Some men came
carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay
him before Jesus. 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.
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 hearts? Which
is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and
walk’? 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. Luke
5:18-25
I am a huge football fan.
At the end of each the game, there is always a post-game press
conference where the winning and losing coaches of the teams explain their
reasoning for the result of the game. While
at times rather subdued, some of them can be very animated and occasionally reach
as kids nowadays say ‘epic’ levels. One
such press conference was by a man named Dennis Green. When asked about how their team lost in spite
of a multitude of errors and opportunities from the other team (the Chicago
Bears), he simply answered, “The Bears were who we thought they were.” He was referring to the fact there was
nothing that surprised them about the other team, and in spite of that, they
still somehow lost. It was pretty funny
stuff. I share this story to remind us
of a story about Jesus and who He is.
We have certainty that Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior. Our relationship with Him should be an ever
evolving and growing one filled with discovery and understanding. Failure to acknowledge His authority or embrace
it could result in the stunting of our spiritual growth. The story in Luke noting how Jesus healed a
paralyzed man sounds like a feel good story and rightfully so. However if we look closer, some might miss
the true point of this story. In the
chaos of the miracle, the Pharisees miss this main point. They are hung up on the miracle itself
stating, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy,” and then ironically, they
answer their own question with a question saying, “Who can forgive sins but God
alone?’ We too often fall into this trap
of focusing on what is believable over what does it mean. Perhaps something miraculous has happened to
you, or on the flip side, maybe you are dealing with storms. No matter which side of the coin you fall, be
careful not to lose the perspective of what is happening beyond just the
moment. Be encouraged that Jesus always
with you, and is the same God who loves and believes in you and died on the
cross for your sins and mine. If you
remain focused on these facts, you will gain greater assurance in your
blessings and strength through your struggles.
Jesus Christ’s message of Good News is meant for the heart,
mind, and spirit. There is no sin that
He cannot forgive, and there is no situation that one cannot overcome with Him. That is why we can trust in Him. Don’t worry or fear. You must, “Get up,
take your mat and go home,” as He said to paralyzed man. What situation do you doubt that He can
handle? How can you trust more in your
forgiveness and less in your current state?
My prayer is that we remember Jesus is “who we thought He is.” Amen.
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