“Some men came
carrying a paralyzed man on a bed (or stretcher), and they tried to take him
into the house and put him in front of Jesus. Because of the crowd, however,
they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made
an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the
group in front of Jesus” (Luke
5:18-19, GNB)
A
paralyzed or a lame man was let down through a roof hoping that Jesus would
heal him. The paralyzed man’s friends, probably four of them, carried him to
Jesus maybe had little idea of their friend’s greatest need: forgiveness. Perhaps the paralyzed man
himself didn’t realize that he needed forgiveness more than anything else. All
of them seem to have thought that nothing mattered more than the man being
healed and able to walk.
But
Jesus knew that forgiveness was the number one priority for this man – not his
physical healing. So often we delay asking for forgiveness and hesitate before
offering our forgiveness. Why?
Because we think that practical or physical issues are more urgent or more
important. Here Jesus showed that
forgiveness is the highest priority. “When Jesus saw
how much faith they had, he said to the man, ‘Your sins are forgiven, my friend’” (Luke 5:20). What wonderful news!
Yet
it caused an outcry. It caused dissatisfied among those who don’t understand
what real forgiveness is! The enemies say to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks such
blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!” (5:21)
They were right – only God can forgive sins. Jesus forgives sins. Therefore,
Jesus is divine. Jesus has the authority to forgive sins.
Jesus
knew what they were thinking (which only God can do). He “knew their thoughts”
(Luke 5:22), and asked them whether it was easier to tell the paralyzed man
that his sins were forgiven, or to tell him to pick up his bed and walk. The
answer was obvious. So to prove that Jesus had the authority to forgive sins, Jesus
“said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!’ At once the man
got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home
praising God” (5:25-26).
The
man was healed – but his healing was only evidence, proof, that his sins had
been forgiven by the word of Jesus. Jesus can forgive sin. In fact, He died for
our sins in order that if we place our faith in Him, that continuous believe in
Him, we can gain eternal life. Jesus has the authority to forgive us of our
sins.
Would you come to Jesus for
forgiveness?
Do you believe that Jesus
can heal you inside-out?
Come to Him in humbleness
and in faith-believing
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
And if you do – that’s when repentance comes in and your life changed!
And if you do – that’s when repentance comes in and your life changed!
You too will “went home
praising God"
Jesus being able to forgive sin was not something divine, but rather a power given to him by God, note what Jesus says when he forgave sin.
ReplyDeleteMark 2:10
But I want you to know that the "Son of Man" has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the man.
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Notice Jesus tells the scribe that on earth Jesus had the power to forgive sins, so therefore we must now ask ourselves the question, from where did Jesus get this power? Did Jesus own this power? Let us see what Jesus said about who gave him this power, and once doing so, we shall fully grasp the context:
John 17:6-8:
6- I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7- Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8- For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
John 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
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John 20:23
--> If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
*** If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are also forgiven, doesnt mean that you can forgive their sins ***
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Lets see the real teaching of Jesus regarding this;
Matthew 6:9-15
9- "This, then, is how you should PRAY: "'OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN, hallowed be your name,
10- your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11- Give us today our daily bread.
12- And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13- And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'
14- For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15- But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
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Please forgive me if I'm wrong . . . .
God Bless You.
In the gospels stories, Jesus was fully man and fully God. This is my understanding and faith in the person of Jesus. As a man, He can't forgive sin; but as the second person of the trinity, He can.
DeleteNote carefully, that the ability to 'forgive sins' is not power (as you mention) but authority. The Father gave Jesus, the Son of Man, His authority to forgive sins. For the Father to give His authority to a mere man is never heard of… unless, Jesus was also is one with the Father. He is the Son of God.
He was human, is remain human; but also He was God, is God – One with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
“If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” What is the context of this text? What kind of ‘sins’ does this verse referred to? Against men or God?
You wrote ‘Please forgive me if I’m wrong’, then what if I don’t want to forgive you? Does it mean that you are totally unforgivable by God? (Of course not) But what if I still don’t want to forgive you but God on the other hand says, ‘Anonymous, I forgive you’? Which one of us do you appreciate the most? Which one is matter to you?
Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven”
Btw, thank you for your time, thoughts and concern in this matter. I appriciate it and I wish to learn more from you if your chief motive is for me to grow deeper into the things of God of the Bible. Here is my e-mail: motivates4life@hotmail.com :)
ReplyDeleteBut if your comment is for the sake of argument, then, please understand that - I'm not interested.
Appreciate it :)
ReplyDeleteThankyou...