Boundaries

BOUNDARIES Luke 5:17-26 January 31, 2021 Jackie and I have lived in our current home for 32 years now. It's on some acreage in the country. Ours was the first home in the neighborhood. In fact, for the first five years it was the only home on our street. But, soon the other lots were purchased, and it became obvious we would have neighbors. At that point my highest priority became to get a fence up along my borders. I needed to establish what is mine, and what is not yours. I wanted fixed, easily identifiable boundaries. That's worked well for 32 years. The last piece of property to sell was immediately to our north; 5 acres. It sold about one year ago. And, I really like our new neighbors. I don't have any problem with them. But. With 5 acres to build on, they put their house right up against my fence. Right up against my boundary marker. You could have built anywhere. Why are you pushing my boundary? Boundaries are important. There are many types of boundaries. Five or six years ago authors began focusing in on life boundaries. When is it ok for your boss to call you at home? When is it ok for a relative to ask for money? Life boundaries are important. Although, after looking through many of the books, my impression is they are written to jerks. You are a jerk. You have always been a jerk. Don't feel bad about yourself, celebrate that you have very firm boundaries. So, the issue really, isn't setting boundaries. It's setting appropriate boundaries. Being a pastor is an unusual occupation in that, frequently I am invited inside boundaries. When a marriage is in trouble I am invited inside the boundary and they share detailed intimate knowledge of their problems. Problems they work hard to keep hidden from everyone else. When someone dies, I am invited into a very intimate inner circle. Grief and mourning are powerful emotions. Life altering emotions. And, I am invited inside the boundary of exploring and shaping those emotions. I take that responsibility very seriously. Still, it can be uncomfortable crossing a boundary. I bring this up because, in several different ways, today's text is all about boundaries.1 Last week Jesus healed a leper. It's an amazing miracle. But, it's just as noteworthy for the boundaries Jesus crosses. He touched a leper with his own hand. That was a huge no-no. You don't do that. That physical boundary protects you from his disease, and his sin. The boundary is important for your own well-being. Do not cross that boundary. Secondly, Jesus removed his sin. That was the exclusive territory of the Temple priests. They were the only ones who could conduct the ritual of Atonement, and take away the sins of Israel. Only God can forgive sin. Only the priests can remove your sin. When Jesus cured the leper, by taking away his sin, he crossed a big-time boundary. After the healing Jesus takes time alone. He sets a physical boundary. He goes into the foothills and spends time in prayer. He uses that time to recharge himself spiritually, and reconnect with the heart of his ministry. He didn't come to heal lepers. He came to take away the sin of the world. But, that means crossing some significant boundaries. Jesus spends time in prayer to appropriately advance his mission. When his alone time is done, he comes back to the city of Capernaum. And, he begins spending most of his time in Peter's home. I'm not sure if he actually moved into the house. But, he is in Peter's home all day, every day. Jesus begins preaching from Peter's home. It starts with a few people coming to hear his positive and affirming message. And then, it grows. More people come every day. Soon, there are too many to sit inside the house. They open the doors and people stand in the street and listen. Eventually, the house is surrounded, every day, by people who either want to hear that God loves them too - or who want a miracle. On this particular day the first people to get there, so they can have a seat inside the house and hear everything, are Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. Which is interesting because the name Pharisee means 'separated'.2 It literally means 'boundary'. The Pharisees were guys with very strict boundaries. Pharisees didn't touch, or talk to, sinners. They didn't touch anything a sinner touched. They considered themselves sinless and they kept that boundary between themselves and the riff raff. When they came home they washed their hands seven times, in seven different pots of water. Just in case some sin had stuck to them. They were not going to bring that sin inside their home. Their house was a sin boundary. The Teachers of the Law are also called Scribes. These are the guys who make official copies of the Bible. They were absolute experts on the book of the Bible which they copied. They have come to Capernaum on behalf of the official church. Who is this guy Jesus? Who is he to make atonement for sin? Who is he to remove sin? That's our job. The Teachers of the Law represent orthodoxy.3 We are the only ones who decide what can and cannot be allowed when it comes to religion. We set the boundaries of Judaism. In September of this year the United Methodist Church is going to split. The split is over boundaries. Is it okay to ordain gay and lesbian pastors? Is it okay for a heterosexual pastor to officiate a gay or lesbian marriage? Does the Bible have anything to say on human sexuality? And, if it does, who gets to decide what parts we listen to, and what parts we ignore? It's a boundary issue. Same problem Jesus had with the church. Our story today appears in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There are minor differences. At the very beginning Luke specifically points out that Jesus is performing miracles by the power of God the Father. It is very important to Luke that we understand Jesus became human. He was not God, pretending to be human. The crowds see a human man performing miracles, and saying that God loves them. As the story opens four men approach Peter's house carrying a buddy. In Matthew and Mark, they are carrying him on his sleeping mat. This is a two-foot by five-foot woven mat. During the day you roll it up and store it out of the way. At night you unroll it and sleep on it. In Luke, they are carrying him on a stretcher.4 Remember, Luke is writing to Gentiles. They're not Jewish, they don't know Jewish customs. Occasionally, Luke Greek-ifies the story just a little bit to save time. Sick people travel on stretchers. So, four men bring their buddy to Peter's house, carrying him on a stretcher. The man is paralyzed. We don't know any details on his paralysis. Don't know when it happened, or if he was born that way. Don't know if it's one arm, or his legs, or his entire body. What we do know, is that paralysis is like leprosy. The root cause is sin.5 God doesn't like you because you are a sinner. So God takes away the use of your body. This keeps you from infecting others with your sin. The four buddies get to Peter's house, and they can't get through the door to Jesus. Too many people. They are held back by a human boundary. Now, when we build a house in America we strive for individuality. I want my home to be different from your home. Different layout, different features. In Israel, in Jesus' day, everyone had the exact same home. This picture is what every house in the nation looked like. The roof of the house was like our patio. It's where you went to get out of the heat, relax, spend a little outdoor time. So, every house had stairs leading to the roof. When the four buddies can't get in the front door, they climb the stairs to the roof. And then, they do something pretty gutsy. Jewish homes were built out of something like stucco. The roof had wooden beams for a ceiling. Thin slates, or sandstone, or marble plates, were laid across the beams. Then, a stucco-like mud was spread over the slates. The four buddies dig a hole through the stucco, and start lifting up the slates. They make a hole in Peter's roof. They make a hole big enough they can put the paralyzed man's stretcher on ropes, and lower him down through the roof to the inside of the home. What is that, a three-foot by six-foot hole? This is significant. Damaging a home surely crosses a boundary. The Pharisees, the boundary guys, are suddenly terrified. Here is a sinner, right in the room with them. He's inside our boundary! They can't get out of the room because the doorways and streets are filled with people. And, they want to know, just what is Jesus going to do about this? We might expect Jesus to get angry. How dare you destroy Peter's roof? How dare you put this sinner in the same room with me? Instead, Jesus praises them. Hey, you four guys have some great faith. Outstanding faith. So, let me help. He looks at the paralyzed man and says - your sins are forgiven. Recently, a strong argument has been made that the man was not only physically disabled, but he was mentally disabled as well.6 When the man is before Jesus, he never says a word, he does not ask for healing. His buddies do. Jesus doesn't praise the man's faith. He praises the buddy's faith. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus addresses the man with a simple identifier, usually reserved for tiny children or the mentally impaired. And, finally, the man does not speak or engage with Jesus until his healing is complete. If he genuinely was mentally disabled, the miracle becomes even more dramatic. And, if he genuinely is mentally disabled, his offence to the Pharisees is even greater. This is an even bigger boundary infringement. The Pharisees, the boundary guys, lose their minds. This is blasphemy!7 When you removed the leper's sin, you crossed a boundary. You did what only the church is allowed to do. Today, you crossed the biggest boundary there is. Only God himself can forgive sin. Even the church can't do that. You are claiming to be equal to God. Jesus, are you too stupid, or too arrogant, to understand what line you just crossed? Now, they feel justified in vilifying Jesus, because he said 'your sins are forgiven' but at this point the man is still paralyzed. Clearly, his sins are not forgiven. So, how dare you say that? Jesus looks them in the face and he asks, what's easier? To just say the words your sins are forgiven, or to actually make the man walk and prove his sins are forgiven? Especially if he is too mentally impaired to even know what's going on? Jesus says to him - stand up, pick up your stretcher, and go home. It's difficult to know whether the bigger miracle is that he picks up his stretcher and carries it back home. Or, that now he can suddenly speak, and he praises the Lord God all the way home. Is the bigger miracle a physical healing, or a spiritual healing? Jesus says to the boundary guys, the Pharisees - and to the Teachers of the Law, the official representatives of the church - I did this specifically to prove to you I have the authority from God himself to forgive sin. Get used to it. I am going to be forgiving sin more and more frequently, and in bigger and bigger ways. Of course, this is a prelude to the Crucifixion and Resurrection. But, dying and returning, is too big of a boundary for these guys to wrap their heads around right now. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they created the biggest boundary there has ever been. The boundary of sin. That boundary separated God and man from the intimate fellowship we were built to embrace. Jesus came specifically to cross that boundary, and build a bridge. There is no boundary Jesus cannot cross. Whatever is keeping you separated from God, it's time to let it go. It's time to give it to Jesus, and be done. Nothing we can do, or think or say can separate us from the love of God - in Jesus Christ. There is no boundary too high for Jesus. 1 Joel B. Green, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 1862. 2 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1612. 3 Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 478. 4 Martina E. Martin, "It's My Prerogative: Jesus' Authority to Grant Forgiveness and Healing on Earth," The Journal of Religious Thought, 59 no. 1 (2007), 67-74. 5 Bock, 482. 6 Ivan Bankhead, "The Dual Impairments of the 'Paralytic' of the Synoptic Gospels," Perspectives n Religious Studies, 47 no. 3 (Fall 2020), 267-281. 7 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 1752. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2