Authority on Earth: The Blasphemy That Heals Text: Luke 5:17-26
Introduction: Two Kinds of Religion
Every time Jesus walks into a room, a collision of kingdoms occurs. We must never read these accounts as quaint stories of a gentle teacher performing nice deeds for unfortunate people. This is spiritual warfare. This is a divine invasion. And here, in this crowded house, we have a perfect diorama of the two fundamental religions that exist in the world. They are both on full display.
On the one hand, you have the religion of the establishment. It is represented by the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every corner of the nation. This was not a casual drop-in; this was an official delegation. They are the auditors of orthodoxy, the theological watchdogs. Their religion is one of careful observation, meticulous rule-keeping, and the quiet, internal pride of being the ones who have it all figured out. It is a religion of critique. It sits, it watches, it takes notes, and it is ready to pounce on any deviation from the established tradition. It is sterile, respectable, and ultimately, an obstacle to God.
On the other hand, you have the religion of desperation. It is represented by four anonymous men with a paralyzed friend. Their religion is not respectable. It is noisy, inconvenient, and destructive of private property. It does not sit and critique; it acts. It sees an obstacle and tears a hole through it. It is a religion of faith, not of sight. It believes that Jesus is the only answer, and that no barrier, whether it is a crowd of people or a clay tile roof, is an acceptable excuse for not getting to Him. One religion is a spectator sport; the other is a contact sport. One leads to quiet, damning reasonings in the heart; the other leads to forgiveness of sins and a man walking home glorifying God. The central question this text forces upon us is this: which religion is yours?
The Text
And it happened that 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, and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. And behold, some men were carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down before Him. 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. And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” But Jesus, knowing their reasonings, answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 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, picking up your stretcher, go home.” And immediately he rose up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. And astonishment seized them all and they began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
(Luke 5:17-26 LSB)
Obstacles and Audacity (v. 17-19)
The scene is set with a palpable tension. Jesus is teaching, and the room is packed with two kinds of people: those who came to hear Him, and those who came to catch Him.
"And it happened that one day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there... and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing." (Luke 5:17)
The power of the Lord, Yahweh, was present to heal. This is not some impersonal force. This is the active, personal power of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, working through the Son. But notice the posture of the religious leaders. They are "sitting there." They are inert. They are observers. They are in the very presence of the healing power of God, and their primary impulse is to find fault.
Into this static, critical environment comes a disruptive force.
"And behold, some men were carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed... 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..." (Luke 5:18-19)
Faith is not polite. True faith is inventive, persistent, and willing to be disruptive. These men had one goal: get their friend to Jesus. The crowd, full of people who were likely just curious onlookers and the aforementioned scribes, became an obstacle. So, what did they do? They refused to accept the obstacle. They engaged in what we might call holy vandalism. They climbed up on the flat roof, likely via an external staircase, and started tearing it apart. This was not a quiet affair. This involved dust, debris, and a significant interruption. Their faith was loud. Their faith was messy. And their faith was effective. They believed that what Jesus had to offer was worth more than a tidy entrance and an intact roof.
The Greater Healing (v. 20-21)
Jesus' response to this audacious display is immediate, but it is not what anyone expected.
"And seeing their faith, He said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven you.'" (Luke 5:20)
First, notice that He saw "their faith." The faith of the friends was the instrument that brought the paralytic into the presence of the Healer. This is a beautiful picture of corporate faith and intercession. We are meant to carry one another to Jesus. But second, and more importantly, Jesus ignores the obvious problem and goes straight to the root problem. The man was brought for a physical healing, but Jesus provides a spiritual one. He knows that paralysis of the limbs is a tragic but temporary condition. Paralysis of the soul is an eternal one. Jesus always diagnoses the ultimate disease, which is sin.
This pronouncement immediately triggers the theological alarm bells in the minds of the scribes.
"The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, 'Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?'" (Luke 5:21)
Here is a crucial point. Their theological premise is one hundred percent correct. According to the Old Testament, only God can forgive sins (Isaiah 43:25). Their error was not in their theology, but in their Christology. They had a correct proposition, but they were applying it to the wrong person. They looked at the God-man, Jesus, and saw only a man. Therefore, when this man did something only God could do, their logical conclusion was blasphemy. They were right that only God can forgive sins. They were catastrophically wrong in failing to recognize the God who was right in front of them.
The Unanswerable Challenge (v. 22-24a)
Jesus does not let their silent accusations hang in the air. He confronts them directly, exposing their thoughts and laying a perfect, logical trap.
"But Jesus, knowing their reasonings, answered and said to them, 'Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, "Your sins have been forgiven you," or to say, "Get up and walk"?'" (Luke 5:22-23)
First, by knowing their internal reasonings, He demonstrates another divine attribute. He is the searcher of hearts. Second, He poses a brilliant question. From a purely human standpoint, which is easier to say? Obviously, it is easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven." Anyone can say that. It is a claim about an invisible, spiritual reality. There is no way to immediately verify it. It costs nothing to say. But to say, "Get up and walk" to a man who is known to be paralyzed is to put your entire credibility on the line. If he does not get up, you are immediately exposed as a charlatan and a fool. So Jesus is going to prove His authority to do the thing that cannot be seen by doing the thing that cannot be denied.
He then states His purpose with absolute clarity.
"But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..." (Luke 5:24a)
The healing is the evidence. It is the sign that points to the greater reality. The miracle is the receipt for the forgiveness. And notice the claim: the Son of Man, a title of divine authority from Daniel 7, has authority on earth to forgive sins. This is not some abstract, heavenly authority. It is a real, present, operational authority being exercised in a dusty, crowded room in Capernaum. Christ's kingdom is not a future, ethereal reality. It has invaded history. It is here.
Visible Proof, Public Glory (v. 24b-26)
The argument is made. Now comes the demonstration.
"...He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, get up, and, picking up your stretcher, go home.' And immediately he rose up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God." (Luke 5:24b-25)
The command is given, and the result is immediate. The word of Jesus is a creative word. Just as He said, "Let there be light," and there was light, He says, "Get up," and paralyzed limbs obey. The man not only walks, but he picks up his stretcher. The very symbol of his helplessness and dependence now becomes a trophy of his deliverance. He carries the bed that used to carry him. This is a perfect picture of salvation. The sin that once defined and imprisoned us is conquered, and we walk away from it in newness of life. And his destination is "home," and his activity is "glorifying God." True healing always leads to worship.
The effect on the crowd is profound.
"And astonishment seized them all and they began glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, 'We have seen remarkable things today.'" (Luke 5:26)
Their reaction is a mixture of amazement, worship, and fear. This is the right and proper response to an encounter with the Holy. This was not just an impressive magic trick. This was a brush with the divine. They understood, at least for a moment, that God had visited them. The word for "remarkable things" is paradoxa, from which we get paradox. They had seen things that were contrary to all normal experience. And the gospel is the ultimate paradox: the God-man, the crucified King, the healing that comes through a declaration of blasphemy.
Conclusion: The Authority Remains
This account is far more than a historical record. It is a paradigm for how God works. We are all that paralytic. We are spiritually inert, unable to move, dead in our trespasses and sins. We cannot get to God on our own. We are utterly dependent on the grace of God, often working through the rugged, roof-damaging faith of others who bring us to Jesus.
And when we are brought to Him, He addresses our deepest need first. He does not simply offer to fix our circumstances; He offers to forgive our sins. This is the central message of the gospel. The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. That authority was not recalled when He ascended. He delegated it to His church, which is to go into all the world and proclaim this forgiveness in His name (Luke 24:47).
The proof that we have received this forgiveness is the same as it was for the paralytic. It is a transformed life. We are commanded to get up from the mat of our old life, to pick up the very thing that once held us captive, and to walk in newness of life, glorifying God. Our obedience, our new direction, our worship, these are the visible proofs of the invisible grace that has been worked in our hearts. The world, like the scribes, may call our central claim a blasphemy. But a life transformed by the power of Christ is an unanswerable argument. It is a remarkable thing, a paradox, that continues to fill the world with astonishment and fear.