Rise Up and Walk, Luke 5:17-26, June 3, 2007

Rise Up and Walk…! (Luke 5:17-26)

Hillcrest Church, June 3, 2007

Text

"¹⁵ Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. ¹⁷ One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." ²¹ The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" ²² Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." ²⁵ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. ²⁶ Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."" (Luke 5:15-26, NIV)

See also Mark 2 and Matthew 9.

Introduction

Text introduces several new things in Luke's Gospel:

· First mention of Jesus as the "Son of Man." (Underscores the way He operated in the miraculous – as a man anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit, i.e., "…the power of the Lord was present to heal.") Note: The presence of supernatural healing power immediately follows the reference to the private prayer life of Jesus…!

· First mention of the word, "faith".

· First mention of the Pharisees, who will become fierce opponents of the ministry and the message of Jesus.

1. As I follow Jesus, I will experience change.

Jesus and his followers brought about change everywhere they went…!

One of the biggest criticisms of Moses as a leader was the fact that he was instituting change ("leeks and onions"). When that spirit entered the people, not even divine provision could keep them from grumbling… (Manna).

One of his biggest challenges as a leader was how to process change in an orderly fashion ("only as fast as the very young and the very old could travel"). Try as he did, he was unsuccessful at leading them into the Promised Land, not because of a lack in his leadership, but because of their innate resistance to change.

This was the reason they experienced such fierce criticism, opposition, rejection, and persecution.

· Pharisees resisted stylistic change.

· Sadducees resisted sociological / social change.

· Scribes resisted theological change.

· Kings resisted political change.

· Merchants resisted economic change.

· Practitioners of the occult resisted spiritual change.

Jesus knew change was difficult, but He also knew change was sometimes necessary.

"No one who has tasted old wine wants the new…!" and "New wine will break the old wineskins and the new wine will be lost…!"

No human being likes change, but change is an important part of life, and change is an important part of following Jesus.

· I have changed since Teresa and I were married 23 years and about twice that man pounds ago…!

· When the Israelistes left Egypt for the Promised Land, only those who embraced change were able to cross over Jordan into their destiny. …!

Jesus knows my deepest thoughts.

Jesus cares about my deepest needs, even those I do not know I have (forgiveness as well as healing)!

Jesus is able to meet my needs today through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus loves me too much to leave me the way I am…!

2. As I follow Jesus, I will lead others to Him.

Jesus saw their faith…!

The four men (Mark's Gospel) had faith in Jesus. The paralyzed man had faith in them.

Here is how we lead others to Jesus:

· They must believe I love them..

· They must believe I want to help them.

· They must believe I speak truth to them.

· They must believe I believe in Him.

Here's how we should pray…

· Lord, lead me to someone who will listen to me.

· Lord, confirm my words through the Holy Spirit's power.

The authority (ἐξουσία [exousia /ex·oo·see·ah])^[1] and power (δύναμις [dunamis /doo·nam·is])^[2] of Jesus to work miracles proved His power to forgive sins. We still need supernatural proofs to establish the truth of the Gospel…!

3. As I follow Jesus, I will discover the true meaning of life.

· I live a supernatural life.

Miracles happen today.

· As I do what I must do, He does what only He can do.

Miracles never remove our responsibility for action.

· He meets needs through me that I could never meet on my own.

Miracles are given in response to legitimate human needs. (Needs-centered paradigm of spiritual gifts.)

invitation

1. Do you need to begin a personal relationship with Jesus?

2. Do you want to lead your friends to Jesus?

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^[1] 1849 ἐξουσία [exousia /ex·oo·see·ah/] n f. From 1832 (in the sense of ability); TDNT 2:562; TDNTA 238; GK 2026; 103 occurrences; AV translates as "power" 69 times, "authority" 29 times, "right" twice, "liberty" once, "jurisdiction" once, and "strength" once. 1 power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases. 1a leave or permission. 2 physical and mental power. 2a the ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises. 3 the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege). 4 the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed). 4a universally. 4a1 authority over mankind. 4b specifically. 4b1 the power of judicial decisions. 4b2 of authority to manage domestic affairs. 4c metonymically. 4c1 a thing subject to authority or rule. 4c1a jurisdiction. 4c2 one who possesses authority. 4c2a a ruler, a human magistrate. 4c2b the leading and more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates. 4d a sign of the husband's authority over his wife. 4d1 the veil with which propriety required a women to cover herself. 4e the sign of regal authority, a crown. Additional Information: For synonyms see entries 970, bia; 1411, dunamis; 1753, energeia; 2479, ischus; and 2904, kratos.See entry 5820 for comparison of synonyms.

^[2] 1411 δύναμις [dunamis /doo·nam·is/] n f. From 1410; TDNT 2:284; TDNTA 186; GK 1539; 120 occurrences; AV translates as "power" 77 times, "mighty work" 11 times, "strength" seven times, "miracle" seven times, "might" four times, "virtue" three times, "mighty" twice, and translated miscellaneously nine times. 1 strength power, ability. 1a inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth. 1b power for performing miracles. 1c moral power and excellence of soul. 1d the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth. 1e power and resources arising from numbers. 1f power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts. Additional Information: For synonyms see entries 970, bia; 1753, energeia; 1849, exousia; 2479, ischus; and 2904, kratos.See entry 5820 for comparison of synonyms.