Faith and forgiveness
Faith and forgiveness
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:4,5).
Jesus looks for faith first
The paralytic that was brought to Jesus had things on his mind. His life had probably been in park for some time, and he had plenty of time to think. Now he was coming to Jesus for help. He came on his cot, powered by four friends with strong backs and equally strong determination. Jesus was preaching to a standing room only crowd and the only way of making the house handicapped accessible was to punch a hole in the roof. That’s what they did.
What a scene. First there was the sound of feet on the roof above. Then the scratching sound above Jesus. I picture a grin on Jesus’ face. He knew who was coming and why. People stepped back from the noise as dust and dirt rained down. Then sweaty arms lovingly lowered the cot into the reaching hands of people below. The paralyzed man was placed on the floor.
How did the people respond to what they witnessed? No doubt most were surprised. Maybe some were upset. The owner of the house might have been angry. But Jesus was pleased, for he saw more than the people saw. He saw five men of God who had faith. “When Jesus saw their faith . . .”.
Faith is what Jesus looks for first, and faith is what each of us needs above all else. “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ ” Note that before Jesus helped this man physically, he helped him spiritually. Jesus could have simply healed the man and left it at that. However, healed people still die eventually . . . and then what? Forgiveness of sins won by Jesus solves the “then what?” problem. Afterward is eternal life!
Jesus assures us of his forgiveness
This man had faith, but he needed assurance that he was forgiven. Jesus recognized this man’s struggle with past sins. This man might have lain on his cot for years, with plenty of time to think. It’s probable that skeletons in yesterday’s closet were very real, and they danced in his memory, pointing their bony fingers directly at him.
We are in a similar plight. Dishonesty, resentment, materialism, gossip, and lust are just a few of our skeletons. What Jesus saw in these five men he also looks for in us. He invites us to trust that his sacrifice won for us full and unconditional forgiveness. He has opened the closet doors of our past and has quieted the skeletons. His Spirit cleans our closets, removing our fear of facing God and in its place gives us the peace of forgiveness. Our spiritual paralysis is healed.
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