Luke 5:12-26

Luke 5:12. And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy:

As far gone with leprosy as he could be; thoroughly tainted, and eaten up with that loathsome disease.

Luke 5:12. Who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

He felt that the difficulty lay in the will of Christ, not in his power. No other teacher would have looked at such a man. Everybody shrank from him, for he scattered defilement wherever he moved. A leper was a being from whom all kept clear, so this one was afraid that the great Teacher was not willing to cure him. «If thou wilt,» said he, «thou canst,» Вѕ ‘I know that thou canst make me clean.'

Luke 5:13. And he put forth his hand, and touched him,

This was a wonderful instance of condescending love on the part of the Lord Jesus; and touching the leper did not defile him. On the contrary, Christ removed the defilement from the leper: «He touched him,»

Luke 5:13. Saying, I will: be thou clean.

It was the will of Christ that wrought the miracle, that secret movement of the heart of Christ, that silent omnipotent going forth of divine energy that accomplished the leper's cure.

Luke 5:13. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

Christ can heal sin in the same way that he cured this leper. If he touches the worst man in this place, he can make sin to depart from him the moment he touches him. It does not require years in order to perfect the work of salvation, it can be done in a moment. Such is the wonderworking power of Christ: «immediately the leprosy departed from him.»

Luke 5:14. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

Our blessed Master did not court fame; he did not wish to make himself notorious, the crowds that flocked around him were inconvenient to him, so he did not wish to have them increased. There was danger in such crowding, and Jesus was wise in his generation, so he charged the healed leper to tell no man, but to show himself to the priest, and to present the offering enjoined under the law.

Luke 5:15. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him:

Fame is like fire. If you heap anything on it to prevent it from spreading, it often acts as fuel to the flame; so, the very effort to hide the light of Christ's power, made it spread all the more widely.

Luke 5:15. And great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

I wish that all congregations would come together from the same motives, Вѕto hear and to be healed by Christ. What is thy disease, my hearer? What ails thy soul? What is the mischief in thy spirit? What is the malady in thy heart? Jesus can heal thee. Oh, that thou wouldst at once seek to be healed by him!

Luke 5:16. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Just when there were such grand opportunities of doing good, just when everybody sought him, does be get right away from them into the wilderness to pray? Yes, because he felt what we ought to feel but often do not, that he needed fresh power, that as the servant of God he must wait upon God for fresh power for his great life-work: «He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.» No doubt it was the constant habit of Christ to pray, but there were certain special times when he retired into lonely places, and his prayer was peculiarly fervent and prolonged.

Luke 5:17. And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

The word «them» scarcely gives the right sense of the original; it should be, «the power of the Lord was present to heal.» Jesus did not heal the Pharisees and doctors of the law, but he healed many of the congregation. Now, how do you account for this power present to heal? Why, by that wilderness prayer: «He withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed,» and afterward, in a very high and remarkable manner, «the power of the Lord was present to heal.» And when the power to heal was present, the patient to be healed was very soon present, too.

Luke 5:18. 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. There does appear to have been, according to Mark, some breaking up of the material that formed the roof of the house where Christ was. It was not altogether such an easy matter as some have imagined to let this poor palsied man down into the presence of Jesus; and if some of the dust from the roof fell down upon the Pharisees and doctors of the law who were sitting by, it would only be what they were accustomed to throw into other people's eyes.

Luke 5:20. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Christ has eyes with which he can see faith. You and I cannot see it; but he can: «When he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins be forgiven thee.» This was going to the very root of his disease. Jesus knew what the man really ailed; he was palsied in spirit as well as in body, and Christ removed the root of his disease by forgiving his sin.

Luke 5:21. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason,

The gentlemen I alluded to just now began to reason. It was just like them; instead of beginning to praise God, they «began to reason,»-

Luke 5:22. 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, Why reason ye in your hearts?

See, Jesus can perceive thoughts. I have heard of «thought-reading.» Here is a true specimen of it: «Jesus perceived their thoughts, and said unto them, Why reason ye in your hearts?»

Luke 5:23. Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

Anyone can say, «Thy sins be forgiven thee,» or, «Rise up and walk,» but to forgive sins, or to give the power to rise up and walk, equally needs a God. If God be present, and can make the palsied man arise and walk, he is also able to forgive his sins.

Luke 5:24. 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,

With awe, and reverence. They felt that God had come very near to them, and they perhaps said, like Jacob of old, when he was afraid, «flow dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.» They were filled with fear,Вѕ

Luke 5:26. Saying, We have seen strange things today.

Oh, that we might see such «strange things» in this house tonight, and whenever we meet to worship God!