Jesus, Man of Surprises.
Luke 5: 17-32

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.
19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”
27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”
28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.
30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

The news of Jesus was spreading so much, that people were travelling quite a long way to see Him and hear Him.
Amongst these people were Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. They had come from all over Galilee, Judea and Jerusalem. These Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were always interested in any new teacher. Every boy in Israel could be the promised “mashiach”, which means ‘anointed one’ or someone who is chosen to rule. Jews believe that the Messiah will come to Earth to bring a time of perfect peace and prosperity called the Messianic Age.
According to the Torah, the Messiah will be:
A male descendant of the Jewish King David.
He will be human - he will have a human birth and human parents.
He will be a perfect teacher of God’s law.
A great political leader - inspirational and a good judge.
Able to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
Ruler over humanity - but he will rule with kindness.
The bringer of peace to the world and able to unite humanity.

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Jesus was continuing His healing of the sick,
 

17 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Pharisees and teachers of the law: These were men dedicated to the Law of Moses and they believed that by this dedication, they were blessed of God. This is what caused the hypocritical behaviour towards others. They thought that because of their dedication, that they were better than others and that they had a closer position to God.
We see that throughout the ministry of Jesus these men were always watching and waiting to catch Jesus out in an act that would break the Law of Moses.

18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.
 

One of these was a paralysed man. These men were so desperate; they went to extreme measures to get him to Jesus.

19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.

These people must have been desperate and believed that if they could only get the man to Jesus, he would be healed. So much so, that they began to take off the roof tiles.

20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

Jesus saw this act, as an act of faith and He made a profound statement.
He did not say, “be healed” but “your sins are forgiven”.

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

This was the main reason that Jesus was rejected by the Jews. By Jesus saying “your sins are forgiven”, They knew what He was claiming. If only God could forgive sins, then Jesus was saying that He was God.

The Pharisees saw this as blasphemy. They said amongst themselves. “Who does this man think He is, for only God can forgive sins”.
To them He was just a man, This man Jesus had a human father, Joseph and a human mother, Mary.

Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

Therefore, how could He be claiming to be God?

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

This in itself must have surprised them. How could this man read our thoughts?

23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

Of course it is far easier to make a statement than to perform a miracle. However, Jesus was to prove that He had not only the power to perform miracles but He could indeed forgive sins.
The Pharisees would have known exactly what Jesus was saying, even without saying it. That He was God.

25 Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

We see immediate healing. This is not the kind of things that are being seen today in Pentecostal and Charismatic meetings, where people are prayed for and pronounced healed, yet still go home in wheelchairs or with walking sticks.
There was no room for doubt with Jesus. What He said, happened. He did possess the power to heal.
When Jesus prayed, He prayed in the will of God.

The scriptures tell us: 1 John 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

Surprising things.

It was God that received the glory, for it was the power of God that healed.

27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”
28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Notice, even though it does not say, immediately, Levi’s action was immediate.

29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them.

It sounds very much like an Inland Revenue works do and Jesus was invited.

This must have surprised a lot of people, for tax collectors were very much disliked amongst the people.
Jesus and His disciples were acting out the very reason for the coming of Christ into the world. To save sinners.

It might have been a Tax men’s party but at least Jesus was present.

Some Christians wouldn’t go today, if they were invited. I mean, this is the world we are talking about. Sadly, some Christians have the attitude that we can’t mix with the world..
Well, Jesus did!
 
What we should realise, is when a Christian sits round the table of a committee meeting of a Residents Association, or in a Council Chamber, then Christ is there. Who better to be there but Christ.
Even though these people may not be believers, we as Christians may have something in common with them and we can give a Christian perspective in that situation.

Paul writing to Timothy said: 1 Tim 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
 

Jesus Himself said Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Were would one expect to find sinners? In the world, of course.
Why wouldn’t Jesus tell us to go into the world and preach the gospel, for that’s where sinners are found.

30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

Whilst it is not wrong to invite people to come and hear the gospel in our churches and even though the church fellowship is mainly for the edification and up building of the body of Christ, the truth is that Jesus commissioned us to go out into the highways and byways, (the world) and make disciples of all men.
We also have to remember that because of the watered down gospel that is preached in many churches today, it is important and there is a need to preach the true gospel from our pulpits.

Is it not surprising, that many of the churches in our country, are filled with professing Christians, not possessing Christians.
Maybe, we ought to surprise a few people by what we do and where we go, in the preaching of the gospel.

You never know, maybe God will surprise us by the results.
 

31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

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Go into the world and preach the gospel.

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