The Miracle We Needed Most!
“Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
Luke 5:20b (NLT)
Imagine this young man in Luke, chapter 5. Luke tells us that he was a paralytic and was carried to Jesus by some friends. They believed that if they could just get their friend to Jesus, he would be healed. The crowd was too great to get near Jesus. So, they took extreme measures and carried their friend to the roof. They removed some tiles from the roof and lowered him right in front of Jesus while He was teaching the crowd! I imagine that would stop a service in progress. Naturally, the focus shifted to the paralyzed man on the mat suspended in air in front of the teacher. But what Jesus said surprised them even more.
Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:20b (NLT). Only later, after some discussion with the indignant religious leaders, did Jesus turn to the paralyzed man and say, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home.” (Verse 24b). The man received both physical and spiritual healing! Luke tells us that he “jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.” (Verse 25)
Jesus went deeper than the man’s physical needs. He experienced the miracle he needed most! How often do you stop with just the physical needs in your prayers, the surface layer? Jesus saw the man’s heart. It was paralyzed with guilt and sin. The good news is that God offers the same forgiveness given to the paralytic to you and me. The Greek word for forgiven in this passage is aphiemi, and it means to let go, to release or to send away from oneself, to be released from a debt. He was forgiven! His sin was put away! How does God do that?
First, Jesus paid the sin debt that we all owe. His death on the cross satisfied the judgment of God against sin so that sin can no longer be held against one who trusts Jesus as their Savior and has turned from that sin to Christ.
Secondly, the guilt caused by sin is removed and replaced by the righteousness of Christ. That’s ultimate forgiveness! You are so forgiven in Christ that, in God’s eyes, it is as if you had never sinned! You are released from them! They are put away – as far as the East is from the West! Praise God!
If you are carrying a heavy burden of guilt for sins you have committed, confess them to Christ and receive aphiemi – ultimate forgiveness! Then, like this paralytic, you will jump up with a clear conscience praising God! You are forgiven!
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.