Luke 5:17-20

Rachel Workman: ¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” I'm pretty sure that my faith has prevented me from receiving many things in life. But even so it appears as if I receive the things I need at just the right time. It's almost like God grew my faith in accordance to where my needs were and where they would need to be at the right time for me.

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Mike Grimm:  ¹⁷ One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. The religious leaders were so concerned with their man-made traditions that they often lost sight of Scripture. They must have felt threatened because Jesus challenged their sincerity and because the people were flocking to him. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

It wasn’t the paralytic’s faith that impressed Jesus, but the faith of his friends. These guys tore open a roof with their bare hands to give this man access to Christ. Jesus responded to their faith and healed the man. For better or worse, our faith affects others. We cannot just make another person a Christian, but we can do much through our words, actions, and love to give him or her a chance to respond. Look for opportunities to bring friends, family, and strangers to the living Christ. I don’t call myself a Christian, or proclaim to be one. I consider that an insult to God. With the words that come out of my mouth, and the things I do, I would be a hypocrite.  Yesterday’s reading showed the importance of prayer to Christ. I need to open the Bible more than I do. I need to talk to God more than I do. There are times I feel guilty posting scripture on Facebook, as everything I post pertains to where I need improvement. However, there are those that read it and know that’s not how I live, and call me out. Unless we are absolutely perfect, can we really call ourselves a Christian? An apprentice of Christ, perhaps? What would an appropriate name be? Christian in Work? Christian Wannabe?

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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 5:21-26

²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”