INCREDIBLE THINGS

When Jesus healed the paralytic and forgave him of his sins in the story in Luke’s gospel; he got into big trouble with the religious Pharisees and teachers (again). They commented to Jesus, “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” So after the healing, the obvious message is… God just did. For Jesus to even make such a comparison was of course blasphemous to their religious hearts.

The text says of the people who were there, “At this they were seized with astonishment. Full of awe, they gave praise to God, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.” Two incredible things happened that day: the paralytic was healed and his sins were forgiven.

Here is another incredible thing: We have been given the same authority as believers! Jesus said, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” And he also said, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” These are incredible things. It is time we lived like the incredible people we were designed to be.

“And as you go, preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” Jesus