Turning, if you will, in your
Bibles back to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 5, this miracle of the paralyzed
man and his healing is recorded for us also in Matthew's Gospel,
Chapter 9, and also Mark's Gospel, Chapter 2, three times. And I hope you noticed in the
reading in Luke's account a moment ago that there were two miracles,
weren't there? There were two miracles that
took place. And I want to consider the greater of the two miracles.
As a matter of fact, our Lord's healing this man of his paralysis,
he did to illustrate, to prove his authority, to the challenge
of the scribes and Pharisees, his authority to forgive sins. The title of my message is, The
Greater Miracle. The Greater Miracle. As we read
in verse 15, our Lord's fame at this time was great, widespread. Therefore, multitudes of people
came. It was a novelty. They'd never
seen this before. It wouldn't last long. Soon the
crowds would diminish. They would wear off. As a matter
of fact, three and a half years from now, the crowds would gather
again. But they wouldn't be filled with
amazement and wonder and glorify God for the things they had seen
Him do. That is, the Lord Jesus Christ.
They would cry out, crucify, crucify. away with him, no place
for him. The greater miracle. In verses
18 and 19, we're told these four men, these friends of the man
with the palsy, brought him to our Lord to be healed. But the
crowd was so vast, a multitude of people, packed in the house, blocking
up the doorway to the house, all around the house. They couldn't
get in. They couldn't get their friend
that had this need. They couldn't get him to the
only one that could supply that need. And they thought to themselves,
we must get to Christ. We must get to Christ. Oh, I hope, I hope if there's
any here this morning that have never gotten to Christ, that
today he might perform the greater miracle, not the healing physically,
oh, but the healing of a sin-sick soul. This is what the miracle
demonstrates. But these four friends said,
we must get to Christ. And Mark tells us in his account
in chapter 2 that they went up on the roof and removed enough
tiles from the roof to create an opening to lower this man
down before the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you just picture that? Isn't
that a beautiful picture? They removed the tiles and with
ropes, on this stretcher that the man was on, they let him
down. Can you see the crowd just looking
up? And they lower him down right
in the presence of the great physician. And our Lord does
much more than they expected. That's what Paul said, didn't
he, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? In Ephesians chapter
3, Paul wrote that he's able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think. He did so on this occasion. He
healed this man physically, but he did much more, so much more. Look at verse 20 again. Here's
the greater miracle. And this is what our Lord did
first. He didn't heal the man first. He cured his greatest
need first of all. Verse 20, and when he saw their
faith, he said unto him, he said to this crippled man, man, thy
sins are forgiven thee. Thy sins are forgiven. In verse 17, we read that scribes
and Pharisees had came out of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem,
along with this multitude of people. Did you notice those words in
verse 17? And the power of the Lord was
present to heal them. To heal them. Who? Scribes and Pharisees. But you
know what? We don't read that any of them
applied to our Lord for healing. As a matter of fact, on down
in the chapter, he tells them, you don't need me. You don't
need me. Imagine that. They that are whole,
verse 31, and he's speaking to the scribes and Pharisees that
murmured, murmured against him. They that are whole don't need
a physician, but they that are sick. And our Lord said, I've
come to call not the righteous. You're righteous. You don't need
me. But I've come to call sinners
to repentance. And that's what this cripple
represented. The great physician of sin-sick
souls knew the greatest need of this man. He knew what it
was. And it wasn't rather physical healing, but spiritual. Which
is greater? Which is greater? To be healed
physically or to be made whole? Listen. To be declared righteous
in the sight of a holy God? Which is most glorious? Which
is the greatest need? Which is the greatest miracle?
To be healed physically or to hear what this man heard? To
hear what this man heard. Your sins are forgiven you. To be made whole in the sight
of a holy God, to be cleansed from all my sins. Is that possible? Is that possible? needy sinner, a helpless sinner,
a guilty sinner, hear the same words that this man heard? Our
Lord said, He told the scribes and Pharisees to show you, to
prove to you, to convince you that the Son of Man has power
on earth to forgive sins. He healed the man. but only to
demonstrate that greater power in forgiving his sins. The greater of the two miracles
was the salvation of his soul. He walked away, we read on down
in the chapter. He walked away after being healed,
verse 25, and immediately he rose up before them and took
up that wherein he lay. That bed carried him, but now
he carries it. and departed to his own house,
glorifying God. But the greater miracle was when
our Lord said, Your sins, thy sins are forgiven thee. The greater
miracle was this. This man arose spiritually. He arose spiritually. This man
who was by nature like every one of us. every one of us, born
dead. Born dead. Now, does anything
portray helplessness more than death? Can anyone be more helpless
than a dead man? And our Lord raised this dead
sinner to life. Paul said in Ephesians 2, you
have he quickened. Who did the quickening? God.
The Lord Jesus. He who said I'm the resurrection
and the life. He who said the hour is coming
and now is. That the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of Man and they that hear shall what? Live. That's what happened. That's
what happened here. The life of God entered into
the soul of that man. He would one day die physically. He would one day die physically.
Dust to dust. But the life of God, that life
that entered into his soul that day, would never end. Isn't that what our Lord taught
in John 10? I give them, I give them eternal
life. Eternal life. And they shall
never perish. Eternal life. Everlasting life. That work of grace that this
man experienced that day would never end. Never end. He was saved with an everlasting
salvation. Look, if you will, in John 11.
Look again in our Lord's words to grieving Martha over the death
of her brother Lazarus. Is it any wonder that even the
enemies of our Lord confessed on one occasion, never a man
spake like him? Nobody speaks like him. In verse 25 of John 11, Jesus
again is talking to Martha. And look what he says to her.
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live." Live unto God. Live with the
very life of God in his soul. That life that shall never end. that life that he possesses now
and will possess throughout eternity. Verse 26, Whosoever, do you hear
that? Whosoever liveth has this life,
and believeth in me shall never die. Shall never die. Oh, what a Redeemer. Believest
thou this? The greatest honor to our God
It's his marvelous mercy, is it not? The greatest glory that
the God of heaven has yet been pleased to reveal is his free
forgiveness of sin. That's right. That's a greater
miracle than when he said, let there be light. This is a greater
miracle than when He created the heavens and the earth. The
greater miracle is when He, by His omnipotent power, raises
up a dead sinner to walk in newness of life. I, even I, our Lord
says, is He that blotteth out thy transgressions and will remember
thy sins no more. No more. Could anything be more
glorious? Not for those who have experienced
it. In heaven the redeemed adore and sing, not of God's works
of creation, but that greater work, that greater work of making
sinners new creations in Christ Jesus. Unto Him that loved us
they sing. unto Him that loved us and has
redeemed us with His own precious blood. Unto Him be glory and
honor and dominion and power. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."
Look, if you will, in chapter 15 of Luke's Gospel. Luke chapter 15, such a familiar
passage. Again, the publicans and the
sinners, they draw nigh to hear the Lord
Jesus Christ. And again, again, there are the
Pharisees and the scribes. They seem to always be hanging
around. Not because they felt the need,
but that they might catch him in his words, that they might
have something to accuse him of. Can you picture this scene? These publicans, these despised
tax collectors, like Matthew, and the riff-raff of society,
those Pharisees wouldn't associate with. If they happened to brush
up against them on the street, they'd go home and change their
clothes. They would consider themselves to have been defiled.
But they just surround the Lord Jesus. And the Pharisees stand
outside the circle and they say to one another, isn't that disgusting?
Isn't that despicable? And they murmured and said, this
man receiveth sinners. He receiveth sinners. Aren't you glad that's true?
That was an accusation that was true. Couldn't have been more
true. And our Lord pled guilty to it. He said, you're exactly
right. You're exactly right. I do more
than you accuse me of. Not only do I receive and eat
with sinners, I go out in search of sinners. They, if left alone, won't come
to me. I go out as their great shepherd,
seeking them. Glory to His name. Aren't you
glad He did? Joe, if He hadn't, you wouldn't
have sought Him. As you read earlier, we chose
Him because He first chose us. Verse 4, what man of you having
a hundred sheep, and if he lose one of them, doth not leave the
ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that one which is
lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, Oh, amazing grace, I once was
lost but now am found. And when he found it, I can't
help but point out, and I'm sure I always do, those words, it
doesn't say an if he find it. No. The great shepherd, there's
no ifs concerning the great shepherd's search for one of his sheep. There's no ifs to it. Bless his
name. And when he found it, Look what
He does. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son. And He said, I come to seek
and to say that which was lost. Not just to seek, but to find. And not just to find, but to
save. And not just to save today, but
to save to the uttermost, to save forever, and to put on my
broad shoulders of sovereign power and omnipotence, and to
take him all the way home, to save him eternally. Oh, bless
God for the great shepherd of the sheep. And when he had found
it, He laid it up on his shoulders rejoicing. He rejoices to do
so. And when he cometh home, again
not an if, but when he cometh home, he calleth together his
friends and neighbors saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for
I have found my sheep which was lost. Rejoice with me. Verse 7, I say
unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner. One sinner. Joy in heaven. He repeats that concerning the
lost coin. Joy in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth, more than over ninety-nine just persons, like
the Pharisees considered themselves to be, which need no repentance."
Joy in heaven. He repeats the same thing in
verse 10. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Well,
perhaps their rejoicing is premature. I mean, what if that lost sheep
doesn't make it all the way to glory? Perhaps they should refrain
from their rejoicing. Oh, no. Oh, no. No, they're right
to rejoice. They're exactly right to rejoice
because they know. They believe what the great shepherd
says. I'm going to bring him all the
way home. What a redeemer. What a Redeemer. Grace makes us to differ. Yes, it does. Now hear me. Grace makes us to differ. The grace of God that is in Christ
Jesus seeks and saves and keeps in
His mighty hand. So no power, no one, nothing
can ever pluck out one of those that the Father entrusted into
His care. And He's going to bring them
all the way home. all the way to glory. And they shall see
his face. Yes, grace makes those who experience
it to differ. John Newton, you perhaps have
heard it said. He said, I'm not what I want
to be. He said this as a believer after
many years. And I'm not what I shall one day be. I'm not what
I'm going to be." Oh, but he said, that old ex-captain of
a slave ship, that blasphemer, that one who hated God at one
time until grace, he said, but bless God, I'm not what I used
to be. And child of God, bless His name. John, we're not what we used
to be. We're not what we used to be. Thank God for His amazing grace. No one that experiences His grace
and mercy in the blessed forgiveness of sins are what they used to
be. You remember, in Exodus chapter
33. Let's turn there for a moment.
Exodus chapter 33. Moses' request. He asked God
to show him his glory. And notice the Lord God's answer
in verse 18 of Exodus 33. And he said, that is Moses, I
beseech thee, show me thy glory. And God's answer was this. I
will make all my goodness pass before thee. And I will proclaim
the name of the Lord before thee. And I will be gracious. I will
be gracious. God's goodness is His grace. His grace is His goodness. And
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show
mercy on whom I will show mercy." Well, I thought God owed mercy
and grace to everyone. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. God
says it's mine and I will bestow it on whom I will. Verse 20,
and he said, Thou cannot see my face, for there shall no man
see my face and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there
is a place by me, There is a place by me, and thou
shalt stand upon a rock. A place by me. Jesus Christ,
we're told, is at the right hand of the majesty on high, ever
living to make intercession for us. Like old top lady wrote,
rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Which is greater? Ask this man,
we read of in Luke 5. Which was the greatest miracle
that you experienced that day? Which was most important? Which
had eternal consequences? I dare say, and it's really not
a dare, I'd say it's safe to say that this man thanked God
the rest of his life. that he was a cripple, that he
had that paralysis that brought him to seek the great physician. He thanked God for that because
it brought him to the feet of that one who alone could speak
such words. Thy sins are all forgiven thee. Poverty won't entitle me to heaven
and wealth won't keep me out of hell. No, that gospel that
says God wants everyone healthy and wealthy, that's a lie. That's
a lie. And people who believe that,
people who embrace that, are people who have never really
felt their need. They don't know what the issue
was. Because if they did, if they'd ever been stripped, if
their heart had ever been torn asunder by the hand of God's
Holy Spirit, they would know, they would know their greatest
need is God's mercy. Have mercy on me, Lord. Have
mercy on me. The blessed experience of forgiveness. That's their greatest need. This
is what the psalmist sung about, did he not? And this is what
every redeemed sinner can sing about. Blessed is the man. Blessed is the man that has three
cars in his garage. Blessed is the man that has a
bigger house than his neighbor. No, no. Blessed is that man to
whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. That's a blessed man. Matthew tells us that our Lord
told this man, be of good cheer. Be happy. Rejoice. Your sins are forgiven thee. Be of good cheer. Oh, if pain
and sickness rend this frame and life almost depart, is not
thy mercy still the same to cheer my drooping heart? Lazarus, our
Lord talked about the rich man and Lazarus who was a beggar. They both died and Lazarus was
carried in the bosom of Abraham right up to the throne of God
Almighty. Lazarus, which was most important
to you in life, God's mercy or the rich man's money? And our
Lord said, the rich man also died. And this is a reality. This is true too. As true and
sure as heaven. And in hell, he lifted up his
eyes. Ask that man, what mattered most
to him now? What was most important to him
now? His money or God's mercy? What did he wish he had possessed
now? Money or mercy? Oh, God's mercy. He begged for it, but there was
none there. Oh God, grant us the riches of
your grace because God's glorious grace will never be lost. It
will never be lost. The stock market can't faze God's
grace. It doesn't affect God's grace.
Obamacare can't touch God's mighty grace. It's always free. It's always abundant. It's always
sufficient. It's always reigning. And God's
grace will bring all of His sheep to glory. Nothing can affect
that. The hymn writer said, Oh, yes.
Oh, yes. I'm a child of the King. I'm
a child of the King. I'm a child of King Jesus. His God is my God. And His Father
is my Father. And His heaven is my heaven. He said, I want them, Father,
those you gave me, to be with me where I am. What's most important? Those
words, man, thy sins be forgiven thee. And notice who says so.
Notice that secondly. Who said so? The Pharisees noticed
it, didn't they? The scribes noticed it. They
said, who has a right to do this? Who can forgive sins but God
alone? And they were right. They were
right. And God did forgive sins. When
Jesus said to this man, Thy sins be forgiven thee, the God-man,
the incarnate God, God in flesh, was saying, Thy sins be forgiven,
because He is none other than God with us. When our Lord said, Man, thy
sins are forgiven thee, He wasn't expressing a desire or a wish. Get this, child of God. He was
declaring a blessed reality. I've not forgotten my place.
I'm pausing deliberately. If he's ever come to you, if he's ever come to you and said, man, be of good cheer,
Thy sins are forgiven thee." That's a blessed reality. He
is saying so makes it so. Nobody else does. He told the
woman in chapter 7 whose sins were forgiven, who our Lord pronounced
forgiven right in the house of a Pharisee. He said, go in peace. Go in peace. Every forgiven sinner
has peace with God. Reconciled to God by the death
of his son. One of our hymns express it this
way. Arise, my soul, arise. Shake
off thy guilty fears. The bleeding sacrifice on thy
behalf appears. Before the throne my surety stands,
and my name is written on his hands. My God is reconciled. His pardoning voice I hear. He
owns me for his child I can no longer fear. With confidence
I now draw nigh. And Abba, Abba, Father, cry. Thy sins be forgiven thee that
may God enable us to walk through this world with the peace of
God in our hearts. with the bliss of this glorious
thought, my sins not in part but the whole were nailed to
this cross and I bear them no more. What's my response to that? Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.
Oh my soul. Who says so? The Lord Jesus Christ
said so. He has the right to forgive sin
and He exercises that right. that you may know that the Son
of Man had power on earth to forgive sin, and He still does. He still does. He had power on
earth, and now that He sits on the throne of glory, He exercises
that power to sinners that come to Him. God said, Hear ye Him. Have you heard what this cripple
heard? Not from the lips of a preacher.
You tell me what difference it would make, other than to deceive
your soul if you would believe it. If you would come up here
and shake my hand and say a little prayer and I told you your sins
were forgiven, would that make it so, Mike? Would that make
it so? Or you would trot down to a priest
and get in that little cubbyhole and fight, fight, I've sinned,
I've sinned, and he said, well, give me three push-ups and your
sins are forgiven. No, that wouldn't make it so.
That wouldn't make it so. But this makes it so. When the
Lord Jesus Christ says, thy sins are forgiven, they're gone. They're forgiven. They're forgiven
forever. And they're all forgiven. Because
only of Him was it said. Of only Him was these words spoken. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sins. Only of Him is it true that He
who knew no sin was made sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Only He Himself is the one mediator
between God and man. He Himself said, I'm the door. I'm the door. By Me, if any man
shall enter in, what did He say in John 10? He shall be saved. He shall be saved. These four
friends that brought this paralyzed man to our Lord, they said, we've
got to get to Christ. This is His only hope. We've
got to get to Him. The Son of Man has power on earth
to forgive sins. Isn't that good news? Jesus still
delights to show mercy. He is still able to save to the
uttermost all that come unto God by him because he ever liveth. He ever liveth. And he says these
words. Come unto me all ye that labor
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Is there one like
that this morning? Anybody laboring? heavy laden,
with a load of sin and guilt? Anybody? Perhaps you've tried those things
I mentioned earlier. The sinner's prayer, the walking
to the isle, the kneel at a so-called altar. But when you lie down
at night, you don't have any peace with God. Oh, may you experience the sweet
forgiveness of these words of our Savior to this cripple. Man,
thy sins are forgiven thee. He says today, come to me and
I'll give you rest. I know that's true. I know that's
true. Because I came to him heavy laden
with a load of sin and guilt. And he took it all away. He took
it all away. And he gave me rest. He spake
these words to me. Thy sins are all forgiven thee. Look at verse 26, the last thing. And they were all amazed, this
multitude, They were all amazed, and they
glorified God, and were filled with fear, wonder, saying, we
have seen strange things today. Strange things today. Indeed,
God's grace is an amazing thing, is it not? They were amazed.
His mercy is a marvel, isn't it? Yes, they should have been
amazed, and they should have glorified God, and so should
we. Brothers and sisters in Christ, this man, this man, to whom our
Lord spoke these words of forgiveness, he's in heaven now, beholding
the Lord Jesus Christ right now. Isn't that amazing? Again, in
Matthew's account, he tells us these words. Our Lord also spoke,
Son, be of good cheer. Thy sins are forgiven thee. Years
ago, a man by the name of Elisha Hoffman was visiting a friend
of his who was going through a great affliction, was suffering,
and had been for a while. And he went into her little house.
He found her very, very depressed, very discouraged. And she just
unburdened her heart to him. And she looked at him with tears.
And said, Brother Hoffman, what shall I do? What shall I do? And he said, Sister, you can't
do anything better than to take all your sorrows to Jesus. You
must tell Jesus. And so she sat there just quiet
for a few minutes. And then her eyes lit up and
she said, that's right. I must tell Jesus. And he said
he left her house and he walked home, but he said all the way
home, those words kept rolling over and over in his mind. I
must tell Jesus. I must tell Jesus. And when he got home, he wrote
that famous hymn. I must tell Jesus all of my trials. I cannot bear these burdens alone.
In my distress, he kindly will help me. He ever loves and cares
for his own. Tempted and tried, I need a great
savior, one who can help my burdens to bear. I must tell Jesus, I
must tell Jesus. He all my cares and sorrows will
share. And the chorus, you know. I must
tell Jesus. I must tell Jesus. I cannot bear
my burdens alone. I must tell Jesus. I must tell
Jesus. Jesus can help me. And Jesus
alone. Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. May God enable someone to apply
to our Lord Jesus Christ. and experience the riches of
His great grace and mercy. God bless you. Amen.