From God’s Word … For His Children
Luke 5:17-26
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. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 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.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
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?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 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.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
Scripture:
One day Jesus was teaching in a house that was full of people. Everyone there wanted to listen to what He said about how God loves us.
Four men came to the house carrying their friend on a mat. The friend was on a mat because he couldn’t walk. When they saw that the house was full of people, they knew they couldn’t get inside. But they wanted their friend to see Jesus. They had heard about how Jesus could heal sick people. They knew that Jesus was special.
The men came up with a plan. They climbed up on the roof of the house, carrying their friend. Then they made a hole in the roof and lowered their friend down to where Jesus was teaching. When Jesus saw that the men trusted Him to heal their friend, He told him” Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Some people didn’t like that. They thought only God can forgive our sins. They didn’t understand that Jesus is God’s Son and can do what no one else can do. But when they saw the man get up and walk away, praising God, they knew that Jesus has the power to heal people.
Jesus can heal people who are sick, like the man who couldn’t walk. And He can heal our hearts, too. When we do things that are wrong, our hearts get sick. They get mean and hard and sad. But when we ask Jesus to forgive us for the things we’ve done wrong, our hearts are healed and full of love.
When you do something you know you shouldn’t – when you take someone’s toy or use mean words – your heart is going to feel bad. Jesus can turn that bad feeling around. Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to you and you will want to change. You will say, “I am sorry for hurting you.” And you will tell Jesus, “I am sorry for being mean.” Jesus will say, “I died on the cross to forgive you. Believe Me and you are forgiven. Let me fill your heart with love. Let Me make you feel better.” Then your heart will be full of love and you will be happy.