Luke 5:17-26 American Standard Version (ASV) Public Domain
17 And it came to pass on one of those days, that he was teaching; and there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who were come out of every village of Galilee and Judaea and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was with him [a]to heal. 18 And behold, men bring on a bed a man that was palsied: and they sought to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And not finding by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his couch into the midst before Jesus. 20 And seeing their faith, he said, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this that speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? 22 But Jesus perceiving their [b]reasonings, answered and said unto them, [c]Why reason ye in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk? 24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath authority on earth to forgive sins (he said unto him that was palsied), I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go unto thy house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his house, glorifying God. 26 And amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God; and they were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day.
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
On one of those days while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.
Jesus began to teach and the crowd pressed in upon him (Luke 5:12). They wanted to hear His word.
They also needed to see His power to heal. He had touched a man with leprosy and it was obvious to all that the power of God was in Him.
So the friends of the paralytic were convinced that Jesus could heal their friend if they just could get him in front of Him. They went to all lengths and broke many laws in order to do this.
Their perseverance, faith and hunger for their friend’s spiritual good kept them coming back again and again until they finally got the man through the crowd in front of Jesus. They knew that the Lord would provide for this lame man and that He would forgive his sins!
Luke 5:17-26
The story of the friends of the paralytic is a reminder that Jesus is not merely a teacher, but He is the Son of God who is the King. He has the authority to forgive sins, to touch those who are ill, to cure the worst of diseases and to establish His authority over the Jewish leaders. He is bringing a fresh breath of air into an overly stodgy religious system.
