Luke 5:20-26

Luke 5:20-26 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 that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” 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. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Who can forgive sins but God alone? This is the most important question in the whole Bible, especially in the New Testament. Who can make us right with God? Or how can we be right with God? How can we remove the seemingly irreversible stains of sin from our lives? Jesus answers this question by healing this paralyzed man. This act of healing clearly states that He can forgive sin. I believe all of Jesus' healings were done to put to rest this question. Who can take away sins? Jesus can, for no man can do what Jesus did. Jesus' ministry did not have to be long, but it had to be powerful, miraculous, for He was proving to the world that He came from God, a different domain, a heavenly one. He was not just a man with wonderful ideas about love and life; He was a man of power and authority. If He were the former, mankind would still be hopelessly trapped in sin, without an efficacious redemption plan. Humans (for all have sinned) would still be under the punishment of God, for God will not tolerate sin in his presence. Many cults and religions have chosen a man or woman as their spiritual leader who can do nothing more than offer bits of wisdom and special insights into the condition of mankind, but JESUS CHRIST CAME TO REVEAL HE WAS THE SON OF GOD. His miracles validated that He was from God.

HIs miraculous activities overwhelmed the rational minds of his day. The learned men who surrounded the healed paralytic man were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” I am sure they were thinking in their hearts, Is this man really from God? This is the salvation question. This question must be answered by every man and woman before they can see God, before they can enter into the kingdom of God. Is Jesus from God or is He just a man who performed wonderful acts? If He is just a super spiritual man who possessed a lot of wisdom and love, we are wasting our time in worshipping him, for He is but man and does not hold the keys to heaven and we are still caught in our sins. We still have the sentence of death upon us. But if He is God, He can make us right with himself. He can cleanse us of our sins. The latter is what we Christians believe; subsequently, the promise to us who believe is that we will experience abundant life--eternal life.

Jesus Christ has given us abundant life, eternal life. We sometimes try to squeeze abundant life into this temporary dwelling place. Well, we do have wonderful things happen to us as Christians because He loves us and answers our prayers, but this isn't where abundant life really takes hold. Abundant life, eternal life, is found IN JESUS CHRIST. Jesus says, "Come unto me and I will give you life." His life becomes our reality. No longer do we fear the consequences of sin. No longer do we fear death, for He has taken away the sting of death; the grave has no victory, for life exists in us. Jesus Christ has made all things new, and He came to give us life; his miracles prove his authority to do just that. The paralytic took up his mat and went home. We are at home with Jesus now, and someday we will be at home with him forevermore.