16th September 10:30

Luke 5 if you got one of these blue Bibles for Less is Page 1032 Define is the big number Luke Chapter 5 and we're looking for the small number 17 Jesus forgives and heals a paralyzed man.

One day Jesus was teaching in Spira cease and teachers of the law was sitting there. I had come from every village of Galilee from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal those who l. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house today him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd they went up onto the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd right in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said friend your sins are forgiven.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves. Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God Alone?

Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked why are you thinking these things in your house? which is easier to say your sins are forgiven to say get up in the book. But I want you to know that the son of man has Authority on Earth to forgive sins. So he said to the paralyzed man, I tell you get up take your mat and go home. Immediately he stood up in front of them. Took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. It was filled with all and said we have seen remarkable things today.

What's an interesting crowd us assembled for this summer reading about here? She's at the beginning. It says that you got these Pharisees in these teachers of the law who got together now Pharisees for us immediately in our ears. We hear that we think bad guys, right Pharisees are bad guys, but that's not really fair because they are the super religious super ultra goodie-goodies of the day. They're super trained in terms of what they knew about what they believe their knowledge was like to hear they're super diligent about trying to do everything they should be doing.

They're Way Beyond anything you didn't cancer today here in terms of their Devotion to what they believe in practice again. And working so hard to keep every Rule and it says that they've come from every town in the region of Galilee. That's a pretty big 40 from every 10 minutes as they come from Judea. That's the next Space 2 hours and then it says they come all the way from Jerusalem to recent about 60 miles away. So if you're 60 miles, but you don't just randomly show up in a house one day to listen to Jesus you have come deliberately you made a point of making this trip you planned it is taking you two days to get there has been a serious Journey. She got a big crowd assembled here. I think they're meeting in some sort of have said we'll see later or you might find a lot of these leaders 5360 than their how many people are in a room and these days maybe a pretty similar number. So you got this big crowd assembled loss of religious teachers among them and then we meet Character but a key character this guy called the the the paralytic the man he was paralyzed. He's on the stretcher or or or some bad as some kind that can be transported and some fabric in between them. He's got some really good friends. I don't really good friends because they have brought him to this place and we know from the gospel of Mark and that he's in capernium just now that's Mark chapter 2 verses 1 through Jesus Benning capernium already in our story in Luke. He's already healed all the people who were sick. So this guy from somewhere else and I haven't come by himself. He's been carried from somewhere else by his friends. So we got some seriously good friends you really care about him, but there's a problem they get to the place where Jesus is teaching and it's full religious types. It seems But he's a really good friend of friends. You would really like they're Unstoppable. I don't know how familiar you are with first-century Palestinian buildings, but they used to build them coming with flat roofs in the rooms were not just to keep the rain off the ranch another kind of living area there do all sorts of things up on the roof. They would do things like like dry stuff or eating meals or sleep there. We can use it as a loose vagina and I can't quite figure out how that would work on your own roof that seems imprudent but they generally use spaces what these friends do they head off onto the top of this house and and then he says that they lower Kim through the tiles. A picture of my head what it looks like to lower someone through tile. I just start with I thought, you know, you got tiled roof, right and this man somewhat heavy through the tiled roof and that like it's an option for Middle East and refused to have lots of wood laid across them and then strong pull apart bit by bit or bits and the other your story I heard about this was well, maybe maybe the roof has a door right in some reason. I accessed by Ed side stairs sung by a ladder and a door make when the men you're trying to get the friend in the thumb have to be pretty tricky caring a man and then they're going to force this roof to tell you what it is. Is it snowing you're expecting it snowing you would like visitors to your hands to be doing typically right people coming in for your roof. That's not that's not normal, but it seems to be remarkably little surprised about what's going on here. But I need to freeze the frame need to think. What is going to happen next? The last time Jesus compared to him. I already mentioned this Luke chapter 4 verse 40. He heals everyone who comes to him. He was everyone who comes to him. Will the very last thing came to this guy who's sick? Jesus heals him when he comes to him verse 17. Did you notice in the narrative there? It says in verse 17 that are the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal. Those who are ill the power of the Lord to heal is right there with Jesus. This is a narrative setup isn't it a classic narrative set of this is like when you're in the old abandoned house in the middle of the storm and therefore of you, you know, the lights are and you only got torches and you say do you know we should do we should split up so we can cover more ground and then the eerie music starts cutting. He's been healing guys to the paradise. She lives with him the stick guys come to Jesus through the roof. What's going to happen?

But Jesus said something completely different in mind. I totally know what they came for.

Randy says your sins are forgiven their sin as a bit of an old-fashioned word. I think sometimes we can misunderstand what's in view their what is it? Simply? It's the things we do that we shouldn't do. The wrong things that we do the right things that we do that we should I guess in all culture. We would think there's some things we think of as bad since like your child abuse and then he has to go to France on holiday for his sins and we would use the term just to mean kind of, you know, various negative things. That's big and small and the truth is that any size of thing is enough to separate us from God. Vegeta says Jesus as the surprise your sins are forgiven.

Well, who is it? I can forgive sins that the Pharisees are thinking their brains their expert knowledge of who God is and how he works. They go into overdrive that thinking you can forgive but God. What to think about why is it the only God can forgive sins has that word? What is come to work with us to help for a couple years imagined Caleb 1 days in the manufacture? He is satisfied steals my car and drives off right and then the next day the next day he comes into the office if nothing's happened and all he's also only comes in and says Caleb. Your sins are forgiven. I like you stole my car.

and dump

When is in some fundamental way it's against God. It's against God. And so the idea that anyone else can forget. It just doesn't compute that's impossible. Even though I often affects other people. I'm one of those the classic examples if you know your Bible about how about since is the sin of King David the high point of the Jewish people's history King David is this great leader. Everyone thinks it's gone fabulous. He commits adultery with a woman to get away with it. He has her husband murdered.

And then and then he writes a song. So I'm 51 in the Bible describing this and you know what he says that he says against you and you only Lord have I sinned. Shocking isn't it count someone and yet his view is is primarily against God.

How come soon as primary against God it's a violation of his design his order his plans his patterns.

Does that make sense? It's called he's been wrong with sin. So only God can forgive sin. The Pharisees are right. The Pharisees of right who can forgive sin but God but it's right in front of them didn't do they sing that he has made of God claims. He done something right there. The only God can do. The response isn't really strong enough for that like notice. It's only later in chapter 6 verse 11 that they become furious with Jesus now if he'd actually understood she'll be furious right there and then What is steel still having dinner with him? two chapters later Pharisees don't have dinner with people who claim to be gone. So I don't think they can have understood what he's doing here there and you can you can see that he look at the words. He says your sins are forgiven. He doesn't say I forgive your sins. He said your sins are forgiven and one which we have been forgiven. It's going to completed past eight. He's talking about an accomplishment is already happened. And that was the normal way. They would speak about what God has done. Maybe they're hearing him. Say you're saying God has done something here and there the blast me that upset about is how dare you speak for what God has done. I dare you claim to know what God has done or what he hasn't done. Does none of the usual asked if you were flying around in the process of obtaining forgiveness from God there's a system and regulations for this are priests the law for that sort of thing is not going on. So I think the blasphemy they see is this presumption daring to say what God has done without knowing that that actually happened but Jesus Jesus knows what they're thinking and he goes on to explain. What is next after the second thing. He does is going to mean he says when I healed a man, I'm going to demonstrate the reality the visible reality of the invisible thing the forgiving of sins of a demonstrably something visible tangible right in front of you the invisible forgiveness. The Jesus says which is easier. Is it easier to forgive sins or is it easier to heal? Doesn't seem like it is easier to forgive sins or at least to say words about forgiving sins. Physically healed the man right in front. If you can verify that you're like not walking walking check forgiven since he can say something. You don't know where there's really happened. Tips for getting on claiming forgiveness is at least easier to do in one with on the other hand. Crystal healing is easier and we have wonderful doctors today. They can out with many physical problems. It's not easy. Look how long they have to train for look at all the equipment and supplies. They need the technology that's required. But it is easier to heal the body then to forgive sins mean, how can you really forgive him? How is that even possible?

Some things when they are broken cannot be mended, right?

It's easy to imagine sins against other humans, which just cannot be undone. Can you really be forgiven is even right to forgive sin? No matter how grave it is.

Ultimately, we will see as we follow the story of Jesus At The Cross just how hard it is to forgive sins. Ultimately. It will be far easier to heal bodies then forgive sins. There's some serious.

But Jesus isn't satisfied. He's a provocative guy. He takes it up to another level. He begins to speak about this son of man guide and when Jesus says your sins are forgiven, right? He didn't necessarily claim to be doing it. But look at what he says about the son of man guys that the son of man. Has Authority on Earth to forgive sins to actually do it to tell you somebody else did it to actually do it?

Son of man is going to become the way Jesus would prefer to describe himself. He use the term about himself lots and lots of The Story Goes On

but it wouldn't have had to have two letters. They spoke at you can speak capital letters. I probably wouldn't even have had capital letters in the minds of the here's the turmoil that was familiar to us. If we've been reading our Bibles and thinking about them. It's not obvious that I had any residents tool for the first hears. There's no evidence in the historical documents. We have access to that. It was announced they were expecting a person they thought was coming looking for son of man are there is one mentioned. I'm back in Daniel chapter 7, if you want to read that later we connected to that now it helps us understand what Jesus was getting at what he was meaning.

the primary sense of the term if you just heard the words is human humans also human if I were to start as a bit of a non-title one that Jesus would begin to feel I have. So Jesus says I want you to know that the son of man that is in their ears. That is the Schumann. I want you to know that the son of man has authority to forgive sins and they know forgiving sins is something only God can do Is in the human can do something the only God can do. I think we're going to kill the man is he is he saying that he is not human? Oh just that there is such a human. I actually totally obvious from his words and I think it wasn't totally obvious was here's either. I can't look at the response. You don't get much of a rough as you don't get people saying what are you thinking? I'm throwing and trying to rush him and take him out. Like they would do instead. What do they say it? Well, everyone's amazed. Under the table and give praise to God, they're not there's no kind of praise to Jesus going on here. So perhaps they haven't understood that he himself was the actor doing the forgiving.

Direction is a scene something remarkable, but I think they haven't got their heads around it yet.

Don't want us to walk through what happened here really quickly. Okay, the Pharisees are right only God can forgive sin because even though sin hurts people. Terribly damaging some catastrophic Lee sin is still in some way primarily against God. Only God can forgive sins but Jesus then and there forgive sins. He proved it by killing this man. Now that means to outside this Jesus must be God, but at the same time he takes a name for himself and says I'm a human.

Jesus is the one God man. The one who walks the Earth the one who can forgive sins. That's amazing reality that he picked your breast last week. If you're with us, he cleanses this guy who is separated. Bring him back into God's people. That's what everything has been pointing to Jesus is himself. The one who can restore us humans. separated by our sins to the relationship with God we were made for

Jesus opens the way for God to God's given to wait to God by coming to us. He opens the way to go by coming to us as a human. Rather than demanding. We make our way to him.

so well

Well first, I think the important most important point for us to consider is do we get this is real. How many you claim the name Christian for yourself today? If you would claim the name Christian you're in the amazing position of having had Jesus say this to you. Your sins are forgiven. I'm having Jesus actually do that action. He forgives your sins. through the cross are we so often forget or fail to grasp that this is just as real as standing up. I'm walking home caring or mat. Just tell real the Forgiveness of our sins. Are we cannot and say Yes intellectually, I totally understand this why I understand the propositions in the phrases. I have them in my head another truth. But do we really get that? I think our actions help us see that it would really think I want to give us some quick tests that can help us. Think about how we really got this we really understood. In fact thing. I send you still with us. Well, what does it look like? What does it look like to know that you still have seen with you? How would you ask if you still had the same within you if you were forgiven we can look right back to the beginning of the Bible story. How do you act when you have SIM will Adam hides? He hides from God or we can think back a couple of weeks of the story of Peter being cool. What does Peter do he says go away from me.

distance yourself from God

What you want to draw near to impress that's one sign of how you really think about whether your sins are forgiven or not. I can only sign is the desperation with which we pursue learning our way towards God. How important is it to you to do things right to act in the right way to behave in the right way to what extent are you doing that in order to earn favor with God rather than enjoying the favor you already have you think you need to make up for your sins still or do you know they're forgiven?

I think this particular comes into Focus me when I know I've made a mess of it on a day. I'm at day when I know I'm standing in the middle of my own puddle of saying that I made.

How do I respond do I feel like now I need to do extra good work now. I need to perform an extra well for going to take me back or do I understand the Jesus declares forgiveness? So one thing we get this is real. Think about what is your life? What is your behavior show you about your understanding of that reality of the Forgiveness of your sins. But second we get this is serious. Then the guys bringing their friend on the mat. Will they thought he had a serious problem? Why the hell I had a really serious problem. They went to all the trouble of carrying him almost certainly from another city to confront him and then somebody else's property to get him in front of Jesus. There's no sign. They thought his sin was a serious problem until they saw his his paralysis was a problem.

What do we think our friends really need? What do you think they need three three think they need an easier financial situation a job. We need a little bit more fulfillment some more rest.

When you think about those, you know who you're still far from Jesus. What is it that we really think they need?

Since their biggest problem not even paralysis Trump's that only Jesus can fix it. There's no point in taking them anywhere else. And the question is how hard do we work to do that? Have you ever carried anyone anywhere? How much are we willing to put in? To bring people to Jesus.

What does it look like to break through somebody else's roof or risk can be willing to take and bring the other people to Jesus?

Vin Diesel used Jesus to bring people to

Indian there really is no way out of being separated from God by our sins apart from Jesus. We all need to come to Jesus this time this time. He came with Mercy. the title the son of man remind us some pointers to the time when he will come with judgment and Justice as well.

Coming to Jesus is the only way to escape.

Have you heard Jesus say your sins are forgiven by stands ready to do that today? Imma, pray and then we have some questions to explore together.

Got to go. Thank you for your greatness. And the greatness of your love for us. He didn't stay far from us. But you welcome us back you practice this Reckless Love. We were talking about with the prodigal. You became human you walk the earth you gave your life. and 3 the cross you down with our sins so that they can be forgiven.

We come to you for that forgiveness. Now we get into our hearts not just our heads that we are genuinely forgiven. Are we graston either the world around? And be ready to do what it takes.

I meant

I like to talk but it's great for all of us to engage and interact as well, but a couple of quest.

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