"Your sins are forgiven!"
When someone reads or quotes those words to you are your sins really forgiven? No, of course not! But words like that are often said by people! Can we know if or when they are true? In this story the person who said these words was challenged and was able to prove He was genuine. Have you been able to prove anyone to be able to forgive you?
Jesus was in a house surrounded by many religious experts - "Pharisees and teachers of the law .. from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem."
1*.
Then some men brought their paralysed friend to see Jesus but "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, `Friend, your sins are forgiven.'
"The Pharisees and teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, `Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone ‘"
2*.
It is blasphemous for one sinner to claim to forgive the sins another sinner! Every sinner is unacceptable to God! 3*.
Surely the Pharisees were perfectly right to say, "Who can forgive sins but God alone."
But the Son of God had become the perfect Son of Man as part of the wonderful plan of God to bring salvation to sinful mankind. This one and only PERFECT Son of Man, Jesus,
4*.
was to become the substitute who would suffer and die for your sins and mine. 5*.
So, this man had his sins really forgiven because Jesus had the right and the authority to declare anyone who had faith in Him as forgiven and acceptable to God. You see, Jesus would die to take the punishment due to the sinner; in fact to take the punishment for the whole world! 6*.
Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking "and asked, `Which is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say "Get up and walk"? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...' He said to the paralysed 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." 7*.
Everyone saw the evidence that Jesus was special. Jesus certainly had power that no one else had and He alone had the right to say, "Your sins are forgiven".
Don't you be deceived by anyone else claiming to be a priest, or mediator or advocate for you. Why would you want to trust anyone else when God has given to you His own Son, Jesus Christ, and invites you to put your trust in Him to be safe?
8*.
I hope you will have the faith in Jesus that this man had in Luke's Gospel chapter 5, verses 17-26. Today you can receive from Jesus, by faith, the miracle of forgiveness and go on your way praising God for His grace to you through Jesus Christ. 9*.
Bye for now,
John Nixon, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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