Scripture

They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head, then they lowered the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus.

Observation

Jesus returns to his home into Capernaum. Word gets around, and the house becomes packed with visitors.

While Jesus is preaching, four men arrive carrying a paralysed man on a mat. Seeing that they cannot get close to Jesus, they climb up to the roof, dig a hole and lower the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus.

Seeing their faith, Jesus says to the paralysed man, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Some teachers of the law think to themselves that this is blasphemy. Jesus knows their thought processes, and He asks them if it is easier to heal a man than to forgive his sins.

Jesus then turns to the paralysed man and says to him, “Stand up, pick up your mat and go home.”

The main jumps up, grabs his mat, and leaves. Everyone is amazed at what God is doing.

Application

These men were desperate to get their friend to Jesus, so that He could heal him. They would not let the crowd of people block their way, so, they climbed onto the roof and dug a hole, and lowered the man down.

This is audacious faith, bold faith. They knew that Jesus would heal, so they took action based on their faith.

It wasn’t the paralysed man’s faith that impressed Jesus, but the four men who carried him.

When we are praying for healing or some other miracle, it doesn’t matter if the person involved has faith, as long as somebody has faith. We must believe that God will heal this person and then go before the throne of grace to intercede for them.

So listen carefully and take that audacious step of faith.

Listening

Lord, is there anything you want to say to me about this miracle?

Keith, the religious experts were too busy judging my words to experience a miracle. The young men just got on with doing what they needed to do to see their friend healed.

Never let your preconceived ideas stand in the way of a miracle. Listen to me and obey me. Give others the grace to see me in their own way and rejoice when healing and miracles happen, even when they seem strange.

You need to exercise both grace and discernment. As I move over this nation, evil spirits will arise to deceive the elect. You must be open to strange manifestations of my Spirit, but don’t let the manifestations of evil spirits lead people astray.