Gospel Prism

[This Sunday, we were sending a missions team to Mozambique]

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.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
Luke 5:17-26

Introduction

This past week was the Republican National Convention. Some of you probably had no idea. And then for others of you, perhaps this was an anticipated event. It’s most notable for a speech made on Wednesday, not by John McCain, but by his running mate, Sarah Palin. She seems to have injected a lot of life into what many considered a dull campaign. Before her speech, you could almost sense the excitement and anticipation. Something was going to happen.

In Luke 5:17, that’s the sense the reader has as well. Something is going to happen surrounding this peasant carpenter’s son. For the first time in Luke’s Gospel, the witnesses would include the Pharisees, a non-priestly group whose desire was to keep the nation of Israel faithful to Mosaic tradition. One way this was accomplished was by creating laws that were not directly in Scripture. There was going to be a confrontation, one that would foreshadow what was to come for Jesus’ next few years of ministry.

I’d like to spend the rest of the time examining four characters in the story: the friends, the Pharisees, Jesus, and the paralytic man. It is very interesting to see how each responds to the other. But as I shared earlier, there is this expectation that something is going to happen. And that something will be foolishness and even blasphemy to the religious moralists, but to those who are being saved, it truly is the power of God at work. So first, let’s get the view of the friends.

Friends

News of this Jesus was now spreading like wildfire throughout the countryside and it had reached Jerusalem. So an investigative committee of religious leaders is sent out to investigate this new rabbi that has come on the scene. They all squeezed into this very small room, alongside the owners of the home and others. The place is so small that Mark records the incident by saying “there was no more room, not even at the door.” (Mark 2:2)

Suddenly, four men are trying to make their way through the thick crowds that are surrounding the entrance of the home. Each is holding the corner of a makeshift bed that is carrying a man paralyzed. But it’s hard enough for even a single person to get through the crowd, let alone for men with a man on a stretcher. But even this obstacle would not stop the men from proceeding. They begin to make their way to the roof.

You might be asking, “Why didn’t anyone else consider this same thing?” Well, the thing is that there was no hole in the roof to begin with. A house at this time usually had two stories. Stairs would lead to the roof outside of the house rather than on the inside. The roof was generally flat, but covered by beams of reeds and layers of clay. All of this was packed in to make sure that the roof was secure from any of the elements. No one would have thought of going through the roof because to get in, you would have to break through the roof!

But these friends, whether they were merely friends, relatives, or perhaps even neighbors of this man, would not be hindered in their desire to have this man encounter Jesus. They climb the stairs to the roof and begin making a hole. Imagine if you were inside the home while this was happening. Imagine if you were the owner, or Jesus, or the Pharisees. Suddenly, you hear this scraping sound, dust starts falling all over with small and large pieces of clay and branches. Light breaks through and you see four men and a mat slowly being lowered to the center of the room. It must have been quite a start for everyone gathered. One thing was certain, these men were determined to have their friend meet Jesus. So what can we learn from these three friends?

First, we learn that they had faith. Without faith, they would not have dug up that roof. Without faith, they would have given up on their friend long ago. But they had the faith that Hebrews 11:1 defines as, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” They had probably never seen Jesus but only heard reports about Him. And simply hearing allowed them to believe, even if it cost them their dignity, and even if it cost them their treasure and livelihood (after all, they might have been in a lot of trouble digging up someone’s roof). True faith is often seen when it costs you something, your reputation, your dignity, your money, your time, your energy. These friends weren’t sure what would happen, but they would continue to trust that this Jesus was everything that was being said about Him.

Also, we learn that these men were diligent and persistent in their efforts. Whenever you attempt to love, whenever you are placed in situations of faith, be ready to face the temptation to give up. The book of Hebrews continually warns believers against this temptation to give up. (From Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Caneday, The Race Set Before Us, 194) Hebrews 2:1-4 warns us against drifting away. Hebrews 3:1-4:13 warns against the hardening of hearts. Hebrews 5:11-6:12 warns against falling away and the inability to repent of sins. Hebrews 10:19-39 warns against our willful sinning against God. 12:12-29 speaks of our refusal to listen and the oncoming punishment. These men remind us that true faith leads to actions of trust, persistence, and perseverance. J. C. Ryle warns:

We must allow no difficulties to check us, and no obstacle to keep us back from anything which is really for our spiritual good. Specially must we bear this in mind in the matter of regularly reading the Bible, hearing the Gospel, keeping the Sabbath holy, and private prayer. On all these points we must be aware of laziness and an excuse-making spirit.” (J. C. Ryle, Luke, 142)

These men do not look at the crowds and say, “Sorry pal, it’s too crowded. Maybe some other time.” They are persistent and diligent, faithful, and loving. But I am afraid J. C. Ryle is right. We are too often lazy and have an excuse making spirit. How many times have you neglected reading the Bible despite many promises to the contrary, simply because of a laziness or an excuse-making spirit? This is more indicative of one’s lack of faith in God’s promises than merely poor discipline. I hope in seeing these friends today, you’re saying to yourself, “Lord, may I have that heart.”

Pharisees

Now let’s look at the religious leaders. According to verse 17, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there.” Interestingly, their sitting would have been a good parallel to the paralyzed man who was lying there. Even though the man was physically paralyzed, what the Pharisees didn’t see was that they were spiritually paralyzed. Jesus “saw their [friends’]faith” and he declares the man’s sins forgiven. Of course, this causes quite a stir amongst the theologians in the room. Luke notes that the Pharisees begin to question Jesus saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Mark elaborates in Mark 2:6, “Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts.” The Pharisees hadn’t said anything, except for perhaps a few whispers. But their faces already marked their strong disapproval. Why were they so troubled by what Jesus said?

Because they knew that Jesus was making a statement about the authority that He had. He was claiming to be God because only God could forgive sins. And according to Leviticus 24, such claims would require the death penalty by stoning. Who was this Jesus, the mere carpenter’s son? Remember in Luke 4:20-29, his hometown had rejected Him for making claims about His mission and identity. And now here he was facing the religious authority of the day, this uneducated, low-class peasant, dared to what only God could do? The Pharisees would never recognize Jesus as from God, let alone God incarnate. They believed that God merely set up a system, Temple worship and the sacrificial system, so that they could gain righteousness through it. The only way someone could have their sins forgiven would be through the sacrifice of animals, through the observation of the holy days, through the keeping of the Sabbaths. Atonement surely couldn’t come through this man.

And this is exactly what stops so many people today from trusting in Christ. In many ways, people are like the Pharisees in their attempt to contribute to their own righteousness. No one likes to be told that salvation comes by no other name except Christ. We want to have our good works included. Mozambique team, do you think you’re going to Africa gives you better footing with the Father? Do you think that God is more pleased with you in Africa holding infants dying of AIDS and malaria than He is with you when you’re at home eating dinner? NO! You’re works contribute nothing to God’s pleasure of you. The Pharisees were so troubled with Jesus’ forgiveness of this paralytic because such trust in Jesus’ forgiveness made their good works obsolete when it came to the forgiveness of sins. And thus, they seethed in their hearts.

Please be aware, dear friends, and never forget that your good works do not make you more pleasing to God. What makes you pleasing to God is the righteousness of Christ. He purchased you by His Son’s blood. Paul says it all when He says: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:21) So Moz team, go to Africa not because God is more pleased with you when you go, but that you go out of your joyous response to God in light of Christ becoming sin for you. My dear friends, do not tithe because you are required to. The Pharisees had such a perspective. But if you have experienced much joy in the Gospel and out of that love and trust in the Father, tithe. Do not fast and pray because you have to or because I tell you to or because it will make God happy. Instead, fast and pray because you know that Christ has become sin for you, and so you do such things out of such love. Do something for the Lord because God gave His Son for your sake.

Jesus

Now that we’ve looked at the friends and Pharisees, let’s take a look at Jesus. Jesus saw the friends’ faith. They believed that Jesus had the power to heal. And then Jesus responds to their faith with this incredible statement, “Man, your sins are forgiven.” This statement is in the passive voice, meaning the man is the receiver of the action. That is to say, God is the One who is doing the work and all he can do is receive the forgiveness. Not only did this statement irk the Pharisees, but it must have confounded everyone else as well. Why would this man need forgiveness of sins when he came in for healing? But this is exactly what he does need. A few weeks ago, I had shared that physical healing on this earth will always be temporary. If you have a loved one who is sick, and you pray for healing and it should happen, it is a temporary healing. One day, regardless of the healing, he or she will die. But the healing of one’s soul from the ravaging effect of sin does not last a moment, or even a few decades, but for an eternity. What this man needed far more than physical healing was the healing of his soul, the forgiveness of his sins.

Also, all physical ailments are ultimately connected to the destructive power of sin. Whether this man had committed specific sins to lead him to this condition is unknown. But in a fallen world where sin still reigns, Jesus is overturning that power with the power of the forgiveness of sin. What the Pharisees hated about Jesus was this very notion that He had come to upend the world that Satan and sin had previously controlled.

So as Jesus forgives this man’s sins, he looks into their hearts and asks this question, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” Which do you think is easier? Probably most would think, including the Pharisees, forgiving sins is easier. After all, to make someone walk would take a miracle, but to forgive sins is God simply saying, “You’re forgiven.” But you would be making a grave mistake if you thought such a thing. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:20 that we were bought with a price. We are forgiven and free because of that forgiveness but it was terribly costly. Peter tells us what this price was: “He[Jesus] committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22-24) For Jesus to forgive sin, for the evil of sin to be wiped away and made no more, for a just and holy God to have dealt with sin, it would take the substitutionary sacrifice of One who was sinless. When Jesus cried on the cross, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” this was not the cry of mere physical pain, but the full weight of the punishment of all sins upon Jesus’ very being. R. C. Sproul put it this way,

This cry represents the most agonizing protest ever uttered on this planet. It burst forth in a moment of unparalleled pain. It is the scream of the damned—for us. (Quoted from C. J. Mahaney, Living the Cross Centered Life, 89)

But the Pharisees and perhaps everyone else around believed that physical healing was more difficult than forgiveness. And surely, only God can forgive sins. What do you think? Perhaps you have been praying for something that you believe is quite difficult for God to do. You’ve been praying for the salvation of a loved one. You’ve been praying for the healing of a physical ailment. You’ve been praying for a better job. And because God has called you to wait, you perhaps have felt it is easier for God to forgive your sins then to answer your prayers on such things. Perhaps you have simply believed things will never change and the forgiveness for your sins is now something you have taken for granted. Please be careful not to have the heart of the Pharisee here, one that lightens forgiveness to be nothing more than a trite act. John Stott puts it well when he said, “Until you see the cross as that which is done by you, you will never appreciate that it is done for you.” (Mahaney, 90) C. J. Mahaney notes: “Luther said we all carry in our pocket His very nails. Are you aware of those nails in your possession?” (Mahaney, 90) What are those nails that you carry? Many of these nails flow from self-righteousness, perhaps a self-righteousness that we don’t classify as such but the Lord certainly does. For example, are you perhaps driven by an acceptance from your parents or from your peers rather than your righteousness found alone in Christ? Are you easily frustrated by circumstances or bothered by certain personalities that you have deemed people you have to love but you don’t have to like? Are you afraid of a loss of reputation, health, financial security? Are you guided more by how you feel than by what is truth? Are you unwilling to hear, accept, examine Godly correction? Is your refuge found in the Gospel or in mind-numbing activities which are mere distractions for your soul such as TV, video games, eating, shopping? The fact is, until you see that the cross is because of you, you will respond as the Pharisees did to Jesus. You will dismiss him as nothing more than a good teacher, or perhaps a miracle-worker, or a mystic. But you won’t truly see Him as Savior.

The Paralytic

Lastly, we see the paralytic man. Jesus’ command to rise, pick up his bed, and go home is only a confirmation that His power is indicative of His divinity. And this man does what is the right response of one who is not only healed of one’s physical ailments but of one’s spiritual ailments: he glorifies God (v. 25). Salvation in Luke is always met with joy and praise. The fact is, when all else seemed lost, and suddenly God decides to forgive your sins not on the basis of your good works but simply because God loves people WHILE they’re still sinners, this freedom leads to joy. Of course, we need to add that it also cost God His precious Son for our joy to be experienced. Is it any wonder that the paralytic is seen going home praising and glorifying God? For the first time in his life, he can walk home. But he can also walk home cleansed of his sin because Jesus paid for his sin. C. J. Mahaney adds:

If you’re centering your life on the gospel and the cross—if you’re abiding hard by the cross, as Spurgeon says, and searching the mystery of Christ’s wounds—then you’ll be captured by joy. And in these days or years you have left on earth, what could be better?” (Mahaney, 108-109)

If you are a Christian and you do not have joy right now, it is probably because you have not seen yourself these days as one who desperately needs God’s forgiveness. Last week, we saw the leper and today the paralytic. Do you see these two men and their physical conditions as reflections of your spiritual condition? If you’re like the Pharisees, then you are more concerned about getting your religious ducks in a row, then about the forgiveness of your sins. But Jesus came to free you from sin. Center your life on the cross, recognize the depth of your sins, and you will live every day with joy. Without such reflection, you will be bogged down with worry, with fear, with frustration, with anger, with hurt, etc. Preach the Gospel to yourself every day, remind yourself of it through His Word, through prayer, through biblical fellowship, through the songs you sing and the music you listen to, and you will find the same joy that this paralytic went home experiencing. I imagine him singing, and laughing, and dancing, and raising his hands, and praising His God, and clicking his heels as he heads home. His life and his eternity would never be the same, because a carpenter’s son who was God the Son bore our sins as a substitute for us on a tree.