“The Four Faithful Friends”
Luke 5:17-26
INTRODUCTION: We continue in our series on ‘Great Events In The Life Of Jesus’.
TODAY, we want to look at a man whom Jesus healed.
Luke 5:17-20 – all turn – READ
5:17 – Jesus was in a house, teaching a large group of people. The place was packed! Every pew was filled, so to speak. There were chairs in the aisles … there wasn’t even ‘standing room’.
They lived differently in Bible times. When we go inside our house, we close the door. In some places (Gainesville, not Bell), they LOCK the door whenever they go inside. BUT … in Bible times, they opened their door at sunrise, and closed it when it got dark. An open door meant that anyone could come in at anytime … everyone was welcome … they didn’t even have to knock. A closed door meant that something was going on inside that you were ashamed of … or wanted to hide from someone. They didn’t have this “privacy” hang-up that we have today.
Jesus began to preach in this house … the doors were open … anybody could come in at any time. And they did! Including the Pharisees and educated men with PhD’s in the Old Testament (more on them later).
NOTICE: “And the power of the Lord was present to heal them”. Where you find Jesus, you find His power … His power to change your life.
Jesus was TEACHING … BUT … He wasn’t HEALING anybody. The POWER to heal was there … but no one was being healed, up to this time. WHY?
o MAYBE because there wasn’t any sick in the house.
o MAYBE because the sick didn’t really believe Jesus could heal them.
o MAYBE because they didn’t ASK Jesus to heal them.
I don’t know WHY. BUT … the power was there … BECAUSE … Jesus was there.
LESSON: If you aren’t saved, it’s NOT BECAUSE the power of Jesus isn’t able to save you.
CHRISTIAN …
o If your needs aren’t met, it’s NOT BECAUSE the power of Jesus isn’t able to meet your needs.
o If you’re living a defeated Christian life, it’s NOT BECAUSE the power of Jesus isn’t able to give you victory.
o If your faith is weak, it’s NOT BECAUSE the power of Jesus isn’t able to strengthen you.
o If you don’t have the joy, peace, hope & love that you need, it’s NOT BECAUSE Jesus doesn’t have the power to give it to you.
It’s because you haven’t come to Jesus for the power that you need … that Jesus is able to give you. “The power of the Lord was present” … and it STILL IS.
5:18 – Mark tells us that there were 4 men who brought their sick friend to Jesus that day. The POWER to heal him was there. AND … that’s where they wanted to be. SO … they carried their friend on a stretcher … one on each corner.
Their friend had “palsy”. We don’t know much about this particular disease that they called “palsy”. We don’t know how long he had it … what caused it … how close to death he was. We do know that he couldn’t walk. He needed help. He had 4 friends who were willing to carry him to Jesus … Who had the POWER to heal him.
5:19 – They must have come to the door (if they could even get that far because of the crowd). There was no room inside, where Jesus was. Nobody was going to budge. Most of them didn’t know that they were outside & couldn’t get in.
Most of us would have taken our sick friend back home. “Well, we tried, but we just couldn’t get in to see Jesus. Maybe we’ll try again next time Jesus is in town.” Not these friends! They weren’t going to give up that easily. They came to receive the POWER of Jesus … and they weren’t leaving without it. They were determined. They weren’t giving up. They wanted the POWER of Jesus.
LESSON: You’ll never receive the POWER of Jesus in your life if you don’t seek for it. The POWER is in Jesus. As long as you keep Him out of your life, you’ll miss out on His power. Jeremiah 29:13 – “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
They didn’t give up. They knew what they wanted … needed … were missing. They had found where Jesus was. They weren’t going to leave until they had received the POWER of Jesus.
WHAT DID THEY DO? They tore the roof apart! 5:19
In Bible times, they built houses different than we do (their building codes weren’t as strict!). Their houses had flat roofs made out of rafters, with sticks & hardened mud for mortar. They spent a lot of time on their roofs. There was usually grass growing on the roof … it was cooler up there. There were stairs on the outside going up to the roofs.
These 4 men climbed the stairs with their friend on the stretcher … and began to dig through the roof. The word “tiling” refers to the hard crusty mud that they had to dig through.
Can you imagine what it was like for those in the room below! Dust was flying everywhere. Pieces of sticks, and chunks of hard, dried mud were falling on top of them. People were scattering everywhere. Since they were packed in so tightly, they were probably covered with debris before they could get out.
The bigger the hole they dug, the more light that was let into the room. All of a sudden, they looked up, and 4 men were lowering down a stretcher with ropes. Jesus is standing there as the stretcher is lowered in front of Him.
5:20 – NOTICE: several things here:
o “He saw their faith” … WHOSE faith? The faith of the 4 friends. What does “faith” look like? Can you SEE “faith”? Jesus can.
You & I can’t SEE anybody’s faith. HOWEVER … we can see EVIDENCES of a person’s faith.
James 2:17-18 – “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. [18] But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Jesus can SEE your “faith” right here … right now. He knows how much you have. AND … He knows that (Matthew 17:20) “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ’Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.’”
It doesn’t take much faith to move mountains. Do you know why? Because “faith” doesn’t move mountains … GOD DOES! It only takes a little bit of “faith” to go to a big God … Who has the POWER to move the mountain. These 4 men had all the “faith” they needed. They simply used their “faith” they had, to bring their friend to Jesus … who had the POWER to heal his body.
Jesus saw their faith in their hearts … everybody else saw their faith by how they exercised it … in bringing their friend to Jesus. Jesus is looking into your heart right now … and He’s SEEING your faith. AND … He’s SEEING whether you exercise the faith that you have.
o “thy sins are forgiven thee” – BUT … he didn’t come to have his sins forgiven … he came to have his body healed … DIDN’T HE? Jesus looked into this man’s heart, too. AND … Jesus saw the greater need. Jesus didn’t begin by healing this man of the palsy. He had a greater need. Sin is worse than sickness. “The wages of sin is DEATH.”
Jesus could have healed him of his palsy … only to spend eternity in Hell. BUT … Jesus knew that his sin problem (his spiritual problem) was worse than his physical problem.
LESSON: We spend most of our life involved in the physical realm. We spend most of our time concerned about enjoying life … reducing stress … making our life easier. Millions of people are going to die with healthy bodies, big bank accounts, and great memories of a wonderful life. AND THEN … spend eternity in Hell!
Millions of Christians are going to die and leave behind all their “toys” … all their worldly possessions … all their earthly treasures. AND THEN … when they get to Heaven … find out that they don’t have any treasures laid up in Heaven. They’ll leave it all behind on earth … and be bankrupt in Heaven. What a shame … what a waste!
NOW … Jesus turns His attention to the Scribes & Pharisees.
5:21 – When Jesus told this man that his sins were forgiven, they had a conniption! “Only God can forgive sins … who does He think He is!”
5:22 – Jesus read their minds. Jesus can do that, you know (that’s a scary thought, isn’t it?). Jesus knows what you’re thinking right now. Do you realize: Jesus is thinking about you ALL the time! We only think about Jesus for just a few minutes a week. BUT … Jesus never has you out of His thoughts. You can’t get away from His thinking about you. That will either make you REJOICE … or make you want to hide in a closet somewhere!
5:23 – This was a good question. It’s EASIER to say: “Your sins are forgiven.” WHY? Because no one can tell if it’s true. You can’t SEE if someone’s sins are forgiven. Anyone could say that, and you’d never know if it was true.
BUT … if you told someone who was paralyzed to get up and walk … you could SEE if it was true or not.
Jesus is telling these religious leaders that they shouldn’t be condemning something that they couldn’t SEE if it was true or not. There was no way for them to tell if it was just words … or fact. They couldn’t tell if He REALLY HAD the power to forgive sins.
NOW … to let them know that He had the power to forgive this man’s sins … LISTEN to what Jesus says & does.
5:24 – If Jesus has the power to heal him … He also has the power to forgive his sins. I’ll bet they were waiting to see what this paralyzed man would do.
5:25 – I’ll bet their mouths dropped down to their ankles! This man jumped up … took his stretcher … and ran home, PRAISING GOD. He wasn’t Baptist, because he began to SHOUT! He began to witness. He began to testify.
5:26 – They knew that they had been in the presence of POWER that day. They knew they had been in the presence of God. They had been blessed … and they “glorified God”.
CONCLUSION: There’s a lot we can learn from this miracle this morning:
o You can make a difference in somebody else’s life. This paralyzed man needed help to come to Jesus. His 4 friends could have said: “If there’s anyway we can ever do for you, just let us know” … and gone to the meeting without him … and maybe gotten a seat inside. You can make a difference in somebody else’s life … if you really cared for them. Pray for them … bring them to church with you (don’t just invite them) … look for the opportunities that God gives you to minister to them.
o Don’t let any obstacles keep you away from the POWER of Jesus. The crowd was an obstacle that they had to overcome. Why don’t some people come to church? Because of “the crowd”. Someone in church has offended them. It may have been 20 years ago … and they haven’t set foot in church since! AND … they haven’t witnessed the POWER of Jesus in their life.
What’s the OBSTACLE in your life that is preventing you from experiencing the POWER of Jesus in your life? A habit … a secret sin … a person in church you don’t like … your love for the world or the things of the world? Do you feel like you’re on the OUTSIDE … looking IN? Surrender that obstacle to Jesus … so you can experience His POWER in your life.
What’s keeping you from Jesus pouring out His blessings on your life? What if Jesus wanted to do a great work in your life TONIGHT … would you miss it? OR … Wednesday night … would you miss it? Push the obstacles away that keep you out of God’s house. Remember: “the power of the Lord was present” in the house. They just missed out. You’ll be missing out if you’re not in God’s house.
The only way you will “glorify God” is to witness His power in your life. Surrender that obstacle to Jesus today.
STAND – PRAYER
HYMN – #347 - “I Surrender All”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
“The Four Faithful Friends”
Luke 5:17-26
INTRODUCTION: Luke 5:17-20
5:17 – The house was packed when Jesus preached!
- Where you find Jesus, you find His power to change your life.
- If LOST, it’s because you haven’t taken the power of Jesus.
- CHRISTIAN, you need to come to the power of Jesus for Him to meet all your needs … His power is still available.
5:18 – 4 friends were willing to carry him to the power.
5:19 – These friends didn’t give up easily.
- You’ll never receive the power of Jesus in your life unless you ask for it – Jeremiah 29:13.
5:20 – Several things to note:
• Jesus saw the faith of the 4 friends.
- You & I can’t SEE faith … only EVIDENCES of faith – James 2:17-18
- It only takes a small faith (Matthew 17:20), because it is GOD who moves mountains … He has the power.
- Exercise the faith that you have, no matter how small.
• Jesus forgave the man who came to be healed of the palsy.
- His spiritual problem was worse than his physical problem.
- Millions will die physically whole, but spiritually bankrupt.
5:21 – Only God can forgive sins.
5:22 – You are never out of the thoughts of Jesus.
5:23 – You can’t SEE if someone’s sins are forgiven … BUT … you can SEE if someone is healed of the palsy.
5:24 – Jesus showed them that He had the power to forgive sins … by showing them something they could SEE.
5:25 – This man began to PRAISE GOD and testify.
5:26 – Because they had been blessed, they glorified God.
CONCLUSION:
• You can make a difference in somebody’s life.
• Don’t let any obstacles keep you away from the power of Jesus.
- Is there an obstacle in your life that is keeping you from experiencing the power of Jesus?
- Surrender that obstacle to the Lord … to receive His blessings.
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
