We Have Seen Strange Things Today

These special lenses were a gift to my husband 
on his 60th birthday!

Scripture:

Luke 5:17   One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting near by (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. ¹⁸ Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; ¹⁹ but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. ²⁰ When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ²² When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? ²⁴ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. ²⁶ Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”

Observation:

Luke sets up a series of stories that reveal the conflict that is developing with the Pharisees. As the story unfolds, the Pharisees and teachers of the law are sitting near Jesus. They have obviously heard news about him and so, they come from all over the country to listen to him and observe what he is doing. 

Jesus was teaching, while simultaneously he had power to heal. The story becomes a contrast to the ministry of the Pharisees, who are more worried about following the rules, than about ministering to the needs of the people. The men who bring the paralytic to Jesus are filled with faith and hope, anticipating that Jesus can heal their friend. The healing of a paralytic is much more than the restoration of life to one person, but to the entire community that cares for him. The time and labor involved in his care is great and so the touch of Jesus is not just for one, but for all involved in this man’s life. They are determined to find any way possible to bring him to Jesus, and ultimately this leads to opening the roof and letting him down right in front of Jesus. 

The response of Jesus is to the faith of them all. Many people believed that physical ailments were as a result of sin. If Jesus forgave the man’s sin, the result would be healing. If he only healed physically, there may be a doubt in the life of the person and his community as to the remnant of sin. Jesus is always working to restore equilibrium, and this is for the paralytic and his friends. He begins by forgiving the man’s sins. 

The religious leaders are stunned at these words and begin to grumble among themselves. Jesus is fully aware of what they are doing but he is also playing into their hands. The priests had the authority to sacrifice on behalf of others and pronounce forgiveness of sins. What he had just done, the religious officials might also do, but to reveal the power and authority of his mission, Jesus then did something that none of them could do — he made the paralytic man walk. He brought wholistic healing to the entire community, the forgiveness of sins, and the return to normalcy for the man who had been paralyzed. 

Amazement seizes all who are present. At this point we don’t know the reaction of the Pharisees and whether they were glorifying God, but maybe they are the ones saying, “We have seen strange things today.”

Application:

There were two different groups of people present to witness Jesus’ activity and each had their own lens. I wonder where we might find ourselves. We look at the work of Jesus and recognize that we have seen strange things, but are we in awe, or are we critical? Jesus didn’t fit the mold and the religious leaders wanted him to fit in their box. They had their own ideas of the Messiah and the man didn’t fit their expectations. 

We need to be careful to assume that Jesus will meet our personal expectations. If we look carefully at what Jesus was doing, he was revealing his mission to the world. He came to seek and save those who were lost, to minister to the poor and needy, and to restore sight to the blind. Blindness isn’t always physical, but may also be the lens we are using to view the world. The restoration of sight was not to see through any lens which the world could provide, but with clarity that could only be brought on by Jesus’ healing touch. 

When we are touched by the presence of Jesus we may begin to see strange things. Will we join the crowd by being filled with awe and glorifying God, or will we stand in the shadows, grumbling? 

Prayer:

Lord, open my eyes to see what you are doing in our world.  Amen.