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Luke

5:12-6:16

(5:16-26) The Sovereignty

ofjesus

in the

FO

,rgiveness of Sins

Once again Luke does not

tell 'us

t e

tiine'and place

of

this

healing of the paralytic man.

All he tells us is. hat it

happened

one day.

Mark puts

this incident

early in the

ministry of

Jesus,

2:1-3:6,

and

:

Matthew

places it in

Capernaum

after the

healing. of the

Gadarene '

demoniac,

8:28. Luke

places this healing incident here

to give us another example,

along with Peter and the healed

leper, of a humble.person

receiving help from Jesus.

.The Withdrawal

ofjesus

Into the

Wilderness

to Pray

But He Himself would often

slip

away to

the wilderness and

pray,

The Prayer Life ofjesus

So, again

and

again, Jesus

would withdraw Himself and

steal away to lonely places.

This withdrawal also had a

positive purpose, namely, to

pour out

His hean in prayer in

order that the reservoirs of

His

body

and soul might be

replenished from His Father's

inexhaustible resources.

Hendriksen. We catch a

glimpse of the soul life ofjesus,

his frequent communing with

God in lonely places while men

were clamoring for him.

Lenski.

The Meaning

of

His Returning to the

wilderness to Pray

'Jesus deliberately

withdraws from the people to

return to

an area which has the

character of the wilderness

where He ericountered Satan

and sustained temptation. The

nature of the temptation in

each instance may be related to

the clamor of the crowds, who

are willing to find in Jesus a

divine-man who meets their

needs and so wins their

follOwing. The people,

however, have no conception of

what

t means to go out to the

wilderness to bear the burden

of judgment,

as

Jesus has done,

He turns from their acclaim,

. 24 Tlff:COUNSEL of Chalcedon

January

February, 1996

returning

to

a place which

recalls

His

determination to

fulfill the mission for which He

has come into the world. - Lane

on MARK

Jesus going to the

wilderness to pray, again

recalls the wilderness when

Jesus confronts the temptation

of Satan, and

is

sustained by

help from God. His strength is

in prayer through Which He

affirms His intention to fulfill

the will of God, whtch means

His submission to the judgment

of God .... - Lane

The

Gathering

of Christ's

Enemies

and the

Power

of

God to Heal

The

Identity

of

the Enemies

. The

Pharisees

Their

Character

In the Gospel of Luke, this is

the first reference to the

Pharisees. They were a

relatively small sect of

separatists, always making the

effort

to

separate themselVes

from ceremonial impurity, from

the heathen, from

tax-co

lle

ctors, and from

sinners in general. Josephus

tells us that there were a little

more than 6000 Pharisees, but

they were very influential

as

the

uno

fficia

l religious leaders of

the day who spearheaded the

opposition to Jesus, They were

a self-righteous group who

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cultivated a hollow formalism

that was ostentatious to a

degree, especially

in

observing

ceremonies, fastings,

almsgiving, long prayers, tithes,

etc. - Lenski

Their History

After the return of the Jews

from the Babylonian Captivity,

we see the development in the

Jewish national life of the

tendency that eventually leads

to the definite formation of the

Pharisaic party. - Geldenhuys.

The Pharisees

led

the nation

in

the conscientious fulfillment of

Mosaic

Law and

guarded it

against

all

foreign

masses of the people, so that in

the time of Christ they were the

recognized leaders to

whom

the

people looked up for guidance

in

almost every sphere oflife.

Geldenhuys

Their Doctrine

Several doctrines

characterize Pharisee theology.

(a). The Jews must live by the

Law of God, (which included

the

Mosaic: Law AND

the oral

interpretations

and

regulations

handed down by tradition); (b).

The Jews must remain free from

all foreign influences

and

maintain a separated existence;

real spirit of God's laws in

many instances

and

fell into

hypocrisy. - Geldenhuys. (e).

Being legalists, they believed in

salvation

by

observing the Law

of God, .

Their

Spiritual Blindness

In their pride

and

self-righteousness they exalted

themselves above the ordinary

people

and

labored

under

the

delusion that through their

outward observance of the Law

they would receive rich rewards

from God. Blinded through

their spiritual degeneration,

they rejected Jesus and, as

influences. They

opposed the tyrannical

efforts of Antiochus

Epiphanes in 168, B.C.,

who tried to make Is,ael

pagan by force, siding

with the Maccabees,

rather than with those

who cooperated with

: ''While op6erving u t w a r ~ pr.oyi$)one;

. t h ~ L ; : / ~ 'fery paine;taking y::

the

:

f h a ; ; 6 ; ; 8 6

~ i p l i l t 8 d t h e real spirit

of

d;d'edi:IV{e;i.n

rnanyinrstancee;

and

fell

, . . n;to

hypqcri5-Y:"

- Geldenhqye; . ,

Professor J.A.C. van

Leeuwen writes, 'the

wickedness

of

their

s e l f ~ r i g h t e o u s

hearts is

full-grown

when

in the

name of the Lord they

reject

Him

who is the

fulfiller of Law

and

the eriemy. They later opposed

the efforts

of ohn

Hyrcanus,

(135-105, B.C.), who tried to

lead Israel into alliances with

foreign (pagan) nations

so as

to

blur Israel's separated existence.

Later, the priest-rulers of the

Maccabean dynasty violently

opposed the Pharisaic party,

but

their influence continued to

grow to such

an

extent that

they dominated the whole

national life of Israel from the

reign of Alexander, (76-67,

B.C.). They maintained their

national influence even after the

Romans subjugated

Palestine

in

63, B.C. And owing to the

antipathy of the people against

the Herodian rulers, (from 37,

B.

C.) their influence grew at an

increasing pace among the

(c). The Pharisees fixed their

hopes

on

the coming Messiah

who would be an earthly ruler,

who would establish a great

Jewish state after overcoming

the political tyranny of Rome.

(d). They attached a special

value to the oral traditions and

expositions of the Law

and in

particular observed numerous

ceremonial laws in connection

with the distinction between

'pure'

and

'impure'

and in

connection with the observance

of the Sabbath. Through the

many subtle provisions of the

oral law their zeal for the Law

often degenerated into

superficiality

and

formality.

While observing outward

provisions of the Law very

painstakingly, they violated the

prophecy. '

Geldenhuys

The Teachers of

the

Law

These were the SCRIBES,

professionals students

and

teachers of the writ ten

and

oral

Law. Most Scribes were

members

of the Pharisee party,

but not

all Pharisees were

Scribes. 'The Doctors

of

the

Law among the Pharisees thus

had as

their vocation the study

of the provisions of the Law,

handing it

down and

expounding

what

they

themselves

and

all other

Pharisees

had

to observe with

practical precision. They were

subject to the same spiritual

blindness as the Pharisaic party

as

a whole,

and

consequently

the majority of them rejected

Jesus. - Geldenhuys. In fact,

Jannary

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often the real law of God was in

their teaching bUried beneath

tradition. - Hendriksen

. The Gathering and

Purpose

'ofJesus Enemies

On

the day Jesus had chosen'

to heal the paralytic, Pharisees

and Teachers

of

the

Law

were

sitting there watching Him, and

they

had

come from every

village of Galilee and

Judea

and

from]erusalem. The

most

influential religious leaders

from all bver Palestine,

including the capital city, were

greatly disturbed by the activity

ofjesus; and as by a concerted

movement many of these

important

men

traveled to

Capetnaum where they

knew that Jesus

had

His ,

home, and where. they

were sure tb encounter

Him. Their hostile

attitude is apparent from

the start, and Luke

presents his first narrative

that exhibits this hostility.

h e ~ e men listen with only

critiCal

ears

and

watch with

only ,critical eyes and are ready

to take '

up

anything they deem

contrary to the la Y and to make

a formal charge oiit. - Lenski

These men were anything

but bpen-mindedtowaJ;dJesus.

They seem to have been filled

with envy ofjesus, probably

deeply disturbed about the

large crowds Jesus was

attracting

and

about the content

of His teaching. - Hendriksen

The Power of God to Heal

Knowing the eVil in the

hearts of the Pharisees and

Scribes, and fully in control of

the situation, Jesus boldly

positions Himself over against

these men, and the power o

the Lord was present for Him

to perform healing, 'Though

the house was filled

to

such an

extent by unbelievers, the

power ofjehovah, in which

Jesus wrought to heal and thus

to help men, was ready

to

manifest itself miraculously to

the confounding of these

hostile merl. - Lenski.

The title Lord refers to

Jehovah as the early chapters of

Luke have shoWJ:l. To say that

this power to heal is of the

Lord,

is to say that there is only

one Lord:s Power , that is,

omnipotence.

Power

belongs to

God, Psa. 62:H.

The

LORD is

gracious

and

merciful.... -- They

shall

speak

of

the glory

of

Thy

Kingdom, and

talk

of Thy

power;

to make known to the sons ofmen

Thy

mighty acts, and

the glory

of

the

majesty of

Thy Kingdom. Thy

.

Kingdom is

an

everlasting

Kingdom, and Thy dominion

endures throughout all

generations,

Psa. 145:8-13,

The

Power of

the

Lord

in

the Old Testament

In

the O.T., the Exodus

is

the supreme display of God's

power, Exod. 15:6, 13; 32:11;

Dt. 9:26. This display of power

is at the heart of O.T. faith and

worship. t is to be declared to

the nations. In time of need,

God's people can confidently

seek a further manifestation of

26

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon January/ February, 1996

God's power; Neh. 1:10; Isa.

10:33. As the Lord of hosts,

( powers

is

sometimes used for

hosts in the Septuagint), '

Jehovah is the Lord of all

powers. God manifests

Himself in the volcano or the

storm,

Psa.

29,

but

He does so

as the God of history; nature is

the theater of His acts and has

its origin ihHis will, ls'a. 40:26.

The same power as fashions

histbry creates anihustains the

world,Jer. 27:5; 32:17.

t

also

affects 'individual destiny.

God's superior power,

Job

12:13,16, effects and controls

all things,

so

that

in

individual

needs one lPust look to

Him for heIp and draw

t r ~ n t h from Him, Psa.

46:1;.86:16; D'

t.

8:17f; ,

Isa.41:1O. The power of

God is not capricious, for

. it expresses His will and

is thps determined by Bis

righteousness, Isa. 5:16.

THEOLOGICAL

DICTIONARY

OF THE NEW

TESTAMENT

The

Power

of

the Lotd

in

the New,

Testament

Like atl N.T. cbncepts, the

N.

T.

concept of power receives

its decisive impress from the

fact of Christ. 'This fact is

obviously linked with the O.T.

view of the Messiah, who is

consistently related to the

strength of God, ISa. 9:5; 11:2;

Psa.llO:2; Mic. 5:5.--- Christ

is the bearer of the special

power of the Spirit in His

ministry, il: 4:14, 36.

As

God's essence is power,

endowment with power is

linked to the gift of the Spirit,

and this gift confers upon

Christ His authority

(EXOUSIA)---an authority

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which He has the power

DYNAMIS)

to exercise in

expelling demons and healing

the sick,

Lk.

5:17; 6:19; 8:46.

For this reason the witness of

His disciples is that God

anointed Jesus with the Holy

Spirit and with power, Acts

10:38. The works He does can

also be called

DYNAMEIS

(powers), Mat. 11:lOf;

Mk.

6:2;

Lk.

19:37; Acts 2:22. These

works differ from similar acts of

power in the contemporalY

world

in

three

ways:

(a). they

have no connection with magic;

(b). they are done by the word,

which

is

the word of the

omnipotent God whose

kingdom here enters

history

and

overthrows

the rule of hostile forces;

(c). they presuppose

faith

in

Him who does

the work and

in

those

on whose behalf they

are done, so that a

personal relation is demanded,

Mat. 13:58;

Mk.

9:14'''

THEOLOGICAL

DICTIONARY

OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

God's power in Christ

is

preeminently displayed

in

the

resurrection of Christ from the

dead, Mat. 22:29; Acts 2:24;

Rom. 1:4. If Christ

is

called

God's power

in

the absolute, it

is not because He personifies

power,

but

because in Him the

power of God works

victoriously

in

history

and

brings it to its goal.

In

Hebrews

this power is called the power

of an indestructible life; it is

beyond the reach of morality.

With this power the Son

is

set

at God's right hand where He

rules the world, 1:3.

THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY

OF THE NEW

TESTAMENT.

The second physical coming of

Christ also will be accompanied

with the display of

omnipotence,

II

Thess. 1:7.

The

Power of Christ in

the

Disciple

of Christ

Through faithful preaching

of the gospel, as the power

of

God unto salvation, Christ

continues His ministry of

salvation. Jesus equips His

disciples with His own power,

Lk.

9:1; Lk. 10:19. They

receive it by faith,

Mk. 9:

14f.

The power He gives them is

THE POWER OF CHRIST'S

OWN PRESENCE

BY

THE

HOLY

SPIRIT,

Lk.

24:48f; Acts

1:8. Preaching and

witness-bearing are powerful

because the goal of preaching

is the exhibition of Christ's

presence

by

the Spirit and

therefore the exhibition of

God's saving power in Christ.

TDNT.

In

the disciple'S life, the

power of Christ means

.continual strengthening, PhiL

4:13; I Tim. 1:12;

II

Tim. 4:17.

This strengthening is

encouraging, motivating,

enabling and supporting, and is

experienced

in

terms of one's

personal relation with Christ.

The

Power

of Christ in the

Christian Community

Church)

A community of families

resting

in

God's saving power is

the goal of the display

of

His

power

in

Christ, I Cor.

2: 1

Having

been

set free from the

power of sin and Satan,

but

still

beset with dangers, the

Christian community knows

that the

power

of Christ will

protect

and

preserve. They are

guarded

by

God's power

through faith, I Pet. 1:5.

Christians continually pray that

they may enjoy the greatness of

God's power

in

their lives

and

that they may always be

strengthened

by

it, Eph. 1:19;

Col. 1: 11. t is God's power

in

their lives that enables

them

to patiently

endure trials

and

to be

persevering

in

.

righteousness

in

the

face of temptations.

Strengthened with

might

by

the Spirit in

the inner man, they

grow in fellowship with

Christ, in comprehension

and

in

love of Christ, Eph. 3:14f.

TDNT, Paul is willing to give

up

everything

just

to

know

Christ

and

the power of His

resurrection---the mighty act of

God which creates

and

sustains

new

and

etemallife in His

people.

The

Power

of

Christ

and

Human Weakness

God's power operates in the

weak

and

corruptible sphere of

human

existence. It is thus

visible only to faith ....

Concealment in apparent

weakness is the law of the

cross,

II

Cor. 13:4. But God's

weakness is stronger than men,

I Cor. 1:25.... The

transcendent power belongs to

God, II Cor. 4:7, who gives a

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THE COUNSEL

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spirit, not of timidity, but of

power and love and

self-control, II Tim.

:

7.

Weakness is the presup.position

of

the working of the divine

power. It is the pledge of

. Christ's p r ~ s e n e in which Paul

finds freedom from self and

reliance

upon

God. By the law

of strength in weakness, the

resurrectioll power of God is

more abundantly exerted,

whether in ministers of the

gospel or

in

the Christian

community as a whole."- TDNT

The Healing of the Paralytic

, The Incident

,

,

The

Actual Situation ,

One day in

Capemaum as Jesus was

teaching, His

sehnon

was

interrUpted by the arrival

of a small party of men

carrying a paralyzed man

on a cot. These men

were determined to get

the

mail to Jesus, presumably

because his condition was so

critical.

When

they were

unable to make,their way

through the crowds gathered in

and around the place where

jesus was teaching, they found

a stairway on the sideofthe

house to the flat roof

which

'

they brpkeopenin order to

lower theII)aIJ.

befor,e

jesus.

1

The,Purposj

of

This Incident

" The reason Luke records this

incident.in his Gospel is

because it raises the question of

jesus' aWhority to forgive sins.

The healing

and

forgiving of the '

paralytic clearly manifest

Christ's divine,sovereignty in

the forgiveness of sins, This

incident "sheds light on the

,relation of sin and sickness to

healing and forgiveness and

affirms that the authority to

forgive sins on earth is the

unique prerogative of the Son

of Man, Lane, Because God

alone has the authOrity and

power to forgive sins, Jesus by

His actions clearly reveals that

He is God

in

carnate,

The Revelation of

Jesus as God

Several things in this

incident reveal to us thatJesus

Christ

is

fully and truly God

incarnate.

The Perception

of

Their Faith

And seeing their

faith, He

said ,,

Ortly God can seefaith

in the heart And Jesus saw

that these four

men

and the '

paralytic had faith in Him that

He

could and would do for

them what they could not do,

The paralytic needed to be

"saved," Le., phYSically healed

and spiritually forgiven, and

they were confident

that

jesus

was willing and able to do

it.

It

is often said that Jesus is

referring only to the four

carriers of the paralytic

as

men

of faith, and yet, the paralytic

himself cannot in ariy way be

excluded because, WHERE IN

ALL THE BIBLE IS

FORGIVE N

ESS

OF SINS

OBTAINED WITHOUT

FAITH?

"Instead of ruling out

28 f THE,COUNSEL of

Chalcedonf January february, 1996

the faith of the paralytic, we

must place his faith ahead of

that of his friends. They may

have had faith only in the

power of]esus to heal

miraculously because they had

seen Him do this, But this

paralytic felt that he suffered

from a greater ailment than

paralysis; he carne to jesus with

the burden of his sins."- Lenski

The

Forgiveness of Sins

Friend,

your

sins are

forgiven

you,

The Pharisees were

correct in theii reasoning, Who

can

forgive sins, but God alone?

Jesus forgave the man

his

sins

b

t;ca

use' He is God

incarnate,

The Knowledge of

Their Thoughts

And the scribes and

Pharisees

began

to

reason

BtltJesus,

aware of their

reasonings,

answered and

said

to

them,

Why

are you

reasoning

in

your hearts?' Jesus knew what

, the Pharisees were thinking,

, not because He saw it

in

their

faces , bU,t because He with

divine insight saw the thoughts

in their evil hearts and minds,

john 2:24,25. "With stunning

directness Jesus confronts these

jews with their own

t h o u g h ~ : -

Lenski. Here again Jesus proves

His Deity by bringing to light

the secret thoughts of these

Pharisees

2

Man looks on the

outward appearance, but God

looks on the heart.

The

Power of God to Heal

In verses 23-25,

we

learn

that just

as

God alone can

forgive sins, so only He can

heal a paralytic immediately,

fully and instantly, Jesus

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healed the paralytic; therefore,

Jesus

is

God incarnate.

The Shock of

the

Enemies ofJesus

When Jesus said to the

paralytic that had been lowered

down before Him,

Fliend,

your

sins

are forgiven

you,

it shocked

the onlooking scribes and

Pharisees. They

began

to

reason, saying, 'Who

is this

n;an

who speaks blasphemies? Who

can forgive

sins,

but God alone? ,

These religious leaders were

offended to say the least?

At

this point, they understood the

Old Testament correctly, that

only Jehovah can forgive sins,

Exod. 34:6f; Psa. 103:3; 130:4;

Isa. 43:25; 44:22; 48:11; Dan.

9:9; and that it would be

blasphemy for a mere

man

to

claim this ability for himself, in

fact, as blasphemy,

it

would be

a capital crime,

Lev.

24: 10-16;

Num.15:30f. They saw Jesus'

words

as

a direct affront on the

majesty and authority of God,

since

they

refused to recognize

His

Deity.

The significance of

this suspicion of blasphemy so

early

in

the Galilean Ministry is

tha t it becomes the basis of a

formal accusation

and

condegmatio

n

before the

Sanhedrin at the close of the

ministry, Mk. 14:61-64. - Lane

The Refutation

of

These Enemies

ofJesus

Seeing the reasoning

in

their

hearts,

Jesus

does

not

wait for

them

to verbally express what is

on their minds, He offends

them

even more

by

answering

the

very questions that were on

the tip

of

their tongues before

they could speak them.

But

Jesus,

aware

of their reasonings,

answered

and

said to

them,

'Why

are

you

reasoning

in your

hearts?

Which

is easier, to

say,

'Your

sins

have been forgiven you,'

or

to say,

Rise

and walk? But

in

order that

you

may

know that the Son of

Man has authority

on

earth

to

forgives

sins'---He said to the

paralytic,

'I

say

to

you,

lise,

and

take up your stretcher and go

home.' And at once he

rose

up

before

them, and

took

up what

he

had been lying

on,

and went

home, glO1ifying

God.

The

Irrefutable

Point

Jesus is

Making to

the Pharisees

The point Jesus made to the

reasoning of the Pharisees is

irrefutable and incontrovertible:

if a person can truly forgive

sins,

he

can also instantly and

completely heal a paralytic;

and

if a person can so heal a

paralytiC, then he can also truly

forgive sins. Both actions would

be

divine.

The scribes might think

that a declaration of forgiveness

is easier than one of healing,

the efficacy of which would be

open to immediate Verification.

This judgment seems to lie

behind

their contemptuous

question, 'Why does this fellow

speak like this?' (Mk. 2:

7).

By

use of a counter-question Jesus

challenges their facile, (simple),

assumption that He has acted

irresponsibly as a dispenser of

cheap grace. It also prepares

for the word of healing which

demonstrates that forgiveness

has actually been realized

in

the

experience of the afflicted man.

It is the declaration of

forgiveness which is more

essential---and more

difficult---ofthe two actions.

Lane

The Actual Miracle of

Healing

: its

Effect

on

the

Paralytic

He

said

to the paralytic, I

say

to you,

rise,

and tahe up your

stretcher

and

go home.' And at

once he rose up

before

them, and

tooh up what

he

had

been

lying

on,

and went

home,

glorifying

God.

The Visible Miracle

Proving

the

Invisible

Forgiveness

Jesus has done the one act,

forgiven the paralytic's sins.

The effect of this act is

invisible---no one saw the sins

piled

upon

the man's soul,

and

no

man

saw that mass of sin

vanish into nothingness from

his soul. Jesus

now

follows

with a second act, He heals the

paralytic

with

a word. The

effect is this time instantly

visible to all: they see the man

rise up, take

up

his pallet,

and

walk away, not only free from

paralysis,

but

restored to full

health

and

strength, all

in an

instant, all

by

one word. The

act which the eyes are able to

see proves the reality of the

other act which

no

eyes can see.

As

the one is wrought

by

the

EXOUSIA, 'the authority,' 'the

right and might' of

Him

who is

God, so is the other. For both

are not done in the name of

another but by JeSllS in His

own

person, by the EXOUSIA that

resides in Himself. --- Three

short, sharp commands,

and

a

terrible disease is

blown

away

and

the body made

sound and

whole. - Lenski

The

Relation of Sin, Sickness,

Physical Healing

:

Forgiveness

of

Sins

The

Relation of

Healing and Forgiveness

January

February, 1996

t

THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

29

8/12/2019 1996 Issue 1 - The Establishment of the Sovereignty of Jesus Part 2 - Counsel of Chalcedon

7/7

Jesus initial response to the

paralytic who had been brought

to Jesus for healing was

unexpected: Friends, y ursins

are

forgiven

.

This declaration

was startling because it seemed

inappropriate and even

irrelevant to the immediate

situation. - Lane. However, it

is fully understandable in the

light

of

the Old Testament's

teaching on the relation of

sickriess a

nd

sin. Forgiveness

of sins

and physical healing are

frequently interrelated

concepts. Healing is

conditioned by the forgiveness

of God and is often the

demonstration of that

forgiveness, Chron.

7:

14; Psa.

103:3; 147:3; Isa..19:22; 38:17;

57 :18f.

In a

umber oftexts

'healing ' and 'forgiveness' are

interchangeable terms, Psa.

41:4;

..

.jer. 3:22and Hos.

14:4:... lane

The Sign of

the

Nearness of

God

's Saving,

Jubilant

Kingdom: The Complete .

Healing

of

the Whoie Person

. .

The relationship o physical

healing and forgiveness of sins

is seen in this: having received

forgiveness of sins by God, the

paralytic now receives physical

healingfrom God in Christ.

This

is

thetiature of the

salVation which Jesus b'rihgs.

The healing of the paralytic was

more than a display of mercy to

a wretched man. The

announcement imd

presentation of radical healing

to a man in his entire person

was a sign of the Kingdom of

God drawn near. The paralytic

experienced the fulfillment of

God's promise that the lame

would share in the joy of the

corning salvation, Isa. 35:6;]er.

31:8. The demonstration that

God had come near. to His

people was startling.

All

present glorified .God because

He redeemed men from every

distress. - Lane

The Nature of

Healing as the

Driving Back

Of

Death and a

ViCtorious Invasion.of

the Province of Sin

Healing is a gracious

movement of God into the

sphere of withemig and'decay

which are the

tokeiLs

of death at

work in a man's life. It was not

God's intention that man

should li

ve

with the pressure of

death upon him. Sickness,

disease and death are the

consequence

of

the sinful

condition of all men.

Consequently every healing is a

driving back of death and an

invasion of the province of sin; '

That is why it is appropriate for

Jesus to proclaim the remission

of sins. It is unneceSsary to

think of a corresponding sin for

each instance of sickness; there

is no suggestion

in

the narrative

that the paralytic's physical

suffering was related to a

specific sin or was due to

hysteria induced by guilt. .

Jesus' pronouncement of

pardon is the recognition that.

.man can be genuinely whole

only when the breach

occasioned by sin has been

healed. through God's

forgi

ve

ness of sins. -

lane

'Believe it or not, critics of

the Bible use the fact that luke

speaks of tiles on the roof

above Jesus' head, which the

four men removed in order to

lower the paralytic man to

30

TH COUNSEL of Chalcedon January/ February, 1996

Jesus, 5:19,

as

proof that the

Bible is nol infallible and does .

contain erro.rs, Their argument

is that Palestinian homes did

not have tile roofs, and that

such astatement by Luke

Introduces Roman, not

Palestinian, architecture into

this passage. However,

as

many Bible scholars have

pointed.out, ' With all the

Gentile Influence in Paiestine at

that time, why could not some

Jewish homes have tiled roofs?

Recent discoveries have .

confirmed the fact that the tiled

roof came into use before New

Testament times and

that

Palestine

was

by'no means

excluded. - Hendriksen.

Moreover, the entire

proceeding i so unique in

every way that aflY invention of

the facts and even any

e m b e l l i s h m e n ~ of lesser facts

are .certainly excluded.

- lenski

,

2The

Greek word for

reasonings in verse 22 is

DIAlOGISMOUS; which in the

N.T. has the predominant sense

of evil thoughtS, Lk. 2:35;

Mk. 7 : 2

LK.

9:47; Rom. 1:21.

In this word, we see how deep

is the

N. T.

conviction that our

sinful nature extends to our

thinking and our very heart.

THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY

OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT

.

3These

scribes and Pharisees

assume that Jesus has claimed

to have pardoned the man on

is own auUlority, not merely

to have said that He knew that

his

sins

have been forgiven by

God. AndJesus does

not

say

that they

are

mistaken in this.

He acts on His own

authority

...

- Plummer