Luke 5:17-26

There is a crack in everything.

Our text this morning is a familiar one to many of us, I think.

And there's a reason why.

Because this is one of those texts where we get to see down clearly

through the crack in everything down into the heart of what's gone wrong

and what we need to fix it.

In fact, it looks down even into the struggles of our own heart.

So I want to approach this text very simply with two main points.

We see in this text that Jesus reveals your greatest need

and Jesus answers your greatest doubt.

So let's dive in.

First, Jesus reveals your greatest need.

Look with me again at verse 17.

On one of the verses, the teachers of the law were sitting there

who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem

and the power of the church with him to heal.

So here is Jesus.

He's beginning to sort of catch the attention at this early stage of his ministry.

Now the attention is sort of going broader to the religious leaders

and the religious authorities.

And they've gathered around to hear him teach.

Then verse 17.

And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed

and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus.

But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd,

they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed

through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.

And when he saw their faith, he said,

Man, your sins are forgiven you.

What exactly, friends, do you think your greatest need is?

I think we can guess pretty clearly what this man thought his was.

It's obvious to anyone who met him, right?

He was paralyzed.

He couldn't walk.

And think how massively that effect would have affected his whole life.

Economically, in an agricultural society, of course, he couldn't work.

He would have been utterly dependent on others for economic support.

Socially, his paralysis, without a doubt, affected where he could go,

who he could spend time with,

who maybe was even comfortable to spend time with him.

Relationally, it's possible that it meant he would maybe never marry,

never have a family.

And emotionally, psychologically, it must have been a crushing burden.

His disability filling him at times with despair,

at other times angry.

And emotionally,

at other times angry.

Picture yourself standing there with them,

peering down through the hole you just dug

through some guy's roof.

There you are,

standing with them,

peering down through the hole.

You see the crowd jammed into the house.

And Jesus looks up at you,

and he looks at your friend,

and he opens his mouth,

and you know he's going to say it.

Rise and walk.

He's going to say it.

Rise and walk.

Man,

your sins are forgiven you.

And I imagine at that moment,

the house went silent.

And your buddy up on the roof with you,

jabs you in the side and whispers,

did he just say your sins are forgiven?

Now,

what must be going through their minds at this moment?

What's going through your mind

as you stare down at Jesus?

I imagine partially,

it must have been something like this.

Well,

Jesus,

that's quite a nice thing to say.

But we were hoping you might be able to do something about,

well,

you see,

he is paralyzed after all.

Did you notice the bed?

We were thinking you might do something about his legs.

But in this moment,

Jesus is revealing something,

not just to these friends,

but to all of us.

No matter what you face in life,

no matter what trials or troubles you face,

your greatest need,

friends,

is the forgiveness of sins.

Now,

don't get me wrong.

God certainly cares about all of your other problems,

and needs as well.

And one day,

he will make everything right.

Don't we see a picture of that all over Jesus's ministry?

But here,

we're being graciously shown our deepest,

greatest,

most pernicious need.

Imagine going to the doctor because for the last week or two,

you've just had this nasty cough that won't go away.

And it's affecting your work,

and it's affecting your mood,

and it's making everything just miserable.

And so your doctor does a chest x-ray and discovers that sure enough,

you've got a nasty case of pneumonia.

But the images also happen to show something else.

Something you weren't looking for,

but it's clearly there on the screen.

All around your lungs,

your heart,

even your spine.

And the doctor says,

we'll get you something for your cough,

but your greatest need right now,

we're sorry to say,

is that your body is full of cancer,

and we have to act immediately.

And friends,

that is all of our condition,

spiritually speaking.

Now, of course,

we have trouble believing that the forgiveness of sins is our greatest need,

don't we?

Like that persistent,

irritating cough,

all of our other problems are just so much more in our face.

They're just so much more inconvenient.

But if we pause and consider what Jesus is telling us here,

it is true,

is it not?

Why is the forgiveness of sins our greatest need?

Well,

think first.

First,

because sin runs deeper.

If you go back to Genesis 3,

you see that when sin enters the world,

it breaks everything.

It's the problem under all the problems.

Our relationship to one another,

our relationship to the created world around us,

our relationship even to ourselves,

all of these become broken.

All of these are not the way they're supposed to be,

because sin deep down has broken our relationship with God.

Sin runs deeper.

It's the problem under all the problems.

Now,

what are we not saying here?

We're not saying that there's always a one-to-one connection between some specific sin in your life and some specific problem.

Note that this man in Luke chapter 5 is not paralyzed because he committed some particular sin.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

That's not how it works.

However,

however,

the reason we live in a world where there are things like paralysis and joblessness and loneliness,

the reason why all these things afflict us is because the world has fallen.

The problem of sin runs deeper.

It's down underneath them all.

And fixing all those other problems won't actually solve this one.

When I was in high school,

I thought that if I could just fix the problem of not having a driver's license,

my life would be radically better.

Just think of the freedom I would know.

No longer waiting for my mom to pick me up with our dopey brown station wagon.

I would drive the dopey brown station wagon.

And I would take out all the seats in the middle and I would pile my friends in.

And sheer unending bliss would be the result.

And of course,

once I got my driver's license,

I realized it wasn't so.

It's a trite example,

I know,

but haven't you seen that to be true in much greater areas of your life?

You get the job,

but you still struggle with a sense of purpose.

You get the spouse,

but you still wrestle with loneliness.

You get the fame,

but it doesn't take away your insecurity.

You get the health,

but your body still deteriorates

and your end will still come.

There's something deeper that's wrong with us.

There's something deeper that needs to be put right.

But the problem of sin not only runs deeper,

it also lasts longer.

I wonder how long this man and Luke had been confined to his bed.

Do you think five years?

Do you think maybe 10 years?

Had his entire adult life been one of paralysis?

And yet friends,

the truth is that the alienation from God

that sin brings

won't last

just 70, 80, or even 90 years.

It will last for eternity.

Sin is a problem

with eternal consequences

because it is an offense against an eternal God.

But third,

sin not only runs deeper

and lasts longer,

sin also costs more.

And here's what I mean by that.

I mean that sin keeps us

from our greatest joy.

You and I were created

not just to have whole bodies

and loving relationships

and meaningful work.

You and I were created friends

to have fellowship with God.

Picture it.

From all eternity,

God the Father,

the Son,

and the Holy Spirit

encompassing one another

in perfect love and joy.

Three in one.

One in three.

And like a great symphony

pouring out of the concert hall doors

and into the streets,

God made us to enter into His company.

To have our hearts full of His music.

To know that love and joy

and to reflect it into the world

with our own part to play.

Friends,

God made us to know Him.

To know Him who is perfect in every way.

Without limit and without reserve.

The one who is not just the cause

and the source of all joy,

but the one who is very joy itself.

Do you see why the forgiveness of sins

is our greatest need?

Do you see why Jesus reveals this to us?

Because it's possible to have

every earthly joy

and yet to lose fellowship

with joy itself.

Let me make one application

before moving to our second main point

and the rest of the passage.

Friends, I wonder if you can see yourself

in this man's experience.

If so, do you see how God can use

some difficulty in your life

to get down

to something much deeper?

This man's paralysis

opens the window

to Jesus' forgiveness

in his life.

And not just his life,

but the lives of those around him.

Would his friends

ever have brought him to Jesus

had he been able to walk?

Would he have ever realized

his need?

Of course, his disability

wasn't in itself

a good thing.

The things that are wrong

with our world

aren't in themselves good.

And one day,

God will eradicate

all of them.

But until that day,

God is able to use them.

He's able to take them

and to use them

and to show us

our deepest needs.

And ultimately,

through them,

to bring about

our eternal good.

This week,

Greg was telling me

about a talk he attended

last week

with David Brooks,

the New York Times columnist.

And Brooks was saying

how he's interviewed

a lot of people,

asking them,

what are the major things

in your life

that have really shaped you?

Or what are the events

that have really forged you

in a meaningful way?

And perhaps not surprisingly,

he found

that no one talks about

that wonderful vacation

to Hawaii.

or that delightful getaway

in the mountains.

Those weren't the events

that had a life-shaping,

life-transforming effect.

No, most of the time,

it's the hard things

that change and shape us.

It's difficult things

that open us up

in a way that nothing will.

So friends,

I know this sounds

very strange,

but don't squander

your hardships.

It's so easy

to just get angry

and to just grow bitter

and to just want

to get it over with

as quickly as possible.

And know,

to be sure,

God in his mercy

hears all of your cries,

but also seek

and ask God,

what are you showing me

through this?

What are you teaching me?

What are you forging in me

in and through this experience?

This could be the window

God uses

to open up

a whole new depth

of knowing him,

a whole new depth

of heart change,

a whole new means

of reaching those around you.

You know,

we often think

if this or that problem

were fixed,

then I could get on

with my life

and follow God

and serve Jesus.

But actually,

friends,

this may be your moment

when God is ready

to do his greatest work

through you.

You may not get

the physical healing

this man got,

but God still might be

in the process

of radically transforming

you nonetheless.

So this passage

reveals our greatest need,

the forgiveness of sins.

But second,

it also reveals

our greatest doubt.

Look again at verse 21.

And the scribes

and the Pharisees

began to question,

saying,

who is this

who speaks blasphemies?

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

When Jesus perceived

their thoughts,

he answered them,

why do you question

in your hearts?

Which is easier,

to say your sins

are forgiven you

or to say rise and walk,

but that you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins.

He said to the man

who was paralyzed,

I say to you,

rise,

pick up your bed

and go home.

Now the Pharisees,

of course,

are completely correct.

Only God can forgive sins.

Why?

Because sin,

properly speaking,

is vertical.

It is rejecting

and rebelling

against God,

our creator.

Imagine a married couple

sitting down

with a counselor

and they sit down

and they just start

to pour out

their grievances

against each other.

He did this,

she did this,

oh yeah,

he does this,

oh yeah,

well she does this.

And this goes on

for 15 minutes,

20 minutes.

And then finally,

when they begin

to quiet down,

the counselor

looks at the wife

and looks at the husband

and says,

I've heard your complaints

and I want you to know

I forgive you.

They're going to find

another counselor,

right?

Something is fundamentally

wrong with that picture.

Of course,

he or she,

that counselor,

doesn't have the right

to forgive.

They're not the offended party.

And friends,

when it comes to our sin,

our offense against God,

yes,

it might have effects

that go all across horizontally,

but the forgiveness of sin,

only God has the authority,

the right to forgive those.

Which means that Jesus' claim

here in Luke 5

is simply and undeniably radical.

In this moment,

he has closed off from us

so many of the explanations

that we want to

or that we try

to put on him.

A great teacher,

we think.

Perhaps even a great

miracle worker.

But Jesus has just declared

the authority

to forgive sins.

And who can forgive sins

but God alone?

Do you see how Jesus

is driving us

into a corner here,

friends?

He's pushing us up

against the doubt,

the question

that is the most important

one of all.

Does this man,

Jesus,

have the authority

to forgive my sins?

Can he be the answer

to my greatest need?

And if so,

what does that mean

about who this man

truly is?

Of course,

the Pharisees here

dismiss the possibility

immediately.

Only God can forgive sins

and they also happen

to know where

and how God forgives sins.

Thank you very much.

God forgives sins

at the temple

through the sacrificial system.

You see,

the Pharisaical mindset

has everything

under control.

I do my best

to keep the law

and when I mess up,

I take care of things

at the temple.

Who doesn't need

a little forgiveness

every now and then

after all?

No one's perfect.

So I do my duty,

I perform my sacrifices,

and I take care of it.

But you see,

they failed to see

the real point

of the sacrificial system

at the temple.

That whole business

was meant to point

beyond itself.

After all,

how could the sacrifice

of a mere animal

put sinful human beings

right before a holy God?

And doesn't the fact

that those sacrifices

have to be repeated

year after year after year

show that they were

insufficient for the task?

No, friends.

The temple was a signpost

that God set up

of something greater

to come.

It was a signal,

it was a sign,

it was a pointer

that God would come

and do something

in the future

to put us right

once and for all.

But the Pharisees

can't see it.

And so often

we miss it too,

don't we?

We think we have

everything under control.

I'll do my best.

And when I mess up,

I'll go to church

and take care of it.

After all,

no one's perfect.

But we fail to see

how serious

sin actually is.

We don't have it

under control.

It isn't something

we can just handle

with a little

church attendance here

and a few good works there.

It isn't a cough.

It's a cancer.

It's down in your bones

and you need to be rescued.

And only God can forgive.

Well, okay, we think.

So the Pharisees

had it wrong

trying to control God.

But why can't God

just forgive?

I mean, if he is good,

why doesn't he just

say the word

and forgive our sins?

Why is there any need

for Jesus?

But then again, friends,

does anyone just say

the word

when they truly forgive?

Isn't forgiveness

always costly?

If I borrow your copy

of Luther's commentary

on Galatians

because, hey,

it is the 500th anniversary

of the Reformation

after all,

why not catch up

on a little Reformation reading?

If I borrowed

your prized copy

of Luther's commentary

on Galatians

and I carelessly

drop it into the bathtub,

utterly ruining it,

there are really

only two options, right?

Either I pay

to replace the book

or you forgive me

and you absorb the cost.

But either way,

someone pays.

Someone bears

the cost of the wrong.

And that's true

even when the offense

is much more serious.

If a son says hurtful

or untrue things

about his father,

ruins his reputation,

breaks his heart,

what are the options?

Either the father

can make the son pay,

I'll write him

out of my will,

I'll tell everyone

what a selfish ingrate

he is at every

opportunity I get.

Or the father

can absorb

the cost of the wrong.

He can bear the pain

in himself

and he can forgive.

You see, friends,

no one just forgives,

no one just says

the word.

Someone pays the cost.

But now in verses 23

and 24 of our passage,

it looks like Jesus

does just say the word.

Which is easier to say?

Your sins are forgiven

or to say rise and walk?

But that you may know

that the Son of Man

has authority on earth

to forgive sins?

I say to you,

rise, pick up your bed

and go home.

Now, of course,

it's easier to say

your sins are forgiven you

because there's no way

of seeing whether or not

it actually worked, right?

That's Jesus' point here.

The rise and walk,

that one's a little easier

to verify.

So as a sign

of his authority

to say and do the former,

Jesus says and does

the latter.

To prove he has authority

to forgive sins,

he heals the man

of his paralysis.

But we've got to push

a little deeper than that,

don't we?

What gives Jesus

the authority

to speak that word

of forgiveness

with such ease?

Man, I say to you,

your sins are forgiven.

Of course,

Jesus is making a point

about who he is.

Fully human, yes,

but also fully God,

but there's more.

Jesus can speak this word

with such ease.

He can pronounce forgiveness

with just a word,

not just because of who he is,

but because of what

he's come to do.

Forgiveness is

always costly.

And that's exactly

what we see

as Luke's gospel unfolds.

Jesus,

the one who came

proclaiming freedom

for the captives

will himself be bound.

He himself

will be betrayed

and he will give himself up

to be pinned

to death on a cross.

Our sins

will be laid upon him

and he will absorb

their cost in full

once and for all.

Something that no

mere sacrifice

could ever do.

And three days later,

he will rise

and he will appear

to his disciples

and he will give them

no surprise,

this message.

Go into all the nations

and proclaim

the forgiveness

of sins

in my name.

How can Jesus

say the word

of forgiveness

to this man

in Luke 5?

What gives him

the right

to declare

that our sins

are forgiven?

And what gives

the church today

the right

to continue

to speak

this word

of forgiveness

in his name

to all who

put their trust

in him?

It's because

Jesus,

very God

and very man,

has done

what no one else

has

or can do.

he died

for our sins

and rose again

for our justification.

Friends,

Jesus has

the authority

to forgive

your sins.

To speak

the word

of forgiveness

that we need

to hear.

Now,

as we apply

this to our lives,

do you know

what it's like

to hear that word?

Maybe you're not

so sure you need it.

Maybe you're new

to Christian things.

Maybe a friend

invited you along

this morning.

But take a look

here at verse 25.

And immediately

the man rose up

before them,

picked up what

he had been lying on

and went home

glorifying God.

And amazement

seized them all

and they glorified God

and were filled

with all saying,

we have seen

extraordinary things today.

This man's

physical healing

is a window

into what his

spiritual healing

was like.

He could rise.

He could walk.

And most of all,

he could glorify

God.

Something had been

put right with him

and the God

who made him

such that now

his relationship

was one

of wonder

and praise.

Something had

been released.

A key

had been turned.

And now

he knew

real freedom

and real joy.

You see,

friends,

when Jesus

shows us

our need

for the forgiveness

of sins

and when we

see his

rightful authority

to actually

forgive them,

the results

can be surprising.

Of course,

it can feel

differently

for different people.

The English writer

Francis Buford

describes it this way.

He says,

what does it feel like

to feel yourself

forgiven?

In my experience,

he says,

it's like a toothache

stopping

because a tooth

has been removed.

It has the numb

surprisingness

of something

that hurt

not being there

anymore.

For some,

it's a flood

of joy.

For others,

it's the quiet

relief

of a long-standing

ache

finally going away.

One that you

had grown

so accustomed

to,

you thought it

was just part

of life.

the way

things worked

finally

being let go.

But underneath

all of these

experiences,

it's the reality

of being put

right with God.

Have you experienced

this?

Do you know

this joy,

this relief?

Jesus offers

it to everyone

who comes to him

in faith and trust.

You don't need

to dig a hole

through a roof.

You just need

to go to him

in prayer.

The word of

forgiveness

stands ready

for you today

if you will

turn and

trust in him.

But second,

if Jesus has

the authority

to forgive sins,

it means that

we should not

only trust him

for ourselves,

but we should

also eagerly

take others

to him as well.

Look again

at verses 18

and 19.

Look at the

length to which

these friends

will go in

order to

bring their

friend to

Jesus.

They dug a

hole through

a stranger's

roof.

And why did

they do it?

What gave

them the

courage and

the perseverance

and the

somewhat

insanity

to actually

do that?

Because they

knew Jesus

could help.

They had

heard the

reports.

They had

maybe even

met some

of the

people that

Jesus had

healed.

And how

much more,

friends,

can we have

that same

confidence today

because we

know him

not just

to be a

teacher and

not just

to be a

healer,

but we

know him

to be the

risen Lord.

Why don't I

invite my

friends to

lunch and

ask some

spiritual

questions?

Why don't I

give that

Christian book

to my

neighbor who

I've been

spending time

with?

Why don't I

invite my

roommate to

come to

church?

Friends,

if Jesus

does have

the authority

to forgive

sins,

then surely

we can be

confident that

he is exactly

who our

friends need

to meet,

no matter

what it

takes to

get him

there.

And you

might need

to take

the long

road around.

You might

have to

climb a

building or

two.

You might

have to

circumvent

a doubt

or two.

But no

matter how

patient or

how resourceful

we need to

be,

we can be

confident that

Jesus can and

does meet

us in our

need.

He has the

authority to

forgive sins.

So friends,

take this

message with

you.

Our greatest

need has been

met and our

greatest doubt

has been

answered.

Jesus has

the authority

to forgive

sins.

The crack

in everything

is being

mended.

Though we

are sinners,

in Jesus we

can be

declared right

with God.

So like

these people

in this

passage,

glorify him

with all

and let

no crowd

keep you

from coming

to him.

Let's

pray.

Lord Jesus,

we are

thankful

and we

are humbled

by the fact

that you

have come

and you

have declared

the forgiveness

of our

sins.

Help us

to embrace

this deep

down in

our hearts

so that we

too might

glorify you

with all

and know

the freedom

that it

brings.

Amen.

Amen.