06-26-2022 – “Jesus Demonstrates His Authority to Forgive Sin”
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June 26, 2022
“Jesus Demonstrates His Authority to Forgive Sin”
Luke 5:12-26
Read Luke 5:12-14…
12 While He was in one of the
cities, behold, there was a man
covered with leprosy; and when
he saw Jesus, he fell on his face
and implored Him, saying,
“Lord, if You are willing, You
can make me clean.”
13 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I
am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself
to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as
Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Jesus is going about Galilee, preaching, teaching and
healing. Today we find Him in an unnamed city, where a
man with leprosy approaches Jesus and asks to be
healed.
This most likely got the people's attention, because
leprosy was one of the most feared diseases of the
ancient world, as there was no cure. According to the
World Health Organization, over 200,000 people
worldwide are infected with leprosy today (most of them
in Africa and Asia); but today leprosy is treatable and
most people lead a normal life during and after
treatment.
Note:
Leprosy attacks the skin, peripheral nerves (especially around
the wrists, elbows, knees), and mucus membrane. It forms
lesions on the skin, and can disfigure the face by collapsing the
nose and causing folding of the skin (causing a lionlike
appearance of the face). Leprosy does not eat away the flesh;
but instead, due to the loss of feeling (especially the hands and
feet), lepers wear away or injure their extremities, even their
face, without knowing it. God cursed certain evil men in the OT
with leprosy (Ghazi, 2Kings 5:25-27; Uzziah, Chronicles
26:16-23), and therefore a person with leprosy was considered
cursed by God. Leprosy was first recorded c. 500 B.C., named
Hansen’s disease c. 1800’s, after a Norwegian scientist who
discovered the bacteria responsible for the disease.
Any person with leprosy was forbidden to be among non-
infected people; and according to God's Word
(Leviticus 13:1-14:57)
there were very strict regulations and expectations to be
followed by lepers, e.g., they would have to cry "Unclean!
Unclean!" wherever they went, so no one would be
exposed to the disease (by touch or breath).
Leprosy is somewhat like sin, in that it infects and
contaminates the whole person and was, until the 1800’s,
incurable.
The leper came to Jesus
(Luke 5:12),
12 While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man
covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face
and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can
make me clean.”
“covered with [full of] leprosy.” It wasn’t normal for the
leper to approach Jesus; but he bowed down, calling Him
Lord and saying, "if You are willing, You can make me
clean."
Jesus responded to the man's faith, reaching out and
touching Him saying, “be cleansed,” and immediately the
leprosy left the man and he was healed. Jesus tells him
not to tell anyone about this, but to go to the priest, in
order that his healing could be confirmed according to the
law.
The leper could be admitted back into society by doing
what was commanded by Moses
(Leviticus 14:1-20):
A priest would examine the man to verify the leprosy was
gone, then the man would shave, bathe, wash his clothes,
and offer multiple animal sacrifices, along with an
offering of grain and oil. This process took eight days,
and it was
(Luke 5:14)
14 And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself
to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as
Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
a testimony that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
Read Luke 5:15-16…
15 But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and
large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of
their sicknesses.
16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness
and pray.
Word was spreading rapidly about Jesus, and the crowds
were coming to find Him
(Mark 1:45),
45 But he [the healed leper], instead of going to the priest as he
was instructed, began telling people about the healing, and the
news spread to such an extent that Jesus could no longer
publicly enter a city, but stayed in unpopulated areas; and they
were coming to Him from everywhere.
Jesus slips away from the crowds to have intimate time
with God; evidently, He often went off to find a quiet
place to talk with the Father.
Matthew 14:23,
23 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the
mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was
there alone.
Mark 1:35,
35 In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left
the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying
there.
Luke 6:12,
12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray,
and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Read Luke 5:17…
17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees
and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every
village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power
of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
Some Pharisees and teachers of the law had come to
check out what Jesus was doing, and they were sitting
and listening to Him, as He taught.
Note:
In the 1st century, scribes and Pharisees were two mostly
distinct groups, although some scribes were also Pharisees.
Scribes had knowledge of the law and could draft legal
documents (contracts for marriage, divorce, loans, inheritance,
mortgages, the sale of land, and the like). Every village had at
least one scribe. Pharisees were members of a party that
believed in resurrection and in following legal traditions that
were ascribed not to the Bible but to “the traditions of the
fathers.” Like the scribes, they were also well-known legal
experts: hence the partial overlap of membership of the two
groups. It appears from subsequent rabbinic traditions,
however, that most Pharisees were small landowners and
traders, not professional scribes.
Jesus is going to perform a miraculous healing
(Luke 5:17) it says,
17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees
and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every
village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the
power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.
“the power of the Lord was upon Him,”
(Luke 6:19),
19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was
coming from Him and healing them all.
(Luke 8:46),
46 But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that
power had gone out of Me.”
Read Luke 5:18-24…
18 And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was
paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him
down in front of Him.
19 But not finding any way to bring him in because of the
crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the
tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of
Jesus.
20 Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven
you.”
21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who
is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but
God alone?”
22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to
them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’
or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins,”--He said to the paralytic--“I say to
you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”
Jesus is now proclaiming the good news in a crowded
room, when four men
(cf. Mark 2:3-4)
3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four
men.
4 Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they
removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an
opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was
lying.
carry in a paralytic, but can’t get to Jesus through the
crowd, so they go up the outside stairway to the roof, dig
through the thatch and earth, remove the roof tiles, then
lower the man through the exposed beams to the room
below (as dirt, no doubt, showered all those underneath).
Luke 5:19-20 says,
19 But not finding any way to bring him in because of the
crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the
tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of
Jesus.
20 Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven
you.”
Jesus “saw their faith,” and said to the paralytic, “Friend,
your sins are forgiven you.”
It probably seemed clear to most everyone that the man’s
biggest need was to be able to walk.
The paralytic and his friends believed Jesus could heal
him. And so Jesus exposes the condition of the man’s
heart which can’t be seen, and forgives his sins. This man
has just been saved, receiving forgiveness for sin, but he
still can’t walk.
See again Luke 5:21,
21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who
is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but
God alone?”
Isaiah 43:25,
25 “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for
My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 44:22,
22 “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a heavy mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Jeremiah 31:34,
34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each
man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know
Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares
the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin
I will remember no more.”
The Pharisees who witnessed this were thinking in their
wicked hearts that Jesus was blaspheming, for only God
can forgive sins. These religious leaders, for the first
time in the Biblical record, directly oppose Jesus, as they
would many times.
Turn to John 8:51-59…
51 Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will
never see death.”
52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon.
Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone
keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’
53 Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who
died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to
be?”
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is
My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;
55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if
I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do
know Him and keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it
and was glad.”
57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and
have You seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was born, I am.”
59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus
hid Himself and went out of the temple.
The Jews respond to Jesus statement, “if anyone keeps
My word, he will never taste death,” saying, “Are you
greater than Abraham, than the prophets, all who died… Who do you think you are?”
Jesus says
(John 8:56-57),
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it
and was glad.”
57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and
have You seen Abraham?”
“Abraham rejoiced to see the day of My coming,”
they respond,
“You are not yet 50 years old, and you have seen
Abraham?”
There is no way Jesus was alive when Abraham lived, and
Abraham is definitely dead, how could Jesus possibly see
him
(see Matthew 22:32,
32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND
THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the
living.”
pp Exodus 3:6),
6 He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses
hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
When Jesus says
(John 8:58),
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was born, I am.”
This is a direct claim to deity, to equality with God, for
this is the sacred name for God, the "I AM" title God gave
Himself in
Exodus 3:14,
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus
you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
This is also expressed in
Revelation 1:8,
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is
and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
i.e., “I AM, I always have been and I always will be,
because, I AM GOD.”
The Jews responded to Jesus’ statement
(John 8:59),
59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus
hid Himself and went out of the temple.
These religious leaders know Jesus is saying He is equal
with God the Father, so they pick up stones to kill Him
(Leviticus 24:16),
16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put
to death. The entire assembly must stone him.
Jesus claimed to be God, because He was God, He could
not not captured or put to death at this time, or any other
time, until God allowed them to do so
(cf. John 7:30;
30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand
on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 8:20;
20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the
temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet
come.
John 10:39;
39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He
eluded their grasp.
John 13:1),
1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His
hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the
Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved
them to the end.
“because His time had not yet come.”
No one could take Jesus by force
(John 10:17-18),
17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My
life so that I may take it again.
18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My
own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have
authority to take it up again. This commandment I received
from My Father.”
Read John 10:30-33…
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from
the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone
You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make
Yourself out to be God.”
Jesus plainly and publicly states His equality with God the
Father. This angers the Jews and they pick up rocks to
stone Him; saying to Him, it is because He has
blasphemed against God.
Read John 10:39…
39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He
eluded their grasp.
The Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah, instead they try to
arrest Him and bring Him before the Sanhedrin, but He
continually escapes them.
Jesus had strongly warned the Jews
(John 8:24),
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for
unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not
believe that I am [the one I claim to be, the Messiah],
you will indeed die in your sins.”
But the Jews vehemently opposed Him and were not
willing to consider the truth
(John 14:6),
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Back to Luke 5:22-24…
22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to
them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’
or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
24 But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority
on earth to forgive sins,”--He said to the paralytic--“I say to you,
get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.”
It was easy to say “your sins are forgiven,” for who could
verify as to whether or not it had happened? But to say,
“Get up and walk,” that could indeed be seen and the
healing could be witnessed by all.
Healing and forgiving are impossible for mankind, but
easy for God, and Jesus is God! By healing the paralytic,
Jesus was verifying His claim to grant forgiveness for sin;
for just as healing had taken place, so also had
forgiveness.
The emphasis in this narrative is not on healing this
man’s crippled body, but on forgiving this man’s sin and
healing his crippled spirit.
Read Luke 5:25-26…
25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he
had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
26 They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying
God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen
remarkable things today.”
Matthew 9:8,
8 But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and
glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
It says the people “were all struck with astonishment
[Matthew 9:8, awestruck, displaying reverence] and
began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear,
saying, ‘We have seen remarkable things today.’”
Hebrews 1:1-2,
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in
many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the
world.
Hebrews 9:26-28,
26 Otherwise, He [Jesus Christ, God’s Son] would have needed
to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once
at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and
after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of
many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference
to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Hebrews 10:10,
10 By this will we have been sanctified [made holy] through
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 1:3,
3 When He [Christ] had made purification of sins [paid in full
our debt for sin, taking our punishment, satisfying God’s
righteous penalty], He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high.
Hebrews 10:12,
12 He [God the Son], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all
time, sat down at the right hand of God.
Hebrews 10:16-18, God says,
16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,
AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,”
He then says,
17 “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no
longer any offering for sin.
The presence of God was among men: Jesus was God
(Acts 4:12),
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other
name under heaven that has been given among men by which
we must be saved.”
(Romans 10:13),
13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD
[for the forgiveness of sin] WILL BE SAVED.”
Jesus Christ came to save sinners! He became the one
time sacrifice, for all time, for all sin, for all people who
believe in Him alone for the forgiveness of sin
(1John 5:11-13),
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the
Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name
of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal
life.
The question you have to answer is this: Do you believe
in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of you sins
(past, present, future) on earth, and for eternal life with
Him in heaven?
Pastor Mike
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