Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 5:12-26 "A GROWING AND CONSISTENT MINISTRY"
Day 61 – Luke 5
Text: Luke 5:12-26
A GROWING AND CONSISTENT MINISTRY
Luke recorded the commencement of the public ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ with this observation,
“Then Jesus returned IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT to Galilee,
and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.
And He TAUGHT in their synagogues, being glorified of all.” Luke 4:14,15
Jesus had resounding success in the teaching of the Scriptures. Luke recorded this further observation of the teaching ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ,
” Now it happened on a certain day as He was TEACHING, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem.
And the POWER OF THE LORD was present to heal them.” Luke 5:17
The primary ministry of Jesus was the teaching of the Scriptures to the multitudes! The Power of the Lord (another way of saying, “the power of the Spirit”) was with Him, to vindicate His Identity!
The “experts” of the Law were present. The Pharisees and the “TEACHERS of the Law” were sitting by, listening to Jesus teaching! What were they listening for? What were they looking for? Did they not recognize the true IDENTITY of Jesus as He taught the Scriptures and as He healed the people who came to Him? Had they already “grown used to” the idea that Jesus was both a gifted Teacher and Healer?
A PARALYTIC BROUGHT TO JESUS
The teaching ministry of Jesus at this point of time was conducted in a home, rather than at a synagogue. Suddenly His ministry was interrupted. From the roof, a paralysed man was lowered by his friends and dramatically brought to Jesus for healing. The crowd must have been so huge that they could not bring in their friend through normal channels – through the front door!
Jesus looked up and “saw their faith” (Luke 5:20)! Everybody must have expected Jesus to do what He had been doing all along! They expected that the paralysed man would be healed instantly! That would have been “normal”.
Instead, Jesus uttered words that must have caused “the teachers of the law” to sit up straight! Jesus said,
“Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke 5:20
Jesus spoke these words deliberately! He surely stirred the hearts and minds of all present that day! What did He mean? Why did He NOT heal the paralytic? Wasn’t the paralytic’s need OBVIOUS?
Did the friends of the paralytic appreciate the words of Jesus? They went through so much trouble to bring their sick friend to Jesus – and what did He say? “Your sins are forgiven you”? Did the paralytic understand the importance of the words of Jesus?
“WHO IS THIS… WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS BUT GOD ALONE?” Luke 5:21
The reaction of the Pharisees was “typical”. They were of course upset! Luke recorded that,
“…the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying,
‘Who is this who speaks blasphemies?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ ” Luke 5:21
The Pharisees obviously did not recognize the identity of Jesus at all. They listened to His teaching of the Scriptures, but they did not respond much to His teaching. There is no record of whether they were impressed at all by what they heard from the lips of Jesus. There was also no response from the Pharisees, when they saw the miracles that Jesus performed! How could they not have been impressed or impacted in one way or another?
However, when they heard “unfamiliar” and “unacceptable” words uttered, they jumped! They were ready to challenge Jesus over this statement!
“WHICH IS EASIER TO SAY…?” Luke 5:23
Luke recorded an important observation of Jesus, and thus he wrote,
“But when Jesus perceived their thoughts,
He answered and said to them…” (Luke 5:22)
Did the Pharisees jump when Jesus revealed their thoughts out in the open? Who but God could read their thoughts so clearly? But they held their breath as Jesus continued,
“Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’,
Or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? ” (Luke 5:23)
Both are equally hard to say! Either phrase would demand Divine Power to back up those words! The crowds had obviously taken the power of the Lord Jesus for granted! They had grown used to Jesus performing miracles! That which had been impressive at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus had now been badly taken for granted!
“THE SON OF MAN HAS POWER ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS” Luke 5:24
Who was this “son of man”? Who was this person called Jesus? On the one hand, He was rejected by Nazareth. On the other hand, Capernaum wanted Him to reside in their fair city as their Resident Teacher/Healer. Who was this man who could draw huge crowds? Who was this person who could heal every dreaded disease – including leprosy?
Jesus wanted them to know who He really was! He sought to reveal Himself through the teaching of the Scriptures. He sought to tell them who He really was through His healing ministry! He was the eschatological Son of Man of the prophetic Scriptures! He was no ordinary human being! He had POWER to forgive sins! Did they believe that only God can forgive sins? Why could they not comprehend the obvious?
Jesus calmly spoke to the paralytic! He was the poor victim caught in between. This was not his fight. Jesus healed him on the spot. Did the crowds understand what they saw? They could only conclude, “We have seen strange things today!” (Luke 5:26). Talk about spiritual blindness!