The Greatest of All Miracles

Luke 5:20-22

Which of Jesus’ miracles was the greatest? It wasn’t when He healed this man. It was when He forgave Him of his sins! Forgiveness, what a word!  Nothing is more foreign to our human nature than forgiveness.  And nothing is more characteristic of God’s nature than forgiveness.  When we are wronged, our natural tendency is to hold it against them. We are eager for vengeance and God is eager for forgiveness.  And so, never are we more like God than when we love our enemies and do good to those that harm us; for then we prove, Jesus said, that we are children of God.  Forgiveness is man's greatest need and therefore God's greatest gift.  So the gospel is not a message of how to have a good self-image. It's not a message of a repaired human relationship.  It's not a message of success on the earth through psychology.  It is the message of forgiveness.  All people are sinners, and are under the wrath of God. But, God is full of mercy and grace and will forgive the sinner who comes to Him with a repentant heart and asks for that gift of forgiveness. 

Man is in an absolutely impossible situation.  In fact, I don't know if you know this but God Himself says, "It is an abomination to justify a sinner."  We make a big ‘to do’ in our society about the courts and how occasionally they find an innocent person guilty.  We hear about this person who's been in prison X number of years and now with DNA evidence they realize that this person was innocent and they let the person out and there's need for reparation and somehow restoration and restitution to this person who sat in prison for a crime they didn't commit and what a terrible travesty it is to declare an innocent person guilty.  But we don't make nearly as much out of declaring guilty people innocent.  But both are an abomination to God on a human level. 

Proverbs 17:15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.

Proverbs 24:24 He that saith unto the wicked, Thou are righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: [you can kill your kids and get off because voices told you to do it?]

It’s wrong to call good evil and evil good. Repeatedly God forbids anybody to declare a sinful person righteous. And yet that is exactly what God Himself does.  And He alone has the right to do it.  He is the judge and He is the lawmaker.  He is the singular governor of the universe.  Therefore there's only He has the right to do what [for us] is an abomination: to justify sinners, to declare guilty people innocent.  And that is the wonder of the gospel and the uniqueness of Christianity. 

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

What God will not allow us to do for the sake of justice, God Himself has done.  He justifies the ungodly.  And it further says the faith of that ungodly person is counted as righteousness.  So God justifies the ungodly on the basis of faith.

Psalms 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. ² Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity…

That, you see, is the message of Christianity.  But having said that, the essential element, the core, the heart of forgiveness is not the remission of the penalty, it's not the escape from hell.  The heart of the gospel is the motive that makes God do that [why?].  This is where we see the essence of the gospel.  It's wonderful that the penalty is removed, that's the benefit.  But the center of the gospel is the motive that made God willing to do that.  And what is the motive?  John 3:16/Romans 5:8

vv. 20-21         The Pharisees were musing in their minds, saying to themselves, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  And frankly, that was good theology.  They knew their Old Testament well enough to know that.  Why is this man Jesus saying to this paralyzed man your sins are forgiven?  Doesn't He know that only God can do that?" 

At the point that He forgave his sins He hadn't yet healed him.  That comes later in verse 24 where He says to him, "Get up."  Before He ever dealt with the physical problem, He forgave his sin.  The real cry of his heart was not the physical need.  The real cry of his heart was for forgiveness.  Unlike these Pharisees, this man didn't have any self-righteousness.  This man was not only an outcast on the outside physically, but also on the inside spiritually and that’s why he sought forgiveness.  Jesus gave it to him.

And that's always the way it's been.  I mean, this is a classic illustration of how people were always saved, always forgiven throughout all the Old Testament era.  The sinner had to take a look at his own heart and see that he had violated the law of God and that there was in him nothing but sinful bankruptcy.

Forgiveness continues to be the emphasis of Jesus' ministry.  His ministry was about sin and forgiveness.  Down in verse 29, Levi [unsaved Matthew], had his friends over.  It was a pretty crummy group, a bunch of tax collectors and sinners.  And the Pharisees and scribes began grumbling at the disciples saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax gatherers and sinners?"  Well, if you've got a message of forgiveness, you hang around the people who want it.  Jesus said, "It's not those who are well that need a physician, but those who are sick."  That's sarcasm.  You...you, of course, are well.  I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 

That's the kind of people Jesus wanted to hang around, sinners.  “the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost.”

It was the righteous people that nauseated Him, the self-righteous people who didn't think they were sinners.  Listen, if you don't know you're a sinner, you have made a severe error in self-diagnosis.  It is severe enough to cost you eternity in hell.  You don't want to go to a doctor who makes a bad diagnosis; you could die.  Worse yet, you don't want to make a fatal diagnosis of your spiritual condition.

What a miracle Jesus did here. You think it was something to gather all the fish into Peter's net? That was a physical miracle of amazing proportions.  You think it was something to cast out demons and heal all these diseases.  Let me tell you, that pales by comparison.  Miracles in the angelic realm and miracles in the physical realm pale compared to miracles in the moral realm.  All you have to do to work a miracle in the physical realm is overpower the laws of nature.  All you have to do to work a miracle in the angelic realm is overpower the demons.  But to change a man's moral standing before God, that's the greatest alteration conceivable. 

This stunned the Pharisees.  And their brains began to buzz. 

The worst crime you could commit within the framework of Judaism was blasphemy because that was a direct assault on God and they revered God, in their own twisted way.  This was the worst blasphemy they had ever heard. He might as well have said He's the Creator of the universe, that He's the Holy One of Israel, that He's the Redeemer of Zion, that He's the holy and Almighty One, the eternal judge, the God of glory. 

Leviticus 24 told them exactly what to do with a blasphemer. 

Leviticus 24:23 And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones.

They knew that passage.  They knew what should be done to a blasphemer, and so they were ready to do it. 

V. 22        Wow!  He knew everything they were thinking.  Now just stop for a moment and realize, "Only God knows what people are thinking." First Samuel 16:7, "The Lord looketh on the heart."  First Kings 8:39, "For You know the hearts of all men."  First Chronicles 28:9, "For the Lord searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts."  Jeremiah 17:10, "I the Lord search the heart."  Ezekiel 11:5, "I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them." 

John 2:25 says, "He knew what was in the heart of man."  John 6:61, "He knew what was in the heart of man."  Matthew 12:14, "He knew what was in the heart of man."  And He knew they were thinking He was a blasphemer.  And He knew they wanted Him dead. 

Jesus confronts them in verse 23 with a question.  "Which is easier to say, your sins have been forgiven you, or to say rise and walk?"  Provocative, isn't it?  Do you know the answer?  Come back tonite.

With that question Jesus penetrates to the real issue and seals the evidence of His deity and we'll see how that unfolds.  But in conclusion, the message is that Jesus Christ came to forgive sinners.  You are one. So am I.  I've been forgiven, so have many now listening.  But why us? It was because at some point we came to the true understanding of our condition, right?  May God help you by His Holy Spirit to make a true assessment of your sinfulness, your desperate condition, the impending judgment of God, which is as close as your death, which could be at any time, or the return of Christ which could be at any time. I hope you experience the greatest of all miracles.

By Squire Parsons

I wasn't there by the shores of Galilee

When Jesus touched those blinded eyes and made them see

And though I did not see the empty tomb that day

I still believe for I know what Jesus did for me

I believe there is power in the blood of the Lamb

I believe there is healing in the touch of His hand

But the greatest of all miracles was when Jesus saved me

Yes, I know what Jesus did for me

Now I have seen the lowest sin-sick soul

Have life anew and be made pure, pure and whole

And I have felt Him loose the chains of sin and set my spirit free

Yes, I know what Jesus did for me

[sing with me]

Some people say, ‘I would believe on Jesus if I could just see a miracle.’  Really, ok, here goes…just take a look around this room!  The greatest of all miracles are sitting all around this place right now…joy filled lives transformed by the power of Christ!

There’s many things in the Bible you can argue about if you like, but you cannot argue with a changed life!

Ill.—a little girl had been praying for her father to get saved / finally he did, and she went around telling everyone, my daddy got saved, my daddy got saved! / an atheist in town heard her and said, aw, that stuff is just a fairy tale, there’s no such thing as being saved / she looked up at him and replied, sir, I don’t think it’s a fairy tale, but if it is, please don’t tell my daddy, because since he got saved he don’t come home drunk no more, and don’t beat up mommy no more, and I don’t ever have to hide in the closet no more since he believed.  Daddy don’t waste the money on sin no more…so sir, if it’s not true…please don’t tell my daddy!

If you don’t believe in Jesus, then how do you explain the miracles in this room? 

Liars now truthful / drunks made sober / promiscuous made pure / selfish tightwads made generous / self-centered made servants / druggies made into Jesus addicts!

We may not be all that we ought to be, but praise God, we’re not what we used to be!  Now how do you explain that? 

There’s a miracle in every pew!  One in me…one in you!

We’re all living proof, there’s nothing God can’t do

There’s a miracle in every pew!