Luke 5:18–20: “Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay him before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.'”

February 16th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

This is a beautiful picture of what each of us who believes in Jesus Christ is called to do and be for others. Dr. Luke tells us these “men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed.” It seems the man wanted to come to Jesus, but was unable to get to Him under his own power. But he had friends (4 men, according to Mark 2:4) who had faith and brought him to the Lord. What a simple but profound lesson we find here: good friends bring each other to Jesus. The vast majority of people who come to believe were originally spoken to or invited to church by a friend or relative.

We can’t help but notice the measures these men were willing to go to, to make sure their friend had an opportunity to meet Jesus. The crowds were so large that it was impossible for them to carry their buddy close enough to the Messiah, so they got onto the roof and lowered him in. When it says, “[Jesus] saw their faith,” it makes it clear that Jesus first noticed the faith of the friends.

At first glance, “your sins are forgiven,” seems like a strange thing for Jesus to say to a man who had come for physical healing. These guys must have been thinking something like, “We brought our friend to be healed, not forgiven.” But Jesus always knows what we really need, no matter what we might request. The Pharisees, who were watching, were incensed that Jesus claimed to have the power to forgive sins. So to prove to them that He did have that power, He also healed the paralyzed man’s body, saying, “Which is easier, to say ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, “Rise up and walk’?” (Luke 5:23). We of course desire physical healing, but our spiritual healing is far more important. No matter how healthy our physical bodies are, every one of us needs Jesus Christ to heal our souls because they are broken and dead in sin. This man’s spiritual heart was pardoned and healed with one word from Jesus—forgiven; and then to show what He had done to the man’s soul in the spiritual realm, He did it to his body in the physical realm. Jesus has healing today for both our souls and bodies. No matter what sins have us bound up in our prison of brokenness, Jesus can heal it with one word—forgiven.

“LORD, heal our broken and snared lives again this day. Set us free to worship and serve You we ask, in the name of Jesus.”