Luke 5:17-20

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.”

Pray

4 minutes

Verse 17:

-Luke doesn’t tell us much about the backdrop to this event.

He simply tells us that it occured:

Luke 5:17 (ESV)

17 On one of those days, as he was teaching,...

I assume his reference is back to verse 15:

Luke 5:15 (ESV)

15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.

Matthew alone, describes it within a particular sequence of events.

After his record of Jesus’ casting out the demons at Gadara, he wrote:

Matthew 8:34–9:1 (ESV)

34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city.

But, that isn’t a reference to Nazareth or Bethlehem...

…neither of those are on the Sea of Galilee.

It’s a reference to his new:

“Hometown”

Base of Operations...

…in Capernaum.

Mark makes that much clear for us.

He records the setting to our event, like this:

Mark 2:1–2 (ESV)

1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

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(3 minutes, 7 total)

-Now, Luke uses the language of “teaching” in our text.

While there are differences between the two...

…I think Luke’s purpose was:

Not to teach us a lesson in homiletics (sermon delivery)...

…but to make a contrast between:

Jesus, and

Some folks who were there...

…who had a similar vocation.

He tells us that:

Luke 5:17 (ESV)

17 ...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...

-That’s like saying,

“You’re on the radar of the Federal Government in Washington, D.C.!”

These men had most likely been dispatched by these various ecclesiastical authorities...

…in order to investigate this man who had been making such waves up north.

Remember:

Who they were

What they did

The Pharisees were (as this commentary tells us):

the guardians of the “oral law” (or “oral traditions”). The word “Pharisee” means “separated one.” . . . men very interested in the interpretation of and obedience to Scripture.

They were zealous for the Jewish faith and were champions of the messianic hope. They believed that if all Jews would dedicate themselves to a faithful observance of all of the laws of Moses (which included the observance of their oral traditions, designed as a “fence” to protect the Law...), God would raise up his Messiah and deliver Israel. - Background Bible Commentary

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-Luke also mentions another ecclesiastical group:

“teachers of the law”

In verse 21, he refers to them as:

“the scribes”

-The word “scribe” can be confusing to us in our day.

We tend to think of a “scribe” as simply one who:

Copies, or

Transcribes...

…spoken words or documents.

In the context of our passage, it:

Refers to trained interpreters of the law of Moses. - Faithlife Study Bible

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So, their authoritative function was to weigh out:

Teachings

Truth claims

…against the OT scriptures.

And this is (no doubt) what they had been sent to do.

(5 minutes, 12 total)

And Luke tells us that, as they arrived to examine him:

Luke 5:17 (ESV)

17...the power of the Lord was with him to heal.

Now, Luke is most likely not implying that Jesus’ healing power was intermittent.

Rather, his focus is most likely continuing his theme of...

…Jesus’ empowerment (as a real man) by the Holy Spirit.

And, remember what the ultimate purpose of those displays of divine power was:

Hebrews 2:4 (ESV)

4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit...

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Don’t overlook the connection in our verse.

These men had come to examine Jesus’ credentials as a messenger from God.

While they were there, God’s power was present to testify to:

The things taught...

The message proclaimed...

…by the man Jesus!

(2 minutes, 14 total)

And, beginning in verse 18, Luke tells us of...

…one miraculous attestation in particular...

…that occured while they were there.

Luke 5:18 (ESV)

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,

-Not to overstate the obvious here...

....but this too, (like the leper) was a desperate man.

This was a man who could not, IN HIS OWN POWER:

Go out to Jesus to be healed.

Or, for that matter, do much of anything at all.

It’s probable from the language of the text that, he couldn’t:

Walk

Dress himself

Feed himself

Or even Use the bathroom by himself.

-Paralysis was also one of the most severe maladies of the 1st century world.

Here too, there was little to no hope of natural remedy.

-But, in God’s good providence, this:

helpless, lost sheep...

…had been provided with the help of some intermediaries...

He had been given men in his life who cared enough about his plight...

…to step into the gap...

…where this man was unable to go on his own.

They had heard, (and had obviously believed) that...

…there was a man in Capernaum...

…in whom dwelt the limitless power of Almighty God...

…to restore even the most debilitating of conditions

All they had to do, was get their friend to him!

And they did!… but...

Remember what Mark had told us about the scene:

Mark 2:2 (ESV)

2 ...many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door...

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Imagine their disappointment! (elaborate)

-But they were not deterred.

They were commited advocates for their friend.

Luke tells us:

Luke 5:19 (ESV)

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.

This really is commendable intercession.

As the helpless man’s able-bodied mediators, they:

go to great lengths

put forth an enormous effort

do all that they can do...

…to get him an audience...

…with the One that they firmly believed...

…was able to fully deliver their friend from his miserable plight!

This is a great picture of biblical:

Friendship

Fellowship...

(5 minutes, 19 total)

But, this also exemplifies another biblical virtue...

…with stunning clarity.

-Jesus recognized it forthrightly:

Luke 5:20 (ESV)

20 ...he saw their faith...

Now, what does it mean that “he SAW their faith?”

Does it mean that he tapped into his divine omniscience...

…and saw the disposition of their:

hearts,

minds?

NO!

So, How did he “see” their faith?

Through their actions!

Brethren, you will act on...

…what you believe to be true.

James explains this ubiquitous principle to us in:

James 2:18–22 (ESV)

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?

21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;

(elaborate)

James 2:23 (ESV)

23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

He concludes:

James 2:26 (ESV)

26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

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You see, these men (along with their friend), believed:

Jesus was who he said he was

Consequently:

Able to do for the paralytic...

…what no one else on earth was able to do.

And because they had that...

“firm and sure persuasion”

…they acted upon it!

It’s very simple.

(6 minutes, 25 total)

-Now, Luke also tells us Jesus’ response to their faith in Verse 20:

Luke 5:20 (ESV)

20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

Where did that come from?

They were coming to him believing in...

(who he was)

(what he said)

…in order to be set free from the burden of paralysis.

But Jesus, seemingly proactively, tells him that he’ll...

release him of an even greater burden...

…the burden of his sin!

-Affectionately and tenderly, Jesus responds to his silent faith, saying:

Matthew 9:2 (ESV)

2 ...“Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

Notice the tense:

“Perfect:”

Literally: “your sins have been forgiven...”

“and the effect of that is ongoing!”

-Now, this may seem to come out of nowhere to us...

…but, the connection would have been much more clear to them.

For them:

Paralysis was another physical condition sometimes associated with sin and divine judgment - Background Bible Commentary

Remember several things:

All the “hevel” of life exists because of sin. (Genesis 3)

Sickness and death are the foremost evidences of its curse

The stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant:

Deuteronomy 28:58–61 (ESV)

58 “If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,

59 then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting.

60 And he will bring upon you again all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.

61 Every sickness also and every affliction that is not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will bring upon you, until you are destroyed.

BUT, Sproul gives us an important reminder here:

We must be careful here, because elsewhere in the New Testament Jesus makes it abundantly clear that you cannot always assume that a person’s sickness is directly related to the degree of his sin...

This is what we see in passages like:

Luke 13:1–3 (ESV)

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

...We don’t want to draw any conclusions like that from the text.

But obviously Jesus did notice a peculiar relationship here between his sin and his suffering. - R.C. Sproul

The Reformed Expository Commentary summarizes the matter for us:

He wanted to give this man a greater gift, for however terrible it is to be paralyzed, it is far worse to suffer the spiritual paralysis of sin.

So when Jesus saw this man’s faith, he forgave him all his sins.

. . . “The point of this narrative is that the problem of sin, though not as apparent to the eye as paralysis, is … the fundamental problem of humanity that Jesus has come to counteract.

Compared to the healings, the forgiveness of sins is by far the greater gift Jesus has brought in his ministry.” - REC

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(8 minutes, 33 total)

We need to be mindful of this...

...as we take our seat at the Lord’s Table this morning.

We need to examine our spiritual health:

Are our lives polluted with the leprosy of SIN?

Are our lives...

…Is our service to Christ:

stymied by the paralysis of indwelling sin?

Is our faith:

A true and living faith?

Borne out in how we live?

If it isn’t, and to the degree that it isn’t...

…We MUST look to him...

In hopeful,

repentant,

faith...

…this very day!

He is mighty to save.

Ask Elders to come up

Pray

-Brethren, The Lord’s Supper is an important reminder to us...

…of the means through which this deeper healing has come.

Matthew wrote:

Matthew 26:26–28 (ESV)

26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,

28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

It is ONLY through the Substitutionary Atonement of Christ on the Cross...

…that we can JUSTLY be:

Forgiven

Reconciled to God.

That is why Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians 11 is so important.

He wrote:

1 Corinthians 11:26 (ESV)

26...as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

You proclaim that substitutionary atonement

You teach through visible symbolism...

…The only means of forgiveness from your sin.

That’s why he says:

1 Corinthians 11:27 ESV

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.

To corrupt the memorial...

…is to corrupt its picture of the gospel!

That’s immensely dangerous.

So Paul instructs us:

1 Corinthians 11:28–29 (ESV)

28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Ask someone to pray that we might be empowered to properly discern the body:

Individually

Corporately

Go down.

Luke 22:19 ESV

19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Matthew 26:27–28 ESV

27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

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