Luke 5:12-26 Sin and Sickness
by Daniel Burton
In Luke 5:12-26, Jesus engages in two miracles of healing. First, there was the leper, who, under normal circumstances, would be unable to even approach Jesus. Lepers were unclean and their condition was largely thought to be as a result of their sin. Jesus called this same person to Himself in order to heal the sickness and disease. More so, Jesus ordered the leper to present himself to the priests to verify the miracle and the forgiveness. Immediately after this story, Luke continues with the well known story of the paralyzed man, lowered from the roof. Knowing that he was being watched by the Pharisees and the scribes of the law, Jesus took the opportunity to put the fullness of his presence and personhood to the crowd.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 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?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 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.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
The Nuances of Sickness
During that age, sin and sickness were connected with one another. Sickness, specifically, was commonly viewed as a type of divine punishment for sin. This was part of the requirement of the separation. They were not only sick and contagious, but they were sinful and experiencing the consequences of their sin. For both the leper and the paralyzed man, the issue of sin loomed heavily over their healing. For the leper, presenting himself to the priests was a sign of the forgiveness. For the paralyzed man, Jesus connected His ability to heal sickness and grant forgiveness. In both cases, Jesus had the demonstrated ability to bring the person to wholeness; physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
By healing the leper of the leprosy, Jesus fully displayed both His divine authority and His willful heart to restore mankind to wholeness. Click To TweetBy healing the leper of the leprosy, Jesus fully displayed both His divine authority and His willful heart to restore mankind to wholeness. Sin is a sickness and a disease. Before our healing and miraculous encounter with the divine God, we were plagued by the sickness that rotted away our soul. There would be no recovery that we would be able to must on our own. Yet, Jesus serves as our great healer. While he certainly cares for our physical healing, the crux of His mission is on our spiritual healing. Through His death on the cross, we were washed and purified by the blood of Christ and the plague and sickness of sin no longer holds its grips upon us.
The Miracle of Grace and Forgiveness
The moment between the Pharisees and Jesus as they watched him handle the man being lowered from the roof was tense. Everyone was watching to see how Jesus would handle the challenge of His authority and ability. As the man was lowered into the room, the obvious answer would have been to heal the man of his paralyzed life. Yet, Jesus asked which would be harder, so say His sins are forgiven or to heal the paralyzed. Clearly, it would be easier to say the man’s sins were forgiven but the true miracle would be actually doing so. Thus, Jesus forgave the man of his sins. Even beyond that, Jesus provided the proof of His authority; Jesus healed the paralyzed man.
We all experience and walk in the miracle of everlasting life from our healing by Jesus Christ. We are healed of the ailment and sickness that separated us from God and by the works of Jesus Christ, we are renewed, declared… Click To TweetThe healing of the physical was the sign that the spiritual had been healed as well. We crave the evidence of the physical healing and feel as if this is the pinnacle of healing. Yet, there is much grander miracle at work within the souls of those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Grace and forgiveness is the miracle with eternal and everlasting significance. For all of the grandeur of physical healing, the healing of the soul is a far more reaching miracle. We all experience and walk in the miracle of everlasting life from our healing by Jesus Christ. We are healed of the ailment and sickness that separated us from God and by the works of Jesus Christ, we are renewed, declared innocent, and adopted into the family of God.
For more in this series, check out A Walk Through Luke.
