Tues.’s Devo - The Paralyzed Man

Read Luke 5:15-26 When life got stressful for Jesus he always got alone to pray. He knew where to go to rest and receive power to go on. He would need it for the next adventure. I don’t know if I ever paid attention to verse 17 till now, but he was teaching the Pharisees and doctors of the law who had come from miles around to hear him. He was teaching in a home when all of a sudden the roof started disappearing and a paralyzed man was lowered down on his bed. It seemed to be the only way his friends had to get him to Jesus. When Jesus saw the faith of his friends he forgave the man who was paralyzed. What a strange thing to say. The man needed healing and didn’t ask to be forgiven. But Jesus had another agenda. For one thing, he knew that sin made this man this way, so he needed to deal with the root cause. Needless to say this ruffled the feathers of the Pharisees and doctors because this sounded blasphemous to them. Who was Jesus to think he could forgive sins? Jesus knew what they were thinking so he replied, “Which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven or to say, rise up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, I say to you, Arise, take up your bed, and go home.” The man did just that! They all praised God, but a fear of God also settled over their hearts. This miracle represents another picture of sin. This man’s sin paralyzed him. How many times do we allow our sins to hold us back in ministry, in growth, and in life, period. Sin paralyzes and ultimately kills. To this man, sin had kept him inoperable most of his life. He was totally dependent on his friends and a burden to his family. Sin does that. Jesus took care of his sin issue and the miracle came. This is a good case for repentance. Jesus would say the same thing to us, Your sins are forgiven. Now, arise, take up the thing you were bound to and walk. Go back to your first love and start over. Lord, show us the things we need to repent of and help us to walk in freedom.