Luke 5:17-26 "The Roof"
When you’re reading a great book or enjoying a TV series, you know something terrible’s going to happen every chapter and every episode—wouldn’t be any good if it didn’t. The main character has to face all kinds of trouble, has to deal with the bad guys—the hero has to want something, and that something has to be hard to get. The harder it is the better the story.
We’re working our way through the Gospel of Luke verse by verse. So far, we’ve established the setting, the problem, the hero, and what the hero wants. We’ve met the main villain in the temptations of the wilderness. We’re starting to see how the main character, Jesus, is going to get what He wants. We’re slowly being introduced to more characters—some are friends, some are victims. The hero needs to save the cat, rescue the princess, slay the dragon, save the day. Jesus does this over and over on His way to the big climatic happy ending, the grand finale.
Today we meet some more villains. Chapter 5:17…
One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. Luke 5:17
The devil has many minions, here we meet the specific thugs he’ll use to finally attack and murder Jesus. The religious leaders. No one is more dangerous than someone who thinks they have God on their side to mess you up. The Pharisees and the Scribes—teachers of the law. They’ve heard about Jesus, and now they’ve come to see for themselves. Not just the local boys, either, this is a coordinated attack from all over the whole country. The Pharisees controlled the synagogues, they were very nit-picky about the law. They had built a whole system of traditions around it and did their best to force everyone to follow their system. God’s commands weren’t good enough, they had invented layers of rules to protect people from even coming close to breaking one of God’s actual rules. God may have said to “not use His name in vain” but they did one better—don’t say His name at all! It’s kind of like people these days who say, “well, since it’s a sin to drink two bottles of wine until you’re wasted and puking your guts out—let’s just say it’s a sin to have a glass of wine or drink at all! Problem solved.” Except, no. Making extra rules on top of God’s commands sucks all the joy out of life and defeats the purpose of the command in the first place. God gave wine to make the heart glad, that’s the intended purpose—we need to drink enough wine to feel a little joy but not so much that we blackout and forget to wear pants. God told us His name so we could tell people who He is—not so we can ghost Him in our prayers.
When we hear “Pharisees and teachers of the law,” we immediately think “villain,” but the original audience of Luke’s Gospel wouldn’t have heard it that way. The Pharisees were the good guys. Most of Jesus’ followers were former Pharisees.
But these guys had come to trap Jesus. They did not have an open mind.
And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick.
Luke is calling our attention to Jesus having the Lord’s power—omnipotence. Luke is telling us Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Yahweh. So, yes, right after he introduces us to the Pharisee villains, he pokes them in the eye with one of their own extra-Biblical rules by making a not-so-subtle reference to the name of God they refuse to say. Verse 18:
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Luke 5:18-19
In Matthew 9:1 we’re told that Jesus and His family have a home in Capernaum. Clearly, at some point, they had moved from Nazareth. Jesus had a house. When Jesus said, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”—He’s referring to the way His ministry kept Him constantly on the move. No one assumes His mother and brothers and sisters wouldn’t have had a house to live in—which would have been His house, as the oldest son. It’s pretty likely that this story takes place in Jesus’ own home. It only makes sense when you put together the fact that all the Pharisees and Scribes came from all over the country to find Him here. Where else would they go to look for Him? It’s not like He put His touring schedule on a website.
So, Jesus has a full house, He’s teaching and healing people—and some men show up carrying their paralyzed friend on a small bed. They really want to get this guy to Jesus. They’ve heard about the miracles and they’re convinced that He can fix their friend. But they can’t squeeze in, the place is packed.
The typical house would have been made of stone with an outside set of stairs that would lead up to the roof—but not a roof the way we think of it, they called the roof the upper room. They used their roof for all kinds of things. Mark tells us there were four men carrying the bed.
This is quite a story. We don’t have enough details to understand exactly how they dug their way through the roof without anything falling on the people inside the house or whatever—we’re just told that it happened. It’s kind of a humorous story. I wouldn’t want people tearing up my roof while I was inside teaching a Bible study. We get the idea that somehow the damage was easily fixed—no one seems upset about that part anyway.
Jesus is just impressed with their persistence and inventiveness.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:20
Jesus saw their faith. I keep saying it, faith always leads to faithfulness—faith always leads to action. Jesus saw four men carrying their friend who needed His help, I mean, they weren’t going to take “no” for an answer. They were going to get their friend in front of Jesus because they really believed He was going to be able to help him. They had faith.
But don’t discount the faith of the guy on the mat, either. Sometimes people read this story and say Jesus was only talking about the faith of his friends—there’s no reason to assume that. He was in on the caper, they didn’t drag him kicking and screaming. He had faith, too.
It’s very important to understand that the faith of the paralytic’s friends doesn’t produce the miracle but it is the reason why he’s brought to Jesus. Your faith needs to motivate you to bring your friends to Jesus, too.
So, Jesus is teaching, a man is lowered from the ceiling—obviously, they want Jesus to heal this guy—and what does Jesus say? It’s not what anyone was expecting Him to say, that’s for sure.
“Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:20
If it would have been me teaching in my living room, and someone rips a hole in my roof and drops someone in front of me, I’d probably be like, “What the mmmm are you thinking tearing up my house?” Or if I was feeling particularly spiritual that day, I might say, “I forgive you for RIPPING A FREAKING HOLE IN MY ROOF!”
I don’t think that’s the forgiveness Jesus was referring to.
He sees into the man’s heart—dude looks just like the leper from last week—full of sin. He sees the religious leaders all sitting there with their arms crossed, looking for Jesus to do something wrong. He sees an opportunity.
He looks at the man lying in front of Him, “Your sins are forgiven.”
No lightning from the sky. No flash of shekinah glory. Nothing really seemed to change at all. The man was still laying there, his friends were still hoping for a miracle.
In Matthew, Jesus says, “Cheer up. Your sins are forgiven.” I wonder what the man and his friends were thinking at this point—it doesn’t tell us.
But the minions started squirming in their seats. They’re getting excited. This is exactly what they were hoping to find. Verse 21:
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? Luke 5:21-23
Jesus had looked into the heart of the paralyzed man and knew what his bigger problem was. Sure, he couldn’t walk, but that’s nothing compared to the death rot of sin that was eating him up. Now Jesus is looking into the hearts of all those religious leaders who had shown up at the house—He sees the same kind of nasty inside.
He even knows their thoughts.
Jesus had laid aside His divine powers as the Son of God when He became a mere human—but just like with healing, He still has access to His power when He needs it.
These men, the religious leaders, who would tell you with a straight face were worshipers of Almighty God—they don’t recognize Him when He’s sitting right in front of them. And if that’s not unimpressive enough, now they’re accusing God of blasphemy against Himself. Very unimpressive worshipers.
They were right about one thing, though. Only God CAN forgive sins.
Jesus knows what they’re thinking and asks, “what’s easier to say, “your sins are forgiven,” or “Get up and walk?” Luke 5:23
I mean, neither is really hard to say. Anyone can “say” these things. They’re not tongue twisters—but it’s impossible to make these things happen. It’s impossible to forgive sins. It’s impossible for a paralytic to get up and walk. Verse 24:
But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Luke 5:24-25
If they were looking for a sign—they got one. Jesus proved that He had the authority to forgive sins—an invisible spiritual sickness—by healing a physical sickness that everyone could see. The man got up, picked up his little bed, and went home praising…
Praising who? The rabbi who was teaching a full house in Capernaum? Some guy named Jesus? Okay. Sure. But it says he went home praising “God.”
Jesus called Himself by a specific title here. The Son of Man. It’s the first time He uses this name in Luke. Consider this: The religious leaders show up and accuse Him of blasphemy—basically for pretending to forgive sins as if He is God. Then Jesus does a miracle to prove He actually does have the authority to forgive sins, then He calls Himself by a name that only Bible nerds would understand.
In Daniel chapter seven it says one like The Son of Man is given authority over all the kingdoms of the earth, The Son of Man goes into the throne room on the other side of the clouds the throne room of the Ancient of Days—God the Father—and sits at His right hand to rule the universe. The Pharisees and Scribes knew all about this. They understood exactly what Jesus was saying to them.
I forgive sins. I heal paralytics. I am the Son of Man. How can I blaspheme myself?
Son of Man was Jesus’ favorite name for Himself. Probably because it holds His two natures in perfect tension theologically. He is the Son of Man—son of Adam—like Ezekiel. And He’s also the Son of Man from Daniel who is given authority in heaven and earth to rule and reign forever. 100% man and 100% God. Son of God and Son of Man.
Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” Luke 5:26
I assume they fixed the roof before they went home. Story makes me nervous otherwise. I know Jesus and His brothers were builders and perfectly capable of patching the hole but I like to think the four guys were more responsible and more thankful than that.
Everyone got quite the show that day. But when it says “everyone was amazed and gave praise to God” I don’t think we should assume that includes all the Pharisees and religious leaders. They came to spy on Jesus, find something fatal against Him. They thought they caught Him in blasphemy but Jesus really confused that accusation. It should have turned their hearts toward Him but it probably only hardened them more.
But everyone else was filled with awe. An ecstasy of wonder. Amazement and fear.
Just like Peter in verse eight. Just like the leper. These three stories make one point: The presence of Jesus reminds people that they are sinners in need of forgiveness. Jesus is holy and we are not. But Jesus forgives sins.
In all three stories, the people are sinners, but their specific sins are never mentioned. Jesus didn’t come to condemn sinners, He came to save them. Forgive them.
When Peter is confronted with the holiness of God in Jesus, remember what Jesus says to him? He says, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”
And then here we have a story of what that might look like. Four guys bring their friend to Jesus—instead of a net, it’s a bed—instead of a boat, it’s a house. But it’s the same idea; a person who is full of sin is forgiven and set free from the effects sin has had on his life.
Today’s story had a few different characters—we can see the story from the point of view of the man being carried on a bumpy adventure up some stairs and lowered through the roof, being manhandled. He needed salvation. Healing. We can see it through the eyes of the friends who do whatever it takes to get their friend in front of Jesus. We can see it from the perspective of the people who showed up to hear Jesus teach, see some miracles, find out what the fuss is all about. We can also cross our arms and sit down with the religious leaders and their all their skepticism and blind cynicism.
When you hear this story, how does it look through your eyes?
We’ll keep reading through Luke. More people will show up to be amazed. More people will show up to try and trap Him. Something terrible and something wonderful is going to happen on every page.
Same with you and me. Things are going to happen in every chapter of our lives, too. Wouldn’t be a good story otherwise. We’ll have frustrations, joys, setbacks, miracles, tragedies—the way we respond to these things is the difference between a meaningful life of hope and a meaningless life of emptiness. Faith or unbelief. Faithfulness or hopelessness.
Do whatever you can to get your friends who need Jesus in front of Him.
Recognize Jesus when you see Him.
Listen to Him and believe Him when He says, “Cheer up. Your sins are forgiven.”
Even if you’re still laying on the mat.
Even if you didn’t feel like anything changed.
Because it did. Everything changed.
Cheer up. Your sins are forgiven.
The Son of Man came to forgive your sins and make your life amazing.
Now get up, and as you sing about your faith and pray to the Lord—as you leave this place today—as you go on your way—leave a trail of thankful praise with every step that leads others back here to Jesus. AMEN