The air carried the sound of the Savior’s voice to the crowded multitude, but the sound of crashing debris abruptly cut Him off in the middle of His sermon (Luke 5:17-19). There was no earthquake or riot—just a group of hopeful and determined friends who were removing roof tiles from the house where Jesus was speaking (Matt. 9:3-4). Then there was silence, as all eyes were fixed on Jesus. Everyone was curious about what He would do: the nosy crowds, the faith-filled friends of the paralytic, and certainly, the paralytic himself, who hoped that Jesus would reward their efforts by healing him. And gasps must have rippled through the crowd when Jesus, rather than restoring the man’s ability to walk, declared to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you” (Luke 5:20).

The man came seeking physical healing, but received spiritual healing. It is not as though Jesus did not pity his physical condition—He did, and that is why He delivered him from paralysis as well (Matt. 9:6-7). However, the remission of sins was far more important to Jesus than the removal of suffering. Indeed, it is eternally more significant; man’s greatest need is for salvation and the forgiveness of sins, and there is no greater sin-forgiver than Christ. And only He can forgive the multitude of our sins because He is God, as even His enemies attested: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).

To this day, anyone who comes to Christ in repentance and faith will be delivered from spiritual paralysis and empowered to walk in obedience. Any sinner who comes to the Savior can walk away from the “mats and beds” of their former life of wickedness, and leave their gargantuan sin debt at Jesus’ feet. And this is possible because Christ not only prayed for the forgiveness of sinners on the cross—He paid for it (Luke 23:34; 1 Peter 1:18-19). As Paul said, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). And when Jesus declares to saved sinners, “Your sins are forgiven,” He means all of them. He blots them out by His blood, remembers them no more, and “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12; cf. Isaiah 43:35; Micah 7:18-19).

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.