Written by: Oxygen

Luke 5 v 12-14
When Jesus was in one of the towns, there was a man covered with a skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he bowed before him and begged him, “Lord, you can heal me if you will.”
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, “I will. Be healed!” Immediately the disease disappeared. Then Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone about this, but go and show yourself to the priest and offer a gift for your healing, as Moses commanded. This will show the people what I have done.”

Notes
“The Message” Bible translates Jesus’ words as “your cleansed and obedient life, not your words, will bear witness to what I have done.” Do our lives do that? It’s so easy as Christians to know all the right answers, but do we have all the right actions? Jesus had done the most amazing thing in this guy’s life: he’d healed him from a terrible disease. But Jesus did not want the man to shout about it; he wanted him to show people. Actions speak louder than words!

Sometimes we hear so many negative thoughts about Christianity. Many people today think that having a relationship with God is dull, boring and irrelevant to their lives. Does your life reflect how awesome it is to be in a relationship with God?

Mike Yaconelli wrote in his book “Dangerous Wonder”: “Passion is the roller coaster ride that can happen when we follow Jesus. It’s the breathtaking, thrill-filled … ride of a lifetime. Where every moment matters and all you can do is hang on for dear life … when you become a Christian ... you decide in favour of passion. Jesus came to forgive our sins, yes, but his mission also was to introduce us to the passions of living. Most people believe that following Jesus is about living right, not true ... it’s all about living fully.”

Are we living fully? Do people around us know from our example how amazing it is to be in a relationship with God? This is what this passage is talking about. Are we ready to show the world just how amazing it is to be a Christian?

“Your walk talks and your talk talks, but the walk talks more than your talk talks.”

Luke 5 v 15-16
But the news about Jesus spread even more. Many people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses, but Jesus often slipped away to be alone so he could pray.

Notes
Jesus needed to take time out to stop and pray - sometimes we forget that we need to do that too! Jesus was God on earth, and he knew that the expectations of others were not as important as taking time to stop and just be in God’s presence.

Why do we find this so hard? As Christians, there is the constant feeling that we need to do so much and be seen to be a good person. As a full-time Christian worker, I struggled for a long time with being a Christian and “doing Christian work” – not realising that there is a difference between what you do and who you are. The roots of our relationship with God need to be fixed firmly in the personal time we spend with Him.

What do we do when we feel like we are going nowhere? It’s easy to carry on with life and look like we are fine on the outside, while on the inside there is a struggle. A friend of mine told me that times with God should be about “making memories”. You know that feeling you get when you’ve had an amazing experience and want to go and do it all over again? The times we spend with God should be like that. This means waiting. Sometimes for a long time.

I once read some amazing words from a monk: “When you are waiting, you are not doing nothing, you are doing something, you are allowing yourself to grow up. If you cannot be still and wait, you cannot become what God created you to be.”

God’s own Son needed to pray and take time out to spend with his Father. If it was important for Jesus, it should also be important for us.

Luke 5 v 17-18
One day as Jesus was teaching the people, the Pharisees and teachers of the law from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were there. The power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. Just then, some men were carrying on a mat a man who was paralysed. They tried to bring him in and put him down before Jesus.

Notes 
One of the things I love most about Jesus when He was on earth was that He had the amazing ability to attract people to Him. In these verses we see that He had well and truly got the attention of some of the wisest people in the land. Pharisees and teachers of the law had travelled from far and wide to see and hear for themselves what Jesus was up to.

He did this as the power of God was so obviously on Him and He was able to perform many signs and wonders. But I also believe that Jesus had great wisdom and understanding, which deeply impressed those who met Him.

We should not only be asking God to reveal Himself through us with miracles; we should also seriously be asking God for wisdom, just as King Solomon did. We should be spending time studying God’s word, deepening our understanding of theology and asking why we believe what we believe. If we do this, when modern-day Pharisees and teachers of the law question us or try to catch us out as they did with Jesus, we’ll be ready and able to deal with them.

Spend some time exercising your brain with God today!

Luke 5 v 19-20
But because there were so many people there, they could not find a way in. So they went up on the roof and lowered the man on his mat through the ceiling into the middle of the crowd right before Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Notes 
For me, one word that is key to this whole passage is “their” (“seeing ‘their’ faith, Jesus said…”) It wasn’t the faith of the paralysed man that Jesus rewarded, it was the faith of his friends in getting him there. I can almost imagine the man saying to them as they took him up onto the roof, “Look guys, it really doesn’t matter, he’s too busy. Let’s just go home.” But they were having none of it! They were going to get him in front of Jesus if their lives depended on it, and they succeeded in spectacular fashion!

What they did demonstrated four vital principles in getting their friend healed – FAITH, DETERMINATION, COMMITMENT and PERSEVERENCE. Jesus then rewarded them.

I hope this is an encouragement to you as you think of your own friends. God will hear your cry of help for a friend if you have faith and back it up with determination, commitment and perseverance. When it feels like you come up against a brick wall, just like the men in the passage did, know that there is often a way round it, even if it means doing something like climbing up onto the roof! Keep believing, keep going, and God will bless you and those you care about!

Luke 5 v 21-23
The Jewish teachers of the law and the Pharisees thought to themselves, “Who is this man who is speaking as if he were God? Only God can forgive sins.”
But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?”

Notes
Just before the words of this passage, a paralysed man was brought to Jesus by his friends, and Jesus told the man his sins had been forgiven.

The Pharisees were very religious people who were always trying to catch Jesus out. In this passage they also wanted to test Jesus to see if he really was the Son of God. The Pharisees had one major problem – doubt. Doubt is something that many of us face, often during times when we are desperate for God’s help and can’t comprehend: “How can God help me, and why should he help me?” When we feel like this, we often see God move in amazing ways. 

What we need to remember is that although we don’t have Jesus stood in front of us performing miracles, we do have his Holy Spirit with us every day. We also have something a lot of us don’t use nearly enough: the Bible.

Maybe next time you find yourself doubting God, look at some of the things he has done in your life, then open up the Bible and discover that God really is an amazing God.

Luke 5 v 24-26
“But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralysed man, “I tell you, stand up, take your mat, and go home.”
At once the man stood up before them, picked up his mat and went home, praising God. All the people were completely amazed and began to praise God. They were filled with much respect and said, “Today we have seen amazing things!”


Notes
Imagine the scene unfolding in this verse as if it is happening right in front of you. The paralysed man had been lowered to Jesus through a hole that his friends had cut in the roof of the house. The house was so full of people that there was no way in, but they were desperate to get to Jesus with their friend. You can feel the tension building as Jesus silences everybody and he begins to speak. Every eye is on him, and hearts are racing as they wonder what will happen next. Jesus declares he has the authority to forgive sins, then tells the man to “stand up”, take up his mat and “go home”.

All eyes are now on the man lying on the floor in front of them. Whether or not this man will accept Jesus’ authority to forgive his sins, they will not know, but whether he accepts Jesus’ authority to heal him is going to become evident.

At times we find it easier to accept the spiritual things God has done for us, but harder to obey the voice that tells us to go and live out the Christian life in his power. We might have problems that seem too complicated, too big, or even too small for Jesus to handle. They may be areas of healing, financial difficulties, or anything that daily life brings our way. The paralysed man would not have known the new life waiting for him had he not believed that Jesus’ power was at work to heal him as well as forgive.

Ask God to help you recognise that the same power and authority that forgave your sins is at work in every area in your life. God is interested in your physical as well as your spiritual life.

Luke 5 v 27-32
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus at his house. Many tax collectors and other people were eating there, too. But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to Jesus’ followers, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to invite good people but sinners to change their hearts and lives.”

Notes
Have you ever had a day that you will never forget? One that stands out more than any other? Maybe someone told you they loved you, gave you a special gift or took you somewhere amazing.

I have many happy memories that stand out in my mind. One of them is from when I was in Australia - I had spent the day on a boat and swam at some of the nicest beaches. Another memory is the day I became a Christian. I remember so clearly lying in bed at home when I was five and praying with my mum that Jesus would enter my life. 

Levi had just experienced probably the most significant day in his life. He had been changed for ever by Jesus passing by and calling him to follow. Levi was so convinced by Jesus’ offer that he left everything.

Do you remember the day Jesus entered your life? Where you were? What you were feeling? How old you were? Levi wanted everyone he knew to meet Jesus. He wanted to celebrate, so he threw a party. It wasn’t just a party for his new-found disciple friends, but also all his old acquaintances, work colleagues and friends. Jesus accepted the invitation to dine with them, despite pressure from the religious groups of the day not to.

Take the time to ask God to remind you of the joy and excitement you first experienced when he entered your life, and to give you the same desire Levi had for all those around you to meet Jesus. Your life holds the key for someone else to know Jesus. They too can experience a day they will never forget because it will change their life for ever.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes