Luke 5:24-26 "But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
In this healing, Jesus asserts his deity. How so? He could have very easily said to the paralyzed man from the get go, "Be healed!" Instead, in verse 20, Jesus initially says to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven." He does this so that when he gets around to healing the man, the outward, visible, physical healing of the man would confirm the man's inward, invisible, spiritual forgiveness! And ONLY GOD could accomplish that! Jesus wanted all to understand (and especially his enemies), that in forgiving this man his sins ... and then healing him, Jesus was going on record as saying in a compelling manner, "I am God!"
How did the onlookers respond? With AMAZEMENT and AWE! I wonder if we all too easily lose our sense of amazement and awe when it comes to our worship of Jesus Christ. It's easy to do if we are not careful! Jesus is none other than GOD in the flesh! Wow! That's amazing! And he offers his forgiveness to all who come to Him in faith! Hallelujah! What a savior!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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