Saturday, June 27, 2020

The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 5:17-26 comments: the authority of Jesus




Luke 5:17 ¶  And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. 18  And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19  And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. 20  And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23  Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 24  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25  And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

The crowd now consists of the Pharisee party, ultra-religious and right-wing, and teachers of the law, called doctors in Luke just as the Roman Catholic Church calls its greatest scholars, “Doctors of the Church.” They came from the entire area, not only Galilee now but also all Judea and Jerusalem.

Friends of a man with palsy went to great lengths to get the man in front of Jesus, believing He could heal the man. Jesus’ response, which confounded and upset the religious big shots, was that the man’s sins were forgiven. They argued among themselves and Jesus, knowing their thoughts, confronts them in their opinion that He was committing blasphemy. To prove His point He orders to man to get up and take the pallet he was brought in on and go home, which he did. This amazed everyone and yet, filled them with fear, due to the miracle they saw Jesus perform and what He had said.

Here the Pharisees and doctors have unintentionally acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah by stating that only God can forgive sins, and yet, Jesus proved His point by not only forgiving the man’s sins but healing his broken body, showing He had the power to back up His claim to being the Saviour.

Earlier, in Luke 4, He declared the fulfillment of prophecy in Himself when He quoted Isaiah 61. People have seen His power to heal disease and to cast out unclean spirits. He has now done that and forgiven a man’s sins at the same time much as Paul received the Holy Ghost and was healed from his own blindness at the same time in Acts 9. The testimony of Luke declares that Jesus could read the thoughts of men, as well.

Psalm 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts

God knows our minds and knows us by our mind and what we think; mind and heart.

Proverbs 20:27  The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Ephesians 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

The Jews require a sign as it says in 1Corinthians 1:22 and their nation was born in signs and wonders as it explains in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 4:34  Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

One other thing of note, and there are many things I probably have missed here that would make good preaching material, is the response of the man. He glorified God in his healing. Not everyone gives glory to God when they are healed. They often give glory to their doctors or their own ability to recover and recuperate but not to God, who actually controls all events and works through the physical world of doctors and our bodies to accomplish a purpose, like healing.

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