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.”
A recent survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries found that 52% of Americans agree that Jesus was not divine, but only a great teacher. Now this isn't particularly surprising as we recognize we are now living in a post-Christian culture. However, what was shocking in the survey was that only 62% of American evangelicals agree that Jesus was divine. This means that more than 1/3 of those who consider themselves evangelical Christians believe that Jesus was NOT divine. The divinity of Jesus is one of the central tenets of Christianity. If Jesus was not divine the entirety of Christian theology falls apart and it becomes like all other religions, based on myths and the moral teachings of a leader from centuries ago.
But the testimony of the New Testament was clear. Jesus was divine. The Scripture narrative above is clear. Jesus had the right and authority to forgive sins. It was clear in the minds of the Pharisees and teachers of the law what it meant for Jesus to forgive sins. In proclaiming the forgiveness of this lame man's sins Jesus was making a claim that He was divine, just like Yahweh.
