"Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 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." v3-4 Mark 2:1-12 NKJV
The people heard that Jesus was running a house group in His home and packed the place out. Because of the fact that, Jesus draws crowds, there was no more room left in the place. This did not prevent four men taking a different route into the house. They had arrived carrying a disabled man on his bed. On finding that there was no room, they went up the steps at the side of the house and began ripping up the roof. In those days, each house had stairs at the side of the flat roofed house - ideal for sunbathing or ripping up roofs.
Now, this type of behaviour would put most people off running a house group. No one would want the roof of their house ripping off, but Jesus didn't mind. The men dug through the mud and thatch of the roof and then lowered the disabled man and bed, down to Jesus.
They meant business. Nothing was going to stop them getting to Jesus and this impressed Him. Do we invite people to church to hear a famous preacher or to introduce them to Jesus? There is probably a bit of both in our intentions. The four men knew what the disabled man needed and knew that Jesus could meet this need. Jesus noticed this faith and determination and honoured them. Who is there for you when you are feeling low, depressed or ill? Are you there for others when they feel like this? This is love in action.
Notice that the scribes had not spoken out loud v7-8. However, Jesus perceived in His spirit what they were thinking. We need to be careful here. People don't know what we are thinking but, Jesus does. The mind will often judge, criticise and accuse people. We don't have to voice it. We need to take those thoughts captive 2 Corinthians 10:4-6. Often, we can't stop what comes into our minds but, we don't have to dwell on them.
The outcome to this house group event, was lame legs came to Jesus on a bed and healthy legs walked back home. Jesus draws crowds. He also answers our prayers and responds to our faith. The four men and possibly the disabled one, knew that Jesus could heal him. They demonstrated their faith and Jesus honoured them.Do you believe He can heal you?
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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