You know the story in Mark 2:1 – 12. Jesus is at home speaking to so many people that there is no more room. Four men bring their buddy on a pallet and dig a hole in Jesus’ roof and let their buddy down.
Verse 5 is really intriguing to me. “Seeing their faith,” Jesus forgives the sins of the man on the pallet. There is no indication in the text that he asked anything of Christ. It seems that he was forgiven on the basis of his friends’ faith.
Later when Christ tells him to get up, again, there is no indication that the man asked for healing. Christ was angry at the scribes and grieved at their lack of compassion.
What can we glean from this? About the four, we learn that these men were the paralytic's close friends. They knew the problem. They believed that Christ had an answer to their friend’s problem. They went to extreme measures to get their friend in front of Christ. Seemingly Christ honored that action.
Psalm 49:7 – 8 is pretty clear. We cannot save someone. But it seems like one application for us may be to follow the lead of the four. There are many around us that do not know Christ. First we have to really believe that Christ is the answer to their problem. That problem is that they are completely cut off from God now and will be for eternity if that relationship does not change. There are times when, if truth be told, I am not sure that I am completely convinced of that truth. If I were, I would not be so hesitant to share.
Second, we do what the four did, go to extreme measures to get our friends in front of Christ. It may not involve a shovel and a roof, but it may involve people saying about us, like I am sure some of the people in the crowd did of the four, “What is that idiot doing?”
There are times I do not want to be known as an idiot. But the example of these four and Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19 – 23, reminds me that I need to do whatever it takes to get those I know in front of the Savior.
Where is that shovel?
Later when Christ tells him to get up, again, there is no indication that the man asked for healing. Christ was angry at the scribes and grieved at their lack of compassion.
What can we glean from this? About the four, we learn that these men were the paralytic's close friends. They knew the problem. They believed that Christ had an answer to their friend’s problem. They went to extreme measures to get their friend in front of Christ. Seemingly Christ honored that action.
Psalm 49:7 – 8 is pretty clear. We cannot save someone. But it seems like one application for us may be to follow the lead of the four. There are many around us that do not know Christ. First we have to really believe that Christ is the answer to their problem. That problem is that they are completely cut off from God now and will be for eternity if that relationship does not change. There are times when, if truth be told, I am not sure that I am completely convinced of that truth. If I were, I would not be so hesitant to share.
Second, we do what the four did, go to extreme measures to get our friends in front of Christ. It may not involve a shovel and a roof, but it may involve people saying about us, like I am sure some of the people in the crowd did of the four, “What is that idiot doing?”
There are times I do not want to be known as an idiot. But the example of these four and Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19 – 23, reminds me that I need to do whatever it takes to get those I know in front of the Savior.
Where is that shovel?
Urdu Translation is wrong in Google Translation.
ReplyDeleteIt is good lesson but Translation is wrong in Urdu. imraan538@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteI have no control over that. What part was wrong and I will report it to Google.
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