Luke 5:17-26<\/a><\/p>\nCompare John 5:1-9<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pharisees and teachers of the law are offended, scandalized, when Jesus tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven. \u00a0\u201cWho, apart from God,\u201d they say, \u201ccan forgive sins?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
An excellent question. \u00a0Well worth pondering. \u00a0Indeed, that, I suspect, is the point.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Jesus then asks them which is easier \u2014 to tell a man to be healed or to tell him that his sins are forgiven.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The implied premise, of course, is that declaring somebody\u2019s sins forgiven is easy because it\u2019s impossible for anybody among us mortals to test whether God has actually forgiven the person\u2019s sins or not. \u00a0There is no litmus test or chemical analysis or meter reading that will confirm forgiveness. \u00a0Talk is cheap, and such a declaration might be mere empty words.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
By contrast, the efficacy of a command to \u201cRise, take up your pallet, and walk\u201d is easily tested. \u00a0Empirical verification or disconfirmation will be quite unambiguous. \u00a0Either the paralytic gets up, rolls up his bedding, and walks away, or he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
If he does, though, that remarkable fact will confirm that Jesus has power to heal \u2014 and will very strongly imply that his other statement, about the forgiveness of sins, is also likely to be valid.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which will suggest that Jesus is, in fact and amazing as it may sound, God.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
As John says, the miracles of Jesus are signs<\/em>, pointing beyond themselves to something even more important.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Matthew 9:1-8 Mark 2:1-12 Luke 5:17-26 Compare John 5:1-9 \u00a0 The Pharisees and teachers of the law are offended, scandalized, when Jesus tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven. \u00a0\u201cWho, apart from God,\u201d they say, \u201ccan forgive sins?\u201d \u00a0 An excellent question. \u00a0Well worth pondering. \u00a0Indeed, that, I suspect, is the point. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Healing](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/01\/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Jesus_Heals_the_Blind_and_Lame_on_the_Mountain_Sur_la_montagne_J%C3%A9sus_gu%C3%A9rit_les_aveugles_et_les_boiteux_-_James_Tissot_-_overall.jpg\")
<\/a>