He didn’t just remove his paralysis, He removed His sin.
You see, that’s the reason He’d come – to seek and save those who were lost. To give His life a ransom for many. He could have come and healed every person of every disease and every sickness that plagued humankind. Every leper restored, every blind eye seeing, every lame man walking, every paralyzed person made whole, everyone with cancer made clean. But physical healing is not our greatest need. Calming storms isn’t our greatest need. Casting out demons isn’t our greatest need. Those are all symptoms – the effects of our greatest need. You see, it didn’t matter whether this man caused his own paralysis. All illness is the result of sin. Maybe not a specific sin – but sin nonetheless. And this man needed spiritual healing more than physical cleansing. Our greatest need is to have sins forgiven. To be restored to God. To hear those words, your sins are forgiven. Do you understand what I’m saying? The greatest miracle is not that the paralytic walked – it is that his sins were forgiven.
Can you imagine the emotion that must have filled this man. People hated him, were disgusted by him – but Jesus loved him. People rejected him, but Jesus accepted him. People avoided him, but Jesus received him. People cursed him, but Jesus blessed him. Just like you – just like me.
Well of course, not everyone was impressed with the event, which brings us to the response of the Pharisees and scribes. They began reasoning to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”
Why were they calling this blasphemy? Because they understood no one but God could forgive sin. And they were right. They just didn’t get it – they didn’t understand that they were standing in the very presence of God. In a moment, after they say, no one can forgive sins but God, Jesus will in essence say, you’re right – what’s the point?
There may also be something else. They didn’t like the fact Jesus would actually forgive a paralytic who had not earned forgiveness. Religious people always want you to work for what you get. That’s what they were doing. They thought themselves acceptable to God because they kept rules. Here was a man who couldn’t keep the rules even if he wanted to. And Jesus looks at him and says, “Your sins are forgiven.” Wait just a minute, Jesus. What do you think you’re doing? Only God can forgive sins.
But further, you can’t just forgive sins like that. He hasn’t done anything to deserve it. He hasn’t kept our rules, he hasn’t done what we think is necessary to be accepted. And that’s where they were wrong. You see, this man is a perfect picture of what Jesus looks for to forgive. He was paralyzed. There was nothing he could do. He was broken – there was nothing he could do to help himself. And Jesus said, you meet the qualifications – you only have faith – that’s all you need. Your sins are forgiven.
Christianity is the only religion in the world that teaches the forgiveness of sin as a free gift. Hear that this morning. You’ve got to come to Jesus, as it were, lying on a mat, clinging to nothing but faith. Clinging to nothing you can do. And Jesus says, you have what it takes. I can heal that. I can forgive, that. Don’t bring Me your works – you’re paralyzed – you’re dead – you can’t do anything about your condition, but I can.
Jesus, knowing the thoughts of the scribes and Pharisees, does a little teaching. He starts by asking a couple of questions. “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” Don’t miss the irony – they’re upset Jesus is doing something only God can do – and here He is reading their minds –something only God can do.
But think about it – how would you answer that question? Which is easier to say? Jesus is making a point. There is a sense, physically speaking, in which saying, “Your sins are forgiven” is easier. How so? Because there’s no way to verify it. Anyone can say it. I could say it to you, and how would you know it’s true? People all over the world say, do this, and your sins will be forgiven. But there’s no way to verify it.
But, if I say, “Get up and walk,” that’s verifiable. You either do, or you don’t. So, saying that is much more difficult, humanly speaking. But spiritually speaking, which is more difficult to say? Obviously, “Your sins are forgiven,” because only God can say that.
But, what about for Jesus – what is more difficult to say? Exactly. Neither one. He can say and do whatever He wants. But so that you can know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, Jesus says, I’ll do the one that would be more difficult – and to the man He said, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.” And the man did. One author said it this way, “He did the miracle which they could see that they may know that He had done the other one they could not see.”
By the way, this is the first of 25 times in this book Jesus uses His favorite term to refer to Himself – Son of Man. It certainly points to His identification with humanity in the incarnation – and His future sufferings as a man – but it’s also a reference to His authority on earth as the Messiah. It’s a direct tie to Daniel 7:
13 “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14 “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
Everyone knew that Daniel text was Messianic. Jesus took the title upon Himself. They didn’t get it at first, but they will. It will be this text that results in His guilty verdict before Caiaphas.
Well, Jesus says, it’s no big deal for me to say, “Get up and walk,” or, “Your sins are forgiven.” But I’ll say “Get up and walk,” so that you will know I can also say, “Your sins are forgiven.” In other words, if I prove that I can deal with the effects of sin – what sin drug in with it, namely, disease and death, then you can know that I can deal with sin, too.
As I’ve said, one of the primary purposes in these miracles is this: Jesus is God. He has authority over disease, He has authority over nature, He has authority over demons, and praise God, He has authority over sin. He demonstrated that power. Meaning, we can know He has the power to deal with our greatest need. Some of you need to hear that today. You need to know – no matter how secret, how debilitating, how paralyzing, how awful your sin is, Jesus has the authority and the power to forgive your sin. Every time He heals a sick body, every time He drives out a demon, it points to the greatest truth, the greatest miracle of all – He can heal your heart – He can make you clean – He can forgive your sin. You want to see a miracle? You do – every time He brings someone from death to life.
The people’s response? They were struck with astonishment and began glorifying God. And they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.” A paralytic walking, and sins forgiven by the Son of God.
Which brings us back to the beginning as we close. Have you ever felt like you wanted to see a miracle? You did. If you know Jesus as your personal Savior – if you ever said to Him, Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and I know that You died for my sin – please forgive me – He did. He performed the greatest miracle ever performed in your life. You haven’t missed a thing.
You want to see a miracle today? Then be like the four friends here. Do whatever it takes – tear holes in ceilings, if necessary, to take people to Jesus. Someone who is lying helpless and hopeless, who can do nothing about his or her condition, who, at the end of the day, despite all their best efforts, need a healing touch. Take them to Jesus. Tell them what Jesus can do to meet needs – the greatest need of all. Tell them how Jesus can forgive sin – not just any sin – their sin. Then, listen to them repent and receive grace. And witness again the greatest miracle of all.
Finally, it may be that’s just what some of you need here today. You need to hear those words, not from me, not from your spouse, not from your parents, not from your kids or your coworkers. You need to hear it from God Himself – your sins are forgiven you. By the authority and truth of Jesus the Christ, I say to you, your sins can be forgiven today.