An important teaching among the Jews is that only God can forgive sins. But we know that if Jesus is the “Son of Man”, than that makes Him equal with His Father. This allows Him to forgive and heal people who are sick. Daniel 7 reads, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13,14) So did Jesus say He is the Son of Man? Yes, and in many places. Even in Luke 5, we learn about a man with the palsy who was healed by Jesus, and He explained that His reason is that He has this power. But before we get to that part, let us understand this story better. It reads, “and, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.” (Luke 5:18-20) Wow! So Jesus told this man that his sins were forgiven. And you may be wondering how the scribes and Pharisees took this. Well, not so good, as they called it blasphemy.
It was also written, “and the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.” (Luke 5:21-26) So now things are starting to make sense. Yes, only God can forgive sins, but as Jesus said, the Son of Man is also God and is able to. As we read this earlier in Daniel 7, this power was given from the Father, who is the Ancient of Days, unto Jesus, who is the Son of Man. The Jews may not have thought Jesus was who He said He was, but imagine how they were feeling when they saw this man of the palsy be entirely healed and rise up and walk? Well, not only did this man glorify God for this miracle, but the people did too. And the best part is that they felt the fear of God that day, which means many of them now knew that Jesus is God in the flesh. For only God could do miracles like He did upon the earth.
Let us pray:
Thank You Jesus for coming into this world. Yes, Thank You, God, for coming down, in order to deliver us from sin and death. You have the power to forgive us our sins and I am so grateful that You have done just that for me. Your atonement on the cross was for the sins of this world and I wish that people would understand this fact. That nothing can hold us back from following You now. There is nothing we have done that is too grievous that You cannot forgive. I know this for a fact, for I was a very wretched and sinful man before I found You. I was so caught up in pornography and even adultery while in my early years being married. This addiction and evil lifestyle almost destroyed my life, my marriage, my relationship with my children, and relations with brothers, sisters, and parents. I thought I had the good things in this life, but I was so wrong and foolish. I thought I could get away with having pleasure in the moment and not have to get caught in doing so, but You always knew! It was just a matter of time that You would inform my wife of what I had done. And this fateful day did come. I had nowhere to hide anymore. Everything was now out in the open. I could either confess my sins or try to justify my actions. And thankfully, You gave me over to confess my sins to my wife, my children, and the rest of my family members. Even to You did I cry out for mercy, and thankfully You forgave me. Lord, I would not be where I am today if You had not had compassion upon my lost soul back in that time. Thank You. I love You, Jesus. I give You my life to serve You, my King. Amen.
