5 - What a pity!
Luke 5:
17. Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were
Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town
of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to
heal them.
18. Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed. And they
sought to bring him (the paralytic) in and lay him before Him (Jesus). …
20. So when He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."
21. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this
who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
22. But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them,
"Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23. "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say,
'Rise up and walk'?
24. "But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive
sins" He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up
your bed, and go to your house."
25. Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on,
and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with
fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"
NKJV
Previously, we considered the plight of the crippled man whose friends brought
him to Jesus for help.
Today we want to look at the attitude of the scribes who witnessed the whole incident.
Their problem was with Jesus' claim to forgive sins. To them this statement
was blasphemous, which in this case meant that Jesus was claiming equality
with God, because only God can forgive sins, and they didn't believe
He was God!
Indeed they were so offended by His claim to forgive sins, that they were
totally unaware that "the power of the Lord was present to heal them."
If any of them had needed a miraculous touch that day, they could have had it.
But they were too busy being offended. They were in the right place at the
right time but with the wrong attitude and so they missed out on everything
worthwhile!
What's your own view of Jesus?
Who do you think He is?
Have you asked Him to forgive your sins?
Or are you still in scribe-mode?
Scribe-mode says, "He can't be God! Who does He think He is?!"
The problem with scribe-mode is that it cuts us off from the truth and power
of God! That's really sad!
Prayer:
Father, today I believe that Jesus has power on earth to forgive sins.
Thank You for forgiving my sins and making a way for me to receive Your
miraculous healing touch on my life.
If there is any more of scribe-mode in me, please bring it to my attention,
so I can root it out of my thinking,
in Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.
A new reading in this series is available every day!
See you tomorrow, God willing, and be blessed in all you do today!
Sol Wise.
InChurch?? | Faith | Love | Jacob | Rich | Grace
