WEBVTT

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 We turn up Luke chapter 5 and we'll pick things up with a reading began in verse 12.

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! It feels in some ways like a lifetime ago, but when we hear words again like lateral flow and lockdown and quarantine, we are quickly transported back to a time that few of us will forget.

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 And our memories of it all will be different, of course, depending on our experience.

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 But one of the things that the whole COVID thing did for us was make us think in terms of clean and unclean.

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 And we might not have been thinking that at the time.

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 We might not have used that precise language.

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 But that was actually the way that we were being trained to think by all of the rhetoric and the language and the terminology.

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 If your lateral flow test was clear, you were free to engage in society, albeit at a distance of two meters, and you were clean.

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 You were able to function and you were accepted and there were no problems.

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 If those dreaded lines came up, however, you had to lock yourself away.

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 You had to quarantine.

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 And you had to let everybody know that you were to be avoided.

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 You were, well, unclean.

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 Those are the categories that we were being made to think of.

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 And then, of course, there was the moral version of the same distinction.

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 COVID was so divisive that people took sides about how the whole thing was being handled.

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 And if you were with me and my interpretation of it all, well, then you were accepted.

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 But if you took another view, well, then you were not accepted.

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 In fact, you were an outcast and you were treated as such.

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 That's the way we behaved.

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 That's the way the rhetoric functioned.

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 And that's how we lived our lives, clean and unclean.

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 So when we come to Luke 5 this evening in this section that was read for us, the categories that are at play there are not as far away from our experience as we might think.

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 We were introduced to two men who were considered unclean.

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 And they were outcasts as a result.

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 And for them, the exclusion was cultural, yes.

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 But it was also tied up with the law of God.

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 So there were theological reasons for thinking of them in this way.

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 Indeed, the men themselves would have thought this about themselves.

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 But as we saw last week, everything changes when they come face to face with Jesus.

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 In fact, when they come face to face with Jesus, these categories are turned on their head.

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 The first man, do you see him?

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 Verse 12, he's a leper.

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 Leprosy was a dreadful skin disease with no cure.

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 Lepers became disfigured.

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 And because it was highly infectious, they had to live in isolation.

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 And this wasn't just a matter of public health.

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 It wasn't just hands, face, space.

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 But it meant religious exclusion.

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 Leviticus 13.45 says that the leperous person had to call out when they walked anywhere.

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 They walked around.

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 They had to call out, unclean, unclean, wherever they went.

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 Imagine what that was like when you walked down the street.

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 If you saw another person, you had to warn them that you were unclean.

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 And they had to live outside the towns and cities as a result.

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 Lepers weren't just sick.

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 They lost their family.

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 They lost their friends.

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 They lost their livelihood.

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 They were literally outcasts.

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 The second guy, verse 18, he's a paralytic.

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 Now, because of his condition, he was paralyzed.

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 Get around the place.

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 Because of that, he was unable to make the sacrifices that were required by God.

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 So he was a religious outsider as well.

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 His disability also meant that he couldn't work.

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 He was dependent on others.

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 There was little or no social safety net in those days.

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 And so begging was often how people like him got by.

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 It was a meager, dispiriting, dehumanizing existence.

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 But both of these men are given to us in Luke chapter 5 to show that they are cultural and religious outsiders.

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 They were rejected.

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 They were shunned.

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 And then they meet Jesus.

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 Now, before we walk through the story, it's important that we don't think about these two men at arm's length.

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 Now, you may not have leprosy.

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 That's unlikely.

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 You may not be paralyzed.

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 But these two men are given to us here to give us a picture of the human condition.

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 They show us physically what is true of us all spiritually.

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 We see in them what sin, the human condition, does to us.

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 It defaces us.

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 It dehumanizes us.

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 It corrodes us from the inside.

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 Sin cuts us off from God and it cuts us off from other people and leaves us spiritually unclean.

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 So, as one commentator has said, the leprous man gives us, quote, outward and visible sign of innermost spiritual corruption.

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 When we look at them, we're supposed to see something of a mirror to our spiritual condition.

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 Their physical condition reflects back to us what humanity is like spiritually.

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 Corroded on the inside.

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 Cut off from God and from others.

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 Dehumanized because of our condition.

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 And no matter, this is the truth, no matter how hard we might try to clean ourselves up to do something about this situation ourselves,

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 we can never manage to do it.

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 That's what we see in the second man.

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 Helpless.

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 That's what sin does to us.

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 We are enslaved, as it were, helpless and incapable of coming to God in and of ourselves.

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 And so, we're stuck in our guilt with no hope of finding forgiveness.

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 Until we come face to face with Jesus.

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 And when we come face to face with Jesus in that condition, everything changes.

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 And the first thing I want us to see, the first reason why everything changes is, number one, because of Jesus' willingness to cleanse.

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 His willingness to cleanse.

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 Verses 12 to 16.

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 Leprosy was never okay.

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 You couldn't just have a touch of leprosy.

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 You never heard somebody say, oh, I had one of those awful 24-hour leprosy bugs.

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 Or, if you quarantined for the right length of time, you weren't then able to get back in the game.

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 Leprosy was dreadful.

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 But even still, Luke presents this man as having a seriously bad case of it.

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 Look at verse 12.

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 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy.

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 His whole body had been affected by this awful condition.

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 He would have been crying out, unclean, unclean, everywhere he went.

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 And probably, given the advanced state of his illness, he would have looked and sounded and even probably smelled awful.

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 Rotting flesh stinks.

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 Full of leprosy.

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 Again, the physical embodiment of the spiritual reality of all of us.

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 However, he believes that Jesus can heal him.

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 And he throws himself at the Messiah's feet.

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 Verse 12.

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 When he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and he begged him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

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 He knows that he just needs Jesus to be willing to say the word and he will be done with his miserable, painful, and broken past.

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 And then he feels the touch of Jesus' hand.

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 And he hears what must have been the sweetest words to ever hit his eardrums.

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 Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean.

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 And in an instant, the man's skin is restored.

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 There's an old boy that I see around Shepherd's Bush where I live regularly.

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 He usually has a can that peeks out of his inside pocket.

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 He's often unsteady on his feet.

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 His face is blue and swollen and has lumpy growths all over it.

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 It is terribly disfigured through decades of drinking.

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 It's actually quite shocking to see.

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 It's a really pronounced case of being disfigured by this abuse.

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 When I see him, a host of things go through my mind, of course, but I imagine this leper comes to Jesus.

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 And I imagine in an instant, Jesus touching this man's face and his skin being renewed like a baby's.

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 Smooth, soft, unblemished.

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 That's what Jesus does to this leper.

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 All of his disfigurement, all of the corrosive effects of this leprosy, gone in an instant with a word and a touch.

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 And don't miss that point.

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 Don't miss that Jesus puts his hand on this man.

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 No one has touched this man for years.

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 What must that be like?

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 We got a sense of that, didn't we, during COVID, that distance that we were kept at and how dehumanizing it was.

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 Imagine nobody touching your skin for years.

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 And people would have looked at this man and turned their face away.

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 No one would have touched him.

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 No one would have placed their hand on his infectious and defiled body.

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 And Jesus touches him.

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 Skin on skin.

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 Skin on skin.

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 Skin on skin.

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 The question is, why did he do this?

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 Because we know that Jesus could heal with a word.

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 We know that Jesus didn't need to touch the man and risk becoming defiled himself.

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 So why did he do that?

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 Why did he reach out and touch him?

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 Well, here's the reason.

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 Because in his willingness to cleanse the unclean, he shows compassion and he draws near.

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 He is restoring a relationship as much as he is healing a sickness.

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 And he is bringing that man back into the people of God.

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 That's actually, you know, what the whole doctrine of the incarnation is all about.

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 God takes on human flesh in order to identify with us.

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 And here, rather than Jesus becoming unclean and defiled, can you see how the contagion, as it were, goes the other way?

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 Jesus isn't defiled.

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 Rather, the leprous man is cleansed.

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 This is a beautiful picture.

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 Remember, we're looking at the physical and we're understanding it in the context of the spiritual.

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 This is a beautiful picture of the exchange that happens when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus.

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 Here's what John Calvin says.

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 It's a long quote.

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 Bear with me.

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 There is such purity in Christ that he absorbs all uncleanness and pollution.

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 He does not contaminate himself by touching the leper, nor does he transgress the law.

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 He stays whole, clears all our dirt away, and pours upon us his holiness.

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 Now, while he could heal the leper by his word alone, he adds the contact of his hand to show his feeling of compassion.

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 No wonder, since he willed to put on our flesh in order that he might cleanse us from all our sins.

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 Here is a thing which we pass over without much impression at an idle reading, but must certainly ponder with much awe when we take it properly.

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 That the Son of God, so far from abhorring contact with the leper, actually stretched out his hand to touch his uncleanness.

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 End quote.

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 Not only is this man brought back into relationship with God, but he can be reintegrated into society as well.

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 That's why Jesus sends him to find a priest.

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 Look at verse 14.

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 He charged him to tell no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing as Moses commanded for a proof to them.

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 According to the Old Testament cleansing regulations, the man had to get a priest to verify that he'd been cleansed.

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 And once that priest had confirmed that he was clean and he'd done the sacrifices, he'd offered the sacrifices of Leviticus 14, he could rejoin the covenant community.

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 What that would do would provide a testimony to the priests and to the community of God's people that the Messiah was in their midst.

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 That the one who had been promised from long ago was in their midst and he was willing to cleanse the unclean.

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 Now that would have been exciting news and understandably people hear it and then crowds begin to flock to Jesus for healing.

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 That's what's going on.

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 But the obvious question for us, the obvious question for you this evening is this.

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 Have you come to Jesus and experienced this cleansing power?

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 All that cuts you off from God is washed away in Jesus.

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 Indeed, the cleansing is so deep that the Bible describes us as new creations when we put our faith in him.

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 We have been made new.

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 The old, it's gone.

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 The old that is defiled and unclean and cut off from God is gone.

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 The new has come.

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 All of the sin that pollutes your life, all of it,

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 the things that you've said and done that linger long after the event,

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 leaving you feeling dirty.

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 What others say,

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 whatever they say,

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 and whatever you think of yourself,

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 I want you to know that there is cleansing in Christ and he is willing.

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 If you haven't received this cleansing,

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 what's stopping you?

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 What's keeping you back from such an amazing gift?

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 Jesus is willing to give you total cleansing.

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 Every sin that you've ever committed washed away.

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 Don't let anything get between you and coming to him.

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 We care about this so much.

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 That's why we're running this Hope Explored course.

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 We're running this to help you look carefully at the person of Jesus,

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 to hear what he says,

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 and to more importantly bring your questions to him

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 and hear what he has to say to you.

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 The one who offers this cleansing,

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 come along,

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 bring your questions.

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 Pick up one of these cards,

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 come and talk to me afterwards.

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 The cards are at the welcome desk.

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 We'd love you to come and explore further.

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 And if you have come for cleansing,

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 one of the temptations that we feel,

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 even as followers of Jesus,

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 is that past sin,

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 our inability to move beyond besetting sins,

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 we find ourselves thinking negatively

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 and we think to ourselves,

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 well, have I really been cleansed?

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 Well, let those few words sink into your heart again.

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 I will, Jesus says,

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 be clean.

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 In Christ,

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 all of your defilement,

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 all of your disgrace,

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 your deepest stains

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 have been washed away.

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 So don't hold on to them.

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 Don't allow them to define you.

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 Don't allow them to hold you back.

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 You are clean.

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 We sing it from time to time.

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 He is willing.

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 He is willing.

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 He is willing.

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 Doubt no more.

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 You are clean.

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 That's our first point.

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 We see Jesus' willingness to cleanse.

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 The second is this.

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 We see also the authority to forgive

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 and that's the second section in 17 to 26.

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 The authority to forgive.

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 The way that Luke sets up the events

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 in these verses is important.

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 Verse 17,

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 do you see it reads like

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 it was just another day

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 on one of those days

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 as Jesus was teaching.

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 But just as the crowd of people

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 who wanted to follow Jesus

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 was growing,

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 there was another crowd growing as well

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 and this group is who Luke

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 actually is bringing into focus here.

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 Verse 17,

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 On one of those days,

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 as he was teaching,

00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:41.139
 Pharisees and teachers of the law

00:16:41.139 --> 00:16:42.019
 were sitting there

00:16:42.019 --> 00:16:43.500
 who had come from every village

00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:44.559
 of Galilee and Judea

00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:45.379
 and from Jerusalem

00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:46.679
 and the power of the Lord

00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:47.720
 was with him to heal.

00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:49.480
 The religious leaders

00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:50.740
 are coming from far and near.

00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:51.740
 Word has got out.

00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:53.220
 They need to check out this man

00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:54.700
 who is making such a fuss

00:16:54.700 --> 00:16:56.539
 and who is gathering such a following.

00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.279
 So Jesus is making this statement now.

00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:00.519
 What he does with the paralytic

00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:02.740
 is making a statement in their view.

00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:05.420
 And so in the power of the Lord,

00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:06.200
 he steps forward.

00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:06.859
 Verse 18,

00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:07.500
 And behold,

00:17:08.019 --> 00:17:09.700
 some men were bringing on a bed

00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:10.680
 a man who was paralyzed

00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:12.519
 and they were seeking to bring him in

00:17:12.519 --> 00:17:13.640
 and lay him before Jesus.

00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.700
 But finding no way to bring him in

00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:16.600
 because of the crowd,

00:17:16.779 --> 00:17:17.960
 they went up on the roof

00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:19.279
 and let him down with his bed

00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:20.060
 through the tiles

00:17:20.060 --> 00:17:22.120
 into the midst before Jesus.

00:17:22.980 --> 00:17:24.160
 The house was full.

00:17:24.620 --> 00:17:25.779
 The crowd was huge.

00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.620
 But both the guy on the mat

00:17:27.620 --> 00:17:28.900
 and his friends knew

00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:30.720
 that if they could get this man to Jesus,

00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:32.560
 that it would change his life.

00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:35.320
 He could be healed of his paralysis.

00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:37.440
 He could play a part in society again

00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:39.400
 rather than being cut off from it all,

00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:40.900
 rather than being an outcast,

00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:43.040
 he could be back involved in things again.

00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:44.320
 He could come to the temple.

00:17:44.580 --> 00:17:46.080
 He could re-engage with God.

00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:49.620
 So they were willing to try anything they could

00:17:49.620 --> 00:17:51.140
 to get him to this man, Jesus.

00:17:52.300 --> 00:17:53.780
 And probably on the man's instruction,

00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:54.900
 they decided to get in.

00:17:55.080 --> 00:17:56.560
 They came up to the house.

00:17:56.660 --> 00:17:58.540
 They realized that there was a massive crowd there.

00:17:58.800 --> 00:17:59.660
 They couldn't get in.

00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:01.040
 And somebody suggested,

00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:02.000
 well, we go up on the roof

00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:02.800
 and drop him down.

00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:05.000
 The house is flat roof.

00:18:05.060 --> 00:18:06.580
 Let's see if we can get access there.

00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:08.100
 And up they go.

00:18:08.099 --> 00:18:09.819
 So scratch, scratch,

00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:11.039
 pull the tiles up,

00:18:11.659 --> 00:18:13.379
 pick the, whatever it is

00:18:13.379 --> 00:18:15.179
 you make a flat roof out of in those days,

00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:16.179
 pick that out of the way.

00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:17.639
 It's going to be dusty and dirty.

00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:19.559
 Bang, bang, cut, cut.

00:18:20.139 --> 00:18:21.939
 And the roof opens up.

00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:22.779
 The people down below,

00:18:22.859 --> 00:18:23.759
 we don't know what they're told,

00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:25.219
 but there would have been dust and dirt

00:18:25.219 --> 00:18:26.559
 and all kinds of things falling.

00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:28.079
 It would have been quite a mess.

00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:29.259
 And before you know it,

00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:30.659
 the man's lowered down

00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:32.600
 and he's sitting at Jesus' feet

00:18:32.600 --> 00:18:34.360
 or lying at Jesus' feet.

00:18:36.840 --> 00:18:37.779
 Very strange.

00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:39.460
 You all think?

00:18:40.120 --> 00:18:41.080
 We read this

00:18:41.080 --> 00:18:42.220
 and we think,

00:18:42.300 --> 00:18:42.519
 oh yeah,

00:18:42.560 --> 00:18:43.820
 it's the story of the paralyzed man

00:18:43.820 --> 00:18:45.160
 being lowered down in front of Jesus.

00:18:45.360 --> 00:18:46.779
 It's very weird indeed.

00:18:47.840 --> 00:18:49.460
 Imagine how he felt lying there.

00:18:49.620 --> 00:18:51.140
 The room is absolutely full of people.

00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:52.500
 Let's say all these people,

00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:53.540
 really tight room,

00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:56.460
 and we see a hole in the roof

00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:57.559
 and the light comes in.

00:18:57.779 --> 00:18:58.639
 The dust falls down.

00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.119
 People are moving out of the way

00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:01.000
 and all that kind of stuff.

00:19:01.259 --> 00:19:02.500
 And this poor bloke's on the floor

00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:03.319
 looking up.

00:19:04.159 --> 00:19:04.559
 Hi there.

00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:06.139
 It's just me

00:19:06.139 --> 00:19:08.159
 or something like that.

00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:09.799
 Very weird.

00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:13.259
 But the oddness doesn't stop there.

00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:15.619
 The oddness doesn't stop

00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:16.359
 just in the fact

00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:17.480
 that he's made a bit of a fuss.

00:19:17.539 --> 00:19:18.539
 He's made quite the entrance

00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:20.019
 to come in and be at Jesus' feet.

00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:21.460
 He came

00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:23.920
 with all of this embarrassment,

00:19:24.420 --> 00:19:25.660
 all of this fuss,

00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:27.140
 hoping that his life would be changed.

00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:28.120
 But look at verse 20.

00:19:29.620 --> 00:19:30.860
 When Jesus saw their faith,

00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:31.279
 he said,

00:19:31.380 --> 00:19:32.980
 man, your sins are forgiven you.

00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:35.079
 Are you joking me?

00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:38.120
 Are you serious?

00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:40.079
 I've gone through

00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:41.680
 all of this embarrassment for this.

00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:43.079
 What are you doing

00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:43.980
 talking about forgiveness?

00:19:44.140 --> 00:19:45.319
 The problem's my legs.

00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.059
 I came in here for healing.

00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:48.539
 Come on.

00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:49.900
 I made a massive fuss.

00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:51.500
 Don't embarrass me

00:19:51.500 --> 00:19:52.740
 and humiliate me like this.

00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:55.840
 But of course,

00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:57.019
 we know Jesus isn't done.

00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:58.440
 Remember,

00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.580
 it's not the man

00:19:59.580 --> 00:20:00.980
 who is in view here for him.

00:20:01.040 --> 00:20:02.060
 It is the religious leaders.

00:20:03.280 --> 00:20:04.140
 So verse 21,

00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:05.660
 the scribes and the Pharisees

00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:06.540
 began to question,

00:20:06.700 --> 00:20:06.980
 saying,

00:20:07.519 --> 00:20:08.080
 who is this

00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:09.400
 who speaks blasphemies?

00:20:10.280 --> 00:20:11.759
 Who can forgive sins

00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:13.519
 but God alone?

00:20:15.019 --> 00:20:15.960
 And Jesus perceived

00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:16.519
 their thoughts.

00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:19.119
 So they were thinking this.

00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.000
 They were doing it in quiet.

00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:24.440
 He perceived their thoughts.

00:20:24.519 --> 00:20:25.440
 He knew what they were thinking.

00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:27.799
 He answered them,

00:20:27.879 --> 00:20:29.279
 why do you question in your hearts?

00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:30.339
 Which is easier to say,

00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:31.440
 your sins are forgiven you?

00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:32.279
 Or to say,

00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:33.079
 rise up and walk?

00:20:33.180 --> 00:20:34.059
 But that you may know

00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:34.819
 that the Son of Man

00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:36.000
 has authority on earth

00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:36.879
 to forgive sins.

00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:37.980
 He said to the man

00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:38.539
 who is paralyzed,

00:20:39.299 --> 00:20:40.139
 I say to you,

00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:40.960
 rise,

00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:42.019
 pick up your bed

00:20:42.019 --> 00:20:42.579
 and go home

00:20:42.579 --> 00:20:43.740
 and immediately rose up

00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:44.879
 before them.

00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:47.779
 It's all very shocking.

00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:49.919
 There are three shocks

00:20:49.919 --> 00:20:51.379
 I want to draw attention to.

00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:52.139
 The first is this,

00:20:52.179 --> 00:20:53.079
 the problem of sin.

00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:55.000
 This guy thinks

00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:55.679
 his biggest problem

00:20:55.679 --> 00:20:56.859
 is his paralysis.

00:20:58.639 --> 00:20:59.779
 And we would look on

00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:00.899
 as we saw these guys

00:21:00.899 --> 00:21:01.619
 bringing him in

00:21:01.619 --> 00:21:02.359
 and we would look on

00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:03.059
 at that situation

00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:03.699
 and agree,

00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:04.439
 his biggest problem

00:21:04.439 --> 00:21:05.319
 is he can't walk.

00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:06.720
 It's obvious,

00:21:06.819 --> 00:21:07.679
 his legs don't work.

00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:08.779
 That's what needs fixing.

00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.099
 But Jesus bypasses

00:21:11.099 --> 00:21:11.579
 that issue.

00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:13.019
 That's the smaller problem

00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:13.679
 as it happens

00:21:13.679 --> 00:21:14.799
 and puts his finger

00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:15.679
 on the bigger problem.

00:21:16.179 --> 00:21:16.779
 The bigger problem

00:21:16.779 --> 00:21:17.480
 is that this man

00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:18.659
 is a sinner before God

00:21:18.659 --> 00:21:19.899
 and that's what Jesus

00:21:19.899 --> 00:21:20.899
 wants to deal with.

00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:23.659
 Whatever you think

00:21:23.659 --> 00:21:24.619
 your biggest problem is,

00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:25.539
 whatever you think

00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:27.179
 the world's biggest problem is,

00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:28.859
 the fact that we are

00:21:28.859 --> 00:21:29.799
 sinners against God

00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:30.740
 and the world that he has made

00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:31.779
 is a bigger problem.

00:21:32.879 --> 00:21:34.299
 That's what Jesus is saying.

00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:36.059
 He's shocking us

00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:36.939
 with the reality of that.

00:21:37.019 --> 00:21:37.639
 We would have looked

00:21:37.639 --> 00:21:38.079
 at the man

00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:39.179
 and thought his biggest problem

00:21:39.179 --> 00:21:39.919
 was his legs.

00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:40.879
 It wasn't.

00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:42.380
 There is a bigger problem

00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:43.340
 than every problem

00:21:43.340 --> 00:21:44.280
 that you can put your finger

00:21:44.280 --> 00:21:45.200
 on in the world today

00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:46.820
 and that is the problem

00:21:46.820 --> 00:21:47.600
 of the human heart.

00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:49.920
 Well, here's the second shock.

00:21:50.020 --> 00:21:51.040
 It's the issue of forgiveness.

00:21:51.900 --> 00:21:53.120
 The moment Jesus mentions

00:21:53.120 --> 00:21:54.320
 sins being forgiven,

00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:56.420
 the Pharisees go ballistic.

00:21:58.840 --> 00:21:59.560
 Now, they don't speak

00:21:59.560 --> 00:22:00.220
 but it's obvious

00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:01.560
 and Jesus knows their minds

00:22:01.560 --> 00:22:03.200
 and they are right.

00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:06.240
 only God can forgive sins

00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:07.480
 because only God

00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:08.279
 is the one ultimately

00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:09.980
 against whom all of us have sinned.

00:22:10.080 --> 00:22:10.700
 Isn't that what David

00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:12.460
 told us in Psalm 51

00:22:12.460 --> 00:22:13.340
 when he repented

00:22:13.340 --> 00:22:14.160
 in Psalm 51?

00:22:14.299 --> 00:22:14.559
 He said,

00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:15.240
 against you,

00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:16.200
 you only,

00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:17.980
 have I sinned, O God.

00:22:19.220 --> 00:22:20.180
 Now, we know he'd sinned

00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:21.120
 terribly against more

00:22:21.120 --> 00:22:22.160
 than one other person

00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:23.259
 but he knew that his sin

00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:23.840
 was ultimately

00:22:23.840 --> 00:22:25.380
 an offense against God

00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:26.940
 and it follows

00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:27.759
 that the only person

00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:29.019
 who has been offended against

00:22:29.019 --> 00:22:30.019
 can extend forgiveness

00:22:30.019 --> 00:22:30.740
 for an offense.

00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:32.559
 No one else can do that.

00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:33.799
 So, the scribes

00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:35.019
 and the Pharisees are right

00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:36.259
 but what they aren't doing

00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:37.259
 is joining the dots.

00:22:38.099 --> 00:22:39.099
 They aren't saying

00:22:39.099 --> 00:22:40.960
 only God can forgive sins.

00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:42.620
 This man must be God.

00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:44.700
 But they're saying

00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:45.700
 only God can do this.

00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.839
 This man is a blasphemer

00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:48.339
 and they're outraged.

00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:51.819
 There's another shock to come.

00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:53.960
 Problem of sin,

00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:54.740
 the issue of forgiveness.

00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:55.759
 The third shock

00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:56.940
 is the authority of Jesus.

00:22:57.819 --> 00:22:58.640
 The authority

00:22:58.640 --> 00:23:00.160
 of this man, Jesus.

00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:01.000
 This is where Jesus

00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:01.560
 has been going

00:23:01.560 --> 00:23:02.120
 from the start.

00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:02.779
 Verse 23,

00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:03.420
 this is something

00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:04.040
 of a conundrum.

00:23:04.120 --> 00:23:04.480
 Can you see?

00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:05.960
 Which is easier to say,

00:23:06.560 --> 00:23:07.540
 your sins are forgiven

00:23:07.540 --> 00:23:09.460
 or to say,

00:23:09.560 --> 00:23:10.320
 rise up and walk?

00:23:11.560 --> 00:23:13.100
 Which is easier to say?

00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:14.800
 It's tricky, isn't it?

00:23:15.500 --> 00:23:16.620
 Because humanly speaking,

00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:17.900
 it's easier to say,

00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:18.940
 your sins are forgiven

00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:21.320
 because that's an internal thing

00:23:21.320 --> 00:23:21.860
 and it won't be

00:23:21.860 --> 00:23:22.720
 immediately visible

00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.220
 but only God could say that

00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:25.279
 and it'd be effective.

00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:27.240
 So, in reality,

00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:28.800
 that's impossible.

00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:30.619
 It's easy to say

00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:31.460
 but it's impossible.

00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:33.399
 Similarly,

00:23:33.960 --> 00:23:34.960
 rise up and walk.

00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:36.859
 Well, it's easy to say the words

00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:38.299
 but only a miracle

00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:39.200
 will make it possible.

00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:42.399
 The guy gets up immediately

00:23:42.399 --> 00:23:43.339
 and is fully better.

00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.359
 Not just anyone

00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:46.240
 can speak a word

00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:47.299
 and have the wasted muscle

00:23:47.299 --> 00:23:47.879
 and the ligaments

00:23:47.879 --> 00:23:48.940
 work again like that.

00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:50.919
 The point is,

00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:52.159
 both of these things

00:23:52.159 --> 00:23:52.759
 are impossible.

00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:54.720
 No mere man

00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:55.640
 can forgive sins

00:23:55.640 --> 00:23:56.500
 and no mere man

00:23:56.500 --> 00:23:57.700
 can recreate muscle

00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:58.500
 and ligaments

00:23:58.500 --> 00:23:59.460
 from nothing.

00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:01.960
 But Jesus is no mere man,

00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:02.920
 verse 24.

00:24:03.879 --> 00:24:04.680
 But that you may know

00:24:04.680 --> 00:24:05.519
 that the Son of Man

00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:06.519
 has authority on earth

00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:07.359
 to forgive sins.

00:24:07.660 --> 00:24:08.319
 He said to the man

00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:08.859
 who was paralyzed,

00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:09.960
 I say to you,

00:24:10.039 --> 00:24:11.079
 rise, pick up your bed

00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:11.619
 and go home.

00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:12.460
 And immediately

00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:13.680
 he rose up before them

00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:14.220
 and picked up

00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:15.240
 what he had been lying on

00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:15.920
 and went home

00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.200
 glorifying God.

00:24:18.420 --> 00:24:19.559
 Son of Man

00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:20.960
 is Jesus' favorite

00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:22.180
 self-description.

00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:23.779
 He's taking the title

00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:24.600
 used in Daniel

00:24:24.600 --> 00:24:25.740
 of the exalted figure,

00:24:26.120 --> 00:24:27.340
 the exalted divine figure

00:24:27.340 --> 00:24:28.299
 who has all authority

00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:29.779
 and power to rule

00:24:29.779 --> 00:24:30.799
 and who will one day

00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:31.579
 judge the earth.

00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:33.079
 He's taking that to himself.

00:24:33.180 --> 00:24:33.680
 So do you see

00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:34.240
 what's happening?

00:24:35.620 --> 00:24:36.279
 Do you see

00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:37.079
 what's happening here?

00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:38.039
 In full view

00:24:38.039 --> 00:24:39.019
 of the religious leadership,

00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:40.960
 Jesus has orchestrated

00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:41.720
 a situation

00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:42.680
 where he performs

00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:43.319
 that which is

00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:44.519
 physically impossible

00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:46.539
 in order to demonstrate

00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:47.799
 that he has the authority

00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:48.420
 to do that

00:24:48.420 --> 00:24:49.440
 which is spiritually

00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:50.420
 impossible.

00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:53.620
 physically impossible

00:24:53.620 --> 00:24:55.180
 for any of us,

00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.880
 spiritually impossible

00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:57.920
 for anyone

00:24:57.920 --> 00:24:59.860
 and he does them.

00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:03.539
 Jesus is the Son of Man

00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:05.340
 before whom we will

00:25:05.340 --> 00:25:07.120
 all one day stand

00:25:07.120 --> 00:25:07.819
 to give an account

00:25:07.819 --> 00:25:08.900
 for every detail

00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:09.640
 of our lives

00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:11.900
 including all the bad stuff

00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:14.100
 and he has the authority

00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:15.100
 to forgive it all.

00:25:15.099 --> 00:25:19.819
 The issue

00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:20.939
 with the paralyzed man

00:25:20.939 --> 00:25:22.639
 is demonstrating to us

00:25:22.639 --> 00:25:24.019
 that Jesus has the authority

00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:24.779
 to follow through

00:25:24.779 --> 00:25:25.579
 on what we see

00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:26.980
 with the leper.

00:25:30.179 --> 00:25:31.799
 There is nothing like

00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:33.139
 the feeling

00:25:33.139 --> 00:25:35.539
 of being forgiven.

00:25:37.740 --> 00:25:38.319
 Guilt

00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.919
 is a real killer.

00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:41.399
 Literally,

00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:42.439
 it is a real killer.

00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:44.019
 It leads thousands

00:25:44.019 --> 00:25:44.380
 of people

00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:45.019
 to suicide

00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:46.360
 every year.

00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:48.400
 As a society,

00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:49.559
 we are spending millions

00:25:49.559 --> 00:25:51.100
 in psychotherapy

00:25:51.100 --> 00:25:52.039
 trying to help us

00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:53.000
 manage those feelings

00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.940
 and they won't leave.

00:25:57.340 --> 00:25:58.320
 My uncle died

00:25:58.320 --> 00:25:59.120
 a couple of years ago

00:25:59.120 --> 00:25:59.759
 in his 80s.

00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.440
 At the end of his life,

00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:02.160
 some of the more

00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:03.100
 candid conversations

00:26:03.100 --> 00:26:03.900
 that we had,

00:26:04.860 --> 00:26:05.480
 there were things

00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:06.259
 that he had done

00:26:06.259 --> 00:26:07.580
 over half a century

00:26:07.580 --> 00:26:08.039
 before

00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:08.840
 that he couldn't

00:26:08.840 --> 00:26:09.420
 talk about

00:26:09.420 --> 00:26:10.860
 because the guilt

00:26:10.860 --> 00:26:12.080
 never left him.

00:26:14.080 --> 00:26:14.820
 Where can we

00:26:14.820 --> 00:26:15.519
 take this guilt?

00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:18.420
 Our culture

00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:19.160
 will give you

00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:20.740
 waves and waves

00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.580
 and waves

00:26:21.580 --> 00:26:22.380
 of options

00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:23.660
 and none of them

00:26:23.660 --> 00:26:24.120
 will work.

00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:26.820
 There is only one place

00:26:26.820 --> 00:26:27.580
 we can take it

00:26:27.580 --> 00:26:28.779
 and that is

00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:29.600
 to the Lord Jesus.

00:26:30.820 --> 00:26:32.160
 And in this exchange

00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:33.300
 with the paralyzed man,

00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:34.220
 Jesus is saying,

00:26:34.340 --> 00:26:34.440
 look,

00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:35.880
 those guilty feelings

00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:37.039
 actually go deeper

00:26:37.039 --> 00:26:37.800
 than you realize.

00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:38.940
 you feel this way

00:26:38.940 --> 00:26:40.200
 because you are guilty

00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:41.419
 before a holy God

00:26:41.419 --> 00:26:43.819
 but I have the authority

00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:45.220
 to remove that guilt

00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:45.720
 completely,

00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:48.319
 to take it away.

00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:52.000
 And the unburdening

00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.440
 that we experience

00:26:53.440 --> 00:26:54.359
 when we come

00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:56.180
 to Jesus in faith

00:26:56.180 --> 00:26:57.419
 as these men did

00:26:57.419 --> 00:26:58.619
 with their friend,

00:26:58.700 --> 00:26:59.879
 when we bring our sin,

00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:00.619
 he says,

00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:03.299
 I will be clean.

00:27:04.440 --> 00:27:05.659
 Man, woman,

00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:07.299
 boy, girl,

00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:08.859
 your sins

00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:10.359
 are forgiven you.

00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.279
 And in that moment,

00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:17.000
 cultural outcasts

00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:17.799
 are brought in.

00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:20.000
 Religious outcasts,

00:27:20.019 --> 00:27:20.740
 those who are outside

00:27:20.740 --> 00:27:21.539
 the kingdom of God,

00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.299
 are welcomed.

00:27:24.059 --> 00:27:24.759
 No one,

00:27:24.919 --> 00:27:25.740
 but no one,

00:27:25.859 --> 00:27:26.819
 is beyond the reach

00:27:26.819 --> 00:27:27.559
 of these promises

00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:28.759
 if they will come.

00:27:30.379 --> 00:27:31.559
 So will you do that?

00:27:31.559 --> 00:27:35.519
 Jesus here is on his way

00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:38.019
 to his death

00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:38.539
 at the hands

00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:39.359
 of the religious leaders

00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:40.700
 that he is so annoyed.

00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.899
 But it is a death

00:27:42.899 --> 00:27:43.639
 that in the purposes

00:27:43.639 --> 00:27:44.079
 of God

00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:45.000
 will be a just punishment

00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:45.599
 for the sin

00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:47.039
 of all who trust him.

00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:48.940
 So the invitation

00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:49.419
 this evening

00:27:49.419 --> 00:27:50.000
 is to come.

00:27:51.139 --> 00:27:52.159
 Come for cleansing.

00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:54.139
 Come for forgiveness.

00:27:55.379 --> 00:27:56.359
 Whoever you are,

00:27:56.819 --> 00:27:57.639
 whatever you've done,

00:27:58.399 --> 00:27:58.759
 come.

00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:02.000
 Let's pray.

00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:02.000


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