39 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			1.8 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
			
		
	
	
			39 lines
		
	
	
	
		
			1.8 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			Markdown
		
	
	
	
	
	
|  | +++ | |||
|  | title = "Luke 5:17–26" | |||
|  | date = "2022-11-04" | |||
|  | +++ | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | ### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk5.17-26)
 | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | Jesus has gotten famous enough at this point that the religious elites, the | |||
|  | Pharisees and the teachers of the law, have come to hear what Jesus is saying. | |||
|  | And they have come from all over, so Jesus's fame has spread throughout the | |||
|  | Jewish provinces. These men are the ones who have dedicated their lives to | |||
|  | knowing the Scriptures so well that they do its requirements perfectly, and | |||
|  | thus can be accepted by God. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | As always, a crowd had gathered to hear Jesus and get healing, but on this day, | |||
|  | there were some friends who couldn't get a paralyzed man through the press of | |||
|  | people to get him to Jesus. But they could manage to get him on the roof by the | |||
|  | stairs outside, and pull the roof tiles away in order to lower him down to | |||
|  | where Jesus was. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | And because of their faith, Jesus forgives the paralyzed man's sins. Probably | |||
|  | not what he expected, but it's hard to tell. The scribes and Pharisees hear all | |||
|  | this and start asking the proper questions. "Who is this who speaks | |||
|  | blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (_v. 21_) If some teacher | |||
|  | starts acting as if they are God, it is right and proper to stop listening to | |||
|  | them and proclaim them a false teacher to everyone who will listen. Except when | |||
|  | that teacher actually is God, as Jesus is. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | Jesus knows what they are thinking, and why, so He does something to let them | |||
|  | know that they are wrong about Him. He acknowledges that anyone can say, "Your | |||
|  | sins are forgiven." After all, there's no outward, physical sign of that | |||
|  | spiritual reality. Then He heals the man of his paralysis and has him walk out | |||
|  | the door in front of everybody. | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | * * * | |||
|  | 
 | |||
|  | Give us discernment to know true teachers of Your word from false ones, and let | |||
|  | us glorify You when You heal ourinfirmities. |