Persitently Seeking

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 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. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

There Was a Great Need

We can see from the start of this narrative that there was a great number of needs from a great number of people. The opening verses tells us that when Jesus returned to Capernum news spread quickly that He was home. Jesus made His home base for ministry in Capernum at the home of Peter. Verse 2 then tells us that Peters house was crowded with visitors that there was no more room even outside the door.

Many in the crowd came to hear the preaching and teachings of Jesus because His wisdom and powerful sermons. Because when Jesus spoke; He spoke with authority.

However, there were no doubt many others that were in attendance not just for a word but for a healing because they had heard about the powerful ministry and miracles Jesus had performed.

The first miracle Jesus performed was when He turned water into wine at the marriage celebration in Cana of Galilee.

Next Jesus traveled south to Judea and turned the tables at the temple.

Then he was baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan River as recorded in Matthew 3:16-17.

Matthew 3:16-17

New Living Translation

16 After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

After His baptism, Jesus officially began His earthly ministry and was led by the Spirit to the wilderness to be tempted by satan.

Following this some of the disciples of John the Baptist approached him because the disciples of Jesus were baptizing more people than they were so Jesus left Judea and headed back to Galilee because His time had not yet come to do greater ministry in Judea and John the Baptist and his followers were still preparing the way for people to receive the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

On His way back to Galilee, Jesus stopped in Samaria where He encountered the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus told the woman her life story even though they had never met. It was also there that Jesus identified Himself as the Messiah to the Samaritans. They believed in Him and Jesus stayed with them two more days preaching and teaching to the Samaritans and many more believed and were saved.

Then as recorded in John 4:43 Jesus was traveling through Galilee on His way to Capernum. While traveling through Cana which is where He turned water into wine, Jesus is met by a government official. This official states that his son is dying and wants Jesus to come to his house in Capernum to heal him. Jesus tells the man to go home and that his son would live. While heading back home the official was informed that his son was healed at the very hour when Jesus spoke those words.

So as you can see by this time there were many people in need who were desperate to have an encounter with Jesus either to hear His wisdom and receive a spiritual blessing or literally to receive a physical healing.

Verse three tells us that four men arrive with a paralyzed man on a mat. This man was in such a great need he had to be carried by compassionate people.

Pursuit Leads to Blessed Encounters

The man paralyzed on the mat had every obstacle stacked against him. First was the obvious physical limitations which prevented him from being able to live the life he wanted and also prevented him from being able to make it to Jesus who is the only one who could help him.

But instead of giving up the man and those helping him were persistent. While the Bible does not say specifically what the relationship was between the men who carried the paralyzed man on the mat it is obvious that they wanted to help.

It took an act of faith for them to find out where Jesus was and carry the man and the mat with a hope that the man could be healed.

Verse four says that when they got there the house was so overcrowded that there was not any room either inside the home or even outside the door.

At this point the paralyzed man probably felt defeated. He was no doubt used to dealing with hard situations and things not working out for him like he had hoped. But the men who brought him to Jesus did not give up on him.

Can I just tell you today many times God desires to use you as well to help your brother or sister in Christ who feels down, defeated or hopeless.

And that is exactly what these men did. Instead of accepting the fact that there was no room and that the other people were not going to let them pass because they had their own situations to deal with they desperately pursued another way to reach Jesus.

They actually went to the roof of Peters house and dug a hole right about Jesus’s head and then lowered the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus.

Let me declare to you that if there is anyone or anything that is standing in the way of you or your loved one and Jesus than have the faith, courage and persistence to work around the obstacle, go bold and dig until you find that intimate connection with Jesus!

Jesus is the hope for the hopeless and the light in the darkness and if you can just find your way to Him then He can and will do what no one else can possibly do.

Verse 5 tells us that because of their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

You see because the men did not give up no matter what the odds but instead they were persistent. Because of their relentless pursuit they received the blessed encounter with Jesus that they were seeking.

There may be times in your life when you don’t have the strength to continue. In these times, reach out to your brothers and sisters in Christ to carry you and your mat back to the Lord to get your healing.

There may be other times where you are the one carrying your friend or mat back to Jesus. Said differently if there is someone you care about or a fellow believer who is hurting, hopeless and weak instead of praying from a distance or just ignoring their situation, take an active role in leading them back to Jesus.

Furthermore, do not give up if you face obstacles or challenges but through the power of the word and the Spirit get to Jesus by any means necessary because Jesus is the only path to true salvation, blessings, peace and miracles.

Doubters Will Doubt

Verses 6-7 tells us that the religious teachers of the day thought to themselves that the blessing Jesus gave the paralyzed man was blasphemy because they did not recognize His authority.

Unfortunately there are times in our modern age where similar things have happened. There are far too many in the church which do not take a bold stance for Christ. They have replaced the boldness and power of the Gospel for water downed versions of feel good motivational speeches in the efforts to keep the peace or not offend mainstream society. Jesus did not apologize for His authority rather He demonstrated His authority boldly and He expects us as His church to do the same.

There are other preachers and teachers in our time which while very intellectually accurate on many points in the Bible do not believe, practice or teach the power of the Holy Spirit. Doing so makes it extremely difficult for most people to get victory in their lives if they are struggling with very intense issues or situations because without the Holy Spirit we are left with human will power which many times is not enough. Said differently even if a person knows better because they know the Holy powerful word of God which is the Bible without the Holy Spirit it becomes impossible to fully live and walk in the power of the word of God. I am not talking about having emotional experiences and calling it the Spirit but I am saying that having and feeling the Spirit will give us the emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth and power we need to keep the faith in Jesus and have victory.

Simply put the Holy Spirit is a gift from God. Jesus promises it to us upon receiving Him as our Lord and Savior and we need the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives.

Unfortunately if people don’t understand this fundamental point that when Jesus saves you then He puts His Spirit in you to sanctify you and blesses you then they may not accept the changes that are happening in your life.

Said directly, living in faith by the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit is not only biblically accurate it is a mandate from Christ Himself.

Jesus Saves and Jesus Heals

In verses 8-12 we can see that Jesus knows the doubt that is in the heart of the religious teachers and addresses it directly.

8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?

9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said,

11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!”

As we just read Jesus asks them directly why do they question His authority and asks them if it is easier to forgive sins or to tell the man to stand up pick up his mat and walk.

In verse 10 Jesus tells the doubters that He will prove His authority by doing what only God can do.

Verse 11 tells us that when Jesus spoke those words “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” that in His authority to save and power of the Holy Spirit to heal that the man jumped up and was healed.

Listen to this preacher today when I declare to you that if people doubt what God is doing in you or through you don’t quit but keep digging in deeper.

Pray and petition the Lord and He will show Himself strong on your behalf. Jesus will heal you and bless you in such a mighty fashion that people who want to doubt will not be able to do anything but stand in awe. And others that witness the power of the Lord will be amazed and praise God!

Prayer