Way back in the 90s, I had to preach the funeral of a man I never met. The funeral home called and asked if I would perform the service since I was the pastor of the church, where he was to be buried.
I found out something very interesting about the man, as I spoke with the family members. It seems that the man was a prominent attorney in our capital city and had attended the University of South Carolina. He was also bound to a wheel chair and the university, at that time, had no wheel chair access. The family told me of an amazing friendship between this man and another student.
His friend would push him to the coal shoot and slide him down in the basement, where he would meet him and carry him up to the first floor and to his classes.
I believe that it’s good to have friends who will go the extra mile for you.
Jesus has come back to Capernaum and is in the house of Peter, where He is quickly surrounded by people desperate for His Word.
As a matter of fact that is what Scripture tells us that Jesus was doing.
vv. 1, 2 He preached the Word to them.
Somewhere during the message a ruckus started above the crowd, which brings me to my first point.
I: Jesus Looked Up vv. 3-4
There are five things here that I believe Jesus saw as He looked up and saw four men ripping a hole in the roof of Peter’s house..
1 He saw their genuine concern:
He saw four men who were willing to do whatever it took the get their friend an audience with the One who was able to change his circumstance…
2 He saw their faith in Jesus to meet the need: They didn’t rip the roof off the doctor’s house.
They knew, if they could just get their friend to Jesus, He could do something that no one else could.
3 He saw the men putting feet/hands on their prayers:
Prayer is great but sometimes you need to stop praying and get busy…PLEASE pray for that lost one in your life BUT sometimes you just have to scoop them up and bring them to Him.
4 He saw that they didn’t let circumstances stop them:
It would have been so easy for these men to say, “Well the crowd is too thick and Jesus is really busy. I guess we’ll have to try it another day. Maybe we can get you in before He leaves town again”
I got a message from one of our, nearly 400, members of Prayer Warriors, a prayer group I have on face book. The message came after one of the morning devotions, which dealt with getting off your back pew and reaching people. This person told how they really enjoyed the devotion and what an inspiration it was BUT…and they proceeded to list all the reasons they couldn’t do what the devotion challenged them to do. “Well you see, pastor Jimmy, circumstances and trials just prevent me from being able to do what I really want and know I need to be doing.”
Too often we let STUFF stop us from serving the Lord and being a witness for Him.
5 He saw them Working together…daring to do something different:
And because of their effort these men were able to experience the blessings of Jesus:
This is the key to any church growth. It cannot be the responsibility of one or two. The work is too hard and burden too heavy for one or two. When we ALL come together to reach the community we too will experience the blessings that Jesus is just waiting to pour out on us.
II Jesus Looked Down: v5
When Jesus looked down He saw a man who was paralyzed.
Notice that the first thing Jesus deals with is not the man’s physical condition but the condition of his heart.
Sin may not be the only reason for physical sickness but it does, sometimes, play a role in the person’s condition.
We know that Jesus ALWAYS looks in the heart before He looks at the physical and I see here that He looked down at a man whose disobedience to God had put him in his present condition.
There is something amazing that we see in this verse, something that caught Jesus’ attention and caused me to think about something.
Jesus saw the faith of the four men. He saw the faith of the paralytic but the faith of his friends was so obvious that Jesus noticed it right off. The faith of friends can and will play a huge role in those paralyzed by sin being forgiven.
Here’s a harsh reality…If you trust Jesus enough you’ll bring them too Him…
Let me show you something
1 Jesus saw a disabled man, a man without hope, a helpless man.
2 Jesus saw that the man’s friends cared deeply for their friend. [look what they went through to get him to Jesus]
3 He saw concern that went deeper that just common friendship. These men were obsessed with the mission to get their friend to Jesus. What would you do if four guys started tearing the roof off your house because they wanted to get to Jesus?
4 The friends didn't send the man or simply tell him about Jesus. They picked him up and carried him to Jesus.
These men desperately wanted to get their friend to Jesus and they did not care what it took or what they had to go through, including a roof.
Who could you stop and pick up on your way to Church…?
Who do you know that desperately needs Jesus?
5 Jesus saw four men who collectively put their faith in His power to fix their friend. What about us? What if we, collectively, put our faith in Jesus?
6 Jesus saw four men who refused to give up on their friend…even if it meant being rude.
They couldn't wait. Their friend was that important because they knew that Jesus would be leaving town, again.
There are people all around us trapped and paralyzed by sin…spiritually sick.
You and I DO NOT have the ability to save our friends. We cannot heal them nor forgive their sins BUT what we can do is bring them to Jesus and believe in His power to heal and forgive.
We need to have the same desperate attitude of these four men. We need to bring them before it’s too late. See Jesus is coming to call His people home…[could be sooner than you think] then we can’t do a thing about those we leave behind.
III. Jesus Looked Around: vv6, 7
It seems that every time Jesus was ministering to the people, the critics somehow got a front row seat.
The religious leaders had sent out the group of spies to watch Jesus and try to find something wrong with His teaching.
Now let me defend them by saying that they had every right to do what they did because they were trying to protect the people from religious nuts.
They were responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the Jewish people and even the question they asked was a legitimate question.
They asked the same question that many, today still ask. “Who can forgive sins but God?”
Well John wrote the words of our Savior who said in chapter 3 and verse 16 God loved the world so much that He gave His Son and all we have to do is believe on the Son to find forgiveness and everlasting life…But they didn’t see the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. They simply saw a guy.
The problem is that they came with closed minds. They did not come on a truth seeking mission but to find fault and enough fault to kill Jesus.
There are many, today who come with closed minds and simply look for proof that Jesus is not who we claim Him to be…
IV Jesus Looked In: vv8-12
In order to grasp verse 8 we need to look back a verse 6. These men were not having an audible conversation. It wasn't that they were talking out loud, while Jesus taught…two or three over here four or so over there interrupting the message…getting everyone’s attention off the message.
Verse 6 tells us that they were “Thinking to themselves.” BUT Jesus, in His Spirit, heard every word.
A couple of things come to mind here.
1 Jesus knows the human heart.
2. He knows EXACTLY what I think.
3 He knows my motive for thinking what I think and saying what I say.
In verse 8 Jesus sort of says “You guys want to think, let me give you something to think about.”
In verse 9 He asked them a question. “Which is easier, forgiving his sins or healing him?”
See there would be no physical proof that the man was forgiven, because we can’t see into the person’s heart.
Jesus said, in verse 10 “let me do this for you, so you’ll understand that I have the authority to forgive.”
Jesus called Himself “The Son of Man” in this verse. This title is used 14 time in Mark and is a definite Messianic title. It was a title that the Jews would understand.
Jesus healed the man who stood up and walked out in plain view of everyone in the crowd.
What Jesus did was more than heal a man’s body. Jesus gave an illustration of healing the soul, as well.
I wonder if you are here today and you’re sick…in need of healing…not so much physical but spiritual.
How many here knows someone who needs Jesus in their life? Are you willing to bring them?
Are you willing to come?
Invitation.
