Luke 5:12-26 "Breaking the Bonds"

Let’s Pray!

Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!

I hope you were blessed by Pastor Dan Finfrock’s teaching last week. I know I was… He’s such a great teacher!

Pastor Dan made it home safe… and expressed how much he enjoyed being here and with all of you.

He wrote to all his followers: “I had a wonderful weekend Inductive Bible Study seminar at  Calvary Chapel Lake City in Winona Lake, Indiana.  We had a very good group of participants who worked hard over the weekend to learn how to study the Bible Inductively. They caught the concept and were excited as the Word came alive. Pastor Marc Transparenti did a great job organizing the weekend. Thank you for your prayers for this time. There is power in prayer!” 

Did you know we had people all over the world praying for us? What a blessing! 

On a different note… In October… the Elders and I began reviewing our various ministries…

To outline vision, goals, expectations… potential leaders.

I just wanted to share that because it’s been a good discussion… and will help our still young church in our process of maturing.

There’s a lot of good things happening at church… and more good things to come to help you get plugged in… and for us to continue in our love for Jesus and His word.

Which… let’s enter now. Please open our Bibles to Luke 5. Luke 5:12-26 today.

We are looking at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee.

Last time we saw Jesus at the Sea of Galilee… where multitudes pressed about Him to hear the word of God. Beautiful picture.

So Jesus got into Peter’s boat sat down and taught them.

And then prophetically told Peter “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

A bold statement… which of course unfolded just as Jesus commanded… and not only were the nets breaking…

But any grip that business and career held on Peter broke too…

Peter fell at Jesus’ knees in complete surrender… and he and the other fishermen “forsook all and followed Him.”

Today, we pick up where Jesus is first in a town of Galilee… and then heads back to Capernaum…

And Luke demonstrates Jesus’ authority over the most hopeless of conditions… leprosy… paralysis… and sin.

In a message titled, “Breaking the Bonds.”

And in reverence for God’s word, if you are able, please stand as I read our passage.

Luke 5:12–26 “And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.” 15 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. 16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. 20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, 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 today!”

Praise God for His word. Please be seated.

V12 begins with Jesus in one of the local Galilean cities. The opening words “And it happened...” struck me.

NASB reads, “While He was in one of the cities...”

And why this struck me is because it’s so uneventful… so ordinary. One day… while Jesus wasn’t teaching or healing… and just in an unnamed town… where we don’t really know what He was doing… just living life… just what seemed like an ordinary day…

Something extraordinary happened. And sometimes that how ministry is. You don’t need to look for it… it will find you.

A door will open for you to minister… often by planting spiritual seeds. Meeting someone ‘seemingly randomly’ and God can use you to share hope… encouragement… to pray with them… to comfort them… maybe even to share the gospel.

Many of us have our own “And it happened...” stories… which are not coincidental at all.

And while Jesus was in this city, “a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus…”

This account is also in Matthew and Mark, but Luke, a medical practitioner… is the only gospel writer to include the medical detail that this man was “full of leprosy”…

“Full” by def. means “abounding” or “covered” in leprosy… he was in an advanced stage of leprosy.

Leprosy is likely something you’ve never encountered. Probably the closest you’ve come to leprosy is watching the movie “Ben Hur” where leper camps were depicted…

Leprosy… also known as “Hansen’s disease” is an infection to the skin caused by a slow-growing bacteria…

… that effects the nerves, skin, nose, eyes… causing color changes, inflammation, deformities… left untreated… paralysis, blindness, nerve damage… and digit reabsorption can result.

Today, about 150 people in the U.S. and about 250k people (mostly in Africa and Asia) are diagnosed each year.

Fortunately today… with early treatment… it’s curable.

But… In the first century… leprosy was devastating… … physically, emotionally, socially, financially, and even spiritually… as the ‘unclean,’ could not go to Temple.

Jewish historian Josephus, in his writings “Against Apion 1:281” and “War 5:227 & 6:246”… wrote,

Lepers “...were excluded out of the city entirely...”; “...it is not lawful for them to be partakers of this sacrifice [Passover].”

They are forbidden to “...continue in a city, or to inhabit a village, ....they should go about by themselves with their clothes rent; and ...such as either touch them, or live under the same roof with them, should be esteemed unclean...”

Written into the Law… Lev 13:45-46, the Law of the Leper, states “Now the leper on whom the sore is, his clothes shall be torn and his head bare; and he shall cover his mustache, and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 He shall be unclean. All the days he has the sore he shall be unclean. He is unclean, and he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.”

This isolation on top of a failing body would have been miserable… but there was a need to prevent the spread of infection.

Many Israelites took leprosy as representing sin… as sin brings us into a similar state… miserable… separated from God and loved ones…

Very similar characteristics and consequences.

Recently I had good conversation with an Amish guy about being Amish… him… not me… don’t worry I’m not converting…

And I asked why they don’t have mustaches. He said he didn’t really know, but thought it related back to these verses.

So… as I drove away… I sang the song “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof… seemed appropriate.

Anyhow… Leprosy was interpreted as being cursed by God (such as Miriam in Num 12:10). Healings were rare (only Miriam and Naaman in the OT)…

It was considered as difficult as raising the dead…

In 2 Kings 5 the king of Israel, said “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy?”

In the Messianic Age, Jesus said there would be no leprosy (Mt 11:5)

So, those afflicted by leprosy had been stripped of identity… instead of being known by name and as a person… they are now a “leper.”

They were ostracized from friends and family…unable to work or engage in social activities…

No one to hug them… or hold them…

In absolute bondage and devastated in every way possibly imagined.

So… this… notice in V12 how the scripture sees him… “a man” (not leper)… he was a man… who was “full of leprosy” that was his condition… it was what held him in bondage…

And Luke writes “behold” which is both a command and attention grabber that means “to gaze upon”…

Look closely at what is about to unfold…

The man sees Jesus…

No doubt hope filled this man’s heart. News was circulating in every city of Jesus ministry and Him healing people… and here Jesus was!

How many people in bondage today need to see Jesus? And you and I know it… and can proclaim Him.

And so… the man falls at Jesus’ feet and implores (or begs) him… Matthew records he “worshipped Him”…

He pays reverence to Jesus… prostrates Himself to Jesus…

… and asks… “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

This man was in an impossible situation… but He believed if Jesus willed… He could cleanse him of leprosy.

It’s good to pray and beseech God this way… according to His will.

Jesus taught us to pray this way Matthew 6:10 “Your kingdom come. Your will be done...”

Jesus Himself prayed this way. Luke 22:42 “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me...”

John taught us to pray this way… 1 John 5:14 “… if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

James condemned self-confident boasting and wrote in James 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.””

And the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints this way. Romans 8:27 “… He [the Spirit] makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

So… this man with leprosy does well to approach Jesus seeking His will stating “Lord, if You are willing…”

Which was likely reflected the unworthiness this poor man felt.

In those days… when a leper approached society… they were often driven away.

The Talmud records stories of Rabbis throwing stones at lepers… not to kill them… but to run them off…

And the Rabbi’s would shout at them to not defile others.

Would Jesus respond the same way? The man trusted Jesus could heal, but would He?

Jesus responds differently… Mark records He was “moved with compassion”… a phrase we read 5x in the Gospels… displaying Jesus’ love and compassion…

And…

V13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.

Touching a leper was unthinkable… to touch the unclean would make you unclean.

But, Jesus did not become unclean… dramatically and visibly… ‘the leprosy left him.’

Can you imagine how emotional of a moment this was?

Imagine being thrust out of society… where you were so avoided that no one would even give you a tap on the shoulder… or shake your hand.

When was the last time someone touched him willingly and lovingly?

And this is how Jesus engages him. Moved with compassion… Jesus seems to know that it was not just the skin disease that needed healing…

The man needed human touch.

Whatever deformities of his skin and hands… immediately… and miraculously they were gone…

… as Jesus declared, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

And over and again, Luke will display various facets of WHO Jesus is… establishing early on in this Gospel the diving nature and authority of Christ.

Last time we saw that Jesus predicted a miraculous catch.

Here… it was His will for leprosy to immediately leave the man’s body.

He shows compassion and touches the unclean… and this healing shows He is the Source for cleansing.…

… foreshadowing… leading up to what we see in the next account… that He has the power to forgive sins.

And Jesus will use this miraculous healing to stand as a testimony to the priests…

No one was healing leprosy… only twice in the Old Testament were lepers healed…

And yet there was a levitical law of the leper… and the ritual cleansing to be performed following a leper being healed…

And no priest of Jesus’ day had performed this ritual…

So Jesus will use this healing as a testimony to the priests as we read in V14 where we read… .

V14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”

After healing this man, Jesus instructs him to “tell no one” except for the priest, as a testimony to them.

This man disobeyed Jesus… which we read about in Mark 1:45 “However, he [the leper] went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.”

And so Jesus’ restriction was about timing. The man… probably due to the overwhelming joy in his heart…

Now free to be with people again… no longer isolated… the bonds of disease now broken…

He probably couldn’t contain his excitement… and tells everyone with no hesitation of what Jesus did for him.

But even if his intent was good… the result went against the Lord’s timing as now Jesus was restricted from His freedom to enter the city…

Jesus was on a specific time clock as to when He would be revealed as Messiah… and face the cross…

Often Jesus said, “My time has not yet come...”

And this man… in his disobedience… makes the ministry of Jesus more difficult.

And still today… in each of our lives and in our church life… God is directing matters.

And we don’t want to make the ministry of the Lord more difficult.

It’s important to wait upon the Lord to not get ahead of His perfect timing. Our plan… especially when in disobedience… is not as good as God’s plan… and can hinder His perfect work.

The other command Jesus gave… was for the man, now healed of leprosy, to go and show himself to the priest… and make an offering for his cleansing…

And scripture is silent if he went and did this. Hopefully so.

Doing so would testify to the priests of a Messianic sign… that the Chosen One had come… who can heal the lepers.

When John the Baptist was in prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

Jesus responded by first for an hour… healing many infirmities, casting out demons… restoring sight to the blind…

Then in Luke 7:22 “Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Because these were Messianic signs…

And though things did not appear to John as he expected… from his prison perspective…

Jesus was moving just as the Father willed.

And while the ministry of the Lord may not look exactly how we think it should unfold in our lives…

Especially if we feel like we have a prison perspective…

God still moves… in His ways… in His timing… and blessed is he who is not offended because of Him.

The man healed of leprosy… was to make an offering which Moses commanded.

This points back to the Law of the Leper in Leviticus chapters 13 & 14 which outlines what to do with those plagued with disfiguring skin diseases…

Leviticus 13 details the priest’s role in diagnosing skin diseases… quarantining and isolating the infected outside the camp to prevent spread.

And Leviticus 14 outlines purification rituals… offerings of birds, cedar wood, scarlet and hyssop were to be made.

It outlines the process for one to be declared ceremonially clean.

But the Law lacked a cure for leprosy… it only had a ritual after one was cured. Only then could the priests perform the ceremony.

So for a leper to be cured and present himself… this would be a sure testimony of the Messiah.

And I guarantee the priest would have to go back and re-read Leviticus 14… because NO priest had performed that ritual.

I would love to see the priests reaction… realizing he now had a ritual to perform… never seen before in his lifetime.

No pressure at all.

Hopefully the healed man went to him, but for Jesus because of what we read in Mark… that the man freely proclaimed he was healed… vv 15-16 share another angle of the result…

vv15-16 However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. V16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

New King James puts V16 with the next account. ESV and NASB link V16 to the account with the leper… which seems favorable.

One scholar noted Jesus’ words “to hear, and to be healed” reflects the priority of Jesus’ preaching over His miracles.

I would agree that thematic in the Gospels… miracles serve the message.

But we do sometimes see the reverse order… sometimes Jesus healed and then taught… like in the case of the man born blind in John 9.

Or when Peter healed the lame man in Acts 3 and then preached and shared scripture.

So… God’s ways are diverse… and He probably doesn’t set a pattern… because He knows the heart of man.

So often His followers try to trademark a pattern… but truly God is dynamic… knowing the needs of each person… and ministering very personally…

Just like how we just read that Jesus “touched” the man full of leprosy.

But, the word and miracles are both important… the word pierces and instructs… and miracles grab the attention of people before a teaching or preaching…

And, miracles validate the message of Christ.

One scholar stated, “The miracles exist for the sake of words, not words for the miracles.”

What’s sad about vv15-16.… is I wonder how different these verses would have read had the man healed from leprosy obeyed Jesus?

Mark testifies that people were coming to Jesus from every direction.

And, perhaps… had Jesus had more space… another teaching or another ministry moment would have been realized without the press of so many people… and then He wouldn’t have had to withdraw into the wilderness and pray.

Again a challenge to us to obey God’s word… and to allow Him to work in His timing.

Now… in this next account… A paralytic is healed…

And if you attended the Inductive Bible Study training this past weekend, Pastor Dan Finfrock used the parallel account in Mark 2 as an example for ‘observation, interpretation, and application.’

So, this may feel recently familiar.

And, I don’t want to hear any “That’s not how Pastor Dan taught it!” comments afterwards.

Pastor Dan’s really strategic in his approach. My brain’s like a plate of waffles with spaghetti on top…

I’m somewhere between a grid and a roller coaster…

Pray for my wife!

V17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Matthew 9 tells us Jesus got into a boat and crosses over the Sea of Galilee to His own city.

Mark 2 tells us Jesus was in a house in Capernaum… likely Peter’s house…

Luke paints the picture of just how many Jewish Pharisees and “teachers of the law”… lawyers or experts trained in Mosaic Law.

They were coming from near and far… out of every town… feels like a lot of them…

New King James notes they were “sitting by”… which feels ominous. So often they were just waiting to trap Jesus in His words or actions.

So, this is a tough crowd… a hostile audience… sitting by with ill intent.

And every time… even in this event… Jesus handles them… and silences them… displaying His wisdom and omniscience.

V17 closes with Luke alone noting “the power [dunamis- miraculous power] of the Lord was present to heal them.”

“Them” referring to sick people… not the Pharisees and lawyers.

This power was always upon Jesus, but sometimes circumstances were not favorable… like when Jesus returned to Nazareth and did not do “mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

But faith was present here in Capernaum… continuing on…

V18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.

Mark 2:3 states, “Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.”

Mark points out there were four men carrying the paralytic… perhaps ‘they’ refers to a larger crowd.

We don’t know anything about the people who come alongside this man. Were they friends… relatives? We don’t know…

But we’ll see their persistence… and their faith.

Luke does a better job then Mark and Matthew… to not refer to this man simply as the ‘paralytic’, but states this is “a man who was paralyzed...”

Perhaps the Dr. in Luke and his exposure to much sickness made him soft to see past the sickness… and truly see the person afflicted.

So here… again we find Jesus… teaching in a house in Capernaum… with the power to heal… but these four men cannot get the one who needs healing TO Jesus.

They carried Jesus on a “bed” (a small sleeping mat)… not a King Size mattress…

And they sought... they were looking for a way to bring the man to Jesus… but the crowd was too thick… Mark states there was no more room in the house… “not even near the door.”

How many of us have people in our lives the we are seeking to bring to Jesus?

Something is paralyzing them… and you’ve been carrying them… trying to get them to Jesus…

And for whatever reason… the path is blocked.

Don’t give up… this account encourages persistence… check out what these men do…

V19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

Now… I’m not sure you should literally bust through someone’s roof to get them to Jesus… today we call that ‘breaking and entering’…

But… I don’t know… maybe you get your friend to Jesus and start a jail ministry!

Houses in first century Israel had an accessible second story roof which was flat… not like our pitched roofs.

And Jews utilized the roof… perhaps like we utilize a deck… it was a nice place to hang out.

So these men take the paralyzed man up to the second story… and they dig through the roof.

Roofs were constructed with a horizontal bed of branches or beams… sometimes supported by columns… and layers of earth or limestone plaster were laid.

And that’s what these men were digging through.

With what I don’t know… hopefully tools and not their hands.

Though rainy season was hard on roofs where they decayed… so maybe tools were not needed.

And these men make a hole… Pastor Dan pointed out it had to be a big hole to lower him down.… unless they tossed him head first…

But then we’d be reading about Jesus raising the dead… so it must have been a big hole.

And many have imagined Jesus… in the midst of teaching… people all around…

And, at first… a scratching noise would be heard from above… was there a squirrel in the house… or a mouse?

But then dust starts falling… and debris… and then daylight breaks through…

And someone pops their head through… I imagine with a giddy and goofy smile.

Now… I’ve had some sermons mildly interrupted… I’ve been a little distracted while preaching at times, but this would cause an all out pause.

But we read nothing about Jesus being frustrated or frazzled…

It was not a disruption that Jesus saw… He saw something else…

V20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

It’s so beautiful when authentic faith is clearly visible. And Jesus saw “their” faith.

Now… a question arose at our Inductive Bible Study training… “Who is ‘they’ in this verse?”

Pastor Dan… and other scholars… hold the “they” refers to the friends alone as ‘faith without works is dead’… James 2 and this man was paralyzed… so there was no demonstration of his faith.

After our Inductive Bible Study training, my family and I spoke about this interpretation… and I told my wife that God would present an opportunity for me to share how I see this…

I just didn’t realize it would be so soon. I honestly had no idea that I was preaching on this same passage the following week. But, that’s how God works all so often.

I do want to say that I have a lot of respect for Pastor Dan… and he did a wonderful job with our IBS training…

And regarding this verse… scholars interpret this verse differently.

I hold to… and side with the interpretation… that when Jesus saw “their” faith… it was all of them.

The faith of the friends and the faith of the paralyzed man.

James 2… “faith without works is dead” is true for sanctification, but not for justification.

For Jesus to forgive the sins of the paralyzed man… only one requirement was needed… faith…

It was not required for the man to “rise and walk” (v23)… just to believe…

And we don’t read that the man was mute… we don’t read he was screaming in protest… or that he was gagged… so he must have permitted these men to bring him to Jesus.

Why? Because of his faith that Jesus could restore him. And Jesus saw his faith.

So, I see this differently, and maybe one day a door will open for a conversation with Pastor Dan…

But he came to teach a study method… and I wanted him to have a joyful time… and for you to have a joyful time…

And I recognized and esteem the good work he is doing… 80 years old and taking 15-20 trips a year all over the world to train people how to observe, interpret and apply Scripture. I respect that…

Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13 “And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.”

This is the attitude the church is to have towards her leaders… recognize, respect and regard them in love for their work… and live in peace.

There were times I saw things differently than my Pastor… and still do. But… I didn’t divide while sitting under him… I didn’t gossip about him… I respected the authority given to Him… for it was given to him from above.

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

Spiritual leaders carry a heavy responsibility… to watch over souls and they will answer to God.

So, the church is to obey and submit to church leadership… and help by making their leadership joyful rather than burdensome… as this benefits the church.

So, in this weekend while Pastor Dan was here… I allowed him to teach with joy and not with grief…

And I didn’t break fellowship with him… we’ve been texting all week about old guys stuff…

He let me know the weather was 75 degrees in SoCal.… and I let him know the gas prices were under $3 dollars in Indiana.

And regarding how I saw things differently… I trusted the Lord would open the door for me to address the “they” in V20… and the paralyzed man’s sins being forgiven.

And earlier this week… as soon as I realized I would address this today… I expressed out loud, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

My wife thought something was wrong. Nothing was wrong, I was once again floored by God… and how as we simply teach straight through the word…

God’s timing is… and the lessons in His word… are always right.

Well… back in our text…

V21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

So the scribes (a similar “expert of the law” position to lawyers… though with nuanced differences) and the Pharisees hear Jesus… and “began to reason”…

Internally… not out loud… they are thinking to themselves that Jesus is speaking blasphemies.

Gk blasphēmia… meaning “slander… vilification (especially against God).”

And they think this because only God can forgive sins.

And that’s correct… only God can forgive sins.

In the OT, God declares He is the one who removes transgressions for His sake

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”

David acknowledge all sin is against God Psalm 51:4 “Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.”

In a Psalm about waiting for God’s redemption… Psalm 130:4 declares, “But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.”

But the religious leaders were not willing to acknowledge Jesus as God… so they instead accused Him of blasphemy.

And many still do this today. Blind eyes that cannot see. Deaf ears that cannot hear. And a heart that does not perceive. Veiled from the truth.

But even in this account… Jesus’ divine omniscience… His “all knowingness” is on display.

They think… He knows their thought… and instructs them… a common pattern in the Gospels.

And still today… the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:2–4 “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”

And… what a God He is… knowing all our thoughts… and loving us still...despite us.

And still guiding us to truth… correcting our ways… conforming us to the image of His Son.

And for these religious leaders… Jesus doesn’t just let their thoughts slide… He addresses them head on…

vv22-23 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?

Jesus doesn’t ask, “Are you reasoning in your hearts?”

He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt… they ARE reasoning… He perceived (or knew) their thoughts…

Just like He could see the faith of the men who came to Him for healing.

And then He poses to them a question… “Which is easier to say...”

“Your sins are forgiven” or “Stand up and walk”?

Either is just as easy to say… but to do either are impossible by human standards.

Both require a divine touch… divine power.

But the point is which can be observed… in the moment of proclaiming “Your sins are forgiven” how would you know?

A person doesn’t get a halo… they don’t glow… their clothes don’t turn pastel like in pictures of saints… there’s no way in the moment to tell if sins were actually forgiven.

So, saying ‘rise and walk’ is easier because you know… they will stand.

Interesting the word “easier” by definition means “with easier labor.”

And that really seals this for me. Which was easier labor for Jesus… to heal a paralyzed man or to forgive sin?

Jesus only had to speak to heal the paralyzed man, but what did He have to do for the forgiveness of sins?

He had to die… and as prophesied… on the cross.

How much more difficult for God to step into His creation and die for His creation and all the sin past, present and future… taking that on…

Versus healing one paralyzed man.

But, then Jesus puts on a display that I think leads to everyone being amazed and proclaiming, as Mark puts it “We never saw anything like this!”

V24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power [Gk exousia- meaning authority] on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

As a demonstration that Jesus had power… Gk. exousia meaning “authority”…

In this context the authority to forgive sins… which was a divine right alone.

And that of the Son of Man… which is Luke’s first mention of this title… it attests of Jesus’ perfect humanity… and perfect morality…

Which is also impossible… unless divine.

To demonstrate He was this… and had authoritative power to do all He claimed…

He puts His money where His mouth is… and tells the paralyzed man to get up, pack up, and go home.

Something this man could not do for himself

If the man couldn’t stand, and do a simple thing like picking up his bed, and then walk home (when formerly he was carried in)…

Then Jesus was a fraud.

But if the man got up… it proved so many things…

That Jesus had forgiven his sins… proving He was God… for only God can forgive sins.

That Jesus had divine authority TO forgive sins… making Him the divine Judge and Ruler.

And, that Jesus was the Son of Man… the only One capable of the sacrifice required to satisfy God’s wrath on sin.

And so what happens? Jesus make this bold proclamation, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

And we read in V25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, 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 today!”

The man immediately responds… strength and full functioning of His body is instantly restored…

And as a testimony that all of Jesus’ words were true… He does just as Jesus said… He gets up, packs up, and goes home.

A simple dignity that he lost many years prior.

And his heart responds as it should… glorifying or praising God.

Him and those present… they glorified God… they were amazed meaning their “minds were displaced” they were bewildered… and they were “filled with fear”… or awe… or reverence.

NLT states they were “gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God!”

Any person with even an ounce of spiritual sensitivity would respond the same way.

This was a very appropriate response.

And they proclaimed “We have seen strange things today!” or as read in Mark 2 “We never saw anything like this!”

“Strange” in Gk. is paradoxos… it’s the root word for “Paradox” and means “contrary to opinion or expectation.”

This was beyond a healing… which some of them had seen.

This was a moment of divine proclamation… a moment of reading the thoughts and challenging the Pharisees, Scribes, and Lawyers…

And in such a sensational manner… silencing the thoughts in their minds.

No one stood up to them with such bold claims followed by a proof of truth.… delivering on His claim.

And the people had never seen anything like all of this. This was a special day… the day of Messiah… and Immanuel “God with us” being revealed with dramatic proofs.

(Worship team please come)

Let me close saying this… when Jesus restored this man who had been paralyzed… and when He cleansed the man full of leprosy.…

Where for the first time in a long while… once again… human touch was a reality… and strength to walk was given.

Jesus restored in them dignities of life…

He broke them from what held them in bondage… and what held them back from living free.

And in faith… most importantly… He forgave sin.

And the freedom… and life that He gave them… is a picture of what He does for all who come to Him in faith.

Sin is the worst affliction that hold mankind in bondage…

And the “cure”… is believing in Christ…

In doing so, Jesus breaks the bonds… and He gives life now and eternally.

Justifying, Sanctifying, and Glorifying those who believe.

Now and forever saving us from the position, power, and presence of sin.

And in believing… you will be saved… and He will break the bonds in your life as well.

Amen? Let’s Pray!

If you need prayer for anything… any bond of affliction… or to pray and profess that you decided to believe in Christ…

Please come to the sides and someone will receive you and pray with you as we close out in song.

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’”

God bless you as you enter the week ahead!