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Luke 5:17-26



One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 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.


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

(verses 17-20)

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I love this story. It’s captured my imagination ever since childhood. Can’t you just see the bits of roofing material cascading down into the room as that paralyzed man is lowered on his cot, inch by inch, from the ceiling? Can’t you just see the eager faces of those four friends peering down, expectant of transformation? Can’t you just see the stunned expressions on the faces of all those crammed into that room, together with the look of knowing peace in Jesus’ eyes?


Right in front of Jesus – that’s where the man ends up. It’s exactly where he’s meant to be.


And then the miracle happens. Two-fold, actually. He is forgiven all his sins. Stunning! And he is given power and mobility in the whole of his body, allowing him to shift and stand and bend and lift and walk with purposeful determination. How good!


Behind the scenes, bringing this miracle to life, are two elements that Luke points out in his narrative.


The first is obvious, but Luke is the only one of the Gospel writers who mentions it – neither Matthew nor Mark do. Luke, setting up the scene, tells us: “and the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.”


Jesus, the Son of God, is anointed by the Spirit with power to work the very things that are in the Father’s heart. As he says in John 5:19-20, Jesus only does what the Father is doing – and the Father “shows him all he does.” The scene is set. The miracle is prepared. It’s in the Father’s will and heart. Before those four friends even mount the stairs to that rooftop, before they start peeling away the roofing material, the Lord’s power is ready and willing. He is there first. As A.W. Tozer says, “God is always previous.”


But there is another necessary element in this story also. With the man on his cot in front of him, Jesus looks up through the hole in the ceiling right into the faces of the man’s four friends. What he saw there is clearly linked in the text with the miracles of forgiveness and mobility that follow. “Jesus saw their faith.” They’d borne the weight of their friend up onto the roof, then laboured to prepare the opening, then carefully lowered him on his cot right in front of Jesus, all the while compelled by their hope-filled anticipation that Jesus was the one who could make all the difference in the man’s life. Faith. They trusted Jesus was able. It shone in their eyes and in the labour of their hands.


Certainly, their faith would have been entirely hollow were it not anchored in the Lord himself whose “power … was present … to heal the sick.” But equally, their faith saw the opportunity like an open door before them and then eagerly approached, bearing the weight of concern, and stepping right through. Miracles resulted.


I wonder how often the Lord’s power, and ready willingness to act, is present but fails to meet active faith in my own life. It gives me pause. Better yet, it compels me to step forward like these faith-filled friends.


Oh, may the weight of the concerns I already bear be carried with anticipation into Jesus’ very presence, trusting him for what he alone can do as he works in the power of the Spirit in accordance with the Father’s good will and pleasure.

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Lord Jesus, here are the concerns I am bearing. I carry them to you, placing them before you, entrusting them into your all-powerful hands. Work the Father’s will. By the power of the Spirit. To your glory. Amen.

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Reflect:

What are the specific concerns (for yourself or others) you are carrying at the moment? In faith, bring them right before Jesus. Make your request. Trust him for his power-filled working.


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