Through the roof
29 May 2024|Papa God & Denae Roth
One lame man. Four devoted friends. One Jesus. Hundreds of people. A crowd so thick it was nearly impossible to hear the voice of the Teacher, however it didn’t matter. They didn’t need to hear Him to know He was a miracle worker, the evidence was all around. Lame were leaping, blind were seeing, deaf were hearing. But greater than the physical miracles were the spiritual turnarounds. Those living in darkness now saw the light and received hope and new life. This is what these four men longed for their crippled outcast friend; new life. Instead of onlookers glancing at him with disdain, condemning him for the sin that held him in a crippled state, they wanted people to see him as a man with destiny, a man worth knowing.
They formulated a plan. Outrageous as it sounded they decided on cutting a hole through the roof of the house Jesus was teaching in and lowering the man to the feet of the Rabih. Considering the cost, they outweighed the discrimination they would face, this mission was completely worth it. After laboriously pulling and sawing at the straw roof, they finally made a hole big enough to lower their friend through. “Then they lowered the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus. Seeing THEIR faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child your sins are forgiven.”Mark 2:4 Triumph overcame the foursome, this Jesus' knew best. Dealing with the sin before the physical problem. However the doubting Pharisees questioned Jesus about his power to forgive a sinner. Proving His authority the Rabbi spoke assertively, “Stand up, pick up your mat and go home.” Mark 2:11. Instantly their paralytic friend leapt to his feet. Their friend received so much more than a miracle, he received NEW LIFE and FORGIVENESS of his sins. Who the Son sets free is free indeed. Would they do it again? Yes, a million times yes, it was always worth the cost to bring the needy, the hungry, and the lost to the feet of Jesus.
I have always looked at this story through one lens; Jesus healed a lame man. But as I was reading it lately I was moved by the willingness of the four friends, the devotion and faith they carried. They were totally unashamed. Jesus saw the faith of the friends. In most miraculous stories He sees the faith of the one seeking the miracle, but in this case He sees the faith of the four. We’ve all been paralyzed before, paralyzed to believe, paralyzed to trust, paralyzed to let go of the past. We think maybe we’ll stay here forever broken and helpless, but that’s when those four friends walk in. They don’t tell us to simply get over it, they just start digging a hole in the roof and lower us to the feet of Yeshua. The only place we need to be, but sometimes the hardest place to get to. But these friends are not concerned about the crowd, they are confident in Jesus' character and his plan for our lives. At His feet we are revived and forgiven, we get back up and walk again. Not alone, but covered in His love, hand in hand.
This is our calling too. To be those friends to those around us, to fulfill a commission, “Go make disciples.”Matt 28:18. It won’t be easy but it will be worth it. Because I’ve experienced the freedom of walking again and I don’t want to hold back the invitation to others. I want to be so in love with Jesus and confident in His character that I am digging holes daily to lower the paralyzed to the feet of Jesus. No matter the cost. Jesus help me, help us do this in your strength.