Please turn with me now in your Bibles to Luke chapter 5, and we will begin reading at verse 17. On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed. And they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus. But finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, They went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, Man, your sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, Why do you question in your hearts, which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, rise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the man who was paralyzed, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home. And immediately he rose up before them. and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. An amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, We have seen extraordinary things today. Thus ends the reading of God's Word. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord stands forever. Amen. It's good to be with you again this morning in Pastor Bob's absence. It's always a pleasure to be able to come and preach the Word at your church. Thank you for welcoming me so kindly. Now as we look at this familiar text in the Gospel of Luke, I want to start out by maybe pointing something out to you that is fairly obvious. Some of you might have a favorite book that you've read through several times, and you probably know that book very well. You know the punchlines and the jokes in the book. You know all the twists and all the turns in the plot of the book. You know how it all ends. You know how all the characters unfold. You know, the first time you read the book, you didn't know. Everything was a surprise. The plot was a surprise. Everything was new. But now, after reading and rereading the book, you know all the characters. You know the plot. You know all the twists. You know how it all ends. It's a familiar book. It's still enjoyable to read. but there are no surprises left for you. And sometimes we can read the Gospels in that same manner and forget that the characters in the Gospels haven't read the stories over and over like we have. They don't know the end and how it all ends for them and for Christ. As we read about what the characters are going through in the Gospels, for them, Everything is new. They are learning what you and I already know. They are learning about Christ's identity. They are learning about who Jesus is and who sent him. And they are trying to figure it out while we as the readers, 2,000 years later, who have heard the gospel preached over and over, who know our Lord well and know him personally, we look at them and we say, oftentimes, why don't you get it? In reality, they don't get it because they haven't truly experienced it all to the end. And so even this morning, as we read in our passage, the Pharisees ask a very important question at the beginning, after Jesus forgives the man's sins. Did you catch the question that they ask in verse 21? They ask the question, who is this, in response to Jesus' forgiving the sins of the paralyzed man. They asked, who is this? For the Pharisees, they did not know. They were still trying to figure out the identity of Jesus. And as we read that question, you know, you and I, we want to scream at them. We want to say, He's the Messiah. He's the Lord. He's the one sent from God to be crucified for our sins, to be buried and to be raised for our justification. That's who Jesus is. And yet, we forget to take into account the fact that they haven't seen the whole story unfold before them. So we know that the Pharisees didn't know Jesus' real identity, as we see in our text, but even Jesus' followers oftentimes weren't sure about who Jesus was. Later on in the Gospel of Luke, in Luke chapter 7, one chapter over, We read about John the Baptist's discussion about Jesus' identity. This is in Luke 7, verses 18-19. And if you think about it, this is John the Baptist, the one who knew Jesus even before his birth. And John the Baptist, at the height of Jesus' ministry of healing and of miraculous works, he calls his disciples to him and he asks them to go give Jesus a message. This is Luke 7, verses 18-19. It says, The disciples of John reported all these things to him, and John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? See, John himself was asking the question, Who is this? Because he was doing things that even to John seemed extraordinary. And Jesus responded in verse 22, He answered John's disciples, go and tell John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. Jesus says to John, the lame walk, the poor have the good news the gospel preached to them. What Jesus was telling John and what Jesus is reminding us this morning is he's reminding us of his identity He is the Messiah He is the Lord of creation. He is the Lord of salvation and he came to preach the gospel the good news So I want us to take that into account as we read as we look at our story this morning as we look particularly at our first points faithful friends Looking now at verses 17-19 of the passage we read in Luke chapter 5, the faithful friends of this paralyzed man in our story. Well, by this time, as we read our story in Luke chapter 5, Jesus' popularity had grown. He was no longer a no-name rabbi from Nazareth, but now he had been healing He had been doing miraculous things. He was preaching boldly, as the Gospels say, and his fame began to spread. And as he was preaching in a house, we read, such a large crowd gathered in that house that it was standing room only. There was no way for anybody to get in. And this was frustrating, as we read, for a small group of men who wanted to get their friend before Jesus. You can imagine the house was so full, not only could they not get in standing up and trying to crawl in, but they certainly couldn't get their friend who was lying on a mat paralyzed before Jesus. And rather than giving up and saying, well, it's hopeless, we can't do it, the friends did somewhat of a MacGyver tactic. They said, we will figure out some way to get him before the Lord, no matter what. No matter what the circumstances are. They devised an ingenious plan. They climbed the roof of the house, as we read, and they began to peel away the mud tiles of the roof. Now, we can imagine the scene on top of the roof, but can you imagine the scene in the house? as Jesus is preaching, much like I am now, and as dust begins to fall on his head, as the tiles are being pulled apart, and the commotion starts as people become distracted. I once preached in a church that had a full ceiling that was all glass, and birds used to come and perch up on the glass. Oftentimes, I'd only see people's chins as they were observing the birds, so they were distracted. People became distracted as they saw a hole open up in the roof. They saw this dust falling. And you can imagine the light shining in as the sun, the hole got bigger. And all of a sudden, darkness as these men put their friends' mats over the hole and began to slowly lower it down in front of Jesus. And Jesus does something miraculous. But I want to ask before we get to what Jesus does, I want to ask you this morning, why did those friends go through all the trouble that they did to get their friend in front of Jesus? Why did they go through all that trouble, all that embarrassment, in order to get their friend before Jesus? The answer is, I believe, it is because they had marvelous faith in Jesus. This, for us this morning, is a powerful example of evangelism. It's a powerful example for us of our need to bring our friends and our family members, those who do not know our Lord, to bring them before the Lord by preaching and sharing the gospel with them and with all people. The example of these friends is that we must never allow any obstacles no matter how large or how small, to hinder our evangelism. I want to ask you this morning, what obstacles are hindering you from sharing the gospel with your friends and with your co-workers, those who are non-Christians in your lives? And I certainly hope that you do have non-Christians in your lives that you might have the opportunity to share the gospel with. What is hindering you from bringing your friends and your family members to Jesus? Is it the fear of embarrassment? Is it the fear of rejection? These friends faced all of these fears, and yet they persisted in their faith. And they did all that they could to bring their friend before Jesus. And brothers and sisters, we in the same way must lay aside all fears, all hesitations, and willingly and joyfully bring others to Christ. Often I wonder the same zeal that many of us show in our jobs, the same zeal that many of us show as we discuss politics, vociferously, intensely, if we showed that same zeal in discussing our faith with others, What a difference we can make in the world as we would spread the gospel. Because as we know full well, brothers and sisters, God uses means to spread the gospel. He uses people, you and I, to spread his gospel throughout the world. Now God, it is possible for him to perform a Damascus Road experience as he did for Saul. God is fully capable of miraculously presenting himself to people. But as we know in scripture and as we know throughout our confession, God uses means to accomplish His ends more often than not. He has ordained in His wisdom and in His providence that you and I, as His heralds, as his ambassadors, as his children, might be able to spread his word throughout the earth. He has given us this task. He has given us each this call. There's that wonderful passage in Romans chapter 10 verse 14, where the apostle Paul asks the many great questions that lead us to confess that it truly is you and I who are tasked with sharing the gospel throughout the earth. Romans chapter 10 verse 14, Paul asks these several questions. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? The Apostle Paul is getting at the need for you and I to be those who share, those who preach, those who open our mouths to share the gospel with others, even if it means embarrassment. Even if it means us casting aside our hindrances in order that we might share Christ with others. It may mean something as simple as having a cup of coffee with someone else. It might also mean something as drastic as accepting a missionary call for some of us, especially you young people here this morning who might be wrestling with the missionary call that God might be laying upon your heart, accepting that call and being faithful to what he is calling you to do. Let us not let any hindrances slow us down in our evangelism. And our second point then is that Jesus is the Lord of salvation. We read in verse 20 that when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralyzed man, Man, your sins are forgiven you. And continuing in verse 21, And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Well, as we see in verse 20, It says, when Jesus saw their faith. Here Jesus saw before him a visible demonstration of faith. As we said, the reason that the man went through all the trouble to bring their friend before Jesus is because they had true faith in what Jesus would be able to do for their paralyzed friend. Their faith called them to action. They believed Jesus could heal. They didn't allow any obstacles to hinder them. And when Jesus saw their faith, the faith of both the friends on the roof and the faith of the paralyzed man that was before him, Jesus said to him, Man, your sins are forgiven you. What a surprising thing for our Lord to say. After such an event, these friends bringing their paralyzed friend before Jesus, To you and me, it's obvious. They wanted him to be physically healed. He was a sick person. Jesus had been healing up to this point. And yet, Jesus, rather than seeing the paralyzed man's real need, what does Jesus say? He says, Man, your sins are forgiven you. And you and I might ask, doesn't Jesus see what his need is? Is Jesus oblivious to it? That's like you and I going to our doctor. And rather than offering us medical advice, our doctor offers us advice on how to invest in our portfolios, how to diversify. And you say, I don't think you understand my real need for coming here. Or you take your car to a mechanic. And rather than fixing your car, you come back to pick it up and he's baked you a cake. And you say, I don't think you understand my real need or the reason that I came to you. And so when Jesus says to him, man, your sins are forgiven, doesn't Jesus see his real need? Isn't he oblivious to the man's real need? Well, he wasn't. Because this paralyzed man's primary need, his first and foremost need, is the same need that all people have. Their need as sinners to be reconciled to a holy God. Yes, he was physically paralyzed. Perhaps it was because of a debilitating disease or an injury. And I don't think you and I can imagine the struggles that he went through on a daily basis 2,000 years ago without proper medical care, without the medical advances that you and I enjoy and that you and I benefit from. was something that you and I can't even imagine the trials and the difficulties that he went through on a daily basis. He was physically paralyzed, but he was also spiritually paralyzed. His soul was as lifeless as his limbs were. He was dead in sin as we all once were, and Jesus saw this real primary need that he had. One commentator notes about this passage, he says, This is an important reminder for us this morning, brothers and sisters, that humanity's primary need, the world's primary need, is not physical well-being, but it is primarily spiritual well-being. The healing of souls is always more important than the healing of bodies. And you know, in the next several decades, should the Lord tarry, I know we're going to see medical advances that will allow us to cure diseases that now are uncurable. Medical technologies that will allow us to do things that now we can only imagine. And we might, at that point, try to convince ourselves that we are creating a utopia out of heaven on earth. That as long as we can resolve man's physical problems and take care of his physical needs, then all will be well. I don't want you to misunderstand me. It is good that there are medical advances. God, in his common grace, has blessed us with wisdom about his creation. He has revealed to us wisdom about how he built us and how he created us so that we might have these medical advances. These are good things. But we, as the church, We must continue to remind people of their primary need. Their primary need being their reconciliation with God rather than their physical health. They need to be reconciled to a holy God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And when the scribes and the Pharisees in the story, those who were the Jewish religious leaders, when they heard Jesus' pronouncement, Man, your sins are forgiven." Their reaction wasn't what we might expect. They were scandalized in their hearts. They asked the question in verse 21, who is this? Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? And at first hand, as we look at that question, we want to say that they were right. Truly, they were right. Only God can forgive the guilt of sins. In Exodus 34, verse 6, God is talking to Moses. He reveals his loving kindness to Moses. As he says, the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving the sins of those people to the third and to the fourth generations of those who love him. And then in Psalm chapter 103 verses 2 through 5, the psalmist speaks of God's forgiving grace. He says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Truly, God is a forgiving God. And truly, He alone has the authority, and He alone has the power to forgive sins. He alone is able to remove guilt and to declare that sin has actually been removed. So the religious leaders, in their questioning, are right. God alone can forgive sins. But they were also wrong. Yes, God alone can forgive sins. But Jesus is God, the Eternal Son. The question that they were asking, who is this? The answer was staring him right in the face. This is God, the Eternal Son. He is God incarnate. And because of His atoning death that would soon take place on the cross, He has both the authority and the ability to forgive sins. Truly, He is the Lord of salvation. A third point for this morning is that not only is He the Lord of salvation, but He is also the Lord of creation. As we see, Jesus turns to the religious leaders and He is able to discern their thoughts. As the Lord of both salvation and creation, He is able to understand the thoughts of their heart. He turns and he rebukes them, he corrects them. What thoughts was Jesus trying to correct in their hearts? Well, their reasoning was, this is how the religious leaders saw the situation. You know, it's easy for this man to say your sins are forgiven, are forgiven you to this paralyzed man. It's easy. Because nobody knows if this man's sins are actually forgiven. Nobody can climb into the man's heart and see if there was true repentance that took place there. There was true forgiveness. Nobody is able to actually climb into heaven to look in the Lamb's Book of Life and see if this man's name appeared there after Jesus was pronounced there. Nobody knows. It's easy for us and for Jesus to be able to pronounce the man's sins are forgiven. It's difficult for him to heal him. Because if he were to pronounce him physically healed, well then he'd have egg all over his face. Because we'd see him as the fool that he is because truly he is unable and he would be unable to show such a miraculous thing as to provide a physical healing. We'd all see him fail. We'd all witness his embarrassment. As we know, Jesus perceives their thoughts. He knows their hearts. And he says in verse 24, But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He said to the man who is paralyzed, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. Through the physical healing that Jesus now renders, shuts the mouths of the obstreperous. of the religious leaders who questioned his authority. Physical healing now proved to all the crowds, all those in the home, that Jesus was both the Lord of salvation as well as the Lord of creation. He had the power to both undo the curse of sin that wraps itself around all of our souls and renders us powerless, But he also has authority over our bodies, authority over creation, because he is the Lord of creation. The reaction of the crowds, as we see twice Luke mentions, that the crowds give glory to God in response to what they see happen. And in closing, brothers and sisters, let us not forget that this whole event began with the marvelous faith of some friends. Faith that they had in Christ, that they demonstrated. They were men who didn't allow obstacles to keep them from bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus, the Lord of salvation and the Lord of creation. Beloved, I urge you this morning, let us continue to take those who are spiritually paralyzed among us to Jesus. Let us not be hindered by our own fears or by our worldly employment, but let us make it our priority to bring others to Christ. For when we do, we can believe wholeheartedly that with our Savior there is abundant pardon for all sinners who trust in his name. Amen. Let us pray. Lord Jesus, we do thank you for your faithfulness. We thank you for the great gospel that was taught to many of us as we were raised by our parents, by those in our church. The gospel that was preached to some of us at a later point in our lives. the great gospel that we heard with our ears and received into our hearts by your spirit. We thank you that even this morning we can recall your faithfulness to us and bringing us to yourself. We thank you for all those people in our lives who are instrumental in being faithful to you by preaching the gospel to us. for our parents, for many pastors that many of us have known over the years, for the many preachers, Lord, we thank you for their faithfulness to your word and to your call. We pray that you would continue, Lord, to work in us a desire to share your gospel. Lord, help us to cast aside hindrances. Help us to cast aside fears and hesitations and to be those who are bold. Give us opportunities, we pray. Fill us with your Spirit so that when we speak, When we share, when we tell others the good news of Christ, we would do so winsomely. We would do so with an authority that is appealing to them, that they understand, and with a love both for you and for those whom you have called us to share your gospel with. In Jesus' name we do pray. Amen.