Unplanned interruption, unlimited power, unimaginable grace

By Dean Collins

They were religious folks, and there were very many of them who had traveled from both nearby and from a distance to hear what he had to say. The crowd included Pharisees and teachers of the law. Based on what we know about these groups in the New Testament, I suspect more were skeptics than followers of Jesus. Everyone was leaning in and listening to what Jesus had to say. And that’s when the scratching started and flakes of mud and other particles started falling on them from above.

I doubt anyone thought a miracle was happening. My guess is it was more of a distraction. Distraction turned to interruption. Interruption brought disturbance, and by the time it was all over, everyone was in agreement that they had witnessed extraordinary things!

Unplanned, unwelcome

No one in the room below had planned it. As far as we know it was a committee of four who had created and then executed the plan. Some in the room, including the owner of the establishment, probably wanted to prosecute someone for the property damage and for interrupting such a learned audience. These were scholars and authorities who didn’t like dealing with riffraff. The commoners outside and above were unwelcome or they would have already been in the room.

Jesus didn’t see it that way. I imagine he may have laughed at some point. Maybe at the sight of a guy on a bed being lowered from a hole in the roof. But I really think at least inwardly he was laughing at how much the whole scene frustrated his listeners. Whether he did or didn’t laugh, we don’t know. What we do know is that Jesus was impressed with the faith of the friends who orchestrated the whole thing and who were determined to get help for their friend. We could all use friends like that. Better, we should all be friends like that.

Unexpected, unimaginable

What Jesus did next definitely got the attention of everyone. I don’t know if the sick man was mid-air or lying in the middle of the floor with ropes dropped when Jesus spoke. Here’s what stirred up the crowd. Jesus said: “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

I think this caught everyone by surprise. The friends on the roof and the guy on the floor were hoping for a miracle. The truth is that they had just received one but didn’t yet know it or know what to do with it. I think we can relate. Forgiveness of sin is startling business. It’s miraculous business. It’s holy business.

When we mess up and not just a little but a lot, we have felt the loneliness and the burden of our shortcoming—particularly when our mistakes brought harm to someone we love. Forgiveness offered by the offended person leaves you stunned and grateful. But no one down here in the rooms we are living in knows all of our sins and certainly can’t offer forgiveness for all of them. So imagine you’re looking for one thing, even a big thing, from someone and they offer you something bigger than you could have imagined. Forgiveness for all your sins past, current, and future is a God-sized gift.

Unfathomable, unrealized

The religious crowd knew what Jesus offered could come only from God, and they were the first to push back. I suspect the guys on the roof and the one on the floor were maybe just confused. I think we are often looking for God to help us deal with some particular issue or illness and miss the bigger things he did in response to our requests. Sometimes in quiet moments and often well after they have happened, we realize the grace of God and the love of God he gave for us.

Jesus asked, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?”

It sounds like a trick question, but maybe it wasn’t. Neither sentence was particularly hard for Jesus to say. Both are impossible for you or me to offer. We don’t have that kind of power. There is only one who can forgive sins and heal us inside, outside, or both. It would take a while for most in the room to figure that out. But I suspect there was one guy who got it. He was the one who at the command of Jesus stood up, picked up his bed, and walked out of the room.

Unmatched, unlimited

There was a moment of glory and an acknowledgment of it at that moment. And Luke summarized it all when he quoted someone in the crowd: “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Today has the potential to be an extraordinary day for us, too. God is still God and Jesus is still King. He has all the power and all the love we need. It might just be the day to go find a friend and bring him to Jesus. It might just start when you bow before him now before you look for someone to help.

Your time with God’s Word
Luke‬ ‭5:17-26‬ ‭ESV

Photo by Akira Hojo on Unsplash

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