17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” 21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
Luke 5:17-26 (NLT)
WHO ‘HE’ IS
We’ll spend some time this week examining Luke 5:17-26 and exploring how we can surrender our past to Jesus. But before we go there, I’d like to put first things first. In order to surrender our “stuff,” we need to understand to whom we are surrendering it.
Luke writes in verse 21 that the religious leaders asked themselves, “Who does he think he is?”
And that is the question you and I must answer before we ever reach a point of surrender. From a purely biblical perspective, Jesus is God’s one and only Son. See Bible. He came in the form of a baby (Christmas, right?), grew up with parents Joseph and Mary, and was a skilled carpenter. As an adult, He was baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, and recruited 12 men to serve as His disciples. His earthly ministry lasted approximately three years, during which He performed miracles, loved the unlovely, thinned out the ranks of His own followers, and thoroughly frustrated, even angered, the Pharisees.
These religious leaders simply refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They had formed their own image and ideal of what the Savior would look like and how He would act. Instead, they plotted to kill Jesus in order to preserve their foothold on religious power and to stop His movement, which ultimately backfired on them.
While the Pharisees were blinded to Jesus’ divinity, you and I have been given the opportunity to seek and see Jesus for who He really is. When we acknowledge that we have fallen short because of our sin and recognize our need for a loving Redeemer and Savior, Jesus becomes everything to us.
HEART: Read Isaiah 61:1-7 and Gospel of Luke 4:14-21, reading them one after the other. What encouragement do these scriptures offer you?
SOUL: Pray: Jesus, I acknowledge You as God’s one and only Son. Thank You for dying for my sins and for being my Lord and Savior. Help me to live daily with confidence in Your plan for my life, to obey when it is difficult, and to love unconditionally as You love me.
STRENGTH: How can I give and serve today in a way that reflects Christ to others?
C.A. Phillips serves as Communications Pastor and Director of Men’s Groups at NorthStar Church. He is a graduate of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia, and he loves the Dawgs and the Atlanta Braves. He has two (grown) boys and lives in Kennesaw with his wife, Amy.
