Communion Sunday
Text: ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven’ Luke
5.20
It is a striking and dramatic
scene - the inside of that house in
Now, holding a rope each,
attached to the corners of a mat they let down a sick man, and finally he lies
on the floor in front of Jesus – caught in the bright rays of light and dust
that flood in from the open sky above. His gaze is fixed on Jesus.
The scene is from the famous
passage we read in Luke 5 about the healing of the man who was paralysed. We go on to read there, that Jesus, seeing
the faith of the friends of the paralytic says to the man on the mat – Friend, your sins are forgiven. A few minutes
later Jesus says I tell you, get up, pick
up your mat and go home’ and the man gets up and goes home.
There is much in this passage in Luke. But this morning, we look at only one thing: The words of Jesus - Friend your sins are forgiven.
words,
good for our souls, words that bring healing to the heart, as we will see.
Down through long centuries there have been different opinions as to what was wrong with the man. Was this paralysis the after effect of a severe illness….. or an accident ? Some have thought that what has paralysed this man is not illness or injury but guilt. A burden of guilt so heavy that the man on the mat has been brought low under its crushing weight. For guilt can drain life of its meaning:
David writes this about his own guilt in Psalm 32: When I did not confess my sins I was worn out from crying all day long. Day and night you punished me Lord my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat. Strength was completely drained - a kind of paralysis, in which we are frozen inside.
There
are some men and women who, like David, carry a great burden of guilt for
something done. It may have been years ago. Perhaps it was an impulse which
brought years of remorse in its wake. Or a mistake which
always brings regret. Or a decision which led to huge
and unforeseen consequences. Things like these bring a great burden of
guilt. David says in Psalm 38.4
My
guilt has overwhelmed me .... a
burden too heavy to bear............
So it
may be guilt that afflicts the paralysed man. Lays him low, crushes him under
its weight so that he is laid low. Brought by his friends, he is motionless, he
does not speak, seems to have lost hope, and the vital spark of life is gone. Life
ruined. He lies on the mat, unmoving.
But, we
know from the gospels how Jesus sees into the hearts of men and women. He,
then, sees into the very heart and soul of this man, sees there the burdens the man carries.
Think
then, on this glorious, wonderful, life changing moment when Jesus says to this
suffering human being these words: Friend
your sins are forgiven. A terrible burden falls away from the man, and
within a few moments he takes up his mat and walks home, restored. Yes, there may be those in his home village,
or somewhere in
and through the word of Jesus knows that
once and for all he is forgiven.
David puts it into words in the Psalms: Happy are those whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are not pardoned. Happy is the man whom the Lord does not accuse of doing wrong and who is free from all deceit.
That’s this man.
In Psalm 32.1 the Hebrew says: Happy is the man whose sins are taken away - the word in Hebrew is Nasa - which means to lift up, to lift off, to take away a burden......
this
is what Christ has done for this man - lifted the burden of guilt from his
heart.......
The man,
is set free, the terrible burden falls away from him, and he can take up his
mat and walk, restored. Friend, your sins
are forgiven...............
When Jesus said
Friend, your sins are forgiven...............
There is no sign of the man lying on the mat asking for his sins to be forgiven, in any of the gospels. We don’t even know if he asked to be brought by his four friends..
But Jesus simply declares to this man, this powerless man
your sins are forgiven...............
and Christ’s word of grace and forgiveness come in power...........
Here, lying on the mat is a man not looking for grace, but who receives it....... he is a sinner, undeserving, yet receiving the gift of God, guilty but the sheer grace of God comes to meet him in Jesus. Not only did the man lying on the mat, meet with undeserved grace and forgiveness,
it came as a surprise; unlooked for. The friends brought the man on the mat to be cured......... with those words, Friend, your sins are forgiven, Jesus healed his very soul.
And this is what God’s grace and love are like.
Now, there
is something of very
great interest here,
for we can follow this through Luke’s gospel.............
where sinners, undeserving, receive the gift of God,
those who are guilty receive the sheer grace of God in Jesus.
Think of Zacchaeus, and the thief on the Cross,
Zaccheus, a man with criminal accusations against him, climbed a tree to see Jesus, but Jesus Christ called him down by name; saying I must come to your house today
Saying to the crowd 'I have come to seek and save the lost'; Jesus finds Zacchaeus.
This is the grace and love of Jesus Christ............
Or the thief on the
Cross............ who calls out to Jesus........
Jesus’ word to him was To-day you will be with me in paradise'. Here was a man, guilty, a sinner, who had lived in wickedness all his days;
Jesus’ word to him was To-day you will be with me in paradise'
such is the grace and love of Jesus Christ............
What, then,
of ourselves ?
We are not
in
not lying on a
mat, Where do we hear, where do we hear those words Your sins are forgiven you ? Well, at the cross of Jesus Christ God
declares to us Your sins are forgiven.......... The cross
of Jesus Christ is God’s word to us, that while we were still sinners, Your sins are
forgiven.......... The very centre of forgiveness and life is in Jesus
Christ is to be found
at the cross. This
is at the very heart of the good news.
At the cross
of Jesus Christ, we receive the same forgiveness the man on the mat received.
For at the
Cross, Jesus Christ has taken our place, stood in our place, and our sin is
laid on Him,
and our sin is
taken away.
There is
now, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, says Paul.
The cross of
Jesus is our peace, our life.
From the
Cross the healing power of God radiates taking away our guilt, restoring life,
restoring us.
And like the
paralysed man, we walk again, we become whole.
This is
God’s intention, His purpose at the Cross.
At the cross
of Jesus Christ, God’s word to us is........
Friend...........Your
sins are forgiven.......