On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts?23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
I want to begin by drawing your attention to a poem by Malcolm Guite. The poet is wrestling with the tension of putting sin to death, especially the haunting nature of past sins, and the hope that we have in Christ.
And do not fear the memory of sin;
There is a light that heals, and, where it falls,
Transfigures and redeems the darkest stain.
Into translucent color. Loose the veils
And draw the curtains back, unbar the doors,
Of that dread threshold where your spirit fails.
The hopeless gate that holds in all the fears
That haunt your shadowed city, fling it wide
And open to the light that finds and fares.
Through the dark pathways where you run and hide,
Through all the alleys of your riddled heart,
As pierce and open as his wounded side.
The writer comments: Like Jesus, who went to the cross not for pain in itself, but for the joys that were wet before him, so we are to make this journey through the memories of pain and darkness, not to stay with these things but to redeem them and move beyond them. WE, who build so many hells on earth, need to know that there is no place so dark, no situation so seemingly hopeless, that cannot be opened to the light of Christ for rescue and redemption.
The Pharisees are coming from everywhere to hear and see Jesus. The text says they had come from Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem. But we can understand why. They were the ones who taught the people about the Kingdom of God, they were the ones who were preparing the people for the coming of the kingdom. Now we have this young preacher who has appeared on the scene but who is getting it all wrong.
They had to come and check it out for themselves, for what Jesus spoke of and what He was saying, was not lining up with what they were certain was God’s intention. There they are, listening to Jesus among the throng that had gathered. We are told that a group of men brought their paralyzed friend carrying him on a mat, so that Jesus would heal him. But they could not get to Jesus for the crowd so they took the tiles off the roof and lowered the man down and thus, presented him before the Lord.
We all know the story, our children remember this story! But what is this about? Why does the Holy Spirit want us to remember this encounter and these words?
I remember hearing a sermon on this text where the minister’s main point was ‘who was going to fix the hole that these men left in someone else’s roof?’ I have to admit, I had never heard that question, nor had I ever concerned myself that it was even A point of the text, let alone THE point of the text.
Our text says that Jesus saw THEIR faith. This has been a point of much conversation. How and why would the faith of the ones carrying the man, be cause for the man to be healed? Did “their faith” include the man who was lame, or was it simply the faith of his friends, and would it be a problem if it were ONLY the faith of his friends and not his own?
It could be either of the choices. This is not the only time in the Bible that the faith of a specific person has been the means of the healing of someone else. For instance, the centurion in Luke 7 that we looked at last week, is the one whose faith is responsible, so to speak, for the healing of the centurion’s servant. We get no word as to whether or not the servant even had any idea who Jesus was, let alone whether or not he trusted Him.
The principle of grace given to one due to the faith of another, is not foreign to the Bible. Of course, this does not mean that faith is not required of the recipient in matters of salvation.
But we must also say that in matters of the healings of Jesus, the texts do not necessarily tell us that this faith was present. Jesus sees this man, now set before him, and he says, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
This is what sets the Pharisees and Scribes to wincing. They wondered among themselves as to who this man thinks he is, for only God forgives sin, therefore this would be blasphemy, for this man would be equating himself with God.
Now, we want to be careful in our judgments on the Pharisees and Scribes, at least they believed that blasphemy happens, that it is real and the men commit this sin, and that it is a horrible sin to commit. I say, at least they believe this, because as I have told you in the past, if we step back and look honestly at the modern church, we may wonder if anyone even thinks there is such a sin. At least the Pharisees knew there was such a sin as blasphemy.
Blasphemy occurs when unworthy things are attributed to God as well as with worthy things that should be attributed to God, are in fact denied Him. But it is also blasphemous to attribute that which is God’s alone, to any other. This was a serious charge and the people of the day knew it to be a serious charge, in fact if convicted carried with it, according to the Theocratic law, death.
Jesus knew what was going on, what they were thinking, the perceptions of the hearts and so he asks them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?” Which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say Rise up and walk? 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.”
Now, we might conclude that it is more difficult to secure the forgiveness of one’s sins than to heal someone who is even this grossly handicapped. The first does not require any visible result, the second most certainly does. Any goof can CLAIM to forgive sins, who is to say if they are really forgiven or not?
But if this lame paralytic does not get up and walk, then everyone will know and will know right away that Jesus is a phony.
Here is the point: If Jesus can make this man whole, if this man really does get up and walk, then they must take at face value that He can really forgive sins!
To be continued…
Prayer: Father, forgive me for how easily I exalt myself above my brothers and sisters. Forgive me for spending more time trying to look holy than humbly walking with you, being holy. May I see daily that I am nothing, that Jesus is everything and that my hope is never in myself but only in Him who lived, died and resurrected for me. Help me to love my Savior and those who have place in my life, for His sake. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Hymn: Not What My Hands Have Done