Luke

By Joyce Webb 2019

Chapter 5 vs. 12-26

Vs. 12 Jesus came into a town, there was a man who had leprosy. This is a skin disease that rots away the skin. In the end, the person dies.

(For many, many years—until modern times—there was no cure for this disease. Then modern medicine found a medicine to stop the disease.)

The man who had leprosy bowed down before Jesus. He said to Jesus, if you will, you can make me clean.

Jesus touched him, and said, I will. Be clean. And immediately, the man’s skin was healed.

Jesus told him to go show himself to the Jewish priest and show him that his skin was now healed.

Then the priest would allow the man to go back into the town to live and he could go to his home.

(People who had leprosy had to live outside the town and had to stay away from people—so that other people would not get it.)

Jesus told the man not to be telling anyone what happened. (Probably because Jesus had too many people coming to him for healing now, and he did not want more people coming to him.)

The man did not keep quiet—-he told everyone he met that Jesus had healed him.

Very large groups of people gathered around Jesus, all of them wanting healing.

Jesus was God’s son, but he was in a human body, and he became tired and worn out. So many people—-it wore him out.

Vs. 16 Jesus left the crowds and went into the wilderness alone to pray and rest.

Vs. 17 One day when Jesus was teaching the people. He was in a house. Some of the Jewish leaders and teachers came to watch,

Jesus was healing people. These Jewish leaders were watching.

Some men came carrying a friend who had palsy. They wanted Jesus to heal him. There were so many people standing around the house and in the house, that they could not get near Jesus.

So the men went up on the roof. The roof had clay tiles. They took up the clay tiles and made an opening in the roof. Then they tied ropes to the man’s cot and let him down into the room in front of Jesus.

Jesus saw that the men had faith that the man would be healed—after all they did to get him in front of Jesus.

When Jesus saw the man on the cot, he said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

The Jewish leaders became angry. They said, “Only God can forgive sins.”

(Only God can heal. Only God can forgive sins. Either way—it takes God’s power.)

Jesus asked them, “Is it easier to say, Be healed,—-or to say, Be forgiven?”

Jesus said, I said this so you will know that the Son of Man (Jesus) has the power to forgive sins.

The man who had palsy was healed and he got up and walked.

The people were amazed. The gave glory to God. They were full of fear and wonder as they thought about all they had seen and heard.

(The Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was calling himself God. Because only God can forgive sin.

The Jewish leaders did not believe that Jesus was God. They were angry about this.)