Jesus heals...! (3)

Rev. Andrew Hunt, III

The gospel above all • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

0 ratings

· 10 views

Notes

Transcript

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

Jesus heals…!

Jesus heals sin

, 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. 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, 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. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 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.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

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. 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, 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. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 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.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 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.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Luke shares with us a story of the healing of the paralytic carried by four friends, which he shares with , as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s messianic prophecy quoted by Jesus at his inaugural sermon in Nazareth, you remember that sermon in , And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

There are some striking parallel statements in these two texts.

This phrase, “The Spirit of the Lord” on Jesus in 4:18 is now the phrase “ The power of the Lord was with him to heal” now seen here in . The messianic promise of release and forgiveness for the oppressed in 4:18 is now being granted here to the paralytic in our text today (v. 20); and Jesus’ pronouncement, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”, is echoed by the crowds in our text this morning with the words “We have seen marvelous things today” (v. 26). Luke’s narrative elevates Jesus’ person and power with unusual emphasis: crowds from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem (v. 17)—the most comprehensive geographic description of Jesus’ audience in the Gospels— we see here that all are drawn to Jesus; the “power of the Lord”— these words are the only such reference in the NT. Yes, Jesus heals, not only the body but also the soul (v. 17). This scene is set for us with the backdrop of the preaching and teaching ministry of Jesus Christ just as in . Then Luke moves us into the situation at hand, as faith is put into action and leads to the healing of both soul and body. This encounter solidifies and sacredly ends with the understanding that Jesus is the Savior that forgives sin and the Son of God who operates in God’s authority because He too is God. This understanding leaves everyone in awe of the marvelous things they had seen.

Let us pray…

Jesus heals… paralyzing sin.

Throughout the Bible Jesus is seen in a number of roles, Jesus is seen as healer, as itinerant preacher, as exorcist, as miracle worker, and as a rabbinic antagonist. But His most distinctive role, however, was preaching and teaching the word of God.

Since we have an understanding of who the teacher is this situation, it was clearly Jesus, let us gain some understanding of the two most influential groups of students being taught, the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law.

The Pharisaic movement arose at the time of the Maccabean Revolt (168 b.c.) and had been in existence some two centuries by Jesus’ day. The word “Pharisee” means either “separated ones” or “holy ones,”

Now a defining characteristic of the Pharisees from their inception was their staunch opposition to Hellenism. Which they saw as the tendency, outright or subtle, to accommodate Jewish life to prevailing Greco-Roman ideals. In contrast tog this accommodation, the Pharisees championed the Torah, they believe it was “the precious instrument by which the world was created,” the Torah was the perfect expression of God’s wisdom and will, and the surpassing object of human existence.

The Pharisees were not a political party. Indeed, as long as Pharisees were permitted the pursuit of Torah, they were rather indifferent to politics. Pharisees were regarded as the authorized successors of the Torah, who sat on “Moses’ seat” L What were some of the foundational beliefs of the Pharisees, beliefs that were proclaimed by an illustrious tradition of rabbis. First of all their basic beliefs included belief in the sovereignty of God, belief of our human accountability for virtue and vice; belief in the resurrection of the dead; angels and demons; and scrupulous adherence both to the written Torah and to the oral traditions based on it, added to all this was an expressed disdain for those who were ignorant, negligent, or violators the words of the Torah.

The Pharisees were a lay movement numbering some six thousand persons in the first century. Though the Pharisees were numerically small, their influence in the Gospels vastly exceeds that of other Jewish parties.

Now, before the advent of universal education and literacy, there was a great demand for scribes throughout the ancient world, and especially in Judaism, where the written code of Torah regulated all of Jewish life.

The Hebrew word for scribes, { sopherim, and it has to do with counting, reckoning, and the keeping of written documents, and this function is associated with the first reference to “scribes” as royal officials who were general secretaries and recorders in the Davidic monarchy. In Judaism a “scribe” was designate an expert in Torah. Torah expertise is clearly intended in v. 17, by Luke where he, refers to scribes as “teachers of the law” Scribes taught the Torah in synagogues and they issued binding decisions on its interpretation. Being a “Scribe” combined the offices of Torah professor, teacher, moralist, and civil lawyer, in that order. Only scribes (apart from chief priests and members of the patrician families) could enter the Sanhedrin. Commoners deferred to scribes as they walked through the streets. The first seats in the synagogues were reserved for scribes, and people rose to their feet when they entered a room.

As the text tells us Jesus’ reputation attracted people “from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem,” from throughout Palestine; and now from “Pharisees and lawyers,” who were leaders in those areas. The unusual phrase “the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal” (v. 17) should not be understood to imply that sometimes such power was not with Jesus, he was always filled with power. The only other occurrence in Scripture of the words “the power of the Lord” is found in , where it describes God’s summary power of releasing Israel from 430 years of bondage in Egypt. “The power of the Lord” equates Jesus’ healing ministry with the authority and might of God, signaling that in Jesus a new exodus is at hand, that Jesus can release us from the scourge of paralyzing sin.

Now as Jesus teaches in this house, there are four men seeking to bring a fifth man, a paralytic on a stretcher, to him (v. 18). We are not told that the four anticipated a particular response or acted on preconditions; yet there must have been a driving desire in the hearts to see their friend in need find the help that he so desperately need. So that came to this place “to lay [their friend] before Jesus” (v. 18).

Last week we spoke about the immediacy of the gospel and the call of from Christ to follow Him, the charge to become fishers of men, and the commitment to leave our nets and come to Jesus.

We must admire several characteristics of these men, qualities that ought to mark us as “fishers of men.” (1) For one thing they were deeply concerned about their friend and wanted to see him helped. (2) They had the faith to believe that Jesus could and would meet his need. (3) Though pray is incredible important they did not simply “pray” about it. (4) But they put some faith and feet to their prayers; (5) and they did not permit the difficulty circumstances to discourage them. They worked together and dared to do something different, and Jesus rewarded their efforts. The text says that there was a crowd of people preventing their access to Jesus, however. The crowd is not portrayed pejoratively, as in Mark (where crowds typically impede access to Jesus), but rather as the unavoidable result of Jesus’ reputation.

“When they could not find a way” (v. 19) to reach Jesus, they did not give up but sought another way. How pastor? The text says that, climbing onto the roof, they removed the tiles and lowered the stretcher in front of Jesus. Palestinian houses at that time typically had exterior staircases or ladders to their roofs, offering relief from dank quarters below, access to fresh air, and space to dry laundry, eat, and even pray. Roofs were typically flat, supported by beams resting on exterior walls. The beams were cross-hatched by smaller poles, which in turn were covered with thatch and mud. Luke says that they “lowered him through the tiles” (v. 19). Removal of a roof might appear disrespectful to a teacher below, but Jesus sees it as an example of “faith” or faith in action.

Pastor, are any of actions of these four men parallel to our sharing the gospel with our friends. I’m glad you asked!

Yes, they are! You see these four men were concerned with the healing their friend’s paralysis. And they took him to the only source of help they knew. There concern about was so urgent that even through the room was full and they could not get to Jesus that did not deter them. Because getting the Jesus was the only way that friend could be healed. So rejecting the shame or inappropriateness of their action, they were driven by faith in Jesus. They saw his physical healing as the primary issue, but Jesus saw his sin sick soul as the primary issue. Jesus knows that paralysis is both physical and sinful. So Jesus putting first things first, heals his paralyzing sin problem.

Jesus heals…his sin sick soul

, And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

This word faith finds its first occurrence in this passage in Luke’s Gospel.

Faith is first and foremost not extensive knowledge about Jesus or right feeling about him, but a determination to allow nothing, not even crowds and roofs, to impede access to Jesus. What is faith? , Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

These men believed and were assure that Jesus provide the help and the hope needed in this situation.

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven.’ I believe this statement includes the faith of the men who brought their brother to Jesus and the one being carried to Jesus

So, faith comes by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ (). But make no mistake about this healing The power of Christ was what effected the cure and brought the healing His power applied in connection with their faith. In other words, the value of one’s faith does not come from the one who express faith but it comes from the one who is the object of the faith.

Ultimately, healing is not contingent upon the quality of one’s faith, but upon the quality of the Healer.

In this passage I see the relation of the paralytic’s sin and his illness as more than the inevitable and organic connection between sin and illness which is characteristic of all humanity.

Why? Because the text invites further consideration of this matter.

It is uncharacteristic of Jesus to use a person for an ulterior motive, and so it is very unlikely that Jesus addresses the paralytic’s sins in order to provoke the scribes, or to provide an occasion to demonstrate his authority. Moreover, no other healing of Jesus expressly correlates infirmity with sin.

The words “Your sins” appears to address specific sins rather than a general condition of sin, although we are given no clue what the paralytic’s sins may be. Nothing is more distinctive of a person than his or her sins. If Jesus’ response to the paralytic reflects knowledge of his sins and their relationship to his paralysis, then Jesus addresses him at the deepest level of his existence. A rabbinic saying from the third century reads, “The patient is not healed of his illness until God has forgiven all his sins.”

Then there is the quotation from ,

, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? This passage quoted in Jesus’ inaugural sermon at Nazareth at 4:18 links healing with release and forgiveness, both of which are seamlessly combined in Jesus’ response to the paralytic.

The mention of forgiveness of sins draws the scribes, who until this point have observed from the anonymity on the outskirts of the crowd, now to center stage. Apart from the single act of absolution on the Day of Atonement, in which the high priest acted on behalf of God, not even the high priest could forgive sins. This is what prompts their question. “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Jesus, however, appropriates the divine prerogative and presumes to forgive sins. He does not pronounce forgiveness in the name of God, but from his own person. Jesus forgives sins of another, which can only be God’s prerogative. In the Mark’s account (2:7), the scribes are offended by the act of Jesus, but in Luke Jesus himself offends them, they asked “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (v. 21). The scribes are correct in believing that only God can forgive sins , The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

In Jewish understanding, not even Messiah would forgive sins. The classic description of Messiah speaks of his overcoming demons, ushering in a perfect government, judging the godless, and being righteous and even sinless , but not of his ability to forgive sins. In Strack and Billerbeck which is a commentary of the New Testament from the Talmud and Midrash rightly concludes that “there is no place known to us in which the Messiah has the authority to pronounce forgiveness of sins from his own power. Forgiveness of sins remains everywhere the exclusive right of God.” In every sin, even in sins committed outwardly only against one’s neighbor, God is the party most offended. Even in the acts of adultery and murder, David confesses to God, “against you, you only, have I sinned” (). In their saying, “Who can forgive sins except God alone?” (v. 21), the scribes and Pharisees rightly understand that Jesus was speaking and acting as only God could speak and act.

To assume that role, would make Him a rival to God and to commit blasphemy, and blasphemy, along with idolatry, was the gravest sin in Israel ().

Jesus knows the thoughts of the religious leaders. Jesus sees more than their thoughts, however. Like a sword, his insight pierces their hearts, exactly as Simeon had prophesied to Mary (2:35). The scribes have nothing to say to the man’s physical or spiritual condition. Jesus has something to say to both. Jesus also has something to say to the scribes, who suffer from a form of spiritual paralysis.

Like the paralytic, the scribes are also dependent on Jesus for the work of God, but their learning and status make them less aware of their need for it.

When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them,

“Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

Jesus issues a great challenge here, which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’ which no one here except me could ever verify or to say to this man, ‘ Rise and walk’?

Jesus wants them to know, Jesus wants them to experience firsthand the authority by which he forgives sins. Jesus wants them to know who has the ability. How? Because Jesus declares that He is Son of Man, who has not only the ability but the authority to heal the sick sin, to forgive sin, and to give new life to anyone. From a human perspective it is safe to pronounce forgiveness of sins, since the pronouncement cannot be proved. Jesus’ authority to forgive, no less effective because of its invisibility, will be proved by healing the paralytic. The authority to heal and the authority to forgive are the same authority that Jesus received at the baptism by both the endowment of the Holy Spirit and the Father’s declaration of divine sonship.

, Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Jesus heals… because He is the Savior and the Son of Man.

, 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 said to you rise, pick up your bed and go home. And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus says to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” All three Synoptics record the astonishment of the crowds at the healing of the paralytic, although none as emphatically as , And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” They were in “ecstasy” , they were in “amazement” and joy overtook “everyone”, and people were filled with awe. They exclaimed, “We have seen remarkable things today.” The Greek word for “remarkable,”

Paradous”, which is the basis of the English word “paradox”: they beheld a divine paradox.

At his inaugural sermon in Nazareth, Jesus declared that “today!” the messianic prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in himself. That promise is fulfilled in the exclamation of the crowd at Capernaum: “We have seen a paradox of grace today.”

This title Son of Man, which occurs in Luke for the first time in v. 24, was largely free of the political and military connotations that were associated with Messiah, thus allowing Jesus to speak of himself in public, and often in the face of opposition and hostility. The title is somewhat ambiguous and does not appear to have made any special claim in the ears of Jesus’ contemporaries. Nowhere are people amazed that Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, for example, nor do they take exception to his doing so. Son of Man occurs twenty-five times in Luke, always in the mouth of Jesus. Jesus calls himself the Son of Man over 80 times. As in the other Gospels, Son of Man appears in three contexts.

It refers to the Son of Man coming in judgment at the end of time. In nine instances the title refers to Jesus’ earthly ministry (7:34; 9:58; 12:10; 17:22; 19:10; 22:22, 48), including his authority to forgive sins (5:24) and supersede Sabbath (6:5). In five instances it refers to Jesus’ suffering (6:22; 9:22, 44; 18:31; 22:69). In each of these three contexts “Son of Man” refers either to a divine attribute or to the fulfillment of a divinely ordained purpose. This is also true of its uses with reference to Jesus’ betrayal and death, in which the Son of Man “must” (Gk. dei) suffer (9:22) “in fulfillment of everything written in the prophets” (18:31). “Son of Man” is thus not a mere circumlocution for “the human one.” In the present passage “Son of Man” depicts Jesus’ authority to forgive sins, thereby alluding to the Son of Man figure in , who likewise is empowered with God’s authority (“there before me was one like a son of man.… He was given authority [LXX: exousia], glory, and sovereign power”). Jesus frequently chooses to speak of his work as the Son of God by the title “Son of Man.” He does not speak of his work and vocation in the first person, i.e., “That is the way I do things,” but in the titular third person “Son of Man,” which designates a divinely ordained office of humiliation, suffering, and exaltation according to God’s plan.

What does this passage teach us about , who’s our one. It teaches us that we must love and care deeply for the one who we are bring to Christ. That we must make every effort to support them, encouraged, to walk through this life with them, and even to carry them if need be. We are never allow any obstacle prevent us from taking them to Jesus. Because we know that Jesus can forgive sins, Jesus can heal the sin sick, and Jesus can removed the paralyzing effects of sin and tell us to rise up and pick our bed and go home.

Related Media

Related Sermons