Jesus Forgives the Paralytic

When four faithful friends carried a paralyzed man to Jesus, the crowded house seemed impossible to enter. Undeterred, they opened the roof and lowered him before the Lord. Yet Jesus first gave the man something greater than bodily healing: "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."Jesus Forgives the Paralytic retells the accounts in Mark 2, Matthew 9, and Luke 5 for young readers, showing that Christ's authority to forgive sins is the very authority of God. The story follows that saving promise through the cross and resurrection to Easter evening, when the risen Lord sent His apostles and instituted the forgiving office: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them."Richly illustrated in a warm, classical style, this fourth volume in Given for You: Lutheran Bible Stories for the Christian Home connects Christ's word of forgiveness with the consolation He still gives through Holy Absolution. A concluding "Christ's Promise for You" page and catechetical guide help parents teach the Office of the Keys, private confession, and the certainty of forgiveness spoken in Jesus' name.