WHEN JESUS SAW THEIR FAITH...
After John the Baptist was arrested and cast into prison by King Herod, Jesus left His childhood home of Nazareth and went into Galilee to the city of Capernaum to live. From there, He traveled throughout Galilee preaching the Gospel in their synagogues and working miracles. Afterwards, the Lord returned to Capernaum. Word spread quickly that He was there, and soon, the house was filled with people who wanted to see and hear Him. It was so crowded that folks were spilling out of the doorways. (Mark 2:1, 2).
At some point, four men arrived who were carrying another man on some sort
of couch or bed. When they had surveyed
the situation, they assessed that the only way they were going to be able to
bring their friend before Jesus would be to break up a section of the roof and
lower him down before the Lord. I can
only imagine the stir it must have
caused inside the house as the people watched the ceiling opening up above them
and a man coming down on a bed.
We learn from the account that the man on the couch was “sick of the palsy” which means that he
was partially paralyzed at least in his lower limbs. He was obviously unable to get around on his
own and needed the help of others to carry him places. “And
they come unto Him [Jesus], bringing
one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.” (Mark 2:3). According to the Penn Medicine website, Spastic Cerebral
Palsy is the most common type of palsy. “Symptoms
include:
·
Muscles
that are very tight and do not stretch. They may tighten even more over time.
·
Abnormal
walk (gait) -- arms tucked in toward the sides, knees crossed or touching, legs
make "scissors" movements, walk on the toes.
·
Joints
are tight and do not open all the way (called joint contracture).
·
Muscle
weakness or loss of movement in a group of muscles (paralysis).
·
Symptoms
may affect one arm or leg, one side of the body, both legs or both arms and
legs.”
St. Mark records Jesus’ reaction to the situation unfolding before Him
in this way: “When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the
palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Mark 2:5). Notice that it says “When Jesus saw THEIR
faith…” and not “When Jesus saw HIS faith…” It wasn’t a matter of the paralyzed guy
asking his friends to take him to Jesus, and they simply complied. No, these guys were all committed to this
task. THEIR faith was
stirred; and they were motivated to believe that if they could just get their
friend to Jesus, he would be healed. What
the paralytic couldn’t do for himself, his friends were willing to do for him. This was truly faith in action.
The question that occurs to me is, “Was it the four friends only who had
the faith for the paralytic, or was it all five who had faith?”
Scripture doesn’t record that the paralytic’s faith was active up to
this point. It was the four who actually
exercised their faith in various ways. When they saw the house was full and that
there was no way in with a bed, they could have given up right then and hoped
for another opportunity when Jesus was more accessible. But they didn’t give up. They believed that the Lord would make the
difference for their friend, and they were willing to do whatever was necessary
to bring him before Jesus. It was an
effort to carry him from his house to Jesus. It was also an effort to break up a large
enough opening in the roof to let their friend down into the house. The paralytic was unable to help them. This indeed was faith made substance! I personally believe that the paralytic also
had faith, but his faith was less evident than his friends’ faith because he
could not help himself.
In studying this story, it struck me that not one of the four seemed to
complain about their task. It doesn’t
record that they received any thanks or commendation from Jesus for what they
did. No one mentioned anything about
their ministry to the paralytic being powerful and dynamic – they just quietly
did their job, and God got all the glory.
Not one of them tried to take the preeminence over the others by saying
how much more important their part was compared to the others’. “Well, my corner of the bed was much heavier
than the other three, therefore my ministry is greater!” The four were equal partners in the work of
the Lord and in the Body of Christ. They
worked together in harmony and cooperation, in the spirit of love and
compassion. What they did received no
visible recognition; and yet, what they did enabled a notable miracle to take
place in the life of the paralytic.
Isn’t this the ideal way that the Body of Christ should function? Paul describes the proper working together of
the Body when he says that we are to “…grow
up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from Whom the whole
body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh
increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:15,
16).
There are many around us – and if we’re honest we will include ourselves
in that number - who have been paralyzed in one way or another from pursuing
the type of life that God has called us to demonstrate. At such times, we need the faith of our
brothers and sisters in Christ to remind us of Jesus’ power to deliver. Sin is one thing that can certainly paralyze
us from reaching our potential in Christ.
Doubt and fear can also cripple us from accomplishing God’s will. Trials, afflictions, and sickness can also disable
us in many ways. Only Jesus can heal our
hurts, calm our fears and anxieties, and purge our sins. He only can give us the power to do the
things that He has called us to do, the things that were impossible for us to
do before knowing Him. Sometimes we need
the combined faith and assistance of others in the Body of Christ to help usher
us before the Lord. It may be a sermon,
a teaching, a prophecy, a prayer, or an anointed song that transports us into
the very presence of the Savior and stirs our faith. It may also be something as simple as an act
of kindness. There is no limit to the
things that God can use to reach us and change our lives.
We must understand just how powerful the faith of the Body of Christ is
when they agree together on any one thing.
Their combined faith can make a big difference in lives that may be “paralyzed” in a spiritual sense. Make no mistake: it is our enemy’s goal to
paralyze God’s people so that they can’t function in faith and confidence. There is a powerful promise, however, that
Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew 18:18-20. The Lord said, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My
Father which is in heaven. For where two
or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” In our story, there were five who
agreed! They believed that Jesus was the
answer to the paralytic’s needs, and they were determined to seek out Jesus.
I have had the opportunity of seeing this type of faith
in action many times. One person may come
into the gathering place with a heavy heart and under a terrific burden. The Body recognizes in the Spirit that there
is a need. They feel the burden that
this individual is under and begin to focus on that person’s need. The Church then begins to minister in various
ways to help bear the burden and heal the soul.
Some pray, others exhort, and still others share an inspired word from
scripture. They may then gather around
the one who is hurting and anoint them with oil, praying for not just a
healing, but also for a release of the oppression they are under. When the final “amen” is said, Jesus has
ministered to that soul, and has restored the peace of God to their spirit. In the end, God is the one Who is glorified. Such ministry among the members of Christ’s
Body fulfills Paul’s words to the Galatian churches where he wrote, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,
ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Bear ye one another’s burdens,
and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1, 2).
“When Jesus saw their faith,
He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son,
thy sins be forgiven thee.” Jesus saw that this man had TWO needs: he needed healed
of his paralysis for sure (which was the more apparent need), but he also required
forgiveness for his sins. In Jesus’
mind, it was the man’s sin-sickness that was the most crucial need, and that’s
what He addressed to begin with. Sometimes
the need that is obvious – like the man’s paralysis – hides another, deeper
need that Jesus wants to deal with. The
obvious need is the thing that brings us to Jesus so that He can reveal and
correct the underlying need. God can’t
do another thing in our lives until the matter of our redemption is
settled. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.” (John
3:7). This is where our spiritual
journey with the Savior begins: at the cross of Christ. That is where the Lord atoned for our sins
and cast them away as far as the east is from the west. It is where the burden of our heart was
rolled away.
How is it then that we may restore a brother/sister in
the Lord? How do we minister to one who
is altogether lost? The answer is always
to bring them to Jesus! He is the One
Who made us, and He is the One Who can fix us.
“But there were certain of
the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man
thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? 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? 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?” (Mark 2:6-9). The scribes didn’t
like Jesus very much. He was always
challenging their norms and their traditions. What was worse, He used their own holy
scripture to support His teaching! To
the scribes, it was blasphemy, plain and simple, for a mere man to forgive the
sins of another. This was God’s place
alone. Jesus was no mere man,
though. He asked the scribes what would
be easier, to say that the paralytic’s sins were forgiven, or to say to him, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?” “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out!” (Romans 11:33). These
“religious” men were about to be schooled and left speechless by the Son of God
Himself.
Jesus looked on these men who
were searching for any evidence that they could find to trap Him and said, “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,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy
bed, and go thy way into thine house.” (Mark 2:10-11). What was the result? “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.” (Mark
2:12). The people were simply amazed,
and they testified that they had never witnessed anything like this before!
Jesus has power on earth to forgive sins! He also has power to heal the hearts, minds,
and bodies of those who come to Him in faith.
He not only can erase our transgressions, but He can heal our paralysis
of whatever sort it is. He can give us
the power to become effective citizens and members of the Kingdom of God. Paul mentions both of these works of grace in
his letter to the Colossians. He wrote, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord [accepted His gift of redemption], so walk ye in Him [follow His example; grow up into His likeness]: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished
in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”
(Colossians 2:6, 7). In his letter to
Titus, Paul breaks it down again: “For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous
of good works.” (Titus 2:11-14).
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