Quick Note – Mark 2:1-12 – Their Faith

Mark 2:1-12 – 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!”

There are many interesting details and lessons about how the paralyzed man in Mark 2 was healed.  There is the lesson about how Jesus is God and has the authority to forgive sins.  There is the lesson about how Jesus knows the thoughts and hearts of all including the Pharisees who were inwardly mocking Him.  And there is the lesson about faith and how the paralyzed man trusted Jesus’ words enough to stand up, pick up his bed, and walk after Jesus told him to.  But one of the most interesting details that I noticed today was about the faith and action of this paralyzed man’s four friends.  Their faith and their action were two huge reasons as to why the paralyzed man was healed. 

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, He was surrounded by people.  The crowds were so big that there was no longer room in the house He was in and not even outside.  So there was no way for a paralyzed man to get to Him.  However, rather than giving up, the four men in vs. 3 carried their paralyzed friend to the roof of the house, made an opening, and lowered the man to Jesus.  They did not allow the obstacle of crowds to discourage them from reaching Him.  They did not allow the obstacle of the roof to prevent them from bringing their friend to Him.  They did everything they could to get their friend to the point where he could meet Jesus.  That is likely the reason why, in vs. 5 when Jesus saw the paralyzed man after he was lowered from the roof to Him, He said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”  Vs. 5 specifically says that when He saw their faith not just his faith.  It used the plural not the singular, meaning that Christ noticed the faith of the friends as well – the faith that caused them to carry their friend to the house, the faith that caused them to climb the roof, the faith that drove to them cutting an opening on the roof, and the faith that led them to lower the friend to Jesus.  Their faith helped bring Christ into their paralyzed friend’s life, which led to his healing. 

We as Christians should take every opportunity we have to bring the friends and people we love to Christ.  We should not allow any obstacle to stand in our way, whether it seems impossible or simply inconvenient.  Like these four friends, we should do whatever we can to lead our unbelieving friends and family to Christ.  We must have the faith that when that person reaches Christ, Jesus can do anything with his or her life.  Our job is simply to bring them to Jesus and leave the miracle of salvation to Him. 

How often do we doubt that God can save our unbelieving friends?  We think to ourselves that their hearts are too hard, that they wouldn’t want us to push, that it is too much of a hassle to get them there; but look at these four men.  They didn’t let anything stop them, whether the crowd, the roof, or the potential shame they might receive for breaking the roof.  They just did whatever they could to bring their friend to Jesus Christ.  Who knows whether even the paralyzed man himself tried to stop them by telling them to just give up already or to not inconvenience Jesus?  But they didn’t give up.  They kept going. 

No matter how difficult it may be, let us do everything we can to bring others to Christ.  Paul said that he became a Jew, in order to win Jews, that he became as one under the law, to win those who were under the law, and that he became weak to win the weak.  He became all things to all people, that by all means he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  He did whatever he could for the sake of the Gospel.  His faith that God would work in the hearts of the people, led to many churches being founded. 

Let us never give up or allow obstacles in our lives keep us from bringing those we love to Christ.  For if we have the faith to bring them to Him, He can work a miracle in their hardened hearts.  Obviously, they must still personally place their trust in Him themselves as the paralyzed man showed his trust in Christ when he obeyed the command to stand up and walk.  But that could have never happened without the faith of those four men to bring him to Jesus.  So don’t give up; keep trusting God to work in the lives of unbelievers; continue bringing them as close as you can to Him.  Then, leave the rest of the work to God.  He might just work a miracle.