Knowing The Word in Luke 5:17-26

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

5:17 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.”

Comments

Jesus had created quite a stir to have these men travel so far north to Capernaum. The Pharisees and scribes were such serious keepers of the law that they put a fence around it to prevent themselves from breaking it. For example, they were not to take the name of the Lord in vain. To prevent this, they refused to pronounce the name of God at all. This hedge of protection, the tradition of the elders, tended to externalize their religion. They spent a great deal of effort on outward appearances and rule-keeping rather than loving God with all their hearts.

The friends of the paralytic used a boldly unorthodox way to get their friend to Jesus. Jesus’ words, however, dealt with sin, not sickness. It was as if Jesus turned the tables on them. The man and his friends came for physical healing, not forgiveness of their sins. Jesus brought full (not partial) salvation that included both spiritual and physical healing. The group of scribes, who may also have been Sadducees, and the Pharisees rightly deduced that only God can forgive. They were wrong, however, that Jesus was a blasphemer. At the heart of this story was the true identity of Jesus. He identified himself as “the Son of Man,” which was Jesus’ favorite way of referring to himself. The miraculous healing is meant to show that he indeed is the Son of God. If he can heal miraculously, he can also forgive sins. Immediately healed, the man obeyed him, picked up his bed, and left.

God in Christ was recreating and reconciling what had gone astray. All the people gave glory to God, not to the human Jesus. Human achievement could not explain what the people witnessed.

Application

Without his friends, the paralytic would most likely not have encountered Jesus and been healed. Who brought you to Jesus? Whom have you brought to Jesus? Jesus calls each of us to bring others to him. Who do you know that you can bring to Jesus?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, will you use me today to bring others into a relationship with your Son? Fill me with your Spirit that I will be sensitive to your call and to see the people you put in my life who do not know Jesus.