Luke 5:24, commentary and pictures

At Capernaum Jesus answered the unspoken charge that only God can forgive sins by commanding the helpless palsied man let down through the roof to arise, take up his couch and go to his house. The Son of man has authority and divine power on earth to forgive sins, the same power He has in heaven. The man's palsy was the penalty of his own sinful life, leaving him tortured with guilt and longing above bodily cure for pardon and peace with heaven, so Jesus first lifted the burden of sin and then healed his body. The immediate, complete restoration by creative power proved the declaration of forgiveness was true and gave an undeniable sign of authority to forgive and to make righteous and whole. The man rose before them all and went home glorifying God while the people were amazed and glorified God, but the scribes and Pharisees hardened in unbelief and hatred despite the stronger evidence.

Setting and Wording

The setting is Capernaum, where crowds gathered to hear Jesus and a helpless man stricken with palsy was brought to His notice in hope of relief. His friends, unable to enter the crowded house, carried him and let him down through the roof. He had lost hope of recovery, but they had seen Jesus heal even lepers and hoped he too might be relieved if brought to Jesus.

The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. That authority is divine power on earth, the same power He has in heaven. His command for the paralytic to rise and walk makes that authority visible, for the healing confirms His power to forgive and to bring righteousness and peace. He healed the body to show He had authority to forgive sins, and the man's recovery followed Christ's words of pardon. The visible healing was evidence of that authority to the priests, rulers, and Pharisees, and it joined the work of preaching truth with healing the sick.

To make that authority known He commanded the palsied man to arise, take up his couch or bed, and go into his house. His limbs, long unable to respond, moved when he acted on the command. The pardon was thus joined to the command to rise, take up the couch, and go home, followed by immediate restoration before them all.

Jesus perceived the inward, unspoken reasoning of the priests, scribes and Pharisees that only God can forgive sins. They held that pardoning the paralytic claimed infinite power and was blasphemy against God. They intended to use the charge for a death-worthy accusation to stop the rising popular favor toward Him and save their own influence. He read their minds and answered them with a reproving look that made them cower and draw back, and with the test of which is easier to say, sins forgiven or rise and walk.

Paralytic's Need and Hope

The palsy that bound him was the penalty of his own dissipation, a sinful life and transgression of God's law, and it left his mind tortured with guilt and remorse and with fear that the pure Physician would not tolerate him in His presence. His suffering was embittered by remorse over the cause of his sickness. He longed to see Jesus and place himself in His hands, trusting that Jesus could heal every malady and by a word of authority set free those bound by Satan.

The Pharisees and doctors had looked coldly on him, held aloof from the sick, pronounced him incurable, denounced him as a sinner, and declared he would die under the wrath of God. They taught that sickness and distress are always evidence of God's anger and righteous retribution upon the transgressor. He had appealed to the religious leaders for help, but they had entrenched themselves in the sanctity of office and refused him any encouragement.

He had lost all hope of recovery and sunk into despair. Then hearing that Jesus had healed and cured every malady for others in every respect as sinful and helpless as he revived hope that he too might be cured and pardoned if carried to Jesus. Yet memory of the cause of his sickness made his hope falter, and he feared his sinful past would make him unwelcome and that Christ would reject him.

His greatest desire was not bodily cure alone but relief from the burden of sin, pardon, assurance of forgiveness and peace with heaven. Relief of mind by pardon of sins was his greatest need. With that assurance he would be content to live or to die according to God's righteous will.

He received forgiveness with simple faith as the gift of new life, through repentance and belief in Jesus as his only helper. He asked nothing more and made no noisy demonstration but remained in blissful silence too happy for words. Christ's assurance brought him relief and hope, with peace and joy and the light of heaven shining on his face before his body was healed.

Forgiveness Precedes Bodily Healing

Jesus first lifted the weight of sin from the paralytic, speaking pardon that brought hope, peace and joy to a conscience tortured by guilt, and only then commanded him to rise and walk and healed his body. The forgiveness was received by simple repentance and faith in Jesus as his only helper, and the Saviour's life-giving mercy brought peace to his heart before bodily healing came. As the man obeyed the command to get up, pick up his bed and go home, strength returned to his long-unresponsive limbs and he rose before them all and departed glorifying God. The healing that followed demonstrated that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, reaching both soul and body and joining preaching of truth with healing of the sick.

Health of soul had to come first, for he needed cleansing from sin and relief to the mind before he could be healed in body and appreciate it. Restoring the sufferer's mind made it possible to reach and heal the body, and Christ renewed him in heart, mind and body to bring righteousness and peace. The visible cure confirmed His divine authority to forgive, giving evidence to priests, rulers and Pharisees that He could both pardon sin and heal disease.

The burden of sin with its unrest and unsatisfied desires is the foundation of much physical disease. The peace that Christ alone imparts restores vigor to the mind and health to the body. Thousands suffering physical disease today still long first for forgiveness of sins, and they can find no relief until they come to Christ as the Healer of the soul.

He does not refuse to heal even those who have brought disease upon themselves by their own sinful course. When His healing virtue enters them they are convicted of sin, and many are healed of spiritual disease as well as physical disease.

Healing Proves Forgiving Authority

The visible cure proved the pardon was real, showing before all that the Son of man has divine authority on earth to forgive sins, the same power He has in heaven, and to bring righteousness and peace to the sinner. The recovery followed the words of pardon, for He first lifted the burden from a conscience tortured by sin to give relief and hope, then commanded the man to rise, carry his bed, and go home, and limbs long unable to respond moved as he acted in obedience. He joined pardon to the command so that priests, rulers, scribes, Pharisees and people might know His authority, giving them an undeniable sign they could not set aside. He knew their unspoken reasoning that only God can forgive sins and that His claim was blasphemy, and answered it by asking which is easier to say, sins forgiven or rise and walk. The man at once rose before them all, took up what he had lain on, and departed to his own house glorifying God, while onlookers were amazed, glorified God, and were filled with fear.

That order to arise required nothing less than creative power. The same voice that gave life to man made from the dust of the earth gave life to the dying paralytic. The same power that gave life to the body renewed the heart and gave life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins, so the healing of the body was evidence of the power that had renewed the heart and forgiven sin. The restoration was immediate and complete to the full vigor of manhood. Lifeless arms were made quick to obey the will, shrunken leaden-hued flesh was made fresh and ruddy with health, and he walked with a firm free step, carrying with ease the couch on which he had been slowly borne away a short time before. Purity and peace replaced the marks of sin and suffering, with joy and hope in his face as he stood before his family and went home praising God.

Thus His power is shown to reach both soul and body together. He first relieved the burden of sin, replacing despair with hope, peace and joy, and then healed the body and sent the man home. In that act He joined the work of preaching truth with healing the sick.

Responses to the Miracle

Before them all the man at once stood up, lifted what he had been lying on, and left for his own house praising God, and his home was filled with rejoicing, tears of joy, glad thanksgiving, and light brought into a darkened home. All who watched were amazed and looked on with awe, glorifying God and filled with fear, for God is glorified through His Son when that power restores hope to the hopeless and strength to the stricken. His complete restoration replaced the marks of sin and suffering with peace and purity and restored hope to him and his family. The healing left him and his household with unshakable faith, perfect loyalty and undoubting faith ready to lay down life for Jesus.

The scribes, Pharisees and doctors inwardly charged Him with blasphemy because only God can forgive sins, treating pardon as a claim to infinite power. They meant to use the charge as a death-worthy accusation to check His rising popular favor and save their own influence, though they recognized His superior power. The undeniable sign could not be set aside, yet it did not bring them to believe but only exasperated them. The stronger the evidence the more firmly they persisted in unbelief, with hearts closed to conviction and filled with hatred, bitter prejudice, desire to prove Him a deceiver, and seeking occasion to work out bitterness and wrath against Him. Meeting such evidence with malice and skepticism arms the heart against God until rejecters are left to forge chains that bind them in hopeless darkness, with no reserve power left to reach hearts so hardened.

The episode warns against treating affliction as proof of God's displeasure and condemning the sick while counting oneself holy, for sickness and distress are not always evidence of God's anger and righteous retribution upon the transgressor. The sufferer had appealed to the religious leaders for help, but they entrenched themselves in the sanctity of office and refused him any encouragement, annoyed at being troubled with so disagreeable a matter. They had looked coldly on him, held aloof from the sick, pronounced him incurable, looked with horror on his shriveled form, and said dissolution had commenced and they could not raise one from the dead. Above the dignitaries of the synagogue and doctors of the law Jesus stood in serene majesty.

Christ Revealed for Ministry

The healing stands as proof that He is the Son of God, the Teacher sent from God, the promised Saviour and Israel's Saviour, possessing on earth divine power to forgive sins no less than power to heal the sick. The bodily cure was given as evidence of authority to forgive, an undeniable sign joined to pardon that the scribes, Pharisees, priests and rulers could not set aside. He read their unspoken reasoning that only God can forgive sins and that His claim was blasphemy, and answered it by asking which is easier to say, that sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk, then commanding the paralytic to arise, take up his couch and go into his house. The man at once rose before them all, took up what he had lain on, departed to his own house glorifying God, while all who saw were amazed, glorified God and were filled with fear. That evidence did not bring the accusers to belief but only exasperated them, for their hearts were closed to conviction and filled with hatred, bitter prejudice, desire to prove Him a deceiver, and seeking of occasion to vent bitterness and wrath against Him. To meet such strengthened evidence with hatred and unbelief arms the heart against God until rejecters are left to forge chains that bind them in hopeless darkness, with no reserve power left to reach hearts hardened in malice and skepticism.

The cure displays His love for the guilty and suffering, His compassion toward the afflicted, and the mercy of the Redeemer, confirming the message of salvation. The sufferer lay utterly helpless under an incurable palsy that was the penalty of his own dissipation and transgression of God's law, his mind tortured with guilt and fear that the pure Physician would not tolerate him, longing above all for pardon of sin so that he would be content to live or die according to the righteous will. Religious teachers had looked coldly on him, pronounced him incurable, held aloof from the sick, and taught that sickness and distress are always evidence of God's anger and righteous retribution upon the transgressor. Jesus turns none away but cures every malady, having already healed others as sinful and helpless, speaks words of mercy to the despairing, and by a word of sublime authority sets free those bound by the power of Satan.

As the great Restorer His ministry met both spiritual and physical needs, healing soul before body so the restored man could appreciate bodily health, and His work for the paralytic remains the Lord's way with suffering humanity for physicians and medical missionaries to follow for present and eternal good. The mind that God made He can mold without the power of man, yet He honors men by asking them to cooperate with Him in this great work. When the Spirit of God works on the mind of the afflicted one and he inquires for truth, the physician is to work for the precious soul as Christ would work for it, not urging any special doctrine but pointing him to Jesus as a sin-pardoning Saviour. Angels of God make impressions on the human mind, some will refuse to be illuminated by the light God would let shine into the chambers of the mind and into the soul temple, but many will respond to the light and from these minds every form of deception and error will be swept away.

His forgiveness may be received with full assurance through God's Word as surely as if He spoke personally, and it comes with the command to sin no more.