18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. 19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
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.
25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. 26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.
This is a familiar story; it is also related in Matthew 9:2-8 and Mark 2:1-12. What I see here is this: in verse 20, Jesus forgives the sick man his sins. In verse 21, the Pharisees, who knew the scripture, accused him in their hearts of blasphemy because only God can forgive sins. In verse 24, because He knew what they were thinking, Jesus proves His authority to forgive sins by healing the man's infirmity, as well.
The logical progression is this:
- Jesus forgave sins
- Only God can forgive sins
- Jesus healed miraculously
- Only God performs miracles (this is understood but not explicit in this text)
- Therefore, Jesus is God
They were all amazed, filled with fear, and gave glory to God. So should we all.
oh i love it dimple!!
ReplyDeleteoh so clear is the trinity!
i used to teach a sunday school class of little kids 3 and 4 years old.
one day when i was reading the christmas story, here is what i read to the wee ones
Matthew 1:23
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
one little girl three years old jumped out of her seat when she heard this..."oh terry," she said, "god is jesus and jesus is god!"
oh dimple, a little child could see the great truth of the trinity where as there are so many adults that trip at this truth!
oh i just love this little short write up you put here,
Jesus forgave sins
Only God can forgive sins
Jesus healed miraculously
Only God performs miracles (this is understood but not explicit in this text)
Therefore, Jesus is God
i am going to print it out....thank you!
love terry
Yes, Terry, adults frequently stumble where children don't. Probably that is why Jesus said we must become as little children!
ReplyDeletedear dimple..your post made me so happy that for the last few hours, i cannot contain myself!
ReplyDeletei really don't know if you care for southern gospel but this song has been playing on my heart and i just couldn't help but to put it on my blog for you.
if you want i will delete it but i really hope that you like the words.
i am a bad one for that..i really don't listen to the music so much but the words and these ones are fantastic dimple..
god bless you and i will be a regular reading your short but meaningful messages.....love terry