Title: The Paralytic's Faith
Contents
Mark 2:1-12 The paralytic's faith
When Jesus was speaking from a house in Capernaum, so many people had gathered that there was no time to even set foot around the house. But there was a paralytic in that town who heard about Jesus. Although he was paralyzed and unable to move at all, his heart was filled with hope and faith that he would be able to walk. He immediately called his close friends and begged him to put him on a stretcher and lead him to Jesus. At his plea, his friends laid him on a stretcher and took him to the house of Jesus.
But there were so many people, I couldn't even get into the house. So, after much deliberation, they came up with a last resort. It was none other than to tear off the roof of the house where Jesus was, and make a hole in it to put the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying in front of Jesus. The paralytic and his friends were convinced that if they came to Jesus Christ, they could surely be cured of their paralysis.
So the friends put the ladder up, put the stretcher on the roof, tore the roof off, and put the stretcher down in front of Jesus. In the end, the paralytic was miraculously healed with the help of Jesus, and he was able to live a new life he had dreamed of. Today, we want to share grace by looking at the miracle of a paralyzed man being healed and understanding why Jesus healed this paralyzed man.
1. Jesus said that he saw their faith.
Gentlemen, faith must be shown by works. No matter how great a faith you have, if you do not show it in your actions, your faith will eventually become dead. The Bible says in James 2:18, “Show me your faith without works. I will show you my faith by my works.” God acknowledges that faith and works miracles only when you and I show our faith in action.
You give. For this reason, Jesus paid attention to the paralytic's faith.
Ladies and gentlemen, faith with works is the key to bring out God's amazing answers. In today's text, the paralytic and his friends had to tear down the roof to get to Jesus. You might say to the people around you, “Crazy! A fanatic!” Along with the swearing, he should have endured the criticism as well. Of course, he promised to compensate the landlord for the torn roof. That is, they took a loss to come to the Lord. The Lord saw this kind of faith in them.
However, many Christians today say they have faith, but it is difficult to find a faith that can take a loss. Moreover, it is even harder to find a belief that can tolerate criticism. That is, we do not have faith with works. Then, when a difficult problem suddenly arises, it is only then that I turn to the Lord for help. But the Lord does not answer faith without works, selfish faith. Even if you respond to such a request, the response will be delayed.
Everyone, please check it yourself. Do I have faith with works? If you say you have faith, does your deeds fail to follow? As an example, if you and I have faith with works, we will have to give a tenth of our income to God. Tithing is an act by which you and I clearly acknowledge that all things come from God. And God promised that when we show faith with works like this, He will open the gates of heaven and bless us so that there is no place to build it.
In addition, if you have faith with works, you must testify of Jesus Christ to people everywhere and lead them to God so that they become children of God. Also, if you have faith with works, you must spread the fragrance of Jesus Christ throughout your life and show God the fruits of faith. At that time, God sees the fruits and works miracles. The Lord, who saw the faith of the paralytic and his friends, sees the faith that follows me and your actions today, and wants to grant you blessings and miracles.
2. Jesus forgave the paralytic's sins.
In Matthew 9:2, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take it easy, little child. Your sins are forgiven.” Your words are recorded. As in these words, Jesus clearly forgave the paralyzed man's sins before he healed him. This man came to Jesus to be healed of a paralytic. However, Jesus solved the problem of sin because he knew that it was sin, not disease, that the person needed to be healed first. The Lord did the first things first and the last things later.
Gentlemen, sin is a terrible poison that not only separates us from God, but also destroys human life. Therefore, in order to experience God's work of life, we must first erase our sins. That is why Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” before giving the glory of the kingdom of heaven.
If you do not clear away your sins, you cannot experience the kingdom of heaven. If we want to experience God's miracles in our lives, we must first receive the forgiveness of sins. When we go to the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins, He washes us away from our sins and fills us with forgiveness, righteousness, and holiness. Of course, in order to atone for sins, you must first admit that you are a sinner. And true repentance takes place only when you admit that you are a bad person and that you are a bad person.
However, in the time of Jesus, tax collectors, prostitutes, and robbers who were socially considered sinners admitted that they were sinners and repented. Therefore, they could not taste the heaven and experience the miracles of Jesus. Guys, keep that in mind. Heaven comes only when we repent. When we repent, all destructive elements are washed away, and all the works of the devil disappear. When we repent, the work of the blood of Jesus is revealed, and the work of God's life is revealed.
When the paralytic appeared before Jesus, Jesus knew that his sin had made him paralyzed. Jesus saw through not only the phenomenon that appeared before his eyes, but also the cause of the phenomenon. We must know clearly that sin is the main cause of suffering and despair. And when you realize this, you must repent thoroughly to God.
Unless we repent, we will never be able to rise from the stretcher of pain like today's paralytic. However, if we thoroughly repent of our sins, boundless peace and joy will overflow in our stomachs as evidence of our response to that repentance, and we will have the confidence that we have been forgiven and placed in God's arms.
3. Jesus said to get up, take your bed and go home.
Jesus raised the paralytic to show that Jesus Himself has the power to forgive human sins. When Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven,” some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘How can this man say this? blasphemy I thought, ‘Who can forgive sins but God alone?’
Then Jesus, knowing this thought, said, “Why are you discussing this in your heart? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, that your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up, take up your bed and walk? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your bed and go home.”
Today, Jesus heals my and your family's paralysis, business paralysis, and life paralysis in order to show them as evidence that He forgives sins, saves us, and leads us to heaven. Therefore, before we can rejoice that you and I have been healed of various kinds of paralysis, we should first thank and give glory to God for having our sins forgiven and saved and becoming the people of heaven.
When Jesus said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your bed and go home.” The paralytic experienced God's healing power overflowing on the spot. Soon after being healed of a paralysis, he jumped up, took his bed, and walked through the crowd. Finally, what he had dreamed of had come true.
Everyone, if you receive grace from God and walk, all roads will be opened. Before receiving grace, the paralyzed man lay on his bed and said to the people who had no choice but to say, “Please get out of the way. Please get out of the way.” I couldn't find my way. So he was forced to come down through the roof. But after he received the Lord's grace, the road was wide open and he was able to walk confidently without any obstacles.
You and I must come to Jesus like a paralytic at this time, repent of our sins, receive forgiveness of sins, and march to victory in search of the way of life. You must never again lie down on the bed you were lying on in the past. Just as a dog eats its own dung again and a pig lays down again in a dirty pen, we must not enter the path of sin again. We must march forward in faith. And you must preach the gospel while bearing your testimony that Jesus forgave your sins and healed you. Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will take a stand to lead more people to return to God and glorify God.