Opening and Introduction
In elementary school, many kids look forward to show and tell. I have two kids, Tiffany and Tyler. Both loved to bring their favorite toys to school to show their friends. They wanted to show others what they were interested in, experience what they loved, and share that joy that they felt. Kids get attached to their favorite things, and they can’t keep quiet about them.
Like kids, all of us have something that we love. Some of those things, we share with our family and friends. Some we share with neighbors and co-workers. What is it that you like to show and tell others about?
In our lesson tonight, we see a different type of show and tell. Jesus told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven and showed everyone that He had the power to do that.
When Jesus demonstrated His power, it was an act of grace. Tonight, we’re going to dig deeper, and look at how grace worked in a helpless, paralyzed man. We’ll also look at how grace works for us, and how we might be able to show and tell others about the grace that we experience.
Grace for the helpless
Our lesson tonight centers on a story about a paralyzed man and the friends who brought him to Jesus.
A crowd had gathered around Our Lord and it was probably difficult to walk through the vast number of people who were all pushing forward to see Him. Think about how difficult it would be to move through a crowded street, let alone bring a bed with you.
These friends were not going to be able to get through, unless they tried something very unusual. They found an unexpected way of entering a house… by removing the roof. What adds another interesting twist to this story is that it was probably the Apostle Peter’s house, one of Jesus’ closest disciples.
Somehow, they found a way to get to the top of the house, remove the tiles and timbers supporting the roof, then safely lower this man to the ground. What did the people downstairs think of this? What did Jesus think about it? What did Peter think, when he saw folks take the roof off of his home?
The paralyzed man relied on the assistance of others to get to his destination. But, when he finally got there, Jesus didn’t just heal his body. Jesus’ words suggest that He knew how this man felt. This man might’ve been worried, perhaps even a little bit afraid. Have you ever been worried or concerned about something that was happening in your life? Have you ever been anxious about the future? I think that maybe that’s how this paralyzed man felt.
Jesus can sense the worry from this man who wants to be healed. But maybe he needs a bit of compassion too. A bit of encouragement, letting him know that someone cared about him. Jesus says “take heart my son.” (Matt 9:2, ESV)
And it’s in this moment that Jesus uses this situation as a teaching tool. He uses it to demonstrate His power to the crowd. But He also takes care of the broken man’s most pressing need. He forgives the man’s sin.
For just a moment, I’d like you to think back on the past few weeks that we’ve spent with Leviticus. Reflect back on a time when sacrifice, becoming clean, and forgiveness were central to the temple, and central to Jewish society. Moses spoke directly with God. He couldn’t forgive sin. Aaron was the first High Priest. He couldn’t forgive sin either.
Only God can forgive sin. Yet, in the midst of Jewish people, with the temple still active in Jerusalem, Jesus forgives sin.
No-one could believe the audacity of a man to do such a thing. It was putting Him on par with God! They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Men don’t do that. People can’t do that.
Then, the miracle that this man came here for, the healing of his body, took place. But it was really a secondary event just to prove the authority of Jesus. Jesus told the man to pick up his bed and go home. This was a miracle that the crowd could not deny. It demonstrated that Jesus could, in fact, forgive sins. Luke records it this way.
Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God.” (Luke 5:25-26a, NIV 84) That’s quite a show and tell story.
The healed man didn’t do anything to receive empathy, forgiveness, or healing. Jesus didn’t owe him anything. Yet, this man got it all. When you get something you don’t deserve, we often call that a favor, or a gift. But we also call it grace. He got a lot of grace.
Grace for us
Like the crippled man, we need help to fix ourselves too. We’re all broken sinners who can’t make amends for what we’ve done.
Sin is a crime, and justice says that anyone who brakes the law should be held accountable for their actions. We’ve all broken the law, each and every time that we ignored God’s commands or rebelled against His will. We’ve earned punishment for our disobedience. But, there’s only one penalty, and that’s a pretty uncomfortable eternity in a fiery hell.
If that’s our reward for sinning, we don’t seem to have a lot of options. We can’t un-sin what we’ve done. We can’t repair the damage or re-obey what we did wrong. In fact, there isn’t anything that we can do to fix the problem.
We can’t fix our sinful lives on our own, and we can’t find the way to salvation. We need some help to restore ourselves,
God loves us, and He doesn’t want any of us to be condemned. Instead “(God) desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4, ESV)
That salvation, requires a savior, and that’s where Jesus comes in for us. Jesus led a perfect life. He was an innocent man. He bore the punishment of our mistakes. Through His willing sacrifice, God provided a way for sinful people, like you and me, to be saved. Paul wrote:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24, NIV 84)
Through Jesus, instead of punishment, we’re given the gift of grace. A free gift that we didn’t earn, don’t deserve, can’t buy. The gift of forgiveness and salvation from damnation, and the promise of a future home in heaven. God gives us everything that we have, and God forgives us everything that we’ve done.
Offering grace to others
Grace is a valuable gift. So, in the time that we have remaining, I’d like to share three ways that we can offer God’s grace and tell others about what that means.
(1) First, we can offer grace by imitating Jesus’ love.
In our lesson tonight, Jesus showed empathy and concern. When the paralyzed man was lowered in front of Jesus, compassion was the first thing that He showed. He felt for this man, and what he was going through.
The caring that Jesus showed to others, built people up, gave them hope, and often gave them joy. He showed love, especially when they were hurting, when they were in pain, when they were in the midst of crisis, and when they were at their wits end in despair.
We may not have the ability to see the emotions inside those around us, but we can still share love for others. We can listen to what people have to say and watch how they say it. By paying attention to others, we can show them that we value what’s on their mind, show them that they matter to us.
Listening allows us the opportunity to put ourselves in their place, support them with words of encouragement, and perhaps pray together for the help and guidance that each of us needs from time-to-time.
Caring for others is an important way to connect to people. Understanding builds trust, and trust builds relationships. If we base our conversations on love, we show others a glimpse of what Jesus is like, and reflect his compassion in our actions.
(2) Second, we can offer grace by reflecting the gifts that God first gave us.
One of the acts of grace that God bestows to us is his patience. He’s patient with us, when no-one else WOULD be. Even though we’ve learned about God and His love for us, we still find ways to fall to temptation and do things that we shouldn’t be doing. Some of us, many of us, keep doing the wrong things, even though we know what right looks like.
God is patient with us, even with our repeated mistakes. God is kind to us, when we might be cruel to others. God forgive us, when we have a hard time forgiving those around us. Each and every day, God blesses us, even though we might be doing things that require justice, require punishment.
In response to God’s grace, perhaps we can share those same gifts with others. God is patient with us. Can we be just a little more patient with others? God has been kind to us. Can we be kind to others too? God forgave us when we continue to rebel against his commands and His will. Can we forgive others who might be unrepentant, mean spirited, inconsiderate? Sometimes, maybe that describes us too. God blesses us each and every day. How can we bless others that are near or around us, even if we might not feel like they deserve a second chance? Do we deserve a second chance?
(3) Third, we can offer God’s grace by encouraging others to experience that grace too.
We share celebrations of birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries. We share these good news stories. Yet, sometimes we find it difficult to share THE GOOD NEWS. Why is it that so many of us find ways to talk freely about the big events in and around our lives, yet we can’t seem to find a way to mention Jesus in our conversations outside of church?
Earlier, I mentioned listening skills that lead to relationships… those relationships open the door for others to hear about Jesus. Hear about this thing called sin that’s infected our lives, but also hear about this loving solution called GRACE that’s been given to us because God loves us.
If the Good News is that good, perhaps we should spend a bit of time showing others with our actions, and telling them about what grace means to us. What it feels like to have the weight of sin lifted off of our backs. To have hope for the future, no matter what’s on the news. To look forward to salvation, even if the world seems to be going in a downward trend. God’s grace is there, no matter what happens. God always loves us.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, ESV)
That’s the real, Good News.
Conclusion
This short message of a paralyzed man being forgiven and healed by Jesus, shows us the grace that God gives us each and every day.
The gift of God’s love. The gift of God’s Son. The gift of God’s forgiveness. The gift of God’s salvation.
God has already shown and told us about His love. Perhaps we can offer others a small piece of His grace, by imitating His love, by sharing His gifts of grace in how we live, and what we say to others, and sharing that Good News, with those who need to hear it most.
