The Healing of the Paralytic (Palsy)
Luke 5:17-26
Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1012
Miracles # 08
I. Jesus was teaching. 5:17a
II. Jesus had the power to heal. 5:17c
NOTE: The word power is the same Greek n which we get our word for dynamite.
III. The crowd that was present. 5:17b & 5:19a
A. The Religious Leaders
1. The Pharisees
NOTE: Who were the Pharisees? They were the religious leaders of that day. They are the ones that basically said that this is what you are going to do and if you do not then we will excommunicate you from the people. They were very legalistic and if you did not agree with them then you were a sinner. One could almost equate them with them our hard core fundamentalist of today. They lived by rules and regulations. They did not show mercy or compassion. They were the self-imposed protectors of truth
2. The Teachers or Doctors of the Law (Scribes)
NOTE: Who were the scribes? Theses are to one that took the law and interpreted it in order to be able to tell what it meant. They were the teachers and the Pharisees were the enforcers.
NOTE: Why were the Pharisees and the Scribes there? They did not like Jesus they were there to find something they could charge him with in order to put Him to death. They wanted Him out of there lives. Why? Because He taught with the authority not as they taught and his was for lack of a better phrase He was popping their bubble.
B. People wanting to see, to hear, and be touched by Jesus
IV. The man who was brought to Jesus.5:18-20, 25
A. His condition, he was paralyzed.
NOTE: We know nothing about how he was paralyzed. Other then it might have been from a sin.
B. His Friends.
NOTE: Mark tells us there were four of them. There have been songs written and sermons preached on who these four men were. They have be given names like unity, cooperation, fellowship, and others.
1. They had determination
2. They had faith.
C. His healing
1. It was through forgiveness.
2. It was immediate and complete.
D. His joy. He glorified God
V. The reaction to the healing.
A. The Religious leaders
NOTE: They were mad and said no one can forgive sins but God, this man is blasphemes. They wanted to kill Jesus
B. The response of Jesus. That he had the authority to forgive sins because that was the root of the man’s problem sin and he needed forgiveness.
C. The others:
1. They were amazed
2. They glorified God
3. The were filled with fear (Wonder, awe, reverence)
Observations:
1. If you get some one who needs to be saved to Jesus they can be saved.
2. Some times it takes effort to get a person to Jesus.
3. Some times it takes creative thinking to get people to Jesus.
4. Jesus was there to heal the Pharisees
As I have studied this text, I have not been able to get past the 5:17 there is something here in which I have never noticed or may be never paid much attention to. That is that last phrase in the verse “And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” I have been asking the question “Who is the them” I have come to think this week the "them" refers to the Pharisees and the Scribes. Luke, through the power of the Holy Spirit, writes that at this time if the religious leaders of that day who were there from all over could have been healed. What did they need healed of?
Matthew 23 lets look there for a moment and you will see what Jesus said about these Pharisees.
They lacked Integrity 1-3, Sympathy 4, Spirituality 5a, Humility5b-7 They wanted Titles and to be lifted up 8-112, They were cursed for there Exclusion13, Intrusions14, Perversions 15, Subversions 16-22, Inversions 23-24, distortions 25-26, deception 27-28, and pretension 29-32.
My concern in this text is sometimes I wonder if we have become a group of Pharisees. We are self imposed guardians of the truth. Determining who is right and who is wrong judging by our own standards and ideals. If we are Jesus can heal us. He has the power to heal not only of physical sickness but spiritual sickness as well.
