[433 words]
As all of the miracles of our Lord are impressive, the one about the healed paralytic is especially impressive to me. In Mark 2:1-12 the reader is immediately taken back to a first century home located in Capernaum. It was likely just a small flat, rectangular in shape with an open courtyard in the center area. There would have been one door to enter the home, and through the door an enclosed porch area where the Lord would have been as he preached to the people. The roof of the flat would have been made of tiles.
The man whom the Bible calls a paralytic (sick of the palsy), was carried by friends to the home where Jesus was preaching. Since there was a massive crowd hindering this sick man’s friends ability to carry the paralytic near to the Lord, they made their way to the rooftop and began to break away those tiles and then lowered their sick friend to Jesus’ side. As a result of their faith the man was made whole.
What can we learn from this remarkable miracle? I only want to mention two things. The reader first learns that there was one who was helpless; and second, that there were some who were helpers. The helpless was obviously the paralytic. Anywhere he wanted to go, he had to be carried. Add to that, he had no ability to heal himself. Like the paralytic, there are countless souls in the communities in which we live who are helpless. They are lost in sin and do not have the ability to heal themselves (Micah 6:7; Eph. 2:8-9). Our job as preachers and Christians in general is to reach out to the helpless. They are lost in sin and do not have the ability to heal themselves (Micah 6:7; Eph. 2:8-9). Our job as preachers and Christian in general is to reach out to the helpers. This naturally leads us to the second lesson—there were some who were helpers. Friends of the paralytic each took a comer of the bed upon which the sick man lay and carried him to be near the Lord. It’s obvious that the paralytic was not the only one who had faith that Jesus had the power to heal. The text says that he was healed because of “their” faith. Those who are lost in sin need Christians to be their friends. They need people like you and me who will care enough to show them the way to Jesus and to teach them of His ways.
Neil Richey
Piedmont Rd church of Christ
Marietta, GA