Go ahead and turn with me to
Luke chapter five, if you would please, Luke chapter five. If I were to begin this morning
by saying to you, let me tell you something strange, would
that pique your interest? You know, our dictionary and
most of the world for that matter, interpret strange to be creepy
or spooky, weird. Naturally, our naturally speaking
man has a great curiosity and is easily engrossed into the
things of the strange and the mysterious. But look at verse
26 of Luke chapter five here. And they were all amazed and
they glorified God and were filled with fear saying, we have seen
strange things today. That word strange in the Greek
means a paradox. The word paradox means something
contradictory to the norm. It means contrary to expectation. It means contrary to common opinion. It means something unfamiliar,
something new, something out of the ordinary. Paradox, strange. And this is the only time that
this particular Greek word, which is called paradoxus, is found
in the Bible. But it's my prayer and desire
this morning that we may leave this place today saying, we've
seen strange things today. Every time we hear the gospel
with our hearts, and I say that on purpose, I know we hear with
these ears, As Brother Mahan used to say, it's a long way
from here to here. We need to hear these things
with our hearts, but it's my desire that we do and that we
should say, what a strange, peculiar, extraordinary, contrary to normal
thing we've seen and heard today. Now, what occurred this day in
our text that was so strange, peculiar, extraordinary, and
contrary to the norm? Well, let's begin at verse 15
and we'll see. But so much the more went there
a fame abroad of him, speaking of the Lord Jesus, and great
multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their
infirmities. And he withdrew himself into
the wilderness and prayed. Verse 17, and it came to pass
on a certain day, as he, the Lord, was teaching, there were
Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come
out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem, and
the power of the Lord was present to heal them. What a strange
thing. God the Son is in this house
teaching in the upper crest, crust, whatever you want to call
it, in religion, the doctors of the law, the religious experts
of the day, they're sitting by. All the bigwigs in religion were
there. They came out of every town,
Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, which was the headquarters. They were
not there to hear the Word of God. They didn't come to learn
something of God's kingdom, His mercy and His grace. They weren't
hungry to learn of something of God or themselves. These religionists
aren't really listening in order to benefit themselves. They're
listening to what the Lord says that they may accuse Him. They're
sitting by to catch Him in some error. They're sitting by in
judgment of God. What a strange thing. They sit
in the front row. As you know, they deserve the
uppermost seats in the tabernacles. It was the same here. And I can
just see the strong of people just kind of part as these Pharisees
with their big robes and phylacteries walk in. And they walk right
to the front place there where the Lord is teaching. They sit by in their arrogance
and judgment. Now the Son of God, God the Son
is in their presence and they sit by so that they might find
fault in Him. You're not going to find fault
in Him. He's God. We're told that the power of
the Lord was present to heal them, but they're not doing anything
but sitting by. They have no need of a physician.
They have no need of healing, so they're not interested. They're
just sitting by. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
power of God. Power is His to give. In Luke
10, verse 19, the Lord told His disciples, Behold, I give you
power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
He said, I give you that power. In Acts 26, verse 18, we're told
that He, Christ, has the power to open eyes, turn from darkness
unto light and deliver from the power of Satan, that we might
receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith that is in him." In Matthew chapter
28, verse 10, the Lord said, all power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. He is power. Christ told Pilate
in John chapter 19, verse 11, thou couldest have no power at
all against me except if we're given thee from above. And what
a strange and amazing statement that is when you think about
it. It was Christ, God in the flesh, that gave Pilate the power
that he had to condemn the Lord Jesus. What proof that is that
our Lord voluntarily laid down his life. Now, whatever sin,
whatever physical infirmity, whatever trial or trouble that
we have, He has the power to heal. Luke chapter 9 verse 11 says
that He healed them that had need of healing. I quoted that
in the first hour. The question is, do you have
a need of healing? Christ is the great physician
to those that have need. He has the power to heal. The
question is, do you have the need to be healed? Look at verse
18. And behold, men brought in a
bed a man which was taken with a palsy. This man was crippled
and he couldn't walk. He was a paralytic. And they
sought means to bring him in and to lay him before Him, before
the Lord Jesus. We're told in Mark's account
that the house was so crowded that this man's friends couldn't
get to the Lord Jesus. So what did they do? They don't
give up and go home. They weren't discouraged and
got angry. Well, no, as we say, they wouldn't
be denied. They didn't do that at all. What
did they do? Verse 19 tells us, And when they
could not find what way they might bring him in because of
the multitude, they went upon the house-top, and they led him
down through the toweling with his couch into the midst before
Jesus. They did what? Well, that's a
strange thing. They carried this man on top
of the house, began to move a portion of the roof, And they dropped
this man down in front of the Lord Jesus. What a strange thing. Was it? What lengths will you
go to to see your loved one saved? They sought means, it says. Words mean something in the Scripture.
They sought means. They were determined. They sought
means to bring this man before Christ. Have you sought the means
to bring your loved ones to Christ? Have you brought them to hear
the gospel, which is the only means by which sinners can be
saved? And I was thinking as I was preparing
this message, what if we heard a commotion this morning up on
the road? And the ceiling began to break.
And tiles began to fall down. and insulation and all that,
and someone let a man down through the roof. That'd be a strange
thing, wouldn't it? It certainly wouldn't be normal.
Sadly, we got plenty of room for the needy. That's what strange
it ought not be. You know, I've said it before,
I'll say it again. If I had a potion that would
heal every disease, or if I had a pill I could give you that
you could take and have life eternal, live forever, people
would be back up and down Princeton Pike Road for miles to get in. And there would be some, I dare
say, that may climb on the roof and start tearing away to get
to it. But we don't have that problem. And it's not because
of the lack of interest, it never is. It's because of a lack of
need. If you love Christ and you're
saved, and if you love someone and want them to be saved, you
will seek the means. And the means is the preaching
of Christ. He is the one thing, what? Neato. All, and God will supply all
your need, singular, according to his riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. These men knew that the Lord
was the only one that could help them, and whatever it took to
get their friend to Christ, they were gonna do. And you might
say, well, that's a strange thing. So this man, this one who couldn't
walk, this paralytic man, he's led down from the rooftop in
the midst of the Lord. And I can just imagine that everyone's
eyes are on the Lord to see what He would do. And their eyes are
very attentive to what He's gonna say next. They just knew what
He was gonna say. as he had before and would do
again, they expected him to say, arise and take up your couch
and walk. Well, after all, isn't that what
the man needs? Isn't that what the man wants?
Isn't that what his friends, isn't that why his friends brought
him? So that must be what the Lord
does, but it's not. He says something very strange
to them. He says, something that they
don't expect him at all to say. Verse 20, and when he saw their
faith, he said to him, man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And you
can almost hear the crowd sigh in disappointment. You know,
many of them thought that they were gonna see something great
that day, a great miracle. That's why a lot of them were
there. A big percentage of that crowd
was there for that reason. Many followed the Lord for the
miracles that He did. But when the Lord says this strange
thing, their expectations are crushed. They wanted something
to go home and brag about. You know how we are. Let me tell
you what I saw this weekend. Guys gather around the water
fountain or the coffee pot at work. Let me tell you what I
saw. but their expectations are crushed. They wanted to tell
folks what they saw and say, I was there, I saw it with my
own eyes. You know how men are by nature,
women too. By telling the lame man thy sins
be forgiven, they're disappointed because that's something you
can say and no one looks different. How are you going to know that
his sins are forgiven? What is the proof that those
sins are forgiven? But the Pharisees and the doctors
of the law cannot believe what they've just heard. Look at verse
21. And the scribes and the Pharisees
began to reason, saying, who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who could forgive sins but God
alone? Well, this is another one of
those times They didn't mean it in a good way, but they were
right. Who can forgive sins but God
alone? Just like when the Lord was on
the cross, they said, He saved others, but He cannot save Himself.
They were right. He couldn't save sinners and
save Himself. He had to die in their room instead. And these self-righteous Pharisees
and scribes and doctors of the law, they reasoned within themselves,
we've got Him now. We've got Him now. This is what
we've been waiting for. He's messed up. He said the wrong
thing. We're going to head back to Jerusalem.
We're going to tell the upper echelons what He said. He's blasphemed
God. We've heard it with our own ears.
Who can forgive sins but God? And you know what? They were
right. They were right. Only God can forgive sins. And
this was their problem with the Lord all along. They had a problem
with a man making himself God. But this was God who made himself
a man. In John chapter 10, the Jews
were pressing the Lord about being the Christ. They said,
tell us plainly. We've asked you over and over.
Quit beating around the bush. Are you the Christ or not? And
the Lord answered them and said, I told you. I've told you time
and time again, but you believe me not. And you believe not because
you're not of my sheep. You see, only God's sheep believe
who Christ is. And they've picked up stones
to stone him. The Lord said, many good works
have I shown thee from my Father. For which of those good works
do you stone me? And they answered, for a good
work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. The same thing that
they're accusing him of here. And because that thou, being
a man, makest thyself God. No, he is God. He is God. They once again have it backwards. Christ was God who made himself
a man. And the God-man, he could forgive
sin. He still can. He still does.
This wasn't blasphemy at all. Sin is not always directed towards
God. Ultimately, all sin's against
Him and Him only. If I steal from you, technically
speaking, I've sinned against God. I've sinned against Him. God is the one who gave the law
and said, thou shalt not steal. It's God's law, it's not yours.
Now, it's not right that I steal from you. You're no doubt a victim
if I do. But it's God that I'm sinning
against. David committed adultery with Bathsheba. He committed
murder against Uriah, her husband. But in Psalm 51, David said,
against thee, speaking to God, and thee only, have I sinned
and done this evil in your sight. Well, what about the Sheba? Didn't
he sin against her? What about Uriah? Didn't he sin
against him? But David confesses that his
sin is against God and God only. You see, it was God that said,
thou shalt not commit adultery. It was God said, thou shalt not
kill. His sin was against God. It was God that David sinned
against. It was God's law that David broke. My sin, though it may hurt you
and offend you, it's an indebtedness to God. It's a disobedience against
Him. Let me try to give you an example.
Let's say that I run into Chris's car and I total it. And I don't have insurance and
I refuse to pay for it. That doesn't change the fact
that I'm in his debt. My offense is against Chris.
I've wronged him. It's only right that I pay for
it. And let's say that Molly, she sees me out and she says,
David, I'm going to forgive you of that debt. And I'm going to
relieve you of any obligation to pay for the damage to my dad's
car. Well, let me tell you, that's
not going to happen. Chris is not going to allow that
to happen and it wouldn't be right. That car doesn't belong
to Molly. It belongs to Chris. Chris would say to Molly, what
gives you the right to forgive that debt and relieve David's
obligation of that debt to me for something that belongs to
me and doesn't belong to you? That's a very good point. And
that's exactly what the scribes and the Pharisees are saying
here. Jesus, what gives you the right to say to a man that's
offended, God, what gives you the right to say that his sin
that is forgiven, wiped clean, absolved, and omitted? You're
not God. Who died and made you God? And
what the Lord is saying is, I am God. I am that I am. This sin was against me. All sin, every sin, every last
one's against Him. So now the scribes and the Pharisees
believe that they have this self-proclaimed God backed into a corner, but
they don't. You can't back God into a corner. What Christ does next kills all
their hopes and dreams and desires of thinking that they can. When
Jesus perceived their thoughts, verse 22, he answered and said
unto them, what reason ye in your hearts? The point I'm making is that
looking at this man, you cannot tell if his sins are forgiven
or not. The Lord said, your sins are forgiven you. The Lord here in verse 23, excuse
me, knowing their thoughts and knowing exactly what they're
thinking says this, whether or which is easier to say, thy sins
be forgiven thee or to say, rise up and walk? Which is easier
to say? You ever thought about it? Which
is more difficult, thy sins be forgiven thee or rise up and
walk? Now, if I claim to be one of
these faith healers today, like we see on television, and four
men carried someone in here this morning and said, dropped him
down here in front of the pulpit and said, okay, there he is healing. You claim to be able to heal
him, so heal him. Wouldn't it be easier for me
to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, It'd be easier to say that for
the simple reason is who would know? It's easy to say, but it's
impossible to do because only God can do it, because no man
can. But he doesn't look any different.
It's impossible to look on a man and know whether or not his sins
are forgiven. So how are you gonna know? How
are you gonna know? You see, I've eluded what I claim
to be. But look what our Lord says in
verse 24. But that you may know. that the Son of God hath power
upon earth to forgive sins. He said unto the sick of the
palsy, I say unto thee, arise and take up thy couch and go
to thine own house. And immediately he arose up before
them and took up that whereon he lay and departed to his own
house, glorifying God." Here's the proof that you can know what
you can't see. This is the visible sign that
the Lord has the power to forgive sin. This is the sign, the validation
that Jesus Christ is God. He can forgive sin because of
who He is. Because only God can do the things
that He did. Causing this man to walk as small
potatoes compared to forgiving his sin. And now the scribes
and the Pharisees are somewhat stumped. They had accused the
Lord of blaspheming. What are they going to say now?
This man Christ is a blasphemer. If this man Christ is a blasphemer,
how can He do the things that He does? You know what that is? That's
a strange thing. That's a paradox. It's a seeming
contradiction. You see two things that you just
can't put together. That's what this was. How can
these things be, they asked. The Pharisees reasoned. We heard
Him say things that He can't do. It was just easier for Him
to say. But now He does what no man can
do. What a strange thing. Now I want
you to think about this. The Lord has drawn our attention
to the small things, to the main thing. What's the real reason
Christ came into the world? Every person that our Lord healed
that was sick more than likely got sick again. He didn't just
come to heal the sick. He didn't come into the world
to cast out devils. The Lord Himself talked about
the devil coming back to that clean and swept house, and the
one who the devils were cast out of became seven times worse
than at first. There's reason to think that
those that were once possessed got possessed again. So He didn't
come to just cast out devils. And Christ didn't just come to
feed the hungry. Those that He fed, those men
that He, those 5,000 men that He fed with those five loaves and two fishes, I
always get which one, mixed up which one it was. I think it
was five loaves and a couple fishes. They got hungry again
the next day. We're fixing to go down and eat.
I'm gonna eat my face off. but I'm gonna be hungry again
tomorrow. Christ didn't come just to raise the dead physically.
Lazarus come forth and he that was dead came forth, but Lazarus
died again. He's not with us today. And though these are no doubt
wondrous, marvelous miracles, signs and wonders, they were
but temporary. Now, if you want to know why
Christ came, we've got to go back to the giving of His name
in Matthew 121. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from what they're seeing. These were just signs that Christ
could forgive and put away sin. This is the miracle that you
and I desperately need. We need Christ to put away our
sin. This man with the palsy had an
immediate need, but it was just a temporary fix. He left walking
on his own two feet, but one day he was laid in a grave. Just
a temporary fix. He had a much greater need, and
that was for his sin to be forgiven and put away. And it's the same
with all of us. We have temporary needs, and
we ask the Lord to grant them, but our real need is deliverance
from sin. What difference is it gonna make
in the long run if we're healed from cancer? We're still gonna
die one day. and face God in the judgment.
It's appointed unto men once to die and after that the judgment.
What difference is it going to make in the long run of how much
money we have or how successful we are? We're still going to
die. And like Job, we're going to say, naked I came into the
world and naked I'm going to leave. We're not going to take
anything with us. When our lungs draw their last
breath, when our heart beats its last beat, what difference
are any of these things going to make when we face God in the
judgment? There's only one thing that's
going to matter in that day. What think ye of Christ? Christ
is the one thing needful. The Lord told the Jews in John
chapter eight, verse 24, I say unto you, I therefore say unto
you that ye shall die in your sins, for if you believe not
that I am He, you shall die in your sins. What do you think
of Christ? You believe in Him? To die in your sins is to be
lost forever. The one thing we really need
is Christ. That He is what's absolutely
necessary. The one thing that cannot be
taken away. That's what he told Martha, and
she's chosen the good part. She's sitting at the feet, you're
running around, waiting hand and foot on everybody, and all
you're doing, all you are is stressed about it. She chose
the one thing needful. Does that sound strange to you?
You know, some of the old prophets did miracles, Elijah and Elijah,
many of the prophets did miracles, but this is what sets Christ
the prophet apart from all the rest. The prophets of old could
not forgive sin. But he can. I know one who can. And that's better than any potion
or pill that I could give you. And whether it was Nicodemus,
who was a seemingly honest man, or that woman at the well in
Samaria that had had five husbands, they both needed the one thing. They needed the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's a strange thing to the world. You tell people things
like that and they look at you like you're crazy. It's a paradox
to them. And the proof of it is they wouldn't
try so hard to save themselves if they didn't think it would.
We give thanks unto the Father who has made us, made unto us,
meet, fit, to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light, who have delivered us from the power of darkness
and have translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom
we have redemption through His blood, even, even the forgiveness
of sin. What a strange thing this is
to the world. What a strange thing to the world's
religion. Is it a strange thing to you? No, it shouldn't be. Why? Because
God did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. There I said
it again. God did for us what we could
not do. Even if we could have, we wouldn't
have. You cannot come to Me that you might have life, and even
if you could, you will not come to Me that you might have life. You know, a drowning man doesn't
need a cup of cold water. A man with cancer doesn't need
an aspirin. In the end, what good will it
do him? What difference will those things make if this main
thing is not addressed? I need my sin to be forgiven.
So do you. I need for my sin to be put away. So do you. Verse 26 again in closing. And they were all amazed and
they glorified God. and we're filled with fear, saying,
we have seen strange things today. Are you amazed this morning?
Do you stand amazed in the presence of Jesus of Nazarene? Are you
glorifying God? Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto Thy Name give glory. He's the only one that gets glory.
in the salvation of sinners. Are you filled with reverence
and fear of the one who loved you and
gave himself for you? If so, you've seen some strange
things. We've seen strange things today,
haven't we? Well, may God be pleased to make
it so for His glory, our good, and for Christ's sake.