The Paramedic for the Paralytic(Mark 2:1-12)

This week I was at the hospital and it just wasn’t for other people but, it was also for myself. For the last week or so I have had trouble hearing and it felt like my ears were clogged.

After it not getting better for a few days I decided to go get it checked out. I knew that I could hear but I just couldn’t.

It ended up being something that indeed did clog up my ears that prevented me from being able to hear.

The had to mix some water and peroxide in a minature pressure water. They shot that in my ears to flush it and break it up and I was finally able to hear again.

It reminded me of Romans 10:17 when it says that faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

I wonder what are some walls that we have built ourselves or barriers that we have put up that prevents us from seeing God work and hearing Him speak to us?

We put up the barrier of distance. We can simply choose not to spend time with him.

We can put up the barrier of doubt and not believe God is who he says he is.

What about the barrier of self-sufficency and trying to do it all on by ourselves and trying to be our own savior?

Today we are going to read a story of four friends and someone who is paralyzed and how they broke through a barrier to get to the Word of God.

Let’s go a head and read it...

Mark 2:1–12 (ESV)

1And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

2And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.

3And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.

4And 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.

5And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6Now 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?”

8And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?

10But 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.”

12And 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!”

A persevering faith v1-3

first we see a per-severing faith…

We see Jesus has returned to Capernaum and people have heard this. The news about Jesus and his miracles and healings have spread quickly.

Pretty soon his house is packed with people and there wasn’t any more room for anyone.

Then arrives on the scene a paralytic(someone who can’t walk) and his four friends. They can’t get to Jesus through the crowd. The place is packed.

Now at this time they could wait it out and MAYBE they would eventually get to Jesus, they could give up and go home, or they could find another way to Jesus.

We also can find ourselves in situations like this. We don’t know how long this man was crippled for. It could of been months, years, or his whole life.

I just know there aren’t a lot of things that are more humbling then not being able to walk on your own two feet.

To have to depend on others to take you where you need to go

To depend on others to make you dinner.

To watch others walk and run and do things that we wish we could do.

But what do we do when our healing doesn’t come?

We pray and pray and pray. We have faith and we know God can heal us and we are willing but still the healing doesn’t come.

I don’t have all the answers but, what I do know is that God’s primary concern is where we will spend eternity.

This world is not our home. He promises that there will be a day when believers will have no more pain, no more suffering and no more death.

Paul even talks about how we have this treasure in jars of clay.

That we are afflicted in every way but not crushed,

perplexed but not driven to despair,

persecuted but not forgotten,

struck down but not destroyed

Paul also says that we are temples of the living God because the Holy Spirit lives inside of us.

That even though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Knowing this should give us hope and strength to make it through anything that comes our way because greater is He that is in Me than he who is in the world!

and that brings me to my next point…

That we can have a unstoppable faith..

A unstoppable faith v4

We see the faith of the paralytic and his friends.

For better or worse, our faith affects others. Just imagine the conversations of his friends as they are blocked out from the crowd and can’t get to Jesus.

Can you imagine one of them mentioning going to the roof, breaking it apart and lowering there friend down to Jesus. Now it isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Roofs were much more secure and sturdy back then. They were flat and people would use them often as there was usually a staircase that lead up to them.

when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying:

This proved the determination and faith of the friends of the paralytic man.

They counted on Jesus healing their friend, because it would be a lot harder to bring him back up through the roof than lowering him down.

They counted on him walking out of the room.

They didn’t have a plan B.

I think about how people today say they can do all things through Christ but the same people wont come to church when it rains.

Not only do we see a persevering faith, a unstoppable faith but we also see a saving faith…

A saving faith v5

Jesus knew what the man’s real need was and what his greatest need was. What good was it if the man had two whole legs and walked right into hell with them

“Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs. It meets the greatest need; it costs the greatest price; and it brings the greatest blessing and the most lasting results.” (Wiersbe)

I think of a story that I once heard… a person said…

Last summer I had an encounter with masked men bearing scalpels. A surgeon operated on my foot, and my life was never in danger. Yet the horizontal recovery time did give me a chance to reflect on pain that we choose voluntarily, sometimes for our own good and sometimes to our peril.

While rehabilitating, I often did exercises that hurt because I knew that working through the soreness would allow my foot to regain its usefulness.

On the other hand, the surgeon warned against bicycling, mountain climbing, running, and other activities that might endanger the healing process.

Basically, anything that sounded fun, he vetoed.

He left me the free choice and expressed the consequences in a most personal way: Disobedience would grieve him, for his job was to restore my health.

The role of a doctor may be the most revealing image in thinking about God and sin. What a doctor does for me physically—guides me toward health—God does for me spiritually.

I am learning to view sins not as an arbitrary list of rules drawn up by a cranky Judge, but rather as a list of dangers that must be avoided at all costs—for our own sakes.

Now the scribes didn’t believe Jesus was the right paramedic for the paralytic because Jesus wasn’t doing things the way they have always been done before.

that’s brings me to my next point. That we see a questionable faith..

A questionable faith v6-9

The Scribes question Jesus v6-9

“The Rabbis had a saying, ‘There is no sick man healed of his sickness until all his sins have been forgiven him’ … to the Jews a sick man was a man with whom God was angry.”

Now the scribes or teachers of the law were questioning Jesus in their hearts and saying how can Jesus say that he forgives sins.

This was very questionable to them because they didn’t realize who Jesus is. That he was the long awaited savior and messiah of the world.

We too will have people question our faith. That’s why we always need to be ready to give a reason of why we believe what we believe.

Lastly, we see a obedient faith..

A obedient faith v10-12

The paralyzed person was told by Jesus that his sins are forgiven. Pick up your mat and go home.

The man did just that. He could of stayed there and ask questions or not trust who Jesus was or what He could do.

but He did trust Jesus and He did what Jesus told him to do. He had an obedient faith.

We are told in James that faith without works is dead but it’s also true the other way around. Works without faith is dead.

Today, how do we obey God? We look to the written word and find the living Word.

He tells us to love our enemies

He tells us to forgive those who hurt us

He tells us to pray for those who say all kinds of evil against us

He says to care for the sick and the poor

...and so much more

APPLICATION

What if we would tear down all the barriers that prevent us from getting to Jesus?

Such as the barriers of unforgiveness, bitterness, envy and anger

Such as the barriers of lust and unpure thoughts

Such as the barriers of insecurity and fear

Could you just imagine how if we broke down all our barriers that prevent us from getting to Jesus how much more we could see and hear God?

How are lives would drastically be changed for the better? How are marriages would be better? How our families would thrive?