“You need a reality check!” The cashier said to the woman who thought the mismarked item entitled her to getting the item worth $400 for $4.00. It was a rather forward and remarkable claim. Then I got to thinking… always dangerous… what is a “reality check”? For a believer, it is an essential regular reality.
There are two worlds – a spiritual and then a physical. That is a more startling message than many of you may believe. There is a flood of popular shows with an academic sound that are blanketing our nation and trying to convince us otherwise. Naturalism is on the rise, and the notion in the public university is that those who believe in the metaphysical – God, angels, spiritual experiences, and the afterlife – should be lumped into the group of fanatics and crazies that caused 9/11 or that hold signs of aliens at Roswell. Belief is being framed as stupid and superstitious. Educated man needs no God.
In contrast, the Bible projects the truth that this is not all there is. If one comes to believe that life is only in the here and now, they will come to see the Biblical projection of Heaven and Hell as mere mythology. “We as Christians don’t do that!” You say. “We believe in God!” You object. That is true – but there is an impact of that world view on us. Where do you see it in Christianity? We protest politics more than pray. We pray more for physical hurts than spiritual blindness. We place heavy weight on our comfort in the here and now. We live for the physical. We sometimes act like the “premature death” of a believer is a LOSS – directly opposite of a first century believer that saw the BEST LIFE as one in Heaven.
Key Principle: A believer must see that God’s greatest work is done in the permanent and spiritual realm. His lesser work is done in the physical, often simply to validate the spiritual. It isn’t that NOW doesn’t matter, it is that NOW is easier and more temporary. God’s focus is on telling the whole story – of which I have a small “walk on” part. Men who have nothing else, must make the play the whole thing. Mature believers know better. Let me illustrate that from Jesus’ life:
The Timing:
During the early part of the Galilean Public ministry, soon after the rejection in Nazareth (Lk. 4:16-31) that ended in Jesus’ relocation in Capernaum (Mt. 4:13; Lk. 4:31). There were six major events, or groups of events that set up this encounter. We need them to feel what Jesus was feeling, and to see it from the perspective of those INSIDE the story:
- Jesus was ENDORSED: The first five disciples (John, Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael) had already had Jesus validated by John the Baptizer and they followed Jesus for a time (John 1), but had returned to their work at the end of the hiatus for the Bible conferences in Perea, where John the Baptizer had introduced them to Jesus. They were with Jesus in Cana (John 2:1) and they stayed together in Capernaum “for a few days” (John 2:12).
- Jesus was MARKED: Jesus left them and was TEMPTED (Mt. 4), and then went to Jerusalem, where the “first cleansing of the Temple” occurred (John 2:13-22). At that time Jesus met with Nicodemus (John 3). He got the leadership in Jerusalem’s attention – but for most not in a good way.
- Jesus was PUBLIC: The five disciples and Jesus reconnected after Pesach, when the men were drawn to another great conference of baptism and preparation by John (John 3:22) and they began baptizing people while present with Jesus (John 4:2). Jesus got some following, but not as His own man – still connected to John’s movement. The disciples were with Jesus heading back to Galilee through Samaria on the news of the arrest of John the Baptizer (Mt. 4:12), and saw Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritans in general and the woman at the well in particular. Two days after the crowd heard of Jesus, He took His disciples and left for Galilee (John 4:40;43). Jesus connected – but not with the mainstream RJ’s yet.
- Jesus was ARTICULATE: He went to Nazareth and Cana preaching in area village synagogues about the coming Kingdom (Mt. 4:17; Mk. 1:14-15; Lk. 4:14-15). His earlier Cana miracle (at the wedding) offered Him a platform. Coming back to Nazareth, the encounter there was bitter and He left after shunning their control (Lk. 4:14-31) – probably back to Cana. While there, a Capernaum official came to Him desperately, and the the “long distance healing” occurred there (John 4:46-54). Jesus decided Capernaum would be a good base for His ministry and moved there (Mt. 4:13-16; John 4:44,45). Jesus took on a voice that some heard – but only in a few villages.
- Jesus was BUILDING: While in Capernaum, He healed a demoniac in the Capernaum synagogue (Mk. 1:21-28); Lk. 4:31-37). He healed Peter’s mother-in-law. When He came upon the disciples, hard at work back at their jobs, He called them to follow Him part time (Mt. 4:18-22; Mk. 1:16-20). He laid the foundation of His work in miracles and men. After a brief prayer time (Mk. 1:35) His disciples found Him, and He took the men on a brief preaching tour (Mk. 1:39). After a return to Capernaum, the men went back to the nets until Jesus called them again (Lk. 5:1-11). Jesus was patterning their experiences – but they were very limited.
- Jesus was NOTICED: Just beginning to gain notoriety in the region, Jesus cleansed a leper (Mt. 8:2-4; Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-16) and His fame brought quite a crowd. He could go nowhere in the region without being noticed (Mk. 1:45), and He tried to slip away for prayer to deserted places (Lk. 5:16). He was now officially a celebrity in the Galilee region.
The Test:
Luke 5:17 One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem;
Luke’s first mention of the Pharisees is a time when they have come to hear and (no doubt) challenge Jesus on His teaching. His cleansing of the Temple unnerved the Sadducees and probably prompted opposition in the south. Now Jesus was becoming influential in the villages of the north, and the leaders of different synagogues came together to hear what Jesus had to say. They were backed up by Judean synagogue leaders, and that brought tension into the room.
The introduction of the Pharisees identifies the first of four identities in the room. We will call them the HARDENED. They came with the desire to take apart what Jesus was doing. They came to maintain control on people’s lives, and keep people from being sucked into error. Their very name, Pharisee, came from a group called “isolated” or “separated” ones. They did what religious people of every stripe are tempted to do – they RATED themselves as higher on God’s scale of followers, and the PRIDED themselves on being uninfluenced by the fads and fashions of the day – even if those fads connected people to God. They were “fashionably unfashionable” in their way of thinking.
They were HARD to please and HARD to connect with. The world was not a place they wanted to be associated with – even in the context of those who desperately needed and wanted to meet God. They make up the backbone of many of our best churches today. Reliable, Connected to each other, and out of place in any evangelistic movement. They have their own lingo, handshake and symbols. They found God, but they aren’t nearly as interested in helping YOU find God.
5:17b “…and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18 And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19 But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.”
Jesus was empowered for healings, because God chose to alert people of the truth of His message. God gave Him the power to HEAL on a day people came to HEAR. To those caught up in the physical world - seeing is more powerful than hearing.
God uses the physical to illustrate the more profound SPIRITUAL CHANGE in the room. His initial fame in Galilee was based on the healings of the Basilikos’ son long distance, the demoniac in Capernaum, Peter’s mother in law, and the cleansing of the leper.
Since the leper needed a letter from his rabbi to enter the Chamber of the Lepers and be examined, the Pharisees took notice to the healing of the leper – and that brought the scrutiny of the Pharisaic leaders of the villages to hear Him.
The second identity in the story is introduced by Dr. Luke – the HELPERS. These were the men that wanted to get their friend to confront and be transformed by God. They saw their broken friend – and they were moved to make a difference.
Sometimes it takes a whole TEAM to get a lost one to Jesus. Sometimes there are obstacles. Sometimes the mess they made with their sin is going to have to be carefully pulled apart and addressed so that the issues of the Gospel can be heard. Sometimes people have to literally be CARRIED to see Jesus.
No one wins an enemy to Jesus. That is one of the reasons that those of us who live the life of a believer for a long time struggle to reach out now.
- We don’t like the sinful and irresponsible ways people around us are trying to get us to pay for their sin.
- We don’t like the fact that their social experiments are coming out of our pockets.
- We don’t like the darkening of our country and the way we are being pushed out of the city square.
- Their challenges make them seem like enemies – and nobody reaches an enemy for Christ – only a friend.
Yet, these men wanted Jesus to transform their friend, and they looked for creative ways to get the two together. Ray Ellis wrote about these HELPERS. He wrote:
We do know that the four men formed a fellowship around a pallet. They were:
- Men of Compassion – they took time
- Men of Courage – they were unstoppable
- Men of Commitment – they knew where the answer was
- Men on a Mission – They would get the job done.
5:20 Seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”
Note in the record that Jesus responded to the HELPERS faith when He met the man on the pallet. Is there a lesson in the story for those of us who continue to pray, reach, painfully try to communicate Jesus in the life of a family member, a co-worker, a friend? Can I make the inference that part of the story was to validate the faith of the HELPERS that God hears their prayers, and cares for their LONGINGS. Is that not a running theme in the Gospels?
Dr. Luke introduced the idea in the opening chapter of his Gospel account – in the story of Zecharias and Elizabeth. Zech was to represent the prayers of the nation at the altar of incense, but HIS OWN PRAYER was not answered. The barren womb that broke his and his wife’s heart was filled with a child in response to his prayer, according to Gabriel. God hears. You must understand that in the rising tide of Calvinist theology we are in danger of believing that God does not hear. It is not true. He heard Daniel and sent an angel. He heard Zechariah and sent another. He hears the HELPER who is interceding for the lost friend, the wayward prodigal child. He hears.
Jesus’ words to the man on the pallet make introduction to the third identity in the story – the HELPLESS.
- In contrast to the Pharisees that prided themselves in the ISOLATION of their lives, the helpless guy was desperately desiring a CONNECTION to Jesus.
- In contrast to the Pharisees who were DETERMINED TO TEST Jesus, the man on the pallet was DESPERATE TO TOUCH Jesus and be forgiven.
Both the Pharisees and the paralyzed man were broken on the inside. The paralyzed man was also broken on the outside. That made the Pharisees see themselves as better off – when they were not. They were as spiritually frozen and the paralytic was physically frozen…
- Rich lost men are lost men.
- Powerful and successful lost women are lost women.
- Victorious athletes that don’t know God are long term losers.
We have to see ourselves as helpless to get help. I heard about a man who saw his dog walking across his lawn with his neighbors dead cat in his mouth. The man was horrified to see that the dog had killed the cat. He was determined to try and not allow his neighbor know about it. So, he took the cat from the dog and proceeded to wash the cat and clean it, brush it’s fur etc. That night he sneaks over to the neighbors house and places the cat on the back porch. Then sneaks back home feeling good that he won’t be discovered. The next morning, he is going to his car for work when he sees his neighbor visibly shaken. “What’s wrong” he says. The neighbor replies, “It is the strangest thing I ever seen. Fluffy got hit by a car yesterday. We had a funeral service for it in the backyard. But, then we got up this morning to find the hole empty and the cat clean and on the back porch.” The man tried to clean the cat outwardly, but he couldn’t change the fact that the cat was dead. A lot of people try to do the same thing with God. They try to change their outward appearance. They may give up a few sins or stop doing some things – but they aren’t cured until they get it – they are helpless. (adapted from sermon central illustrations).
Only those who see the story as God sees it can understand. The story of this world is HIS STORY – not our story. Connecting to HIM is LIFE – disconnection is death.
Why did the man need to come? Was it to get his body healed or his heart? It looks like Jesus was content to heal his heart, but healed his body for the sake of the testimony to the doubting about Him.
What a contrast to the modern Christian thinking. We pray for the removal of discomfort, not so much the strengthening of our faith through it. We ask God to HEAL more than we ask Him to transform. We are more concerned with creature comfort of a temporary life than the deep transformation of a never ending soul. We are like the lady who spends lavishly to redecorate a rented motel room. Some of us are on the wrong life page – even as believers.
The Truth
21 The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” 22 But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 “But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—He said to the paralytic—“I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.
With this last little portion of the story, we meet the final One in the story – the HEALER.
Obviously it is grand that the HEALER was Jesus. If it were me, the scene would not have been the same. I can hear what I would have been thinking had I been where Jesus was: “Smooth move, guys. Here I am delivering my first big sermon to the Seminary profs and feeling the pressure of the crowd of learned men, and in comes the roof removal crew! Dust flying everywhere. Great impression our new movement made. Thanks guys! At the crucible of testing, here goes a bunch of my Brethren yahoos tearing into Peter’s mom’s roof. And by the way, I don’t even want to know what she is going to say when she gets here!
I think the IRONY of the story is that the destruction of the roof was not an “ACT OF GOD” like the insurance policy says on my home – but it caused TWO OF THEM – the act of a spiritual new life followed by a physical healing.
Thankfully, Jesus is the HEALER. He understood the problem of the man on the pallet – sin severed his connection to God and the fallen world he lived in was evident in the crippled body he lived within. Jesus solved the man’s real problem – He healed his broken heart. He transformed the dead heart into a living one. He gave him forgiveness, and that made the connection to God alive. He was dead in trespasses and sins – but now he was alive.
Crippled or not, the man was healed. The REAL thing he needed was cared for. The men could have carried him out –and God’s powerful, life changing, destiny altering truth was now alive in him. He could worship and know God. He could celebrate that this temporary condition would pass away. He could see beyond the shed of sorrow and behold through a window of the soul the wonder of his Heavenly HOME.
Jesus also knew that the people in the room couldn’t see the real world. They saw the temporal and physical world. They didn’t understand the reality of the eternal, or feel the incredible power of the Living God flowing through the veins of one who had not lived before. For that reason Jesus CHANGED THE BODY of the man.
He offered evidence that He was the One who could forgive man’s sin. He offered an open and irrefutable evidence of His Divine authority. You say that only GOD can forgive sins. You are not wrong! I shall prove it to you! Look at the five responses!
25 Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. 26 They were all struck with astonishment and began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
- First, the HELPLESS got up and picked up the pallet – he started taking responsibility to clean up after himself.
- Second, he walked out, with the crowd parting, as he GLORIFIED God – he reflected God’s PERSON, POWER and PLAN!
- Third, the room was struck with astonishment (ekstasis: from which we get ECSTASY). They were literally “beside themselves”. The place CAME APART. What happened to the ceiling happened to the dusty people inside – the place came unglued! It didn’t happen when the SOUL was transformed – the permanent thing. It happened when the BODY was transformed – because we are often on the WRONG WORLD changes.
- Fourth, the people began to GLORIFY GOD (e-doxazon: ascribe glory to God). They knew it wasn’t a trick, nor a charlatan’s show. They saw God’s hand at work!
- Fifth, the fear of God (phobos) struck their heart. They saw God forgive sins and heal a body. They heard which was more important. Maybe for the first time in their whole lives they got it – the most important thing ISN’T THIS LIFE….
God’s greatest work is done in the permanent and spiritual realm. His lesser work is done in the physical, often simply to validate the spiritual.
