“We have seen remarkable things today.” (Luke 5:26).
“One day He was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, were sitting there, and the power of the Lord to heal was with Jesus. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He said, ‘Man, 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 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.’ 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’” (Luke 5:17–26).
As I meditate on the words from Luke 5:17–26, I desire to receive the teachings given through this meditation.
(1) When I read Luke 5:17–26, the words “We have seen remarkable things today” (Lk. 5:26) caught my eye, and I was led to meditate on them. What was this “remarkable thing” that “everyone” (v. 26) saw?
(a) Of course, this refers to the fact that “a paralyzed man” (v. 18) “stood up in front of them immediately, took what he had been lying on” (v. 25)—his “bed” (v. 19)—and “went home praising God” (v. 25). Therefore, not only were all the people amazed and gave glory to God, but they also were filled with great fear (v. 26). The reason they were amazed, glorified God, and were filled with fear was that they actually saw, with their physical eyes, the paralyzed man stand up immediately in front of them through “the power of the Lord to heal” (v. 17).
(i) However, I think they did not see with the eyes of their spirit that the man’s sins were forgiven when Jesus, having “authority on earth to forgive sins” (v. 24), said to him, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 20). Why? Because they had gathered to hear Jesus’ teaching and to be healed after hearing reports about Him (v. 15), but they did not have faith to believe in Jesus.
· The reason I believe these gathered people did not have faith is that the Greek meaning of the expression “remarkable things” in v. 26 carries the idea of “contrary to expectation,” “against what was anticipated.” This suggests that they did not expect that Jesus could heal the paralyzed man at all. But when Jesus overturned their expectations and healed him immediately, the crowd could not help but be astonished (Hochma).
- Perhaps we are like that crowd: even while praying for a sick loved one “in the name of Jesus” to our Father in heaven, we may harbor doubts such as, “Can that person really be healed?” or worries like, “What if the person doesn’t get healed, becomes worse, and dies?” Then, when the Lord heals that person, we cannot help but be astonished because it contradicts our expectations.
n James 5:16 came to mind: “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
n James 1:6–8 also came to mind: “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. That person is double-minded and unstable in all they do”
(b) If among “all the people” (v. 26) were included the men who carried the paralyzed man (v. 18)—the “four men” mentioned in Mark 2:3—then those four did have faith, because “Jesus saw their faith…” (Lk. 5:20). Thus, they would have seen (believed) with the eyes of faith that the paralyzed man received forgiveness.
(i) In other words, these four believed that Jesus had both the power to heal (v. 17) and the authority to forgive sins (v. 24). So, when Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man they brought, “Man, your sins are forgiven” (v. 20), they believed that his sins were indeed forgiven.
· Furthermore, when Jesus said to him, “Get up, take your mat and go home” (v. 24), they also saw with their physical eyes the man “immediately stand up in front of them, take what he had been lying on, and go home praising God” (v. 25). Therefore, I believe they, too, were amazed, glorified God, and were filled with awe (v. 26).
- I meditated on three aspects of the faith of these four men:
n First, their faith believed that the power of the Lord to heal was with Jesus (v. 17). They did not bring the paralyzed man merely because they had heard about Jesus (v. 15), but because they believed that God’s healing power was with Him (v. 17).
n Second, their faith believed in the words of Jesus. Mark 2:2 says, “Many gathered… and He preached the word to them.” When Jesus came to Capernaum and was staying in a house, and many gathered even to the doorway (v. 2), He preached “the word” to them. This “word” was likely “the gospel of God,” the message of the kingdom of God” (Black). Mark 1:14–15: “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God … ‘The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe the gospel.’” These four men believed this message of the gospel and the kingdom, and because of that faith, they brought the paralyzed man to Jesus.
n Third, their faith was a faith with deeds, a living faith. Though they came carrying the paralyzed man on a mat to bring him before Jesus (Lk. 5:18), the house was so crowded there was no room even at the door (Mk. 2:2). So, they went up on the roof, made an opening by removing the tiles, and lowered him on the mat right before Jesus (Lk. 5:19; Mk. 2:4). They believed Jesus had God’s healing power (Lk. 5:17) and believed He was King of God’s kingdom (Mk. 1:14–15; 2:2; Lk. 9:2; 10:9), and they acted on that belief. James 2:14, 17 came to mind: “What good is it… if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? … Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Faith without deeds is dead and cannot save us. But the faith of these four men was not dead—it was living and active. James 2:22 describes such faith: “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” Their faith was made complete by action.
- Yesterday during Sunday worship, I was reminded of the hymn “Fear not, little flock”:
(Verse 1) Fear not, little flock, from the cross to the throne, From death in to life He went for His own; All power in earth, all power above, Is given to Him for the flock of His love.
(Verse 2) Fear not, little flock, He goeth ahead, Your Shepherd selecteth the path you must tread; The waters of Marah He'll sweeten for thee, He drank all the bitter in Gethsemane.
(Verse 3) Fear not, little flock, whatever your lot, He enters all rooms, "the doors being shut;" He never forsakes, He never is gone, So count on His presence in darkness and dawn.
(Refrain) Only believe, only believe; All things are possible, only believe;
Only believe, only believe; All things are possible, only believe.
(c) However, the Pharisees and teachers of the law from “every village of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem” (Lk. 5:17), who lacked faith, even though they saw with their physical eyes the paralyzed man stand, take up his mat, and go home praising God (v. 25), would never have believed that he had received forgiveness.
(i) The reason is that although they were correct in believing that only God can forgive sins, they did not believe that Jesus is God. Jesus clearly said, “I and the Father are one” (Jn. 10:30), but because they did not believe in His deity, they thought, “Who is this blasphemer? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Lk. 5:21).
· The word “thinking” (v. 21), Greek “διαλογίζεσθαι” (dialogizesthai), means that one confused thought interacts with other confused thoughts, deepening the confusion. It describes inward reasoning—deliberation, debate, calculation—and in the New Testament it reveals the thinker’s spiritual state (Internet).
- Therefore, when the scribes and Pharisees thought of Jesus as “a blasphemer” (v. 21), we see that their spiritual state was unbelief—they did not believe that Jesus is God (Jn. 10:30). Knowing their unbelief, the all-knowing Jesus said, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier…? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” (vv. 22–24).
n The core of Jesus’ words is not whether saying “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk” is easier, but that both are impossible for humans, and therefore one must ask: Where does the power come from that makes the impossible possible? (Hochma). Jesus wanted the scribes and Pharisees—who considered Him a blasphemer—to know that He possesses God’s healing power (v. 17) and God’s authority to forgive sins (v. 24).
· The word “blasphemy,” Greek “βλασφημίας” (blasphemia), means an offense against God’s power and majesty—direct blasphemy against God (Rev. 13:6), His name, His word (Titus 2:5), or even angelic beings (Jude 1:8–10; 2 Pet. 2:10–12). Thus, when Jesus forgave sins (Mk. 2:7), claimed to be the Messiah (14:64), or claimed equality with God (Jn. 10:30), the Jews viewed it as blasphemy. Jewish law punished such blasphemy with stoning (Hochma): “Anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD is to be put to death… whether foreigner or native-born” (Lev. 24:16).
- While meditating on this word “blasphemy,” I again read a reflection on Mark 26:63–66: When Jesus was crucified, the high priest asked, “I adjure you by the living God: tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus replied, “Yes… you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and cried, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?” And all shouted that He deserved death (Mk. 26:63–66). The high priest believed Jesus blasphemed by acknowledging Himself as the Christ, the Son of God. The gathered crowd shouted that He deserved death because, in their view, He had committed blasphemy. This was because they did not believe Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God. Their unbelief led them, sinners though they were, to condemn the sinless Jesus as worthy of death. Unbelief is always busy grasping for accusations and judging others as guilty, even inwardly.
n Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” (Lk. 5:24), and then He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home” (v. 24). Immediately the man stood up, took his mat, and went home praising God (v. 25). Jesus, having forgiven his sins, also healed his disease. For Jesus, forgiving his sins was the greater priority. After that, He healed his sickness. Perhaps this was because the root cause of the man’s illness was his sin. Thus, Jesus first forgave the cause, then healed the disease.
n James 5:15: “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”