Mark 2:1-12 KJV And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. [2] And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. [3] And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. [4] And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. [5] When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. [6] But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, [7] Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? [8] And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? [9] Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? [10] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) [11] I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. [12] And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
l. INTRODUCTION -- THE BOOK OF MARK
-The book of Mark is significantly shorter than are the three other Gospels. Mark seems to target the Romans as his primary audience of readers and does this by presenting Jesus as a Suffering Servant. He focuses more on the actions of the Lord than of the teaching/preaching of the Lord. Mark probably emphasizes the human aspect of Jesus more than any of the other Gospel writers.
-Mark gives us insight into:
• The emotions of the Lord: 1:41; 3:5; 6:34; 8:12; and 9:36.
• The human limitations of the Lord: 4:38; 11:12; 13:32 (also could be referred to as an example of the dual nature of Jesus Christ).
• The other small details of His humanity: 7:33-34; 8:12; 9:36; 10:13-16.
-The book of Mark is loaded with miracles. In fact, when you begin to read the book of Mark there is very little introduction or background information given about Jesus and who he was. Mark immediately begins to record the great miracles that He performed.
• 1:23 -- Casting out an Unclean spirit.
• 1:30 -- Healing Peter’s mother-in-law.
• 1:32 -- Healing the sick in the evening.
• 1:40 -- Cleansing the Leper.
• 2:3 -- Healing the Paralytic.
• 3:1 -- Straightening the Withered Hand.
• 4:35 -- Calming the Storm.
• 5:1 -- Delivering the man from the demons and casting them into the swine.
• 5:25 -- Healing the woman with the issue of blood.
• 5:35 -- Raising Jairius’ daughter from the dead.
• 6:30 -- Feeding the Five Thousand.
• 6:48 -- Walking on the Water.
• 7:24 -- Healing the Syrophonecian woman’s daughter.
• 7:31 -- Healing a deaf mute.
• 8:1 -- Feeding the Four Thousand.
• 8:22 -- Healing a blind man at Bethsaida.
• 9:17 -- Delivering the boy who was cast into the fire and the water.
• 10:46 -- Healing two blind men.
• 11:12 -- Cursing the fig tree.
ll. THE TEXT -- MARK 2:1-12
A. The Miracle of the Paralytic
-This miracle was one of the earliest miracles in the life of the Lord. After His rejection by the hometown crowd in Nazareth, the Lord would adopt Capernaum as His second home.
-So now the Pharisees and religious leaders were all perched in the neighborhood waiting to spring upon an unsuspecting Christ with their accusations. These men were from every part of the country waiting to destroy the works of God in the earth.
-Mark details the scene much better than both Matthew and Luke. The crowds had gathered and they probably were the more common people of the town. The crowd was made up of fisherman, those who ran the weaver’s loom, the farmers who worked the fields, the housewives who were building the home, the peasants who congregate so much of life.
-The Lord moves into the house and soon the house is filled with capacity and overflows out into the yard. A low buzz of conversation can be heard. There are some who attempt to quieten the voices so that they could hear what the Lord was saying inside the house. The windows are open.
-A gentle breeze begins to move quietly through the branches of the trees. The distant call of the birds can be heard, an occasional bark of a dog goes unnoticed by most, as the crowd settles in to hear what the Lord had to say. In fact the Bible declares that never a man spake like this one, that the winds and the waves would listen to him.
-Now four men arrive late the day with their poor, pitiful burden on the stretcher that they are carrying. We can only surmise as to the blank looks that came to the faces of the four men when they saw the crowd.
-This man was stricken with palsy. This malady that the men brought to God that day was described by Dr. Luke in strict agreement with the medical writers of that day. He said that he was palsied. The technical Greek term is used of pronounced paralysis from a disease affecting the nervous system.
-So here was this thin, emaciated, obviously ill man who wanted more than anything to be healed is now faced with obstacles that he has no control over. However, he had four friends with him who were willing to look past the obstacles and toward the alternatives. So they began to climb up the stairs and found themselves on the roof of the house that God was in.
-The architectural features of those houses in those regions were different than those of our region. They had little access to wood and lumber. The houses were formed by arches that formed above the walls at three feet intervals. There were limestone slabs about three feet long that were laid on the arches and then plastered with a lime cement.
-When the paralytic’s friends began to tear off the roof of this house, much energy and action was required. To remove the slabs and tear away the mortar would have been both a strenuous and dangerous task for men who did not have the proper tools. But they were a determined bunch.
-After removing a portion of the roof, they took the stretcher and lowered it into the room toward the Master. One can imagine that the whole audience as they looked up in amazement at the bold action of the four men. The teaching of Jesus stopped, the people began to murmur with excitement and the scribes and Pharisees suspicious about what might happen were particularly watchful, but Jesus was entirely unperturbed.
-The Lord looked at the man and called him Son. Not thief, not drunk, not dope-head, not too sorry to work, not liar, not it serves you right, not loser. He simply looked at him and told him, “Thy sins be forgiven thee” and the progression of healing began. God saw beyond the disease. He reached beyond the calamity that had befallen this man. It was soon thereafter that the man had taken up his stretcher and began to walk from the room under his own power.
B. The Principles from This Miracle
-We have the story but when we look back at the text there are certain principles that can be gained from this portion of Scripture.
1. Appearances can be deceiving.
-Sometimes it may appear that the Lord is more concerned with the needs of others than with our own needs and that He is hard to get to.
Mark 2:2 -- And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door:
-The man who needed his life changed by the power of the Lord could not get to the Lord for his healing. It was because of the people who stood in his way. The house was packed
-There are moments in life when the Lord is seemingly hard to get to.
-Job illustrated this point very well in the following:
Job 23:1-17 KJV Then Job answered and said, [2] Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning. [3] Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat! [4] I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. [5] I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me. [6] Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. [7] There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge. [8] Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: [9] On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: [10] But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. [11] My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. [12] Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. [13] But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. [14] For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. [15] Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him. [16] For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: [17] Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
-The Lord appears “hard to find” for some various reasons:
• Because of those who are in front of us.
• Because of a mind filled with doubt.
• Because of the difficulty of the trial.
• Because of circumstances surrounding the dilemma.
-This is not the first time that people could not get to the Lord. Scripture is full of folks who seemingly could not get to God.
• Ruth -- Could not get to God because of her nationality.
• Hannah -- Could not get to God because she was childless.
• Esther -- Could not save her people because she had not been invited into the king’s courts.
2. Action is necessary and very important.
Mark 2:4 -- And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
-Sometimes there is an action that will be required on our part for the miracle to occur. As long as faith is centered on self and personal interests then it is thoroughly held in hand by a leash. But when faith gets away from self and becomes involved in purpose, the Kingdom of God can grow.
-If the four men would have just stood around and waited on the crowd to clear out, or would have waited until the “right time”, or would have waited until the right set of circumstances, they would have removed their hope for a miracle.
-We all have met people who have told us that “one of these days” I am going to serve God. “One of these days” I am going to get involved. “One of these days” I am going to do something for God.
• I want a great life, but I am not going to do anything.
• I want an anointing from God, but I am not going to do anything.
• I want a prayer life, but I am not going to do anything.
• I want to know the Book, but I am not going to do anything.
• I want to win souls, but I am not going to do anything.
-May I tell you that just in case you thought it might happen, it will not happen in a million years. What you must do is something that moves you along your way.
• If you want the sun to stand still, you have got to be in a fight.
• If you want the water to be sweet, you have to taste the bitter first.
• If you want manna, you have to get hungry.
• If you want the fire to fall from heaven, you have to be surrounded by doubt and unbelief.
• If you want the birds to feed you, you have to be on the run from a mad queen.
• If you want the axe head to float on the water, it has to first be lost in the pond.
-The four men had to do something. They had to climb up the stairs with the stretcher. They had to begin to climb up on the roof. They had to begin to tear up the roof. They had to lower the stretcher into a full room of people.
-It required focus. Any weakling can resign. Any quitter can quit. Anyone can give up. But there are a few stalwarts who refuse to give up, give out, or give in. I want to be one of those men.
-If one way fails, try another. Quit listening to the crowd. Refuse to give in to yourself. It is going to take a little band of men who are willing to reach beyond themselves.
• I know that some people are struggling.
• I know that some people are having trouble.
• I know that some people are having financial problems.
• I know that some people are having job problems.
• I know that some people are having marital problems.
• I know that some people are in doubt about what God has called them to do.
• I know that some people are unable to forgive themselves even though God has.
• I know that some people are having trouble with their kids.
• I know that some people are having health problems.
• I know that some people are struggling with
• depression.
• I know that some people are having family problems.
-But you must do something. These men stayed with the task. If one fails, there is another way. Tear off the roof. Do something costly.
-Sometimes the skies will not give up the rain until the prayer has been prayed seven times. Don’t give up after the second, or third, or fourth time to praying. Keep praying and keep working. Stay with the task.
-The Lord’s characters are full of this type of action:
• The Woman who looked for the Lost Coin.
• The Shepherd who looked for the Lost Sheep.
• The man who knocked at midnight.
3. We always get far more than we anticipate.
Mark 2:5 -- When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
-We often get far more than we expect from the miracles of the Lord in our lives. Thy sins be forgiven thee. . . .expecting healing, he received salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:7 -- “For we walk by faith, not by sight:”
-The third principle these men learned was that they could not look at what they could see but rather and what they could not see. We often get far more than what we had anticipated.
-If they would have looked at the rabbis, they were frowning about the intrusiveness of the whole affair. If they would have looked at the homeowner he would have threatened to sue them. If they had looked at the listeners they would have noticed their impatience at the interruption.
-But Jesus read the proper action and understood that these men were looking for a miracle.
-There must be a point that you walk in the steps of Moses.
• The bush isn’t much until God sets it on fire and begins to speak through it.
• The stick is just an ordinary thing but when God gets it, it will turn into a snake.
• It is just a hand, until God clothes it with leprosy and then cleanses it.
-What most of us don’t realize is that if we would be willing to offer the common things to God, He would take it and use it. He would do extraordinary things with common materials.
-If someone would have asked on that night that Paul was being let down in a basket from Damascus. . . . What is in the basket? One might have answered, Oh, it’s just Saul of Tarsus. But how wrong they would have been. . . . There was a undeveloped revival in that basket.
-If someone would asked on that day that the four men brought the man on the stretcher. . . . What is that on the stretcher? The crowd might have answered, Oh, it’s is the palsied man who lives at such and such. But how wrong they would have been. . . . There was an undeveloped miracle lying on pallet.
-Leave common things to men and they remain common, but give them to God and he has a way of moving beyond our sight into a greater realm of faith.
• What’s in your hand, David? Just a sling. . . . No that is a giant slayer.
• What’s in your window, Rahab? Just a scarlet thread. . . . .No it is a sign of salvation.
• What’s in your hand, Samson? Just a jawbone. . . . No that is a weapon of God.
• What’s in your lunch, kid? Just some fish and bread. . . . . No that is a feast for a multitude.
-No one else can see what God can see. Everyone else can see the crowd, the sick man on the stretcher, but God sees beyond the here and the now. What is it that rests within you soul right now? Only patience, discipline, prayer and time can bring it to pass.
4. A miracle only takes a moment.
Mark 2:12 -- And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
-The miracle only takes a moment. The process of gaining entry to the Lord often takes more time than does the miracle. It took longer to tear the roof off than it did for the miracle to occur.
lll. CONCLUSION -- SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO DANCE. . . . . ANYWAY
Rex Johnson relates the following story in his book, With a Palm and a Willow: One icy day in December, the Nazi’s sent hundreds of Jews to shower. Before they could dry the water off or clothe themselves, the German officers called them all outside for roll call. Hundreds of Jews stood naked and wet in the sub-zero temperatures as their captors leisurely and methodically called roll. One by one their bodies turned to stone as winter winds and falling snow turned the water on their bodies into ice.
Among the scores of victims, a young boy stood there battling the cold. As the hours passed, he felt his feet literally freeze to the ground. He watched those around him freeze into human statues and fall over dead. Surrounded by horror, he resigned himself to the death that would soon take him as well.
No one can say for sure but apparently there was a moment that he looked into the future and contemplated all he would miss out on in life. He would never have a wife or children. Never would he be able to spend himself in a promising career. He may even have resigned himself to the fact that he would never see his parents or siblings again. So if he found the future unbearable, it is very well that this young man could have turned his thoughts toward yesterday. Yesterday was full of warm memories in this bitter cold. Memories of times at a warm table with hot food and the warm stability of a home with his parents and siblings.
Of all the thoughts that he might have had, the thought of his old Rabbi meant the most to him. Just as he was slipping into the pre-death dreams of yesterday, a thought pierced the dim twilight of yesteryear and the pre-dawn darkness of eternity, and he heard the Rabbi’s voice say, “We are a people who dance before the Lord.” His feet still frozen to the ice, he heard the words again. A warmth shot through his body. He willed himself to speak, forcing the words audibly past his now blue lips. “We are those who dance before the Lord.” Blood begin to stir in his veins.
“A Hasid must sing. A Hasid must dance. It is the secret of our survival.” The Rabbi’s words shook him. The Rabbi’s words stirred him. The Rabbi’s words strengthened him and restored within him a will to live. With all of his might, the young man tore his feet from the frozen ground and in the process severely damaged the soles of his feet. But then, right there in the death camp of the Nazi’s, he danced before the Lord in a pool of his own blood. By doing so, he survived the Holocaust. (From Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust, by Yaffa Eliach)
-Sometimes you have to find a roof to tear off.
Philip Harrelson
September 11, 2005
barnabas14@yahoo.com
