What is worse than being a sinner- A sinner who doesn't believe that he is a sinner. What is worse than someone who doesn't believe he is a sinner yet believes that he will be saved by the law of God- Someone who adds to the law of God.

As we survey our lives, there is much that we think we need. But often we miss what we truly need. Jesus gives a paralytic what his soul truly needs first and foremost before he gives him what his body needs.

This story is not just about a leper. It is not just about a healing. It is about the character of the One who reveals himself and what he calls us to do.

Jesus leads his disciples and reveals to them his compassion, his power - authority, and his ultimate purpose as to why he has come to earth. And this is how he leads his church today.

In our day, people do not want to submit to authority. Our sinful nature wants to be the authority. But there is only One who possesses the authority that we think we have. And he has authority in his teaching, over darkness, - in battle.

The King has come. So, this means the Kingdom follows him. What is the call of the Kingdom- What is the goal of the Kingdom- And what is the cost of the Kingdom- We consider all three in this passage.

We often read the temptations in Matthew and Luke as guides to defeat temptation. Though methods may be useful in avoiding temptation, there is more to it than that. There is something other-worldly happening here. There is something more about the temptation of Jesus in that it is the temptation of Jesus- Why was he tempted- And what is the difference between his temptation and ours- Because that helps us to answer, how do I have victory over temptation-

Israel witnessed the coming of the Lord, without knowing it. The only One who is baptized, anointed and declared the beloved Son of the Father. God has anointed many throughout the Scriptures but not in the same exact way. Here, God our Savior is revealed.

Though all of Scripture is about Jesus, not all of prophecy is about Jesus. We see the entrance of a great prophet sent from God for preparing the way for God. And his message is not about himself but about One who is coming to grant newness of life. He is the Mightier One. So, it is really about Jesus ...

God is the Savior of his people. God is the One who calls his people to himself as our Good Shepherd -John 10-. But he uses imperfect vessels of clay to bring the one who is straying back to the truth. This has eternal significance.