A few years ago, there was a series release on streaming services called “Stranger Things.” The series took place in a small town where strange events were happening - supernatural encounters, weird creatures, fissures into things that seemed like a mirror image of our world. It was truly filled with strange things.
I bring that up because at the end of the passage that we’re considering today, Luke summarizes the events and the response by noting:
Luke 5:26 NKJV
And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”
Now, the strange things that they saw were not from the imagination of creative writers or film makers - these strange things happened in order to cause people to pay attention to Jesus, in order to demonstrate that He is worthy of worship! It seems like the theme of this passage is that…
Theme: Jesus has the ability and authority to cleanse, heal, and forgive inspiring awe among those who will pay attention.
Open your Bibles to Luke 5. We’ll be looking at verses 12-26 today.
Last week, we found Jesus teaching near the Sea of Galilee. During that time of teaching, he took the opportunity to get Simon’s attention by blessing him with a HUGE catch of fish and then calling him to be one of Jesus’ disciples.
As we look at these next couple of pericopes, we find that Jesus is ministering in some towns, likely there in the region of Galilee, though Luke doesn’t provide any names.
Let’s consider the first pericope.
Luke 5:12–16 ESV
While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
In this first pericope, Jesus demonstrates:
The ability to cleanse (12-16)
So, here we find this man who has leprosy or a skin disease. This was a very uncomfortable condition and was likely contagious. Because of this, lepers were ostracized from society. They often had to live on the outskirts of town and had to stay away from people so that their disease did not spread.
However, as if the pain and social seclusion of this condition was not enough, Lepers were considered ceremonially unclean. This uncleanness meant that lepers could not attend the synagogue or the temple. The book of Leviticus outlines a variety things that are clean or unclean. Certain animals were considered unclean for eating. Certain natural body functions left people unclean for a time. People with skin diseases were not only in need of healing, but they were unclean as well - which meant they could not come to the synagogue or the temple to worship until they had been confirmed as clean.
While ALL of this may seem a bit strange to us, there were some strange things for them. First of all…
The leper is in a strange location
Did you notice where he was? He was “in one of the cities.” Now, Jesus was there, that’s not strange. What is strange is that the man with leprosy is in the city. Luke notes that this man was “full of leprosy” which suggests that it wasn’t isolated to one part of his body - it was all over. And yet we find him in a place where he shouldn’t be.
And yet he’s there because he has likely heard things about Jesus. He came to make a bold request - “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” (12) But why that kind of request? Why not just say “Lord, if you will, you can heal me”? After all, he needed to be healed. But this request for cleansing carried with it healing and renewed fellowship.
He was likely in a helpless place - alone, in pain, shunned, with out medical hope, AND spiritually in exile.
So he risked going where he should not be in order to hopefully receive what only Jesus could provide.
Secondly, we get to observe that…
Jesus takes a strange course of action - touching the untouchable
Darrell Bock notes that Jesus “aids those who sense they have need.” This man certainly had a need. Jesus has the ability. He risked his own uncleanness in order to bring this cleansing as He stretched out his hand and touched the man - declaring “I will; be clean.”
There is something profound about a touch. Medical professionals have found that children need physical contact in order to grow and develop in a healthy way. They have also found that throughout life, we need contact with other people. We need hugs.
So, imagine being this man and being untouchable. We don’t know how long he would have been in this condition, but as long as he had the stain of leprosy on him, he could not feel a warm, accepting embrace. He could not shake hands with anyone. He was deprived and destitute.
Jesus could have simply spoken a profound word of healing, but instead, he went the extra mile and reached out his hand and gave this man more than just cleansing - he gave him acceptance. He gave him dignity.
Then there is one other thing that we see Jesus do quite often - he makes…
A strange request - and a normal one
It seems strange to us that on the heels of this healing, Jesus tells the man not to tell anyone. In many ways, that’s actually quite normal for Jesus. He doesn’t want more attention than he is already getting. But is seems like it was also a matter of proper etiquette to allow the priest to first declare him clean before his own self declaration. In many ways, it provides a witness to the account.
But he does tell the man to go and show himself to the priest and perform all of the religious requirements of the law - which as we read earlier - was a normal and expected practice.
Now, here is something interesting. Thabiti Anyabwile, in his study on this passage, noted that neither the law nor the priests could cleanse this person. The law was powerless to do that and the priest lacked the ability to provide any cleansing. Instead, the law and the priest could only confirm that cleansing happened. So, this confirmation brought glory to God and confirmed that Jesus had the ability to cleanse the unclean. The law and the priest, along with the man’s sacrifices, helped to restore fellowship for this man.
Finally, these verses help us to see…
A strange pattern - escaping to pray
Our society is so filled with people wanting to get more attention. Politicians want us to notice all the good things they are doing and saying. Musicians and actors have a persistent need to keep themselves in the public limelight. Influencers need more and more likes and views in order to grow in their ability to influence.
But for Jesus, He was less concerned with the attention and acclaim He received from the crowd than He was with the access he had with the Father in prayer. We saw this some after his ministry in Capernaum as He went away to a desolate place (Luke 4:42). We’ll see it at various times throughout the book as Jesus values this time with the Father in prayer. It’s in that point of connection that he seems to find His strength and his refreshment. It’s in those times of prayer that he gains direction for the next steps ahead.
Points of application
Christian
There are so many people who feel like they are unclean. There are those who feel that way because they have been ostracized by society - maybe it’s their background, or education, or life-choices. It could be addictions or orientations…. There are any number of ways that people can feel “unclean” or excluded. Who do you and I need to minister to in a Christ-honoring way that gives the kind of dignity that this man received? We may not be able to provide all of the healing, but we can introduce them to the One who can cleanse.
Do you recognize that your ability to stand before God is in Christ alone? He cleanses you from the stain of your sin and then is the sacrifice that allows us to have fellowship with the Triune-God. We come to faith in Christ on him alone. We stand justified/cleansed also on him alone. That should result in a consistent attitude of humility.
Where we do need to be diligent to make time to pray? Do we have a consistent habit of going to God in prayer?
Non-Christian
Your sinful condition is not going to be fixed by obeying some rules or by following certain standards - you can only be cleansed by Jesus. Have you come to Him?
So, Jesus has the ability to cleanse. Let’s consider this next section:
Luke 5:17–25 ESV
On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and 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 Lord was with him to heal. 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.” 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.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.
This section helps us to see that Jesus has…
The authority to heal and forgive (17-25)
As with the man with leprosy, we get to observe several strange things in this encounter. First of all, let’s look at…
The strange audience
Now, Jesus is no stranger to crowds, but on this occasion, there are “pharisees and teachers of the law” who had come from “every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem.” Jesus had obviously created enough of a hubbub that religious leaders from all over the region were wanting to listen. They were likely there just to check in on what the rumor mill had been spinning.
But who are these people? Pharisees were one of four different sects of Jews - including the Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots. According to Bock, “the Pharisees were a nonpriestly or lay separatist movement whose goal was to keep the nation faithful to Mosaic faith.” They often did this by teaching and promoting traditions in order to help people obey the law. The teachers of the law were essentially religious lawyers who worked closely with the Pharisees to support “the development of this extra-biblical tradition.” (p. 478-479) This is actually the first time that Luke mentions these groups of people.
So Jesus had captured the attention of the population and found himself under the scrutinizing eye of these religious leaders.
But, there were so many people here that the house in which Jesus was teaching was packed - wall to wall people - standing in the door - maybe even standing outside trying to listen. So next we get to observe…
The strange entrance
Luke tells us about some men who wanted to bring their paralyzed friend to see Jesus. They seemed to have faith to believe that Jesus could do something. After all, He had healed so many other people, surely he could heal their friend. And yet there were all these people at the house. So, being prevented because of the size of the crowd, they find another way to enter - through the roof. A strange way to be sure.
Houses in that part of the world were generally made of earthen bricks and had flat roofs. Stairs to get to the roof were exposed on the outside of the house. Wealthier people would have something like ceramic tiles on their roofs. So these men remove some of the tiles in order to gain access to the room where Jesus was speaking.
I can imagine this would have been quite distracting and disruptive, but the potential reward would be worth the risk.
So this man is now lying on his mat in front of Jesus. To which we get to see…
Jesus’ strange response
Now, I think it goes without saying that these men believed that Jesus could heal their friend. Jesus could sense their faith. But, instead of healing him, Jesus said:
Luke 5:20 ESV
…“Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
Of course, with all of these religious leaders and legal experts there, Jesus now not only had their attention, but he put a target on himself. To claim to forgive sins something that only God could do. Which is why they murmured about that. Unless He is God, Jesus had just spoken blasphemy.
But how can anyone prove that what Jesus said actually happened? You can’t see evidence of forgiven sin. So Jesus uses something that they can see in order to provide proof that he has authority to do what they can’t see.
Luke 5:22–25 ESV
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.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.
Point of application
who do we need to bring to Jesus?
What obstacles do we need to overcome?
Physical
Theological
Popular opinion
Where are we sitting in judgment over Jesus?
Where do we need to humbly receive what he has to say?
There is one final thing that we need to consider from this passage. As we read at the beginning of the sermon, Luke concludes by noting:
Luke 5:26 ESV
And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
At various times in our lives, we will experience Jesus’ ability to cleanse - initially from our sin, but also throughout our lives as He sanctifies us and stands before God interceding on our behalf. We will also experience Jesus’ authority to forgive us from our sins by his death, burial, and resurrection, and at times will get to experience his healing power - in our bodies physically, in our relationships, and more. How then should we respond? Luke shows us in this closing verse…
The awful response (26)
of those around Jesus.
No, their response was not terrible, like we use the word awful today - their response was filled with awe.
It is one thing for us to be amazed or intrigued by what happened. It is completed different for us to have a God-glorifying response of awe or reverence or fear.
Are we paying attention to what Jesus is doing in our lives and around us? Is worship our natural response to the wonders of God? Have we become so accustomed to His Word and His Work that we fail to humbly worship Him? Do we take time to let our eyes linger and our minds ponder on God’s things so that we can truly grasp the magnitude of what he is doing? Do we take time to imagine being in these stories?
Oh that we would be able to truly sing with the song writer
How can I keep from singing your praise?
How can I ever say enough, how amazing is your love?
Let’s pray.
Benediction:
Jude 24–25 ESV
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Questions for reflection and discussion
What were the strange things that the leper experienced during Jesus' cleansing?
Why do we refer to this as a cleansing and not a healing?
What was life like for the leper?
In what ways can we show Christ-like dignity and acceptance to those marginalized in our society?
What was the significance of Jesus telling the cleansed leper to go to the priest?
How does Jesus' ability to heal and forgive reflect His divine nature?
What obstacles do we face today that prevent us from bringing others to Jesus?
What does it mean when the scripture says that Jesus has authority to forgive sins?
What was the reaction of the religious leaders to Jesus forgiving the paralyzed man's sins?
Why did Jesus forgive first and heal second?
What does it mean to respond in awe and worship to what God is doing in our lives today?
Sources:
Anyabwile, Thabiti. Exalting Jesus in Luke. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018.
Beeke, Joel R., and Paul M. Smalley. Reformed Systematic Theology: Man and Christ. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020.
Bock, Darrell L. Luke 1:1-9:50. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
Ferguson, Sam “Compelling People: the allure of Christ likeness in an identity confused culture.” Cross Conference 2025.
Martin, John A. “Luke.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
McKinley, Mike. Luke 1–12 for You. Edited by Carl Laferton. God’s Word for You. The Good Book Company, 2016.
Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933.
Stewart, R. A. “Passover.” Edited by D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman. New Bible Dictionary. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
Wilcock, Michael. The Savior of the World: The Message of Luke’s Gospel. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979.
Wenham, G. J. “Clean and Unclean.” In New Bible Dictionary, edited by D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, and D. J. Wiseman. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
