Luke 5:26

Or it may reseek its own home, i. e. return to Paradise, for that is its true home, which first received man, and was lost not fairly, but by treachery. Rightly then is the soul restored thither, since He has come Who will undo the treacherous knot, and reestablish righteousness.

And amazement seized all, etc. Here thirdly, after the occasion for performing the miracle and the completeness of the deed performed, he subjoins the renown of its publication, through which the divine power in Christ was made manifest, since from the consideration of the present …

30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

And they were all amazed, and they glorified God,....

Strange things - Παραδοξα, paradoxes. A paradox is something that appears false and absurd, but is not really so: or, something contrary to the commonly received opinion. We have seen wonders wrought which seem impossible; and we should conclude them to be tricks and illusions, were it not for the indisputable evidence we have of their reality.

A threefold miracle demands our attention in these verses. At one and the same time, we see our Lord . . . forgiving sins, reading men's thoughts, and healing a paralytic. He who could do such things, and do them with such perfect ease and authority — must indeed be very God. Power like this was never possessed by any man. Let us mark, firstly, in this passage — what pains men will take about an object when they are in earnest. The friends of a paralyzed man desired to bring him to Jesus, that he might be cured.

A threefold miracle demands our attention in these verses. At one and the same time, we see our Lord . . . forgiving sins, reading men's thoughts, and healing a paralytic. He who could do such things, and do them with such perfect ease and authority — must indeed be very God. Power like this was never possessed by any man. Let us mark, firstly, in this passage — what pains men will take about an object when they are in earnest. The friends of a paralyzed man desired to bring him to Jesus, that he might be cured. At first they were unable to do it, because of the crowd by which our Lord was surrounded. What, then, did they do? "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!" At once their object was gained. Our Lord's attention was drawn to their sick friend, and he was healed. By pains, and labor, and perseverance — his friends succeeded in obtaining for him the mighty blessing of a complete cure. The importance of pains and diligence, is a truth which meets our eyes on every side. In every calling, and vocation, and trade — we see that great effort is one prominent secret of success . It is not by luck or accident that men prosper — but by hard working . Bankers and merchants do not make fortunes without effort and trouble and attention. Lawyers and physicians do not make their practices — without diligence and hard study. The principle is one with which the people of this world are perfectly familiar. It is one of their favorite maxims, "There are no gains, without pains!" Let us thoroughly understand that pains and diligence are just as essential to the well-being and prosperity of our souls — as of our bodies .

YOU HAVE THIS SAME NARRATIVE in the ninth chapter of Matthew, and in the second chapter of Mark. What is three times recorded by inspired pens must be regarded as trebly important, and well worthy of our earnest consideration. Observe the instructive fact, that our Savior retired and spent a special time in prayer when he saw unusual crowd assembling. He withdrew into the wilderness to hold communion with his Father, and, as a consequence, to come forth clothed with an abundance of healing and saving power.

YOU HAVE THIS SAME NARRATIVE in the ninth chapter of Matthew, and in the second chapter of Mark. What is three times recorded by inspired pens must be regarded as trebly important, and well worthy of our earnest consideration. Observe the instructive fact, that our Savior retired and spent a special time in prayer when he saw unusual crowd assembling. He withdrew into the wilderness to hold communion with his Father, and, as a consequence, to come forth clothed with an abundance of healing and saving power. Not but that in himself as God he always had that power without measure; but for our sakes he did it, that we might learn that the power of God will only rest upon us in proportion as we draw near to God. Neglect of private prayer is the locust which devours the strength of the church. When our Lord left his retirement he found the crowd around him exceeding great, and it was as motley as it was great; for while here were many sincere believers, there were still more sceptical observers; some were anxious to receive his healing power, others equally desirous to find occasion against him. So in all congregations, however the preacher may be clothed with his Master’s spirit and his Master’s might, there will be a mixed gathering; there will come together your Pharisees and doctors of the law, your sharp critics ready to pick holes, your cold-blooded cavillers searching for faults; at the same time, chosen of God and drawn by his grace, there will be present some devout believers who rejoice in the power that is revealed among men, and earnest seekers who wish to feel in themselves the healing energy. It seems to have been a rule with our Savior to supply each hearer with food after his kind.

THE world is growing very old, dull and commonplace. One takes the newspaper and, often, after glancing through it, has to say, "There is really nothing in it." The reason probably being that there is nothing fresh or new happening on the earth—it is the same old sad story of sin and sorrow constantly repeated. The world seems to be like a cluster from the vine when all its generous juice has been pressed out. Life, to many persons, has come to be excessively humdrum.

THE world is growing very old, dull and commonplace. One takes the newspaper and, often, after glancing through it, has to say, "There is really nothing in it." The reason probably being that there is nothing fresh or new happening on the earth—it is the same old sad story of sin and sorrow constantly repeated. The world seems to be like a cluster from the vine when all its generous juice has been pressed out. Life, to many persons, has come to be excessively humdrum. The human mind is always craving after novelties and, to find these novelties, it makes "much ado about nothing." It runs raving mad over that which is not worth thinking of and whips itself up into an intense excitement about a matter that is of no more importance than a drop in a bucket, or the small dust of the balance. The fact is, man wants something really fresh and strange and if he can get it, he feels delighted! I hardly think that when our good friend, Mr. John Ashworth, brought out his book, he would have achieved so great a success with it if he had not called it Strange Tales. But the strangeness was the attraction. The stories in it were strange tales to the mass of mankind, though to some of us they are very familiar things—but the strangenesswas the point that attracted readers. No man ever spent a day with Jesus Christ without being filled with the sight of strange things! No man ever entered into communion with the Lord Jesus without being delighted with wonders of love, of mercy, of Divine Grace, of the Truths of God, of goodness for, while His Gospel is the old, old Gospel, yet it always has a new face upon it and is continually fresh and new—it never gets stale! We read of our Lord that when John saw Him, "His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow," to denote His antiquity.