21 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?” 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” ~ Luke 5:21-26
When the Lord Jesus said to the paralytic man, "Yours sins are forgiven," in v.21, a theological battle broke out. Rabbinical theology taught that all physical infirmities were signs of divine displeasure and came as a punishment from God for specific sins. Since God was the one displeased with sin, and the one who had punished this paralytic because of sin, then only God Himself could forgive his sin. Thus, the "religious leaders" accused the Lord Jesus of blasphemy.
In v.22, we read, "Jesus knew what they were thinking," giving clear indication He could read their minds. This underscores the fact that He knows all things. In fact, He knows everything there is to know about you and me, even things we do not know about ourselves. And, He knows the combinations that are useful to unlock our imprisoned souls, souls that have been severely damaged by the fallenness of this world.
In v.23, we read, "Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?" One would think it would be easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven," for this simple reason: the forgiveness of sin, you can't see. It's all inward. Anybody could say, "Your sins are forgiven."
Forgiveness is an invisible action. The Lord Jesus healed the man visibly to prove that his invisible act of forgiving sins was legitimate. It is hard to conceive of how the Lord Jesus could blaspheme God in one moment and then heal with God’s power in the next. His healing demonstrated that He had authority from God to do both.
In reality, it was far easier for Jesus to heal the man than it was to forgive him. Forgiveness of sins before a just and holy God is a far more significant than any physical miracle. To heal the man’s body took a simple command; to forgive the man’s sins required Jesus’ blood. The first was done in the house of friends; the second on a hill with thieves. One took a word; the other took His life.
The Lord Jesus knew the cost of grace. He knew the price of forgiveness. But He offered it anyway. Love broke His heart for mankind. The same face that invited the paralytic invites all of us who have known brokenness in some fashion. And, on that day the Paralytic heard, "Your sins are forgiven," the Lord Jesus was tuning His vocal chords for us to hear and be defined by those most sacred of words for ourselves.
Only the Lord Jesus is able to forgive the sins that keep us physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually crippled. Only He is able to give us the courage to take up our mats and walk, setting us free from guilt and shame. Setting the man free from his physical abnormalities was one thing, but deliverance from the prisons of the soul is quite another.
You see, God's choice to remove our sin from our ledger has much farther reach in our lives than being healed physically. It has to do with us experiencing Him and His holiness. And, everything God wants for us can be summed up in one word, wholeness.
Since we live in a broken world, we all have wounded hearts. These “heart wounds” are caused by real or perceived instances of cruelty, personal trauma, lack of love and other experiences that have wounded the core of our being. These wounds directly affect our spiritual lives and make us far more susceptible to sin.
For example, people who were verbally abused by a parent often have issues with authority figures. They will likely struggle with areas of sin involving disagreements and anger. This issue isn’t necessarily evidence of a lack of holiness, but rather a lack of “heart wholeness.” If the verbally abused heart wound is healed, the disagreements and anger will subside, allowing the person to grow in God's holiness.
Until we faced this lack of wholeness in our souls and allow God to heal it, we will be stalled in our spiritual progress. Our habitual sins will not disappear through sheer will-power. No. We have to go to the root of our problems, our souls. The application of God's holiness to our souls involves learning to love ourselves as He loves us. We mustn't be defined by our puny definitions of this life. This is most difficult because we have long been defined by the hated wounds that have long kept us in bondage and have defined us in such a way that we are paralyzed.
It is tempting to spend all of our time helping other people and it is easy to feel guilty about taking care of ourselves. But this unbalanced approach to Christianity can make us lose sight of the love of God who has totally accepted us through the cross of the Lord Jesus. In fact, the love of God for us and ministry are linked: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
In the early years of my relationship with God, I had learned that living a life of holiness meant refraining from any act or behavior considered unholy or unrighteous. This limited perspective of holiness overlooks a powerful reality about wholeness. To expect pious behavior externally from a person who isn’t becoming whole internally is like expecting the Paralytic to walk without Jesus' pronouncement. It won’t happen.
God’s process of making us whole is His guarantee that wholeness will follow. Right doing was never more important to God than right being. God’s plan for us is wholeness which will always be the product of His realized holiness in our lives. God’s goal for you and me is that we see the version of us that is defined by the application of His Son to us in every way. Knowing that we are positionally perfect in His eyes through His Son, we are enabled to confront the demons within and choose to allow God to chase them away and begin and continue the process of being defined by Him.
Finally, the focal point of our text for today is v.25-26, "25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today." God does all that He does in our lives so that we will ultimately be defined by Him on a moment by moment basis.
