Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

The lesson is clear: Bring people we know to Jesus and don’t let any obstacle get in the way.

We bring them to Jesus to receive his salvation, because Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. We share the gospel and our personal testimony.

We bring them to Jesus to be healed, because Jesus has the power to heal all sickness and disease. We pray for them, anoint them with oil, and believe that Jesus will heal them.

When God places people into our lives to minister to, we don’t let any obstacles get in the way. 

1. The paralyzed man was an outcast in Jewish society. Who are the outcasts that Jesus wants us to minister to?

2. It took a lot of time and effort to bring this man to Jesus. What are we willing to invest to minister to needy people?

3. These friends cared a lot about this paralyzed man because they knew him. How much of our lives will we invest in other people, so we know their needs and have compassion to minister to them?

4. The love these men shared for their friend required sacrifices on their part. Will our love for other people lead us to make sacrifices and be persistent until they get what they need from Jesus?

Following Jesus is not that hard or complicated. We believe that Jesus has what every person needs. We bring people to Jesus so he can meet their needs.

Which is easier to say: I believe this is true, or, I will follow this example?

October 13 2020 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The first thing that comes to my mind (based on the priority displayed by the words of Jesus Himself) is that, no matter how dire a person's physical circumstances or condition may be, the greatest need of any individual is for the reconciliation to God that comes from the forgiveness of sin, and that only faith in Christ can provide.

That forgiveness would have also freed the paralyzed man himself from any guilt or blame that others might have expressed against him (or shame that he might have even imposed on himself) by viewing his affliction as a judgment from God for past or unacknowledged sin -- a benefit available down to the present day through faith in Christ.

Addressing the comment in the question, our Christian love should also not just be a matter of emotion or even words, but should be expressed in action (and, if necessary, extreme action) -- and (as indicated by the friends of the paralytic) not just on our own behalf, but also in ways that are totally for the benefit of others.

However (and as indicated by the paralytic's loud and joyful response to his healing), Christians should also use kindnesses done to them by others as occasions to publicly and conspicuously thank and glorify God, and to influence others for Christ.

October 13 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt

The actions of the four friends are commendable for they looked for opportunities in the face of obstacles, Mark 2:1-5, and acted in faith. Another lesson is that Jesus set the scribes started in thinking of who He was, Mark 2:6-7. The greatest lesson was the effect of the miracle that led to amazement and glorifying of God for the unusual things the people saw that day.

Another lesson from this account is to have a better understanding of what it was the men were doing. The passages are in Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26, but the mistaken impression is that the four men, carrying the bed onto the roof, figured out where Jesus would be and damaged the owner’s house by tearing off the tiles on the rafters and digging through the roof to make room for a bed to be lowered. It is imagined that everyone escaped injury of a cracked skull by the falling of the tiles and everyone was smothered with dust. After he was healed, the man picked up his bed and hauled it home, and the repairs had to be made to the damaged roof.

But in New Testament times, a typical house was box-shaped one-story building with a flat roof that could serve as a bedroom in hot weather. A stairway along the side of the building led up to the roof. Some kind of wall, probably lattice-work, around the housetop, kept people from stumbling over the edge.

Because of the mention of many people assembled, Luke 5:17, this was likely a rich man’s house which would be several dwellings surrounding a courtyard which might be the sense of John 14:2. The courtyard was often marble-paved and decorated and could accommodate many invited guests. Over this courtyard was a canopy, a covering like an awning for shade. This same word is in Matthew 8:8 and Luke 7:6, when the centurion felt he was not worthy that the Lord should come under his roof. 

The four men carried the man up the staircase, attached to the outside of the building, to the housetop. Mark 2:4 relates that they literally “uncovered the covering,” as if to “uncanopy the canopy.” Luke 5:19 says they let the man down into the midst which would be the courtyard.

Also, it was not the roof that was broken up but the bed, Mark 2:4. From the bed, which they could not maneuver over the parapet, they took out or removed the bedding or mattress, a carpet-like mat, and likely with cords tied to its corners, they lowered the man into the courtyard below. The better word for “broken through” is “plucked out” used only elsewhere in Galatians 4:15. The mat was what the healed man picked up when he returned home. 

These four resourceful men, having a well-thought-out plan, were actually quite careful with other people’s property. This account sheds a little different light when the Mid-East culture and social customs are taken into consideration.

July 20 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

They wanted to help so they chose to convey the man to the house where Jesus was, nevertheless the most exceedingly awful anticipated them, the house was full, no space for anybody any longer. Let me alert you when you want to accomplish something for God and you settle on the choice, the most noticeably awful anticipates you, it prompts demoralization; like for this situation, the house was full. Keep to your choice in any event, when the most exceedingly awful anticipates, these men were not slackers--they choose to accomplish something, that was to bring down the man through the rooftop. I don't have the foggiest idea whether they ever asked authorization from the immobile man to haul around like that. Had I to be in his place I would have mentioned them not convey since the death on the mat would be superior to death from the housetop. The 4 men didn't surrender; they endured and brought down the man into the house where Jesus was serving. The ideal longing drove them to this untiring decision. 

Confidence is persistent. What torments these 4 men went to so as to discover a route around the group that kept them from coming to their goal! The adage "No pain, no gain" applies to numerous parts of the Christian life. If we accept that it is critical to examine the Scriptures, supplicate, and discipline, then at that point we will continue to discover the time and ways to achieve those commendable objectives. Where there's a will, there's a way.

It is critical to get this man to Jesus, and his companions were not going to allow individual "rights as a Christian" or interruptions, or the roadblock of the crowd to get in their way. 

This healing miracle of Jesus is dramatized so well here:

https://www.facebook.com/InsideTheChosen/videos/the-chosen-scene-jesus-heals-the-paralytic/2574047019587394/

October 27 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report