The street was busy. People were going to and fro. Voices filled the marketplace, haggling over prices. A donkey kicked up dust as it walked by. And there at the edge of the road lay a man. His legs stretched across the mat uselessly. He had laid there for so long. This had been his spot for years.

He raised his voice, asking for help, asking if someone, anyone, would give him a few coins.

Some would stop and help; others would walk on by.

In ancient Israel, if a person was not able-bodied, the option for earning money was exclusively to beg.

So this paralyzed man would have spent many of his days like this until one day when it all changed.

In the account of his story, both in Mark 2:1–12 and Luke 5:17-26, he is simply called the paralyzed man. His affliction was his identity.

Have you seen that before? Have you seen people identified as their biggest problem, issue, or insecurity? Have you been labeled that way?

Come with me to see what happens when this paralyzed man comes face to face with Jesus.

Mark 2:1–12 (ESV)

[1] And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. [2] And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. [3] And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

 [4] And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. [5] And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” [6] Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, [7] “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

[8] And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? [9] Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? [10] But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—[11] “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” [12] And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

The friends of this paralyzed man were serious about getting their friend before Jesus. The house was packed full of people. At the most, about 50 people could come into a house at a time; the rest must listen from outside. Homes in ancient Israel had flat roofs that could be accessed from the outside, often with stairs. It consisted of branches or sticks laid on top of rafters combined with clay, and Luke adds the detail that this roof also had clay tiles. This would have been a bit of a challenge for the friends to carry the paralyzed man up the steps and then dig through the roof to create space to lower him down.

The four men were extraordinary friends. They did not let a crowded house or a roof stop them from bringing their friend before Jesus.

“Their” v.5 is plural and most naturally refers to the faith of the friends who brought the paralytic to Jesus but may include the paralytic's faith as well.

There is nothing recorded about what the friends said.  

We don’t need their words to see their faith.

We see by their actions their great faith in Jesus.

And as this man is lower before Jesus, Jesus responds by first telling the man his sins are forgiven before healing the man.  

The scribes are notably upset as they know that God alone can forgive sins. And while they are correct, they accuse Jesus of blasphemy, which is punishable by death (Lev. 24:10–23). They miss the miracle that God incarnate is before them.  

The scribes missed that God was working out his plan of salvation.  

[4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Ephesians 2:4–5 (ESV)

Sis, can we let the scribes serve as a warning to us?

They missed that God loved his people so much that he would make a way to save them. That God would make a way to save us!

Our identity is not our biggest problem, issue, or failure. Our identity is loved daughters of the most high God!

May we rest in that, and may we be like the four friends; may we tear off the roof for our friends and family members.

There is power when we carry people before Jesus. 

A couple of years ago, I got into an ATV accident. After I regained consciousness and the EMTs arrived, they placed me on a vacuum mattress to hold my spine in place. My friends helped the EMTs lift me up and place me on the gurney. I felt like this man with his four friends looking up into my friends’ eyes. As scared as I was at that moment, what I most remember as I regained consciousness was my friend praying for me.

She just continued to pray over me. I am so grateful that I was okay and did not have any serious injuries. God was so faithful! 

Don’t give up.

Don’t stop praying.

Don’t stop tearing off the roof.

Don’t stop bringing your friends, children, grandchildren, husbands, parents, pain, sorrow, and sin before Jesus.  

And may I suggest listening to the song Tear Off the Roof by Brandon Lake? Meditate this week on the extraordinary love of God, the power to forgive that is only found in him. 

It was a miracle that the paralyzed man was able to walk, but the biggest miracle was that he was saved from his sins! He is free, and  we, too, can be!

Christine Martin, ARISE Director of Ministry Relations