Luke 5:17-26 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. (18) And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. (19) And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. (20) And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. (21) And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? (22) But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? (23) Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? (24) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. (25) And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. (26) And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
Jesus is truly an intriguing individual who is so hard to put in a “box”. While some folks try to portray him to be ONLY this loving, forgiving, compassionate, mild-mannered, soft-spoken religious push-over, this passage some what breaks him out of that stereotype.
Jesus, of course is traveling around the region of Galilee and his popularity is spreading. This is drawing large crowds as well as his critics. People are flocking to hear what he will say, bringing him loved ones to be healed and his detractors are equally being drawn to the crowds to try and catch him in an error.
So if you are Jesus, and you KNOW that people want to find fault in you...to the point that they will murder you, do you antagonize them or do you try to choose your words carefully so as not to fan the flames? In my mind you choose your words carefully so as to NOT antagonize. But Not Jesus!
In this snapshot of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus is preaching inside of a building and a group of friends are so determined to get their crippled friend to Jesus to be healed, that they hoist him upon the building where Jesus is so that they can lower him down in front of Jesus.
When Jesus sees this man, he breaks from his normal routine. He deters from the expected....with full knowledge that he is going to rile up his critics. Notice what he says to the sick man.
Luke 5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
This man is clearly sick. He clearly is need of physical help. He clearly has has come to Jesus to be healed of his infirmities, but Jesus decides to set that aside for a moment and tells him that his sins are forgiven. Now notice the reaction of Jesus’ enemies.
Luke 5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
Jesus has the ability to know what people are thinking. in verse 22, along with many passages in the gospels, the scriptures plainly tell us Jesus knew their thoughts. He KNOWS why these men are were here and it wasn’t to be a follower. So Jesus has clearly chosen to take this path to stir the pot and to make sure we know his real purpose in his ministry. Here is the whole point!
Luke 5:23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? (24) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. (25) And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. (26) And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
Jesus’ Purpose in his life on earth was NOT to eliminate hospitals and illness. Jesus’ purpose was to eliviate human suffering. His ENIRE purpose was to forgive the sins of man and he had to PROVE beyond the shadow of any doubt that he had the POWER to do so. Even if it upset people. Even if it caused people to hate him. Even it it would lead to his death.
To understand WHO Jesus is, we must understand his mission and purpose. Jesus has set the standard. Jesus has paid the price. Now in order for us individually to be forgiven of our sins, we must be willing to accept his gift, but that will require us to make a change in our lives. We must be followers of Jesus which means that we must live according to HIS will, NOT ours.
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