|
| A glimpse at the genius of Jesus! |
|
| |
About a year ago I studied the book of (or Gospel according to) Luke. I will never forget how struck I was by the utter compassion of Jesus. In particular, I will never get over my wonder and amazement at the story of the raising of the widow’s son in Luke 7.
Our family is currently reading through the book of Matthew together, and I’ve experienced a similar moment with the story of Jesus’ healing of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof.
9:2 Some men brought him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 9:3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
Although I’d read this story a few times before, this time I noticed a few things I’d overlooked before. First, although the man’s friends brought him to Jesus for physical healing, Jesus instead perceived the man’s real need, and gave the man the healing he really needed, spiritual healing. Thus Jesus cured him of his sin problem, the actual root of all physical ailments! (Think about that!)
The teachers of the law, of course, recognized Jesus stepping into YHWH’s shoes by presuming to forgive the man all his sins! Blasphemy indeed!
9:4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 9:5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 9:6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 9:7 And the man got up and went home.
All of a sudden, Jesus’ absolute BRILLIANCE broke through to me! Pure genius!! He called the teachers’ bluff! It certainly would have been much easier to outwardly claim to forgive the man’s sins, had Jesus been a fraud. But by forgiving the man’s sins first, THEN healing his outward physical ailment, Jesus made an absolute spectacle of the hypocrisy of the teachers and their law of death (Rom. 8:1-2) AND demonstrated his authority to forgive the paralytic’s sins in the first place! He couldn’t have done it better if he’d set it up from the start!!
And then, perhaps the most intriguing verse in the entire passage. What a display of human nature.
9:8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
I find it amazing that the crowd got such a rise out of the healing of the man’s superficial, physical and temporal ailment, completely overlooking the deeper healing that took place first, that is the forgiveness of the man’s sins! Permanent, spiritual, eternal...
Isn’t it just like us too, to thirst for sudden, spectacular, and yet temporal manifestations of the Holy Spirit, while wholly overlooking the permanent, lasting, and far more meaningful (yet perhaps less “spectacular”) changes wrought by the Spirit daily in our redeemed lives?
|
|
| To add a comment to "A glimpse at the genius of Jesus!" |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
 |
|
|
| WOW HUH...The story of the paraplegic always WOWS me when I read it! How Jesus deals with people fascinates me! |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Awesome Blog! |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
It is so true Mike! We are physical beings. We have a hard time relating to anything else. Only by God's wisdom do we come to understand the Spiritual nature God has given to us.
One thing that always strikes me about this is: "Some men brought him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” How much faith they must have had in order to carry this man, on a mat, thru town, fighting thru the crowd, climbing up the roof with this man on a mat, tearing thru the roof, lowering him down from the roof...and Jesus saw their faith and showed favor to the paralytic because of it. Lord, I pray you continue to send me mighty faithful friends like those who loved the paralytic. In Jesus name I ask. Amen. |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
Jewlz, that is an AMAZING detail! That is something that's always struck me about this story - the faith of the man's friends. You're right to pray for friends like that!!!!!
Tania....THANKS!
I am wowed right with you, Angela! Funny thing is, we can read the gospels so many times, that Jesus almost becomes.....ordinary! Then, hopefully, you realize, WOW, this man was BRILLIANT!!! And yes, it simply amazes me how he handled people! I could learn so much from this man! |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
Hi Mike N Laura, I want to comment on one point you make. "Thus Jesus cured him of his sin problem, the actual root of all physical ailments! (Think about that!)" I feel it is important because I know there are some who have felt condemned in the church because they are sick and others judge them as having unconfessed sin. Although sin indeed can cause a physical ailment, it is also true that sickness in a person can be used for God's glory alone. Jesus addressed this issue in the book of John...as follows:
9:1 And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind? 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither did this man sin, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 9:4 We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. 9:5 When I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 9:6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay, 9:7 and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent). He went away therefore, and washed, and came seeing. 9:8 The neighbors therefore, and they that saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9:9 Others said, It is he: others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am `he'. 9:10 They said therefore unto him, How then were thine eyes opened? 9:11 He answered, The man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam, and wash: so I went away and washed, and I received sight. God bless you for sharing :-) |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Amen JS!! Thanks for allowing me to clarify what I meant! Before sin entered the world, there was no sickness. i.e. sin is the root of all sickness! (and all corruption, and all decay, etc.) That isn't to say sin is a direct cause of every disease though. I'm glad you pointed that out, lest some get the wrong impression from what I wrote. |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| I'd love to have seen the look on the formerly-paralytic man's family's faces when he came strutting down the road with that mat on his shoulder! WOW! :) Jesus would be THE HERO forever in their hearts! (Just as He should be in all our hearts!) |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Am glad to hear it Mike. I know writing is an imperfect art. I often write something that can be misconstrued no matter how I might try to be clear...Hence I post blogs and edit them, sometimes more than once after posted! A good hint to re-read my posts, lol! |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Yeah, you betcha GrammyB!! Jesus the hero! And even moreso when the mat man's family realized he'd been forgiven!! |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Yeah Mike -- from mind-blowing to mind-blowing-est! :) :) :) Can you imagine the shouts, the tears, the jubilation? WOW! They'd be asking, "Do you think He could forgive my sins, too?" "And mine?" "What about MINE?" :) :) :) Contagious Hope!!!! |
|
|
| February 17, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Contagious indeed! The beauty is, there's plenty of forgiveness to go around!! :) |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Good stuff! |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
Mike and Laura,
Jesus knew 2000 years ago long before Freudian and Jung psychiatry that many physial ailments have rootage in deep, spiritual, and mental foundations. If he had a choice between spiritual option and physical restoration he oftened healiing the intangibles over the others.
God Bless Pastor Charles |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| I think you've got it Mike, LOL!!! Jesus focused on the real need. Let me give an example. People can walk around paralysed, and its only when someone says "I forgive you" that that paralysis moment can be lifted. Those three words enable people to get up and move on. I know what being paralysed means - both physically and spiritually, and they both have the same effect of grinding you to a halt. Not ALL things physical need addressing. In some cases (not all) their roots can be traced back to being spiritual. Question is, is it outward appearance people focus on, or inward appearance? So I'll end as I began. Jesus focused on the real need. |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
Enjoyed this blog and the correction that you were given the opportunity to correct.
I believe that special children are sent to be little angels among us. My granddaughter who is handicapped and deaf has been the second lesson of unconditional love in my life. Thus the first was when God sent his only begotten son showing his unconditional love for mankind. A human sacrifice was made, Jesus taking on the sins of the world, granting us eternal life if we but confess are sins, accepting him as our Savior.
We serve a great big wonderful God. |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
Great blog, Mike. I love how our Savior moved in such wisdom--all man yet still God. Even the Pharisees are without excuse because God clearly showed Himself to them. Kind of makes my pea-brain tilt.
The conversation btwn you an Joyful Servant is a blessing to me. Because of knowing you from reading your blogs I would not think that you were saying that all illness is due to some specific sin on a person's part. The clarification brought by the conversation is wonderful because there are so many in the body who have had the experience JS brought up, myself included. There are many though who may not know you as well and would assume something very mistaken about how you believe. God had your back--making sure there was no room for offense on the part of the reader. |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
GOOD MORNING MC~!!! Coreena, our Savior is still way too big for me to wrap my understanding around...I continue to marvel that God fit inside that tiny package!! lol ..and yes, I'm so glad JS offered that clarification. There are certainly some who believe their physical ailments are the result of sin, or lack of faith, etc. unfortunately. Larry, little children are often the BEST examples of unconditional love!!! (IMHO) This is why I believe parents have the best chance to grasp the magnitude of the Father's love for us!! Stevie, yay for me! lol! And yes, the 3 best words are...."I forgive you!" Thanks Pastor Charles! And yet, often we still ignore the spiritual healing, preferring the physical instead. Healing as a stumbling block, who'd a thunk it? Thanks Grant!!! |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
We've been talking about these verses for several weeks.
What we found amazing was, it was "their" faith that got him healed.
Jesus did not see the paralytics faith. He saw his friends faith.
Which to me says that when we pray for our friends, our Lord will take care of the root issue.
(If we know what it is or not) |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| I agree Bubbles! That has always fascinated me about this particular story as well. It's just like the story of how the faith of the centurion was sufficient to obtain healing for his servant. Intercession is powerful stuff, people!! =) |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
YES! I love that one too.
(as the Donut Man song plays in my head) LOL |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| This blog just keeps getting better! :) I'm loving all the wise and witty comments -- more glimpses into the heart of God! |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Mike, what good is it to heal only the body and not the Spirit? Would be like treating the symptom instead of the cause. Jesus was / is wise indeed and even His wisdom is avaialble for us. |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Great post. Praise be to the Lord. |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
And all of this was wrought by TRUE FAITH, in knowing deep down in their souls that this man could heal their friend. Jesus saw that his healing needed to come from the inside out and performed that miracle, which in essence was the true miracle.
We get so caught up in the superficiality (is that a word?) of life that we forget to dig deeper for true life (our Father). When what we can see with our eyes is done we are happy and forget about the unseen....
|
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
Great Thoughts Mike
I remember meditating (can I say that?) on this scripture before my wife and I were going to sing "The Fath of a Few Close Friends" by Steve and Anny Chapman in our church.
I was thinking along the faith demonstrated by the friends to get through all the verbal, and physical challenges to get through the roof, and asking The Lord if that was the faith seen in those friends, and using my "minds eye" or my "sanctified imagination" to follow along with what was possibly going on at that house, when I was "seeing" the guys up on the roof, from inside the house perspective, looking up at the hole, and their faces, when, just as the mat hit the floor, and they had slack in their ropes, they looked at each other, and unspoken, they all dropped the ropes into the house, in effect saying, "Lord, we are not bringing him back up the same way we got him to you". That vision got me to ahollerin about what they did for their friend.
I agree with you Mike, It's like Jesus was "setting them up" with wisdom from above! |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Another awesome blog Mike. Really makes me think. If we walk with the Holy Spirit daily, we can see all that He has done in us by looking back at the past and where we used to be. I don't like remembering who I was, but it sure puts things into perspective when I see how far I have come. God is Awesome! |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Yeah! It is just like us. |
|
|
| February 18, 2009 |
|
|
|
A great insight Mike! Thanks for shouting it from the house tops! :-)
Craig |
|
|
| February 19, 2009 |
|
|
|
Awesome blog, Daddy! It's very well written and I learned a lot. :) |
|
|
| February 19, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Oh Sherlock! You've just given me another reason to blog!!! =) |
|
|
| February 24, 2009 |
|
|
|
It is goosebump city here in Moyock reading this. I can remember some parking lot praise of the old red barn church I went to in Richmond. After a fantastic service and deliverance from our Compassionate Christ, we had a hard time going home. War hoops in the parking lot, chessie cat grins. I once was so drunk in the Spirit I had a hard time driving home but Landon was too young at 15 to take the wheel. He said I went 10 miles an hour and laughed with me as we sang and cried and laughed on the way. I want more. I want the friend experience of the paralytic. We gotta lower the sinners through the roof for SALVATION so that when they leave they don't leave the way they came in. |
|
|
Follow this blog
