The Paralytic Healed
When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.
And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?
"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home."
And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."
here are some thoughts i have on it all.
first, cooperation is not the main point of the passage. we would be foolish to not focus on God's ability to heal and, more importantly, God's concern with our hearts more than our outward, physical, and external appearances. we can be in perfect physical shape, but if our hearts are astray, it means nothing.
let this be a reminder to us that outward appearances are secondary to the condition of our hearts. a few weeks ago, we talked about individuality, which is how God made each of us unique so He can use us to accomplish different things. the important thing is that our hearts are chasing after Jesus, so that in the hands of the Potter, we can be used to do great things.
for some of us, that means glorifying God through music. still others will be a Christ-follower in the marketplace, or a man after God's heart working for peace as a CIA agent. maybe one or two of us will go on to be Jesus to a football team. God makes us each to glorify Him where He places us. and we can't lose sight of that.
we also need to think about this when we deal with others. we need to encourage each other in our gifts. we also need to treat others with respect and in a way that points them to Jesus. for guys, we can treat the ladies in a way that encourages them to run after Jesus and not concern themselves with how they look. love Jesus first, not the outward appearances. sometimes, the 'prettiest' (quote, end quote) girls don't love Jesus, and they lose all their beauty that way.
i'll use myself as an example. i've never been the biggest guy, or strongest guy, or physically anything special. quite the contrary. and that always kinda hurt b/c i wanted to be. but God showed me through years of seeking my identity in physical things that really, my identity is in Jesus. i shouldn't look to my gifts or abilities, but solely to Jesus being my righteousness.
so now that we're clear on the main point of the passage, here are some other things God showed me...
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we're talking about cooperation, which we have defined as working together to do what you can't do alone. and here is what we are trying to teach the guys this week. as we look at the passage, we see a few things going on:
(a) Jesus is teaching a crowd; (b) a guy who is paralyzed wants to hear and be healed; (c) problem: he can't do it alone (he is paralyzed); (d) solution: his friends who have faith find a way (by working together) to get him to Jesus
result? "seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, 'my child, your sins are forgiven'"
did you notice that? because of their faith, his sins were forgiven. and who is 'their'? his friends!
and that's what we want these guys to see -- that friends, who trust God together, change lives. this isn't just some catchy phrase, it's true. we see that faith drove actions, which led to God healing.
faith was first. we need to believe Jesus is powerful, and mighty to save, and he can heal and forgive. and really, it all comes down to the Gospel. it always comes down to the Gospel.
it comes down to the fact that we can't do it on our own. the good news is that we can't do things alone, and this points us to others and, of utmost importance, to Jesus. once we realize that we are not perfect, that we have a problem of sin, we see that we need friends, and we need a Savior, to help.
so we're going to explain to the little bros that Jesus wants to, and will be, our best friend. our very best friend. and if we let him be our best friend, we will see God do some amazing things. if this is what we want to see, all we have to do is ask. and if we ask Jesus to be our best friend, and mean it, He will. all it takes is asking, or what we call praying, something like this:
"Jesus, thank you for wanting to be my best friend, and showing me you love me by giving up your life for me on the Cross. how cool that is! i know i mess up sometimes, but you say you love me even still, and i believe that. i want you to be my best friend forever. then we can hang out all the time, and you can help me more, because i need it...
...so please forgive me when i do things that hurt your heart and make you cry. i don't mean to, i really don't. i know already that you do forgive me, because you say in your word that if i confess my sins, you are faithful to forgive me, and you will (1 john 1.12). thank you for that. please be my best friend forever. i love you Jesus. in your name, amen."
and so that's it. be praying that God uses this time, and works in these little dudes' hearts. they are some sweet bros, and i really see God using them for some awesome stuff. God Bless guys, thanks for reading...
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