Authority to Forgive Sins
Notes
Transcript
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 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?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Introduction
Introduction
We come this morning to a very significant passage in Scripture, particularly in the Gospels. There is such a critical message and point that is conveyed through the work that Christ does as recorded here by Luke. And it’s of great importance that we see this, and that we don’t allow the gravity of these truths to evade us as we consider this passage.
There is a development in the point that Luke is conveying in this part of his Gospel. You will recall that In the previous account, Jesus healed a man who was ceremonially unclean. A man had come to Jesus for healing, but this man was a leper, and as a consequence of this, he was excluded from the normal societal life.
As we go into this text, we must realise that Luke is about to demonstrate all the more how Christ is able to cleanse people so that they will be ceremonially clean. But the demonstration in this passage exceeds the mere outward cleansing significantly. The greatest problem that man faces when relating, in fact the greatest problem facing man personally, is his sin. And in this text, Jesus will deal with that deep problem, and he will do so effetively and very graciously.
Before we go into this text, it’s worthy noting that Jesus was constantly surrounded by people who were flocking to him to both learn from him and receive from him (usually that receiving was healing and some benefit to them).
The previous account and one that we will consider this morning is seperated by Luke by verse 16, we said that Jesus would often go away to lonely places to pray. And so that was the life Christ. A very busy life, but one which always included time away in lonely places, away from the bustle and demands of people, in order to pray to God and be in fellowship.
As we turn our attention to this passage, notice firstly with me...
1. The Spectators to Christ’s Authority (v.17)
1. The Spectators to Christ’s Authority (v.17)
You will recall that the news about Jesus was spreading far and wide. People were hearing about the works that Christ was doing. They were hearing about the powerful preaching and teaching that was being brought to them by Jesus Christ. They were hearing about the miraculous power of Christ to heal people of every sickness and disease. They were hearing of this miraculous power, even to command demons, and they would obey.
The word concerning Jesus Christ was spreading far and wide! But this news was not limited to just the ordinary people. It was spreading also to the religious centres.
And so we read in verse 17...
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
As Luke sets the scene for this powerful demonstration of the great authority of Jesus Christ, he does so by drawing our attention to the fact that the religious elites had now also come to Jesus, and they were now gathered in order to form their own opinions of this man that was having such a profound impact on the people.
Luke mentions two groups of the religious elites here - Pharisess and Teachers of the law (otherwise known as Scribes).
I want to just touch on each of these groups briefly, so that we can have a clear picture in our mind about who they were and their importance, or at least their significance, in the society of that day.
Firstly, the Scribes… These were people who were skilled in reading and writing. And they were very important in the early societies in order to keep written records of military, legal, government and financial transactions. We find examples of them using their skills as secretaries even in the Old Testament.
These were men who were trained to have a very careful attention to the smallest of details. They were the ones who were involved in making copies of the law, and they needed to be very accurate in this work in order to preserve things carefully. They took their work very seriously, and they taken very seriously and were highly respected by society in general, particularly because they were seen as very learned people.
Also in this context setting are the Pharisees. We know quite well the negative connotation that is assigned to the Pharisees. But before we allow our minds to go there, we must understand the fact that these Pharisees truly desired to have a pure and unadultrated view of God’s law. Within themselves, they truly believed that they had a deep love for the law of God, and they wanted to be very careful to uphold the law of God as truly as they possibly could. What they did was they created a great number of detailed rules and regulations by which to live, which they saw as necessary practical outworkings of how to obey the law of God.
They had all kinds of intricate details of what could and couldn’t be done; how many steps you were allowed to walk on the Sabbath, so as not to be working; how many....
They had developed this intricate web of rules and regulations, and they honestly believed that if you broke one of these rules and regulations, then you were sinning and were to be found guilty.
The positive of these men was their zeal for holiness. They wanted to be righteous. They wanted the people of their day to live holy lives. They had seen something of the consequences of the adulterous hearts of Israel, where Israel was taken into captivity by other nations, as a punishment of their unfaithfulness. And so they were attempting to call Israel back to a faithful obedience to God.
But sadly, the rules and regulations failed to deal with heart issues. Furthermore, the rules and regulations placed burdens on the people that they should never have carried.
As these Scribes and Pharisees were now gathered around Jesus, they would have been carefully evaluating what he was teaching, and what he was doing, so that they could determine if this was a man that was worthy of listening to. As we will see through our text, they would certainly make a wrong judgment call on Jesus!
This takes us to our second consideration from our passage...
2. The Believers in Christ’s Authority (vv.18-19)
2. The Believers in Christ’s Authority (vv.18-19)
While there were those who doubted, and had come more to assess and potentially find fault, there were those who truly believed in the power and authority of Christ. In verse 18 we read...
18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.
This is just a beautiful picture of the kindness of this group of men to their friend who was unable to move, to walk by himself. They, too, had heard about the healing power of Jesus, and they had decided to carry their friend to go and see Jesus in the hope that Jesus would be able to heal this man also.
In verse 19 we read...
19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
The crowds around Jesus were so extensive that it was impossible for these men to push their way through the crowds to Jesus. And so they carry the man up some stairs onto the roof of the house.
The houses in those days were usually of a flat roof design. Often the people would be able to go up onto the roof in order to get fresh air. Sometimes they would even plant small gardens on top of their roofs. So this was not something uncommon in those days.
What was uncommon was for someone to begin to break through the roof. But so convinced were these men of the healing power of Jesus that there was no hesitation in their efforts to get to Jesus. They made a hole in the roof of another man’s house, seemingly not at all concerned about the consequences of such actions. They believed that the action of breaking through the roof of another person’s house was justified if this man could be healed by Jesus.
And so they broke through the roof, and lowered the man down right in front of Jesus. Jesus would himiself have been teaching the people, and could have become upset by the interuption to his efforts to teach.
But what an opportunity for Christ to demonstrate, not only to the ordinary people, but even to the Scribes and Pharisees, the tender nature of God as He came to serve people and to care for their needs.
3. The Extent of Christ’s Authority (vv.20-21)
3. The Extent of Christ’s Authority (vv.20-21)
This brings us to the very important spiritual dimension of Christ’s authority.
Let us be sure that Christ’s authority over sickness, his authority over people’s problems and troubles in life, even his authority over demons was something both remarkable and extremely encouraging to the people. It is something most encouraging to us. But we must understand that without a greater authority over the greater and deeper concern of humanity, his authority would be of little comfort, ultimately.
It is important to see the way Christ responds to the great faith of these men who come to him.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
As we consider this verse, we must note first and foremost that Jesus addresses all of them, including the man who was lying down on the stretcher. It was not simply the men carrying the paralytic that were demonstrating faith. The man who was paralysed is ultimately the one that Christ addresses here. It is the paralytic whom Christ addresses, and will forgive his sins. It was certainly the paralytic himself who was demonstrating faith here, along with all his friends that were helping him.
The striking aspect of this response from Jesus was that the man had clearly not arrived with the hope of sins being forgiven. Very evidently, the concern for this man, and the concern for his friends that brought him, was the fact that he was unable to walk, and they hoped that Jesus might be able to do something about this.
Nonetheless, it is essential to note that Christ addresses the most significant concern facing this man.
Now, let us not underestimate the concern of the man as he was unable to live and care for himself. To be a position where you are carried around by others is no insignificant matter! It is significant. It is serious. It is a situation that anyone in that position would urgently want changed if it were at all possible.
But Christ knew that something of far greater significance needed to be addressed and dealt with. Even if this man were healed of his physical ailment, this would not give the man a true hope and joy in life. It certainly would not give him any hope and joy into eternity. Even if this man was perfectly healed, and able to get up and walk away from their with leaping for joy, it would not remedy the deeper need of reconciliation with God.
In this instance, Christ immediately focused on addressing the man’s deepest need. He addressed the dimension of the man’s disability that would have consequences into eternity unless it was dealt with.
But as we consider this further, we must note what it is concerning this man that leads to Christ’s declaration of the forgiveness of sin. It is the man’s faith.
In Scripture, we must recognise that faith in Jesus Christ is essential for the forgiveness of sin.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
One of the great passages in Scripture that deals with saving faith is found in Romans 4, as Paul demonstrates that salvation for Abraham came through faith in the promises of God.
3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Peter, in his letter to the believers in dispersion, spoke about those...
5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Paul, when speaking and giving a defense before King Agrippa of the Gospel message that he was prolaiming, recounts the words that Jesus Christ spoke to him as Christ commissioned him to take the Gospel forward. Christ said to him...
17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
This man, the paralytic, came to Jesus with a simple faith in the person of Jesus Christ. And Christ declared him to be forgiven.
Now, immediately as Christ does what he does, and declares this man’s sin to be forgiven, the spectators to Christ’s authority react. Christ was indeed showing the people that were witnessing this event, something of the extent of the authority he had. Yes, they had seen him command sicknesses to leave.... and it obeyed. They witnessed him command demons and evil spirits to leave people, and the demons obeyed. And they had marveled. recall their response...
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!”
The people have learnt about this authority of Jesus, and they were stunned. But he’s now said to them that he has authority even to forgive sins… We are not told at this point what the response of the people was, but are told what the religious elites thought to themselves as they heard what Jesus said…
21 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?”
Notice the concern with these religious leaders. They were concerned about the fact that Jesus was being blasphemous. In other words, their concern was that Jesus was taking upon himself an ability, an authority, a prerogative that only the One True God had. Only God Himself had the authority and the means to forgive the sins of people.
Now we must see their response in light of the Old Testament Covenantal time in which they lived, and in terms of the law that God had given His people by which to live.
The first thing we must understand in terms of the thinking of these religious men is that they were entirely correct in the sense that forgiveness of sins is something that only God can give. Remember that all sin is ultimately against God. It doesn’t matter what sin you commit against a person - ultimately that sin is performed against the all-Holy God who cannot bear to look upon sin.
God is the standard of righteousness and holiness, and He requires obedience. When Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, their sin was against the requirements that God had laid out. Every sin committed since, is an act of defiance against this Holy God!
Turn to Psalm 51...
An example of this is the sin of David, as he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then proceeded to have her husband put to death as a cover-up for his own evil and wickedness. His sin was certainly against both Bathsheba and Uriah, but ultimately, his sin was against God, and he knew this.
When David was confronted by the prophet Nathan with his sin, he cried out...
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
Ultimately, although there was sin committed against Uriah and Bathsheba, David’s sin was against God. All sin is ultimately against the thrice Holy God, and it is only Him who can give mercy, and can pardon a people for their sin.
There are further Scriptures that supported the view of the Scribes and Pharisees here...
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.
22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.”
God was the great redeemer. He was the one to save the people from their sins.
Further to this, recall that God had put the measures in place through which the atonement for sins could be brought. There was an entire sacrificial system that had been put in place in order that there may be atonement made for the sins of the people. The great requirement of course was the shedding of blood.
We see the extensive laws that were given to the people of Israel in terms of sin offerings outlined in the book of Leviticus (particularly Lev.4:1ff). And the bottom line is, when there was sin committed, sacrifices needed to be made.
Just one example of this…
27 “ ‘If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, he is guilty. 28 When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. 29 He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. 30 Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. 31 He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.
The fact was that without the shedding of blood, there could be no forgiveness of sins. Even the New Testament confirms this truth.
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Scribes and Pharisees knew very well that there were processes and procedures that needed to be followed in order for sin to be forgiven. And this man certainly was not there performing the required sacrifices.
How could this fellow - this man Jesus - be saying to a man that his sins were forgiven? Within the context and framework that the Scribes and Pharisees knew so well, and were so committed to following, it simply could not be that a mere man would come to this sinner and say to him that his sins were forgiven.
At the very least, we should have a measure of sympathy towards these Scribes and Pharisees in terms of their thinking.
But the reality was, that although they knew the law of God well, they failed to recognise the man who was standing before them. They failed to recognise that God the flesh was standing before them.
They did not understand that this man, Jesus, was the eternal Son with all authority!
Further to this, we must recognise that it was Jesus Christ who had come into the world in order to shed his own blood for the forgiveness of sin that allowed him to say what he was saying. While in that context what Jesus was saying was extremely radical, it was because a New Covenant era was being introduced through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
The kingdom of God was at hand.
Ultimately, Christ was introducing to these people a way for there to be forgiveness of sin that was perfect, sufficient.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
Even as Christ was speaking these words to the paralytic, he was aware of the day that was coming in which he would have his own blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. And even now, he was preparing them for this grand occassion.
What an encouragement to us as the people of God today. It is Christ who forgives our sin through the shedding of His own blood.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
This is the reason that Christ could speak about forgiving the sins of this man. He was the one who was not only the Son of God, the one with the authority of God in the world, but he was the one who would shed his own blood for the forgiveness of sins.
We must recognise the great power and authority that was Christ’s!
But even as the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law did not recognise Christ’s authority, and in fact saw him as a blasphemous man due to what he had said, Christ would go on to demonstrate to them that His words were not hollow. We see fourthly from our passage...
4. The Proof of Christ’s Authority (vv.22-26)
4. The Proof of Christ’s Authority (vv.22-26)
In verse 22 we read...
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?
Jesus discerns immediately the thoughts of the religious leaders. In fact, he probably anticipated that they would think of his actions in this light. But he knows without a doubt the thoughts that are going through their hearts and minds. He knows that they are considering him to be a blasphemor.
And so he will demonstrate to them in them in a very powerful way that his words are not idle, and that nothing that he has said to this paralytic is out of line with his authority.
23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
We know well that either statement is just as easy to say as the other. But one of the statements is far more difficult to achieve. It’s easy to say “your sins are forgiven” because there is no tangible evidence, either for the forgiven sins, or for the fact that the sins are not forgiven. One cannot visibly see, or tangibly touch forgiveness of sins. And so it remains a mystery as to whether there truly is forgiveness of sins or not.
A physical healing of a known paralytic, on the other hand, is something that is going to be extremely tangible. It’s no easy feat to tell a paralytic that he must get up and walk, while in front of a massive crowd that knows the frailty of this man. And so Jesus will show them that his words are true...
Notice what he says in verse 24...
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
In other words, Jesus wants to demonstrate to the people looking on that he does indeed have the authority on earth to forgive sins. What he is about to do in terms of a physical healing of this man is going to be done to prove his claim.
And so he tells this man that was paralyzed to get up, take his mat, and go home.
25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
Again, the healing that Christ performs is instantaneous. There is no question concerning the authority or the ability of Christ to heal this man of his paralytic state. Christ indeed had the authority to heal this man.
And so the point that Christ was making is clearly demonstrated. If he is able to say with this lips that this man should be healed, and this happens instantaneously, and there can be no doubting it… so then too, if he says with his mouth that the man’s sins are forgiven, then it must be accepted that his sins are indeed forgiven - beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The fact that this miracle indeed took place is demonstrated in terms of the response of the crowd.
26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
The people stood in awe of what was done. And they responded in the fitting way - they gave praise to God.
Friends, if they were in awe of the fact that Christ was able to so perfectly heal this paralytic, how much more so should we all stand in awe of the grace and kindness of God to forgive us our sins through the person and work of Jesus Christ?!
This leads us to draw some points of application...
Application / Conclusion
Application / Conclusion
STruggles in life… what are those? What do you see as your biggest worry and concern in this life?
We often think of our many struggles and trials in life, and become exceedingly despondent and wearied by them. And I don’t seek through saying this to undermine or to minimize the pains and the struggles of life in a sin-cursed. These are indeed real struggles and pains.
Financial burdens are very real, and they can weigh us down.
Physical illness, the frailty of the body, the pains that we feel in life are very real. They are in no ways pleasant. There is no room within Christianity for a stoicism, whereby we endure pain in the Christian life without any display of feelings and without any expression of the hurt and the struggle we feel and face.
There is certainly place for this kind of expression. The Psalms are certainly sufficient evidence of this.
But what we must ask ourselves is, do these pains in our lives point us to the true source of such pain - sin in the world - and do these pains lead us to Christ, and to a faith in Him?
There are two sides to this. The first is, have we recognised our own sin and need for salvation? Have we recognised that we need to be redeemed by the blood of Christ? We need to receive forgiveness of sins by the work that Christ has done. Do we recognise this?
All of us have the most important and essential need of the forgiveness of our sin. Have you received forgiveness of your sin. Have you acknowledged the authority and power of Jesus Christ even in your own life, and so turned away from your sin, and trusted in Him?
And then on the hand, if you have done this, know for sure dear friend, that your sins are forgiven. The work that has been done for you is powerful and effective. The blood of the lamb that takes away the sin of the world is powerful to cleanse, not just as a perpetual sacrifice that needs to be repeated year after year, but as a sufficient sacrifice for all time, for all who would believe.
In light of this, whatever the trials and difficulties and challenges that we may face in this world, let us live with the confident assurance that our greatest need has been met in Jesus Christ. And whatever may befall us in this world, whatever we may need to face, let us do so with confidence that Christ cares for us.
Friends, has not Christ given himself up, given up his own life for our sake? Has he not gone to the greatest extents in order to meet the greatest need that ever existed? If Christ would go to such lengths in order to save us, will he not also then care for us in our day to day needs, according to his riches.
And ultimately, will he not brings us into his kingdom one day, having met every need required in order to present us before God, so that we can worship him there, and sing his praises there in glory?!
28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Let me ask, are you acknowledging Christ in this world? Are you acknowledging Christ in your daily life?
May this be our great delight and joy, knowing that Christ is a worthy master, and He is a kind master.