Have you ever found yourself on a mission to do one thing, and right in the middle of it something completely different happened? Or maybe you were watching a movie and didn’t see that plot twist coming.
To be honest, I love watching movies. I love getting immersed in a story and watching it unfold. But there’s just one problem: most of the time, I’ve already guessed the ending, and I’m usually pretty close to what happens. I remember one suspense TV show that was very popular. They made a number of seasons, and people loved it. I watched the first episode and was able to predict almost every scene before it happened. With no surprises and my attention gone, I turned it off and never watched another episode.
So when a movie or TV show actually catches me off guard and does something I didn’t see coming, I’m hooked.
Here I am reading in Luke 5, and I come across one of those stories. Honestly, the first time I read it, I thought I knew the ending. You may be familiar with it, but stick with me.
In Luke 5, we find Jesus in a house doing what He so often did, teaching and healing the sick. People came from all around, both those seeking Jesus and the religious leaders of the day who were trying to discredit Him.
Now, we see a man being carried on a stretcher by four friends. They’d heard about Jesus and His power to heal. They knew that if they could just get their friend to Him, he would be made whole again. But there was a problem: the crowd was so large they couldn’t get through.
Did that stop them? Nope. They climbed onto the roof, made an opening, and lowered their friend down right in front of Jesus. At this point, I’m still tracking with the story. It makes sense, these men had carried their friend this far and weren’t about to give up. I do feel bad for the homeowner whose roof got torn open, but hey, his house is now famous forever!
Then comes the twist. The paralyzed man is lowered down, and with the power of the Lord present to heal, Jesus looks at him and says:
“Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Wait, what? That’s not what anyone was expecting. The man didn’t come to hear about his sins; he came so he wouldn’t have to be carried anymore. Can you imagine the friends, exhausted and sweaty, hands sore from holding ropes, only to hear Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven,” instead of “You are healed”?
The religious leaders were confused too, and angry. They thought, Only God can forgive sins. Jesus knew their thoughts, so He confronted them and then turned to the man and healed him.
But here’s the real question: which was the greater miracle, healing the man’s body or forgiving his sins?
As humans, we tend to glorify the immediate, physical miracle. Yet the greater miracle was the forgiveness of sins.
When we come to God with our requests, are we just asking Him to make our lives more comfortable? To fix temporary issues? Yes, Jesus had compassion and did heal this man physically, but ultimately, that healing was about God receiving glory.
What if Jesus had only forgiven the man’s sins, would that have been enough? Honestly, if that were us, we might leave disappointed because our immediate need wasn’t met the way we hoped.
If you’ve followed Jesus for any length of time, you’ve probably experienced moments when you prayed and didn’t get the answer you expected. Looking back, I can see times when I’m thankful God didn’t answer my prayers the way I wanted, because He had something better in mind. But I’ll also admit, there are prayers I still don’t understand. Even so, I trust His plan, knowing His definition of “good” is better than mine.
Here’s what I know for sure: God hears us when we pray. He loves us. He forgives us. And His will is always best.
He writes the greatest plot twists of all.
