Luke 5:24 – But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
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In this closing entry on our look into Jesus healing the palsied man carried by four men, we make a brief examination of the central figure in all our lives – Jesus. The words of our Text for Today are, I believe, crucial to understanding our focus on the power of God being manifest in every level of life. At this point, allow me to ask one question. Do you believe that Jesus Christ suffered and died to redeem you from sin? I do, and I’m sure you do, too. That being said, if we are true to our profession, we must, by default, believe that we have been completely redeemed from the curse of the law, and that includes redemption from sickness, disease, poverty, lack, and any emotional/intellectual attack the enemy would attempt to bring against us. The reason for such a statement is that all those things I have named have come on mankind because of Adam’s original sin. And if by one man, Adam, sin and all those destructive elements have come on mankind, then by one man, Jesus, redemption, complete redemption, is made available to each and every human being who will believe it, confess it, and accept it.
Take time to read our Manna for Today, especially the passage from which our Text for Today arises. When the palsied man was lowered to the floor before Jesus, the first issue He addressed was the sin issue. You see, Jesus knew that when the sin issue was defeated, so were all the other issues, including palsy. Then He dealt with the soulish issues plaguing the minds of all the onlookers. And He concluded His dealing with the soulish issues with the statement, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins,” and from that statement moved to the physical man saying, “I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.” It should be clear to the reader that in a matter of a few moments, Jesus spoke to the issue of the divine power in which He walked at every level of life; spirit, soul, and body.
On a personal note, I am convinced that when Jesus spoke the first time saying, “Son, thy sins are forgiven thee,” that the healing of the palsied man took place at the same moment. I believe every element of the palsy left his body immediately. I am likewise convinced that the man had lived so long in that condition, that in his own mind, his expectancy was the nothing had changed in his body, and that it was not until Jesus told him to rise and go home that he realized he was, indeed, completely healed. If you will, please note closely, that Jesus NEVER said to the man to be healed. All Jesus ever addressed to him was that his sins were forgiven, and that he should arise and go home. Just a thought.
Manna for Today – Mark 2:1-12; Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 18:19-20; Deuteronomy 32:30; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21; Luke 5:17-26; Galatians 3:13; Romans 10:9-10-17
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 