"And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying." Mark 2:1-12. NKJV
Peter lived in Capernaum, which was a small fishing village located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was Peter's house and is thought to have served as the headquarters for Jesus' ministry.
Crowds had gathered hoping to see Jesus and they were shoulder to shoulder. Some men came along carrying a paralytic on a bed and finding no way through, went up onto the roof. These houses had a flat roof accessed by a staircase. On reaching the roof, they broke through and lowered the man down to Jesus. ( Imagine this happening at your house on Home Group night). Jesus instantly recognised the man's faith, which was similar to the woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of His gown. (Mark 5:18). This type of faith always gets Jesus' attention.
Jesus told him that his sins were forgiven. However, this drew indignation from certain scribes who were observing all of this. They drew a charge of blasphemy against Him. They were rightly saying that only God can forgive sin. Jesus demonstrated His authority by declaring the man's sins were forgiven and then healing him, telling him to arise and take his bed home with him.Ths astounded everyone.
Don't focus on the distraction here - the scribes' challenging behaviour and the mayhem and even excitement, that was being caused by it all. Look at what had happened. The man had a need; he couldn't get to Jesus on his own but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He found some friends and possibly family members to take him there; but when they arrived, there was a hindrance, a great crowd was blocking the way. But they pushed through and then broke through the roof and were eventually face to face with Jesus. Now that was determination and persistence in operation. They had the attitude that nothing was going to stop them. Jesus was their goal and they were going to get to Him.
When life has you in a complete muddle with lots of pressing and important issues, find a way through to Jesus. He has the answer; be persistent and never give up. Sir Winston Churchill had a great saying, 'Never, never, never, never, give up.' Just six words that were charged with the power to change a person's life forever, when placed into Jesus' hands.
Don't receive defeat; fight through the darkness and reach towards Jesus. Don't give up - Look up!
Copyriight 2020 Grahame Howard
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a message