This Party Is Over

Hello Beloved, today I’m very excited to share with you this next story in the Gospel of Mark. This is a topic I feel God has moved in many ways in my life, and I hope to encourage you in a similar thought to the ministry I feel strongly called to! With this being said, let’s dive right into our passage Mark 2…

“1 When He entered Capernaum again after some days, it was reported that He was at home. 2 So many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the doorway, and He was speaking the message to them. 3 Then they came to Him bringing a paralytic, carried by four men. 4 Since they were not able to bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above where He was. And when they had broken through, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Mark 2:1-5

So, Jesus is in Galilee (His home region) and word gets out! Jesus was know to be preaching The Message that the most Anointed of all Anointed people was coming just as for told by the prophets, and with that person is coming the Kingdom of Heaven! Not only was Jesus saying Heavenly things were coming on the earth, but when Jesus did ministry, naturally Heavenly things happened. Things such as healings and exorcisms, freeing of the demonically possessed, were just some of these things people came to see Him for.

Smack dab in the middle of this amazing truth we see this story of a paralytic and four dudes! Sounds suspenseful right? What would be more intriguing but a guy who can’t move, a large crowd, a small house, and four guys who are carrying this paralyzed one! The passage says that they not only carry the guy to the house, they climb a roof, cut a hole in it, and lower the man right in front of Jesus!

I don’t know about you, but if I owned that house, that party would be over! The bible then says something interesting… Jesus sees their faith and tells the man that his sins are forgiven. Look, the man was paralyzed because his body is under the same curse ours is, the curse of sin! Jesus solved the man’s problem at its root!

So to make this brief, yet profound, let me trigger some thoughts into play. Number one, we don’t know how far this man was carried. We don’t know the exact size of the crowd. We don’t know if the paralyzed guy knew the four dudes, or if they were a random assortment of Jesus knowing folk. Here is what we do know: they did a lot for this man, whether they knew him or not. When Jesus saw all they did, and it pleased Him to heal the man!

It doesn’t say that the men got to the crowd and said, “Well boys, that was a good try, but at this rate the poor lifeless fella won ‘t see Jesus.” It doesn’t give the impression that these guys complained along the trip. We don’t even know if the guy was heavy, or if he was light. They put their bodies, their reputations, and even their spiritual standing on the line! This guy was unclean to worship, and touching him meant you were too!

So here is my question, who in your life is spiritually paralyzed. Who is practically immovable toward Jesus that if you were to help lift, would be excited to be healed? Further, who are your other three dudes? That’s right, who are people that will co-labor in carrying the load and help you limb the dang roof if need be?

Take some time today, tomorrow, this year, and hopefully the rest of your life asking am I willing to let my wants go to help carry people to Jesus?

Who is the paralytic in my life and who are my three buddies?

I’m guessing in retrospect, someone at some level did this for your entrance to the Kingdom as well! I love you Beloved