Tag Archives: paralytic

Bible Gleanings, devotions

The Sin-Forgiving Savior | Bible Gleanings | July 26-27, 2025

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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.

Bible Gleanings, devotions

He Raises the Lame | Bible Gleanings – May 7-8, 2022

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His dreadful condition made every passerby cover their eyes and whimper, “Lord, have mercy.” He was curled in a ball as he lay crippled on a dusty mat. He could not walk, limp, or even crawl. He was born lame—paralysis had arrested his body in the womb. And were it not for the sluggish rising of his chest and the stare of his sunken eyes, you would have assumed he was dead.

The man was the lame beggar whose story is told in the third chapter of Acts (3:1-10). His tragic story is really every sinner’s story. You are this man, too. He is a mirror image staring back at you. He is a visual of the pitiful spiritual condition in which we find ourselves before experiencing the lame-raising power of Jesus Christ.

You and I are born into the world afflicted with spiritual paralysis. We are incapable of running toward God, walking on the narrow way that leads to life, or even limping on the path of the godly (Romans 3:10-18). Sin has broken our spine and confined us to a mat of helplessness. And we are too weak and decrepit to lift ourselves on crutches of righteous works or religion. We need only to look in faith to the lame-raiser, the paralytic-healer—the Lord Jesus Christ—whose grace and power are sufficient to make us walk with God.

The saving power of Christ makes us leap from our crippled state with holy joy (Acts 3:8). Jesus raises us at our conversion so that we may walk the road of righteousness (Psalm 1:6). His all-sufficient grace sets us on our feet so we can run the heavenbound race with endurance (Heb. 12:1). His mercy pulls us up from the bed of sin so that we may stand in grace (Rom. 5:2). He strengthens our legs and limbs so that we may climb over walls of temptation and tribulation (Psalm 18:29).

There’s an old saying that reeks of hell’s smoke which says, “God helps those who help themselves.” But nothing could be further from the truth, for God helps those who cannot help themselves. Jesus raises spiritual paralytics who cannot raise themselves. And Jesus asks all those cursed by the crippling effects of sin: “Do you wish to get well?” (John 5:6). All who answer in the affirmative will receive the gospel cure from the Great Physician Himself, and they will discover that He raises the lame.

Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.

Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).