Arise, Take Up Your Couch - Luke 5:24

The beloved physician Luke wrote, “And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, your sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason you in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk?”, and in chapter five and verse twenty-four of his book Luke shares how Jesus said to the man with palsy, “Arise, and take up your couch, and go” where we read:

But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house.

The verse reads, “But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,)” Luke began with the words, “But that you may know” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding, moreover and so you scribes and Pharisees will see, perceive, notice, discern and discover” “that the Son of man” which means “that He, the Messiah, is able to designate Himself as the head of the human family, the man, the one who both furnished the pattern of the perfect man and acted on behalf of all mankind” “has power upon earth” or “has the ability, capability, authority and rule on the inhabitable arable land, ground, territory and region” “to forgive sins” which means “to remit, depart, disregard and keep no longer from people their errors, mistakes, offenses, wrongs and violations of the divine law”, “(he said unto the sick of the palsy” or “Jesus uttered, declared and proclaimed to the man who was afflicted with weakness, relaxing of the nerves, unstrung and with feeble knees”) the following words. Luke shared how Jesus determined to demonstrate how a He was able to “forgive sins” by saying the following words to the man with palsy.

The verse continues, “I say unto you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house.” Luke added the words, “I say unto you” which means “I, Jesus, utter, declare and proclaim to the man with palsy”, “Arise” or “raise and stir up and erect yourself”, “and take up your couch” which means “and elevate, raise from the ground and lift up the man with the palsy's own pallet or little bed”, “and go into your house” or “and depart and make a journey to the dwelling place, abode and habitation of the man with palsy”. Luke shared how Jesus directed the man with palsy to “get up, life up his pallet and go to his home”.

When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how Jesus was to prove He was able to “forgive sins” by doing what the religious leaders were certain was a more difficult thing to say. Jesus could easily say, “man your sins be forgiven you”, and no one see the effects thereof, however, if He said, “arise, take up your couch, and go into your house”, everyone watching would be able to verify whether the man with palsy responded or not. Jesus forgives the sins to those who ask Him, and when they turn from their sins or “repent” and make Him “Savior and Lord” of their lives, He is not only able to help them with temporary physical needs, but also eternal spiritual needs as well.

Next time Luke shares, “immediately he rose up before them”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".