Man, Thy Sins Are Forgiven Thee (Luke 5:20-21)

2022-04-01

All sin is ultimately against God.

And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? (Luke 5:20-21)

The scribes and Pharisees were right when they asked this. They knew this from the Scriptures. David told the Lord, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:4). He had just committed adultery and had the woman’s husband killed. However, he recognized that his sin was primarily against God.

So when Jesus said, “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee,” He was declaring that He was God. He was exercising diving authority and judgment.

When people come to Him in faith, He forgives. He makes them clean: “I will: be thou clean” (Luke 5:13). He can forgive sin in the full authority and justice of God, because of the day where He would die for those sins He forgave. His deity has everything to do with Him being the Savior.

When you say you have sin that cannot be forgiven, you deny the deity of Christ, because God is bigger than your offense. To punish yourself for your sin or to work for your salvation is idolatry, because all sin is ultimately against Him, and He is the only one with the authority to forgive it.