Sermon Tone Analysis

Jesus’ demonstration

Jesus demonstrates his identity and authority to deal with our greatest problem

Jesus is willing and able to solve our greatest problem

Jesus can meet our greatest need because of who he is

Jesus’ identity means he is willing and able to meet our greatest need

Jesus deals with a problem bigger even than paralysis: sin

Jesus doesn’t just heal, exorcise and cleanse; he forgives sin

Jesus shows his identity and heart

Jesus doesn’t just heal, exorcise and cleanse; he forgives sin

Jesus demonstrates his identity and mission

Jesus

Jesus begins to reveal his identity and mission

Jesus’ power reveals his identity

Big Application

Recognise who Jesus is: the Son of Man

Marvel at Jesus’ mission: mercy not judgement

Outline

Jesus’ demonstration

[Introduce me]

freeze-frame?

If you’ve just joined us, we’re working through Luke’s biography of Jesus.

Context

Jesus says and does some shocking things.

Today we’re looking at a section of his story that’s full of surprises - come with me to and let’s read

0:30 READING

One day,

2:00 Setting the scene: An interesting crowd - Pharisees get a bad rap: ultra-religious super-trained goodie-goodies; way beyond anything encounter today.

Working so hard to get it all right, keep every rule.

Lots of ‘em.

Jesus is making waves.

A full house?

3:30 Meet a key character: unnamed paralytic; stretcher + some serious friends: not from round here (in Capernaum cf - sick here healed already) - but there’s a problem: full house.

4:30 Unstoppable friends; familiar with C1 middle eastern housing?

flat roof = living space (better weather!); edge walls, lots of uses.

lower through the tiles?

WHAM! straight down?

(a) loose tiles?

(b) ANE flat roof of branches/straw/mud?

seriously destructive if so.. or (c) forcing a roof-door (perhaps no external stair; a ladder + door to access)

Whatever, it’s dramatic

Freeze-frame: what happened next

He said...

6:30 Last time Jesus was in Capernaum, ; Last encounter, .

This is Jesus’ pattern

v17 power to heal - narrative set-up [old, abandoned house in the middle of a storm; “let’s split up so we can cover more ground”, tense music starts]

7:30 But Jesus has something completely different in mind.

Not what they came for!

Replay the setting.

Not what they came for!

8:00 “sins” old fashioned word - wrong things we do do, right things we don’t do; big + small; separate us from God

Who can forgive sins?

Response

8:30 Pharisee brains in overdrive: “Who can forgive but God?” Why can only God forgive sins?

[say Caleb steals my car, Ollie forgives him!]

Can’t forgive for another

Foolishness/ineffectiveness of forgiving a sin against someone else [say Caleb steals my car, Ollie forgives him!]

9:45 Sin is, in some fundamental way, primarily against God - even though it often affects others [context, David] Violation of his design.

So the Pharisees have it bang on: only God can forgive sin.

So only God can forgive sin.

Violation of his design - So only God can forgive sin.

10:45 Do they think Jesus has performed a God-act right in front of them, made a God-claim to be God himself who forgives sins?

Their response isn’t really strong enough for this - notice it’s only later 6:11 he makes them furious + they begin to discuss what they can do to Jesus; even then it’s not all sharpened daggers: 7:36 they invite him for dinner!

Pharisees don’t have dinner with people who claim to be God.

11:45 So if they don’t think he’s made a God-claim, what are they thinking?

Is the blasphemy is him declaring God has done something which, the Pharisees presume, He hasn’t?

I think that’s what’s going on - Pharisees: Forgiven?

Is that so?

How would you know?

No sacrifices, none of the usual acts or people you find around God’s forgiveness.

I don’t think so - the blasphemy is him suggesting God’s act could happen outside of God’s system and process

Is the blasphemy is him declaring God has done something which, the Pharisees presume, He hasn’t?

Do they think he’s made a God-claim?

No

Or declaring something which they thought God had not done?

I think that’s what’s going on - Pharisees: Forgiven?

Is that so?

How do you know?

Prove it.

The blasphemy they see is presumption - daring to say what God has done without knowing it to be true.

Jesus plans to demonstrate the reality of the invisible, the forgiveness of sins, (which they question) with the reality of something visible

Or see him declaring something which they thought God had not done?

I think the latter - Jesus plans to demonstrate the reality of the invisible (which they question) with the reality of something visible

Jesus: oh yes.

The Son of Man

12:30 Jesus, knowing what they are thinking, explains what his next act is meant to show, explains why he’s going to heal the man: Jesus plans to demonstrate the reality of the invisible, the forgiveness of sins, (which they question) with the reality of something visible: the healing of the man.

He invites us to consider which is easier, forgiving or healing?

At least saying the words about them!

Well, in one way forgiving seems easier: because physically healing the man right there and then is harder to fake.

You see, you can say someone’s sins are forgiven by God - but you can’t really see whether that’s true or not looking at them from the outside.

But a paralytic walking, now that’s plain to the eye.

So forgiving, or claiming forgiveness at least, is easier to do.

On the other hand, in some ways healing the body is the easier thing; we have wonderful doctors today who can help with many physical problems.

It’s not easy - look at how long it takes them to train, how much technology and equipment is required.

But it’s easier: how do you really forgive sins?

Is it even possible?

Some things when they’re broken just can’t ever be mended.

Sadly, it’s easy to imagine sins against other humans which simply can’t be undone.

Can they really be forgiven, then?

Is it even right to forgive sin, no matter how grave?

Ultimately, as we’ll see at the cross, it’s going to have a radically bigger cost.