27  The Healing,  Forgiving Savior  (Luke 5:12–26)

While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (5:12–26)

As we have seen, this section of Luke’s gospel reveals Jesus Christ’s absolute and total power over everyone and everything. In 4:1–13, He defeated every temptation hurled at Him by the devil, and further demonstrated His power over Satan’s realm by casting out demons (4:33–35, 41). His healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and many others (4:38–40) displayed Christ’s power over disease, while the miraculous catch of fish (5:1–11) demonstrated His power over the realm of nature. The miracles He performed are critical testimony in the biblical record of Jesus’ life, since they offer proof of His divine nature.

This passage records two more examples of Jesus’ supernatural power over disease. He healed two conditions, leprosy and paralysis, whose cure was far beyond the limited medical knowledge of that day. But these healings do more than reveal Jesus’ divine power and compassion. The story of His healing the leper provides an analogy of the penitent sinner’s approach to Him, and the account of His healing the paralyzed man contains the revelation of His authority to forgive sin.

JESUS HEALS A LEPER:
THE PENITENT SINNER’S APPROACH TO HIM

While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. (5:12–16)

The exact time and location of the Lord’s encounter with this leper is not known. It occurred during His Galilean ministry in one of the cities or villages near the Lake of Galilee. The encounter may be discussed under three headings: the dreaded disease, the desperate victim, and the divine compassion.

THE DREADED DISEASE

behold, there was a man covered with leprosy; (5:12b)

Like its Old Testament counterpart lepras (leprosy) is a general term for a number of skin conditions. The most severe of those was Hansen’s disease, which is leprosy as it is known today. Luke’s description of the man as being covered with leprosy suggests that he in fact had leprosy in the most extreme sense of the term. His desire for cleansing connects it to the familiar disease because it reflects the designation of the leper as unclean in Leviticus 13:45–46.

Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, is known from ancient writings (c. 600 B.C.) from China, India, and Egypt, and from mummified remains from Egypt. It was common enough in Israel to warrant extensive regulation in the Mosaic law of those suffering from it and related skin diseases (Lev. 13–14). The disease is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, discovered by the Norwegian scientist G. H. A. Hansen in 1873 (it was the first bacterium to be identified as the cause of a human disease). The bacterium was communicable through touch and breath.

Leprosy attacks the skin, peripheral nerves (especially near the wrists, elbows, and knees), and mucus membrane. It forms lesions on the skin, and can disfigure the face by collapsing the nose and causing folding of the skin (leading some to call it “lion’s disease” due to the resulting lionlike appearance of the face). Contrary to popular belief, leprosy does not eat away the flesh. Due to the loss of feeling (especially in the hands and feet), people with the disease wear away their extremities and faces unknowingly. The horrible disfigurement caused by leprosy made it greatly feared, and caused lepers to be outcasts, cut off from all healthy society, for protection.

And God had cursed people by giving them leprosy, such as Gehazi (2 Kings 5:25–27) and Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:16–23). Thus, people with this disease were viewed as cursed by God—a familiar notion in ancient concepts of sin (cf. Job 4:7–9; John 9:1–3). The man likely saw his own disease in this way. (For further details about leprosy, see Matthew 8–15, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1987], 5–11.)

THE DESPERATE VICTIM

and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (5:12c)

This poor, tragic outcast had no hope, humanly speaking. His disease was incurable, socially stigmatizing, and viewed as God’s punishment for his sins. Having heard about Jesus, he came looking for Him (cf. Matt. 8:2), and when he saw Jesus, he approached Him. That was inappropriate behavior on his part, since lepers were strictly forbidden to come near other people (cf. Luke 17:12), or to interact with anyone except other lepers. So great was the fear of contagion that lepers were barred from Jerusalem or any other walled city (cf. 2 Kings 7:3). They were forbidden to come within six feet of a healthy person (one hundred and fifty feet if the wind was blowing from the direction of the leper) and were restricted to a special compartment in the synagogue. One rabbi refused to eat an egg bought on a street where there was a leper. Another advocated throwing stones at lepers to force them to keep their distance. (cf. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974], 1:492–95).

It is now known that leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is not highly contagious, since 90 to 95 percent of the human race is immune to it. Exactly how the disease is transmitted is not known for certain, but people living in close contact with those with untreated leprosy had a higher risk of becoming infected. But lepers in biblical times were isolated not only due to fear of infection, but also because they were ceremonially unclean (Lev. 13:45–46). In rabbinic teaching, leprosy was second only to contact with a dead body in terms of defilement. “Not merely actual contact with the leper, but even his entrance defiled a habitation, and everything in it, to the beams of the roof…. If he even put his head into a place, it became unclean.” (Edersheim, Life and Times, 1:494, 95).

That the leper approached Jesus in violation of rabbinic law reveals his desperation. He was past fear, past shame, and heedless of the danger to himself or others; he literally had nothing left to lose.

Coming to Jesus, the leper fell on his face in a posture of reverent worship. Matthew 8:2 says he “bowed down” (proskuneō; better translated “worshiped.” This term is usually used in the New Testament of worshiping God.) Whatever his understanding of Jesus was, he was convinced that He was sent by God and called Him Lord.

That he implored or begged Jesus for help reveals the leper’s sense of urgency. He was a sinful outcast, wretched and miserable, with nowhere else to turn.

The leper also approached the Lord in complete humility. He made no demands, knowing that he had no claim on Him. He did not doubt Jesus’ ability to heal him, but acutely aware of his own unworthiness, he wondered if He was willing to do so, thus acknowledging the Lord’s prerogative.

Finally, he approached Jesus in faith, affirming his confidence that Jesus had clearly displayed many times the power to heal him and make him clean.

The leper’s approach to Jesus graphically illustrates penitent sinners’ approach to Him. They come in desperation, casting aside their self-righteous efforts to save themselves as the filthy garments that they are (Isa. 64:6). They come in reverence, affirming Jesus as Lord (Rom. 10:9), God (John 8:24), and the only Savior (Acts 4:12). They come with a sense of urgency, knowing that “now is the acceptable time … now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). They come in humility, poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), deserving nothing from the sovereign and knowing they have nothing to commend themselves. Finally, they come in faith, because “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).

THE DIVINE COMPASSION

And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And He ordered him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. (5:13–16)

Moved with compassion (Mark 1:41) for this helpless man and his desperate plight, Jesus, disregarding the prescription of Leviticus 5:3, stretched out His hand and touched him. The Lord frequently healed with a touch (cf. 4:40; 7:14; 13:13; 22:51; Mark 6:5), but to touch a leper was shocking and unprecedented. No one in Israel—least of all a rabbi—would have defiled himself by touching a leper. But sovereign love responded with sovereign power. Jesus said, “I am willing; be cleansed,” and immediately the leprosy left him. As was the case with all of Jesus’ healings, the leper was healed instantly, and completely (see the discussion of Jesus’ healing in chapter 25 of this volume). There was no lingering recovery period while the leprosy gradually got better. Modern medical treatment can cure leprosy, but cannot completely reverse the disfigurement and damage the disease causes to the human body. But the disfigurement caused by this man’s leprosy was also healed by Jesus’ creative power, leaving no trace of the disease or its effects on his body. He was healed, restored, and physically fit to take immediately a long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem.

After healing the man, Jesus ordered him to tell no one, for the moment. There was something the now cleansed leper needed to do at once, so the Lord commanded him, “Go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded.” The process by which a cleansed leper was readmitted to society involved going to the temple for an examination by a priest, shaving, bathing, washing his clothes, offering multiple animal sacrifices, along with an offering of grain and oil (Lev. 14:1–20). The entire procedure lasted for eight days (Lev. 14:10). If he obeyed and went to recount to the priests how Jesus had healed him, it would be a powerful testimony to them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and Son of God. This testimony would be either convincing to the priests so that they would acknowledge the claims of Christ, or if they rejected Him self-indicting, since they had personally examined the miraculously healed leper. Further, it would buy time for Jesus, since a miracle of that magnitude would surely swell the already large crowds that followed Him—crowds so huge that they had forced Him off the shore of the Sea of Galilee and into Peter’s boat.

But selfishly overjoyed at his remarkable, miraculous healing, the man ignored Jesus’ command and instead “went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around” (Mark 1:45), forfeiting the opportunity for such a powerful testimony. As a result, the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. So vast were the crowds that Jesus “could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere” (Mark 1:45). The disobedience of the cleansed leper had put limitations on Jesus’ ministry and forced Him into the countryside away from the populated towns. The ones who could find Him in the wilderness did so, but surely many of the most disabled in the towns were not able to experience His healing word and touch. To maintain His focus on preaching the word and sustain the power of his ministry Jesus, in His humanity, needed communion with the Father. Therefore, even in the unpopulated areas He would often slip away deeper into the wilderness and pray (cf. Luke 4:42). Prayer was an integral and essential aspect of Jesus’ life and ministry (see the discussion of 3:21 in chapter 20 of this volume).

JESUS HEALS A PARALYZED MAN:
HIS AUTHORITY TO FORGIVE SIN

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (5:17–26)

As was the case with the account of Christ’s healing of the leper, the time of this event is not known. Luke merely notes that it happened one day when He was teaching. It most likely took place after one of the Lord’s journeys around the lake area (Mark 1:39) when He was able to return to Capernaum (Matt. 9:1). The Lord’s healing of the paralyzed man once again demonstrated His supernatural power over disease. But even more significantly, it revealed His authority to forgive sin—which is the prerogative of God alone, and the greatest need of man, so as to escape eternal judgment. Luke’s account of this event explains the context, the claim, the confrontation, and the consequences.

THE CONTEXT

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. (5:17–19)

In keeping with the constant pattern of His ministry, the opening of this section finds Jesus teaching. He was not in a synagogue, but in a house, undoubtedly a big one since it accommodated the large crowd that had gathered (cf. Mark 2:2).

Luke focused his attention in particular on the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were sitting there in the crowd. This is the first reference in Luke’s gospel to the Pharisees, one of the four main Jewish sects along with their archrivals the Sadducees (the wealthy, elite priests), the Zealots (political revolutionaries who sought independence from Rome), and the Essenes (ascetic monastics). Their name likely derives from a Hebrew verb meaning “to separate.” The Pharisees were the “separated ones” in terms of their zeal for the Mosaic law (and their own traditions, which they added to it [cf. Matt. 15:2–6; Mark 7:8–13]).

The Pharisees originated during the intertestamental period, likely as an offshoot of the Hasidim (the “pious ones,” who opposed the Hellenizing of Jewish culture under the notoriously evil Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes). Unlike the Sadducees, who tended to be wealthy priests or Levites, the Pharisees generally came from the middle class. Therefore, although few in number (there were about 6,000 at the time of Herod the Great, according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus), their theology and tradition had great influence with the common people (who, ironically, the Pharisees often viewed with proud, self-righteous contempt [cf. John 7:49]). Despite being the minority party in the Sanhedrin, their popularity with the people gave them significant influence (cf. Acts 5:34–40).

With the disappearance of the Sadducees after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70 and the Zealots after the Bar Kochba revolt (A.D. 132–35) was crushed, the Pharisees became the dominant force in Judaism. With the completion of the Mishnah (the written compilation of the oral law, rituals, and traditions) in about A.D. 200, and the Talmud (the combination of the Mishnah and the Gemara [three centuries of the rabbis’ commentary on the Mishnah]) in about A.D. 500, the Pharisees’ teaching became virtually synonymous with Judaism.

The Pharisees’ theology was in many respects faithful to the teaching of Scripture. They believed in the resurrection (Acts 23:6–8), angels (Acts 23:8), demons, predestination, and human responsibility. They looked for Messiah to come and establish an earthly kingdom, and were devoted to protecting and teaching the law of God. Ironically, it was their zeal for the law that caused the Pharisees to become focused on rituals and externally keeping the law. They abandoned true religion of the heart for mere outward behavior modification and ritual (cf. Matt. 15:3–6), leading Jesus to scathingly denounce their pseudospirituality: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Matt. 23:23; cf. 6:1–5; 9:14; 12:2; Luke 11:38–39). Even worse, the wide gap between their teaching and their practice led to gross hypocrisy, which both Jesus (e.g., Matt. 23:2–3) and, surprisingly, the Talmud (which lists seven classes of Pharisees, six of which are hypocritical) denounced. Despite their zeal for God’s law, they were “blind guides of the blind” (Matt. 15:14), who made their proselytes doubly worthy of the hell to which they themselves were headed (Matt. 23:15). The complex set of man-made rules and regulations was a crushing, unbearable burden (Matt. 23:4; Acts 15:10). In any case, keeping the law could never save anyone, “because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Rom. 3:20; cf. 3:28; Gal. 2:16; 3:11, 24; 5:4)—a truth that the zealous Pharisee Saul of Tarsus eventually realized (Phil. 3:4–11).

Luke also notes the presence of teachers of the law. Also called lawyers (7:30; 10:25; 11:45, 46, 52; 14:3; Matt. 22:35) and most commonly scribes (sixty-three times in the New Testament), they were professional scholars specializing in the interpretation and application of the law. They were commonly, but not exclusively, Pharisees (though distinguished from them by being mentioned separately; 5:21, 30; 6:7; 11:53; 15:2; Matt. 5:20; 12:38; 15:1; 23:2, 13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29; Mark 7:1, 5; John 8:3; Mark 2:16 refers to “the scribes of the Pharisees,” and Acts 23:9 to “the scribes of the Pharisaic party”). Such scribes were also honored by being called rabbis (“great ones”), though others who taught the Word of God might also receive that title (cf. John 1:38, 49; 3:2; 6:25, where it is given to Jesus).

That the scribes and Pharisees there that day had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem testifies to the level of concern the Jewish authorities had about Jesus. His first act in His Judean ministry had been to disrupt the Sadducees’ temple business operations by driving out the money changers and merchants (John 2:14–16). They, along with the Pharisees, had watched in growing alarm (and jealousy; cf. Matt. 27:18) as His ministry of teaching and healing had drawn huge crowds, both in Judea and in Galilee (cf. 5:15). Now they dogged His steps, looking for something for which they could indict Him. The incident that was about to unfold would provide these hostile visitors with an unforgettable, undeniable (cf. John 11:47) experience—and a formidable challenge to their aberrant theology.

Luke’s note that the power of the Lord was present for Jesus to perform healing reminds his readers of a truth that he had mentioned earlier. In His incarnation, when He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant” (Phil. 2:7), Jesus set aside the independent use of His divine power. He ministered in submission to the Father, and in the power of the Holy Spirit (see the discussion of 3:22 in chapter 20 and 4:1 in chapter 22 of this volume.)

While the Lord was teaching some men arrived (Mark 2:3 notes that there were four of them), carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed. He was one of countless others with physical problems who sought out Jesus wherever He went. Unable to come to Jesus on his own, he was fortunate enough to have loyal and determined friends available to help him. How he became paralyzed, whether through a birth defect, spinal cord or brain injury, or a degenerative disease, is not stated. Unlike lepers, the paralyzed were not ostracized from society. They were stigmatized by their condition, however, since many would see all such disabilities as God’s punishment for their sin (cf. John 9:2).

Having arrived at the house where Jesus was “speaking the word” (Mark 2:2), the paralyzed man’s friends were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. But they could not find any way to bring him in because of the overflow crowd (cf. Mark 2:2). No one would move aside to allow the men to carry him in; the crowd formed a barrier both with their bodies and their hearts. Fortunately for the paralyzed man, his friends were both determined and resourceful. Unable to gain access to the house, they went up on the roof. Most houses in Israel were single story houses. The beams spanning the walls and supporting the roof were set below the tops of the walls to form an enclosed patio, which was accessible by a stairway. The larger houses had tiles between the beams, as this one did. After moving aside some of the tiles and digging through the underlying roof (Mark 2:4), the four men lowered their paralyzed friend with his stretcher into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

THE CLAIM

Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” (5:20)

One can only imagine what went through the minds of the people in that crowded house as the four men began tearing up the roof above Jesus. They must have wondered what the scraping noise was, and noticed the pieces of the roof falling. Finally, the men broke through; the daylight streamed in and, to the crowd’s amazement, an immobile man lying on a stretcher was slowly lowered to the ground in front of Jesus. It was a dramatic moment, with all eyes on Him to see how He would react.

There is no record that either the paralyzed man or his friends said anything; his need of physical healing was self-evident. On the other hand, what Jesus said was unexpected and shocking. Seeing the faith of all five men, He said to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you” (cf. 7:48). The Lord addressed first the more significant issue of the man’s need of salvation. Shaken with grief and fear because of his sins, he wanted healing, but more important, Jesus knew he wanted forgiveness.

Forgiveness is both mankind’s greatest need, and God’s most important gift—and the only means for blessing in this life and eternal life in heaven. Jesus Christ came into the world to “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21; cf. 26:28), and “through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; cf. 5:31; 26:18; Eph. 1:7; 4:32; Col. 1:14; 2:13–14; 3:13; 1 John 1:9; 2:12; Rev. 1:5). Forgiveness is the distinctive message of the Christian proclamation (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 13:38).

But forgiveness has always been the offer of redemption, so it is also the message of the Old Testament. After Adam and Eve sinned, “the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). Killing animals to provide those garments pictured the ultimate sacrifice of Messiah, whose death would cover the shame and guilt of sin. The Lord described Himself to Moses as “the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:6–7; cf. Num. 14:18). Nehemiah 9:17 calls Him a “God of forgiveness.” In Psalm 65:3 David wrote, “Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You forgive them,” while in 86:5, he declared, “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.” In Psalm 103:12, David depicted the extensiveness of God’s forgiveness when he noted that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” In 130:3–4, the psalmist expressed his confidence in God’s forgiveness: “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” Speaking of the promised forgiveness in the New covenant, God declared, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:34). Micah joyously exclaimed, “Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession?” (Mic. 7:18; cf. Isa. 55:7). The Old Testament likens God’s forgiveness to His casting sins behind His back (Isa. 38:17), wiping them out (Isa. 43:25; cf. 1:18; 44:22), trampling them under His feet (Mic. 7:19), and burying them in the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19).

Aware that the paralyzed man had genuine, penitent faith, Jesus, on His own divine authority, extended full and permanent forgiveness to him. He did not necessarily understand the truth that Jesus was God; people were forgiven in the Old Testament by acknowledging that they were sinners, deserving of God’s judgment and unable to save themselves, confessing and repenting of their sin, and throwing themselves on God’s mercy. The penitent tax collector is an example of how people were saved before the cross: “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’” (Luke 18:13). His humble repentance and faith in God’s grace and forgiveness resulted in his justification (v. 14). After the cross and resurrection, there is no salvation apart from believing in the only object of saving faith—the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 17:30–31; 1 Tim. 2:5). As Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It is because of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross that God can be “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).

THE CONFRONTATION

The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” (5:21–24)

Appalled and outraged that Jesus presumed to forgive the paralytic’s sins, the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” They were absolutely correct in their assertion that no one can forgive sins, in the fullest sense so that the sinner is cleansed, righteous, and never again guilty or condemned, but God alone. Only He as lawgiver and judge can forgive sin in that eternal way, since all sin is ultimately against Him (Ps. 51:4). But their characterization of Jesus as this man who speaks blasphemies (cf. Matt. 26:65; John 10:33) wrongly assumed that He was merely a man and not God incarnate. By claiming the authority to forgive sins, Jesus was either God, or a blasphemer. There is no middle ground; Jesus could not have been merely a good man, a true prophet, or a teacher of morality and ethics, if He were a blasphemer of God.

Blasphemy was the most heinous crime in Jewish thought, since it was a direct affront to the person of God. They defined three levels of blasphemy. First, one blasphemed God by speaking evil of His law, as Stephen (Acts 6:13) and Paul (Acts 21:27–28) were falsely accused of doing. A more serious form of blasphemy was to slander, speak evil of, or curse God Himself (Lev. 24:10–16; cf. Ex. 20:7). But the ultimate form of blasphemy was to assume the rights and prerogatives of God; to usurp the role of God and act as if one were God. It was this third and most severe type of blasphemy that the scribes and Pharisees accused Jesus of (cf. John 5:18; 8:58–59; 10:33; 19:7).

That Jesus was aware in His spirit (Mark 2:8) of their reasonings offers further proof of His deity, since only God knows the heart (1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Chron. 28:9; Jer. 17:10; Ezek. 11:5). Yet Jesus “did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man” (John 2:25). Significantly, Jesus did not protest that they had misunderstood Him, that He was just a teacher or a prophet who was merely offering God’s forgiveness to the paralytic, instead of claiming the right to forgive sins. If that was all He was claiming, His failure to correct their misunderstanding is inexplicable.

Unmasking their unspoken thoughts and escalating the confrontation, Jesus challenged them with the question, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” Obviously, both are impossible for a mere man to do, but that was not the question. Jesus asked which is easier to say as a convincing reality? They all knew that only God can forgive sin, which is the root cause of sickness. The end result of salvation will not be judgment, but will be glorification, when believers will be freed from all sin’s consequences and effects both in the inner and outer man forever. They will have perfect souls, free from sin, and glorified bodies, free from disease and death. Since this would require forgiveness of all sins, truly the Messiah, God incarnate, had to demonstrate power to remove sin’s consequences in the physical world. That would be proof He could overpower the effects of sin, implying forgiveness. He was about to do both.

The answer to the Lord’s question is that it would have been easier to say to the paralytic that his sins were forgiven, because there was no way to empirically confirm or deny it. On the other hand, it would be obvious to all whether or not he actually got up and walked. Jesus chose to do the obvious miracle of physical healing so that they might know that the Son of Man (the Lord’s favorite designation of Himself [used by Him more than eighty times] in the Gospels) had authority on earth to forgive sins. Turning to the man lying on his stretcher, He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” That was the acid test as to whether Jesus could negate the power, presence, and penalty of sin. There was no time to doubt, because the response came instantly.

THE CONSEQUENCES

Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (5:25–26)

As was true of all of Christ’s healings, the paralyzed man was healed completely and instantaneously. There were no lingering effects of his disability; no gradual healing, with a long period of rehabilitation before he was “healed.” Instead, immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home. Unlike the leper, the paralytic did not have a contagious disease, and hence was not required to go first and show himself to the priests. As was often the case when someone was healed, the paralytic went on his way glorifying God (cf. 13:13; 17:15; 18:43). He rejoiced not merely because he was physically healed, but even more so because his sins had been forgiven. Jesus connected His power over the effects of sin with His authority over sin’s guilt. The One who healed necessarily could forgive.

Between the religious leaders, who remained implacably hostile despite this and other displays of Christ’s divine power and authority (cf. 6:11; 11:15, 53; 13:17; 15:1–2; 19:47), on the one hand and the healed paralytic on the other was the crowd. Struck with astonishment at the amazing, unprecedented (cf. Mark 2:12) miracle they had just witnessed, they also began glorifying God (cf. 7:16; Matt. 15:31). Further, they were filled with fear. Phobos (fear) can refer to panic induced by frightening circumstances or events. It can also describe general, long-term apprehension or anxiety (it is the source of the English word “phobia”). Third, and most significantly, it is the fear that results from an understanding of God’s holiness, power, and presence, which is how it is always used in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts (1:12, 65; 2:9; 7:16; 8:37; 21:26; Matt. 14:26; 28:4, 8; Mark 4:41; Acts 2:43; 5:5, 11; 9:31; 19:17). In that sense, it is a healthy fear. It can produce reverence for God, and help believers avoid sin (cf. 2 Cor. 7:1, 11) and lead godly lives (Phil. 2:12). Godly fear also motivates believers to mutually submit to each other and serve each other (Eph. 5:21). It also prompted Paul’s desire to persuade others of his personal integrity (2 Cor. 5:11).

The crowd acknowledged that they had seen remarkable things, but not all of them were convinced of Christ’s deity. Some concluded that He was merely a man to whom God had given authority (Matt. 9:8). Despite the unprecedented display of His divine, miraculous power, many refused to believe. “But though He had performed so many signs before them,” John wrote, “yet they were not believing in Him” (John 12:37; cf. 1 Cor. 1:22). Paul explains the spiritual pathology of such senseless rejection: