JESUS TEACHES NICODEMUS

Visit of Nicodemus to Christ by John La Farge, 1880

John 3: 1-21

There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him.”

This is almost the full extent of what we know of Nicodemus. We can conclude he was a man of wealth from the information in John 19:39-40 when he brings 75 pounds of myrrh mixed with aloes to prepare Christ’s body for burial. Myrrh was an expensive spice.

We can also infer from his aiding Joseph of Arimathea in caring for Christ’s body and from his stance against the Pharisees in John 7: 50-51 that he was a follower of Jesus, and from the reaction to his statements this was probably secretly. 

John 7:40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (ESV)

The passage in John 7 also indicates that the events described in John 3 took place well before the Passion month, another indicator that there were two separate cleansings of the Temple.

We really don’t have any information outside of scripture on the man. There was a Nicodemus (or Naqdimon) written about in the Babylonian Talmud, a rich man of Jerusalem who was living in the late 60 ADs during the time of the war with Rome. Some scholars have claimed this was the same Nicodemus, but more likely he was a nephew or other member of the same family. 

This man was of the ben Gurion family, and probably Nicodemus was a member of it as well. The ben Gurions were rich, with a long history as Pharisees, teachers of the law and members of the ruling class. Members of the family carried the name Nicodemus at least as far back as 64 BC with a Nicodemus ben Gurion written about in Josephus’s Antiquities (14:37). We’ve already mentioned that the Nicodemus ben Gurion of the Babylonia Talmud lived in the 60s AD. The Nicodemus, who met with Jesus, fits with this family in social status and time period.

Why did he come to Jesus at night? Perhaps his duties kept him busy during the day, but more likely he came secretly. Jesus was not exactly making friends with the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, both of which Nicodemas was a member. (There was another member of the Sanhedrin, who was a secret follower of Jesus and who Nicodemus apparently had a friendship with, Joseph of Arimathea.)

He shows respect toward Jesus by calling him Rabbi and says the miracles he has done show that God must be with him.

Jesus replies by answering a question never asked. Obviously Jesus knows what is weighing on Nicodemas’ mind. The question is how can I know the Kingdom of God. The answer, and the only answer, is one must be born from above.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?”

Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes, and whither it goes. So is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus’ reply rocked Nicodemus back on his heels. He couldn’t understand it for it made no sense.

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3 (NIV)

“Verily, verily, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (KJV)

I show both translations here because the NIV misses some of the emphasis of its import shown by the King James. The NIV says, “I tell you the truth…” The double “Verily, verily” of the KJV means “I tell you the truth of truths.”

Jesus uses the double “verily”; this is the truth of truths, the absolute, “Verily, verily, I say to thee, if any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God” (Young Literal Translation).  This is the source of the oft-used phrase, “born again.” We find it confirmed in 1 Peter 1:23: “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” The literal translation of 1 Peter is “being begotten again”, or in modern English, “born again”. (Perhaps it could be interpreted as reconceived as well.)

Nicodemus may have been surprised by this reply. We don’t know that, but we know it confused him. Oh, he took it as meaning born again all right; he just didn’t understand how that was possible because he was thinking of physical birth. He may have been thinking he made a mistake in coming to Jesus. It was ridiculous, re-entering the womb and being reborn? 

Jesus, with another “verily, verily,” strongly reiterates this fact. There is no way around this truth; a person must be born again to see the Kingdom of God.

Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you a master of Israel and know not these things? Verily, verily, I say to you, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus gently admonishes Nicodemus for not understanding. Nicodemus is a teacher and a leader, yet he missed it. What kinds of things did he miss? Such things as these among many others:

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jeremiah 31:31-33

"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! Ezekiel 18:30-32

Then Jesus makes reference to an event Nicodemus would have known well when he says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. Numbers 21:6-9

Nicodemus probably did not understand what Jesus was talking about. He couldn’t see the cross for that was in the future. When he came and helped bury Christ’s body that reference to Numbers 21 probably came back to him in total clarity.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes on him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that does truth comes to the light that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

Nicodemus may have left that night still confused and in wonder. He probably hit the scrolls and over the course of time came to understand and believe in Jesus as the Messiah. He probably came to understand that no man was capable of following the Law completely and that a study of the men of God in the Old Testament clearly shows their relationship with God was not one of perfection in deed, but in faith in the Lord.

This passage, early on in Christ’s ministry, leaves no doubt that Jesus declared there is but one way to Heaven and that is through belief in Him.

It is also important to take note Jesus came to save the world, not condemn it.

JESUS IS REJECTED IN NAZARETH

The Cliffs of Mount Precipice, Nazareth

Luke 4:16-30, John 4:44

Nazareth, Galilee

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

We can think of the synagogue as similar to our church. Most of the larger towns of Israel in Jesus time boasted a synagogue. There were around 480 synagogues in Jerusalem alone. Like our churches and synagogues of today there were modest buildings and there were more elaborate ones. The word Synagogue means “a place of meeting”.

There were some differences to our Christian Churches of course. A synagogue service couldn’t be preformed without a minimum of 10 adult males in attendance. A Jewish boy of 13 would be considered an adult male for this purpose. The service consisted of five parts, more restrictive in practice and order, but reminiscent of a typical church service. It would open with a call to service, a recitation of the Shema "Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah: and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:4, 5) accompanied by Blessings or Berakot. There might be some psalm singing. There was a period of prayer, first a ritual prayer and then silent praying by individuals of the congregation. Finally came the reading of scripture and a sermon explaining what had been read and a blessing to end it.

There was not a priest or preacher as we would think of such a position. There was a synagogue leader selected from the elders by the other men. This person acted similar to a facilitator. The reading and sermons were given by any man who felt called upon and qualified to do so.

In this case that was Jesus.

Now Jesus as his custom was, went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He had probably done this faithfully since he was declared a man. Remember even while still considered a boy he had slipped from his parents while in Jerusalem and sat questioning the men in a synagogue. Also, this was the town where he grew up and he had probably taken part here on other occasions and these members of the congregation were very familiar with him. They would not have expected anything unusual when he stood up to read on this particular occasion, although they may have had more interest in what he was going to say this time. Remember, the people in Galilee had greeted him when he first arrived because they knew of what he had done in Jerusalem. We can be pretty sure the people attending this service were just as knowledgeable of those things. They were probably very curious about him, but they didn’t expect to hear what they now heard.

And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” [Isaiah 61:1-2]

And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

And he began to say to them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words, which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)

Note their reaction is not immediately one of rejection. They appear to agree with him and to wonder at what he has said, but not to repudiate anything – yet.  Their rhetorical question, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” has not yet been said out of doubt about who he is. That will come shortly, but right now they are looking at him as something of a celebrity, a brilliant hometown boy to take with some local pride. They have not thought it through yet and understood what he has just claimed.

But Jesus, ever confrontational, doesn’t leave it rest there. 

And he said to them, “You will surely say to me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country.”

Jesus knew what was in their hearts and what would come next. Soon they would be demanding signs from him, proof of whom he was rather than accepting on faith. They had probably been aware of the cure of the Roman official’s son, certainly aware of what happened in Jerusalem, and he knew they would begin to ask him to perform such miracles in Nazareth.

And he said, “Verily I say to you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent, save to Sarepta [Zarephath], a city of Sidon, to a woman that was a widow. [1 Kings 17:7-24 Zarephath is about 13 miles north of Tyre, a Phoenician City, now Modern Sarafend, Lebanon.]

And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.” [2 Kings 5:1-19]

What has just happened here? I believe a couple of things. First, it has now dawned upon these men what Jesus meant in his reading for they understood Isaiah was talking about the coming Messiah. When Jesus did not expound on the reading, but simply said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” he was declaring himself that Messiah.  

Secondly, they were offended at the examples he gave from Scripture. The people referred to as given Elijah and Elisha’s miracles were Gentiles, not Jews. Jesus is speaking of faith in God, not of birthright or ceremony. He is saying he will not give them signs because they should know the signs of the time from Scripture and accept his claim on faith.

Jesus is also giving a prophecy here by setting these examples and saying, “A prophet has no honor in his own country.” This is not just a matter of over familiarity because these people knew him from childhood. Certainly, it may have been more difficult for those you’ve been with all your life to accept you as the Messiah easily, but this statement goes to the whole of his ministry and his final crucifixion right until our very modern world. The people of his country, the Chosen People of God, would not accept him and his salvation would go out to the Gentiles before them.

Rather than consider the validity of his statement, they took it as blasphemy and took it upon themselves to execute him there and then. 

And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill whereon their city was built that they might cast him down headlong.

But he passing through the midst of them went his way.

They probably wondered how he escaped and it never crossed their mind that he had just preformed a miracle in their midst.

One final comment here, it is important to note where Jesus left off reading Isaiah. He read Isaiah 61, 1-2. Here is the full text, finishing verse 2 and adding verse 3.

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Jesus declares only the first half of Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled at that time. It was the “acceptable year of the Lord”, but not yet the “day of vengeance” or the time when all God’s promises to Israel would be fulfilled. Jesus had first come to save and his countrymen missed it, but the foreigners did not.

HEALING OF A LEPER

Image of a person suffering from Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy)

HEALING OF A LEPER

Matthew 8:2-4, 4:25; Mark 1:40-45; Luke 5:12-16

A Town in Galilee

And behold it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, there came a leper, a man full of leprosy who seeing Jesus fell on his faceand worshipped him, beseeching him and kneeling down to him, besought him sayingto him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

This would be a man in a desperate situation. Luke, the physician, says he was “full” of leprosy. The Greek word used is πλήρης (pleres), meaning “filled up” or “covered in every part”. He must have been hard to look at and certainly unable to hide his condition. He probably had suffered a long time with it as well for it to develop to the point it covered every part. Most likely he would not have lived much longer in this advanced state.

Notice the reverent approach of this man. He bows and kneels at Christ’s feet, He first worships him and then earnestly, urgently and fervently implores Jesus to cure him. There is both faith and respect in this request. He asks, but does not demand. He also recognized the decision is solely that of Jesus and he asks with the faith that Jesus can do it, if that be Jesus’ will.

This is certainly analogous to us. We are sinners, but even if we have long been sinning and are covered in every part, if we come to the Lord worshipping with faith and ask him to clean us of our sin, he will do so and make us pure in the sight of God.

And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand and touched him, saying unto him, “I will; be you clean.” And immediately the leprosy departed from him; his leprosy was cleansed.

Let’s be clear here, we most likely are talking in this passage about true leprosy, not just some skin condition. In these passages, the Greek λέπρα (lepra) is used which means leprosy. The disease was known at least 400 years before the birth of Christ. The organism Mycobacteriumleprae causes Hansen’s Disease (leprosy). Unlike many scare stories, it is not highly contagious. One must have fairly long contact with an afflicted person to get the disease. It is also a slow disease in development, which is another reason to assume this man had suffered long if he was fully covered. There are two forms called tuberculoid and lepromatous. Both forms cause skin sores, but lepromatous also forms severe and large lumps and bumps. Both forms also cause nerve damage and sensory loss. The stories of body parts falling off due to the disease are untrue; however, due to the loss of feeling people do lose use of limbs from injury or in some cases, scratch off skin because they can not feel the damage.

In Jesus time, this man would have been considered unclean and been shunned by others. He would have been banned from his places of worship and possibly his own home. For Jesus to touch him would have been considered reckless or foolish, but Jesus did indeed touch this man.

And immediately the leprosy departed from him;his leprosy was cleansed.

Matthew and Mark inform us the leprosy was cleansed. It obviously means more than his lesions or sores disappeared. Luke, the physician, tells us the leprosy departed (ἀπέρχομαι – departing evils and sufferings). In other words, the man was completely cured of this infection and restored in appearance.

And Jesus strictly charged him saying to him, “See you say nothing, tell no man; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift for your cleansing that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

If you go to the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 14, you will read of what the cured man and the priest should do under the Law. It might be well to explain also the use of the word “leprosy” in Chapter 13 and 14 of Leviticus as well.

In this Old Testament text there are a number of Laws of what should be done for anyone having some sort of skin blemish. A number of times the word “leprosy” appears in the passages. A modern doctor looking at the passages would say that none of the conditions described fit the symptoms of leprosy, either here and in other portions of Old Testament Scripture, when it talks of the skin turning white. Examples of this would be Miriam turned white with leprosy in Numbers 12 or Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Whatever afflicted Miriam or Naaman was not Hansen’s Disease (leprosy).

So is the Scripture in error. No, of course not, but the translators are. The word translated as leprosy in the Old Testament is the Hebrew “צָרַעַת” (tsara’ath) and it means a malignant skin disease, which can include fungi infections, ringworm and such things as mildew and mold. Modern medicine has basically identified the various diseases described in Leviticus 13 by the descriptions in that chapter, which validates the Scripture. Under these rules even my psoriasis would have included.

By the time of Christ, true leprosy would have fallen under the Law in the eyes of the Rabbi’s and Jesus is sending this man to comply with the Law.

Jesus sent the man to the Priests, but told him not to speak to anyone about what had happened.

But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, so much the more went there a fame abroad of Jesus. And great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities,insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city. But he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayedand was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.

 Now we have a forced change in Jesus’ behavior. Where before he could come and go easily enough, now he could not go freely into a town without gathering a crowd. If before people who knew he was nearby sought him out, now they flock in great multitudes. He is forced to withdraw more into wilderness places to be alone to rest or pray. Before this leper, he was a local attraction, now people are actually traveling from distant areas to see him. Not only does this interfere with his privacy, it is attracting the ears of the religious leaders and the authorities.

PALSIED MAN LOWERED THROUGH A ROOF

The Palsied Man Let Down Through the Roof by James Jacques Tissot, c.1886-94

Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-20

Back in Capernaum

And after some days he entered into a ship, and passed over and came into his own city again. He entered Capernaum and it came to pass on a certain dayit was noised that he was in the house.

Jesus made his initial tour about Galilee and gained a good bit of fame as a result, enough so it has become difficult to move about freely. He couldn’t even find solitude in the wilderness; the people followed him there. After several days of this, he returned to his base city, Capernaum. He crossed the sea in a ship, possibly escaping notice briefly. Eventually word on the street grew that he “was in the house”.  This is probably the house where Jesus was living, which many scholars believe was the home of Peter and Andrew. It had to be a house the people associated with Jesus being in town, since it was rumored he “was in the house”.

This is an artist’s rendering of what Peter’s mother-in-law’s house in Capernaum might have looked like. It was probably sketched from the archeological foundation claimed to be her house. Whether Peter and his mother-in-law lived in the same house it is difficult to say, but if not, their home would have probably been similar.

Although the sketch gives the appearance of a large compound, the actual dwelling would most likely be only one of these structures, not the whole complex. Homes tended to be simple affairs with only one or two rooms. The roof was flat and often people sat or slept on the roof to keep cool. Homes were clustered, like this sketch, around common courtyards. The courtyards would contain cisterns where water was carried in daily and stored. The neighbors would all use a common courtyard for such tasks as laundry and cooking.

And straightway many were gathered together, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them and they come unto him. Insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

We have seen such scenes today, large crowds surrounding a place because some celebrity is there. Back in 1968 during the Presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy came to Philadelphia. He was to speak at the Democratic Headquarters on the corner of Fifteenth Street and Chestnut Avenue at noon. Before he arrived, people had crowded into that intersection and all along the adjoining streets. The police could barely keep the streets clear for traffic and people were being pressed into the sides of buildings. It was so crowded that when Kennedy arrived, he couldn’t even get out of the car, but had to stand up in the seat to address the people. There must have been a similar scene at the house. Every part of the grounds around it occupied. Perhaps some early arrivals actually gained entry, but now one couldn’t get close. Jesus probably stood in the doorway to address the mob.

As he was teaching, there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by and, behold, men brought to him a man, one sick of the palsy, lying on a bedwhich was borne of four,and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before him.

And when they could not come nigh to him for the press and could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop. They uncovered the roof where he was and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy layand let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

At the end of the last passage and the beginning of this it was stated that people came “from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.” This was the result of the cured Leper telling people about Jesus and how he cured him. The leper had also went to the temple and told the Priest there. Word spread. The Priest probably sent messages to the religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Remember, Jesus had begun his mission in a dramatic way, driving Moneychangers out of the Temple in Jerusalem during the Passover week. This got the religious and secular leaders attention. Jesus did not hang around in Jerusalem, but basically fled into the wilderness, then through Samaria and settled in Galilee. The leaders in Jerusalem probably dismissed this rebel rouser as just another lone fanatic. He disappeared north, out of sight and out of mind, until rumors and stories about the preacher and his healing began floating south to the capital. Now along those flocking to hear Jesus were the Scribes (doctors of the law) and Pharisees, examining Jesus and his purpose as they had John the Baptist. They may have been dispatched to follow Jesus and report on his activities by their superiors in Jerusalem. Notice these men were “sitting by”, implying they were not active participants, but were observers.

In these early days of his ministry, Jesus was obviously being seen as a healer more than a teacher, many, if not most, of this multitude were looking for a cure.  One such person was a man suffering from palsy.

We can’t know the exact nature of the man’s illness. Palsy is a somewhat general term meaning the lost use of some body part. It is usually accompanied by a loss of felling as well. The causes can be various. It could be something from birth, such as cerebral palsy or it could be the result of some trauma or other illness. It can afflict the whole person or be confined to one area.

From the description given, this man was affected at least in his legs and/or feet since he couldn’t walk. He has to be carried by four friends and they came too late to be near Jesus. With a burden of a man and his pallet, they found it difficult to even make a path through the crowd.

Now, some might question if they could not get through the crowd, how could they get to the roof. If we look at the earlier sketch we can certainly picture the scene. The particular house in question is blocked all along the front by this multitude. Jesus is most likely in the doorway. There may be some people inside the house listening from behind him.

But the houses are somewhat adjoined around the courtyards. The men took their friend to the side or rear of this block, hoisted him up and carried him over the flat roofs to the house of Jesus. Here they tore up the tiles and lowered the man through the hole they made.

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to him, the sick of the palsy, “Son, be of good cheer; man your sins be forgiven you.”

Let’s look closely at this statement. This is the first time we know of that Jesus has said such a thing. He spoke to Nicodemus about salvation, about being “born again”, and he spoke to the Samarian Woman at the well about the need for “living water”, but he has not until now said to anyone, as far as is recorded, “Your sins are forgiven”. Why here, why now and what does he mean?

We must be careful we don’t take this statement out of the context of the situation. There is a danger of pulling individual parts out of Scripture and misapplying them. The danger here is one that many have fallen into, even in Jesus’ day, of associating a serious sickness with a serious sin. Because someone falls sick, we should not assume they committed some sin. Job was the most righteous man around and he fell sick. Some may get a disease as a result of their sins, such as sexually transmitted diseases, but innocent people can get these diseases passed to them by an unfaithful spouse. Some people may sin greatly and remain very healthy in body, while other people may sin little and suffer terrible sicknesses throughout their life. We must show compassion and care for the ill, not condemn them or accuse them of anything.

Jesus is not saying here that the Palsy was the result of sin. (That is not to say it couldn’t have been, only that this is not the point of what Jesus says or does here.) We know we are all sinners, whether we show it in any outward way or not. Certainly, then, this man was a sinner, whether palsied or not.

So why did Jesus say this? It certainly must have surprised the man. It wasn’t what the guy expected to hear; not what his friends had went to such effort to hear. Jesus said this here and now because the Pharisees and Scribes were there and he was about to prove a point and begin an adversarial dialogue that would follow his ministry from this point to the Cross. Whenever Jesus did something, it was to the purpose of furthering God’s plan.

And, behold,but there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, said within themselves, “This man blasphemes. Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?”

Who were these certain scribes? The scribes were the trusted and venerated experts on Scripture. They wore three hats. One, they were the transcribers, the people who copied and preserved the Holy texts. They were very familiar with the writings. Two, they were the Teachers of the Scripture to the populace. It was their duty to interpret the text’s meaning and teach the people what Moses and the Prophets had set down for them to follow. They were responsible for giving the people the moral principles of their religion. Three, they were also the Lawyers who were looked to for settling all disputes, questions or controversies concerning Scripture.

In other words, they were men who knew Scripture inside and out. These were the men in the profession that advised Herod when and where the Messiah was to be born back when the Magi appeared. If anyone in the crowd listening to Jesus should have understood his preaching, it was these certain scribes. But they didn’t.

And immediately, when Jesus knowing their thoughts, perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, “Wherefore think you evil? Why reason you these things in your hearts, for whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?

 “But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins,” …

Jesus knew what these men thought. It must have been stunning to these men when he addressed them this way as if he could read their minds.

Jesus says something it is hard to believe these men missed. That is when he said, “but that you may know that the Son of man…” These experts in Scripture must have understood that term immediately. Although the term “son of man” was used to mean human being, it had a precise meaning these men would have been familiar with. It came from Daniel 7.

Daniel was given a vision of history. In this vision he saw the rise and fall of the great empires. He was also shown the rise of the Antichrist and the fate of this final dictator. Daniel saw Christ given dominion over all by God.

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

They must have caught the assertion by Jesus that he was this person predicted by Daniel.

…(then he said to the sick of the palsy) “I say to you, arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.”

And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelledinsomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, which had given such power to men saying, “We never saw it on this fashion.”

But did the scribes witnessing this also glorify God?