Jump Start # 2545

Luke 5:20 “And seeing their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’”

Our verse today is the incredible words that Jesus spoke to a crippled man. It is a wonderful story. We ought to see ourselves in this story. There are many places that we fit in this story.

Jesus is teaching in a house. It’s packed. Standing room only is the expression we use today. Four friends, heroes of this story, bring a crippled man to Jesus. The Lord has healed. Word has spread about this compassionate Teacher who does what no one else can. So, they carry their crippled man to Jesus. They have hopes and faith that if the Lord would see their friend, then Jesus would heal him.

They get to the house but they can’t get in. No one is making any space for them. That doesn’t stop these four friends. Most of us would have gone home. We would have said, “We tried, but we couldn’t get close.” “Next time, we’ll leave earlier.” Not these guys. They came this far and they were not going home. Not, yet. They wanted Jesus to see their friend.

We are not told, who came up with the idea, but since they couldn’t go through the door, they decided to go through the roof. Up to the top they carry this crippled man. Pulling apart the roof, I can see three or four faces looking through the opening they made. Dust, debris would have fallen on the listeners below. It would take a large opening to put a man on a cot through. They worked and worked. They lowered the crippled man down. About this time, most folks probably are not looking at Jesus. They are looking at what is taking place right before them. These guys had the nerve to tear up someone’s roof, interrupt Jesus, and put their friend in front of everyone else.

And, it is here that our verse for today is found. Seeing their faith. They weren’t sitting in a church building. They weren’t passing out tracts. They weren’t standing before an image refusing to bow down. None of those things. They were lowering a friend through a roof in front of Jesus. And, that, the Bible says is faith. A faith that didn’t give up. A faith that believed the Lord could heal. A faith that overcame obstacles. Faith, if it is any good at all, needs to be seen.

In our verse, there is something remarkable that follows. The first thing Jesus says is, “your sins are forgiven.” He says that before He heals the crippled. And, from that, consider some thoughts.

First, healing of the soul is much more important than healing of the body. Had Jesus only healed the crippled man’s legs, he would have gone home still crippled. He would have been crippled in his heart. Had he lived another forty years and died, he could have told others about what Jesus did to his legs, but with a crippled heart, he would have never been with the Lord on the other side. Healing the soul is much more important than the body.

We often get that backwards. How many times do we pray for a co-worker’s mom who has cancer. Good brethren, who do not know the co-worker, let alone, his mom, pray. And, if the Lord grants her more years, very little is ever said again. We got what we wanted, a healed body. But what if that co-worker’s mom lives on and on and dies without knowing Jesus? Wouldn’t it be better to pray that her eyes be opened to the God of Heaven and earth, so that, even if she passes through the door of death, her sins would be forgiven if she faithfully walked with the Lord.

Jesus understood the most important thing. It’s not a long life here. It’s the salvation of our souls. Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. He didn’t come to only fix crippled legs. A long life without Jesus is really no life at all.

Second, even though Jesus recognized faith being demonstrated here, sins needed to be forgiven. Only God can forgive sins. That is the discussion immediately following this. How can Jesus forgive sins? He’s not God is He? Jesus asks, which is easier to say, ‘You have been forgiven,’ or, ‘rise up and walk.’ You and I can do neither one. Rising up and walking is much easier, even for Jesus. Forgiveness of sins implies a cross and a death necessary to pay for those sins. It is easier to say walk.

Third, as the crippled man, now no longer crippled, worked his way through that crowded house, carrying his stretcher, you can imagine the joy and excitement when he locked eyes with his friends coming down from the rooftop. It was mission accomplished. It was great happiness and joy. The Lord brings that to us. Jesus could have scolded these people for interrupting Him. He could have said, ‘You must wait your turn and it’s not your turn.’ But, He didn’t. Jesus allowed interruptions. He was never too busy to be bothered. Helping others, especially spiritually, is what the Lord was all about.

Fourth, as these friends left that day, I wonder if there was someone in the audience who had a crippled child or a crippled parent at home. How they may have wished to have brought them that day. They didn’t have the courage. They didn’t think about it. And, to see what good was done, and how so many in that audience would have had people in their lives that they wished could have been healed by Jesus.

And, to us, we must wonder, how many times do we hear a sermon and think, ‘I wish I had brought my friend to hear this.’ How many lack the courage to ask. How many are afraid that it’s too much of a bother. And, there we see lives being changed and we think, and we know, there are others we wish were there.

The Bible never follows these lives that were changed. I would love to have seen these friends all together that evening. The tears. The joy. The faith. The love. What became of that crippled man? What became of his friends? They had a brief intersection with Jesus and from that their lives were changed, likely for eternity.

And, isn’t that our story? And, we find ourselves on that cot, crippled with worry, problems and fear. Friends urge us on to Jesus. Or, we are one carrying that cot with a friend on it. We don’t know what to do. The problems are greater than we are. But we know Jesus. He can do all things. Let’s take them to Jesus.

Without these four friends, the crippled man would never had been healed. Without Jesus, the crippled man would never had been healed. When those two came together, great things happened.

It still does today, through hope, forgiveness and second chances.

Roger

Jump Start # 1372

Luke 5:20 “And seeing their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’”

  I love this story. It shows the value of friendship. It illustrates courage and faith. It is a wonderful place to show determination and the spirit that simply will not give up.

Jesus is teaching in a house. This was not unusual. Remember the story of Mary and Martha? Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to Him teach, as Martha was busy in the kitchen cooking. Pharisees and lawyers, not attorneys, but experts in the Law of Moses, filled the house. They came, Luke tells us, from every village and as far as Jerusalem. Word must have spread rapidly that Jesus was in the house teaching.

Four faithful companions carried a friend on a stretcher. He was crippled. We are not told how long, nor how he was crippled. So often we are interested in those things, while overlooking the obvious. He could not do what others were doing. His life was limited to laying on the cot and looking at the ceiling. He was dependent upon others. This was in a time before wheelchairs, rehab, therapy, and disability pay. His life was bothering others to take care of him. He would have to beg for the pity of someone who might drop a few coins in a cup. Misery, discouraged and hopeless, this man was a prisoner in his own body. But on this day, Jesus has come to the village. His friends must have heard about Jesus. The compassionate one who cleansed lepers, cast out demons, made the blind to see. No one has done what Jesus has. On top of that, He didn’t charge.

Hope has come to the village. These four friends carry their crippled friend to where Jesus is. Surely, Jesus will see this man and have mercy on him. Surely, Jesus will heal him. I expect these four were walking lively this day. They carry their friend through the streets and to the house. What they find is a crowd, a huge crowd. It’s standing room only. Homes in those villages were small. It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that some were standing outside, hovering around the door, trying to catch every word that Jesus spoke. Packed solid, these four friends have come to an obstacle. No one is willing to move to let them in. No one wants to give up their position. Even if they could get past the first line of people, there were so many more. Hope now begins to vanish. Many, including myself, would tell our crippled friend, ‘We tried. It’s just too crowded. Maybe, we can reach Jesus tomorrow.’ Tomorrow, the song of second place. Tomorrow, the consolation prize for those who didn’t get what they wanted. These four friends were not coming back tomorrow.

These friends do not bring up tomorrow. They are not finished. To the roof they go, carrying their crippled friend. There they begin tearing apart the tiles and the thatch that make up the roof. As they are busy working on the upside, on the downside, stuff starts falling on the crowd. Faces look upward, wandering what was going on. Soon a hole appears. The hole gets larger. Four faces peer downward. They see Jesus. The hole becomes huge. The cot is lowered by these four friends. I expect everyone now has their attention on what is going on. Jesus probably stopped teaching. The crippled man is lowered down, down and down, right before Jesus.

Jesus speaks first. They do not ask Jesus for a miracle. They don’t apologize for interrupting Him. Jesus speaks. This is our verse today. Seeing their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ Remarkable.

Four thoughts:

First, Jesus calls the crippled man “Friend.” I expect that was the first time they laid eyes upon one another. Friend, a term of love and endearment. Jesus wasn’t bothered by what they did. Jesus didn’t say, let me finish my lesson first. Jesus didn’t say, ‘Make an appointment.’ He said, ‘Friend.’  In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, the worker who had labored all day, complained at payday. He thought he ought to get more than the others. The Master referred to the worker as ‘Friend.’ Most masters would not consider common laborers to be their friend. They were instruments, tools, much like a shovel. Not with Jesus. It’s friend. I somehow expect when we get to Heaven, the Lord will call us by name, smile and tell us, “Friend, I’ve been waiting for you.” Friend.

Second, the text tells us that Jesus saw their faith. What a helpful lesson that is for us. Faith isn’t a thought, but a conviction that moves us. They believed that Jesus could heal and they were not stopping at anything. Faith is demonstrated. Hebrews 11, the hall of fame chapter, states that by faith Noah built, Abraham journey, Joshua marched. Faith is a doing thing. Faith is action. If one believes, it will show. He will behave as God wants him to. He will worship with God’s people. He will shine the light as God expects. Jesus saw their faith. He saw them tearing up a roof and lowering a friend. That was faith. What does Jesus see when He looks at you?

Third, Jesus told the crippled man, “your sins are forgiven.” Some have thought, common to the day, such as in John 9 and the blind man, or Job’s friends, that physical ailments and diseases were connected to sin. Remove the sin and the body gets better. The book of Job teaches otherwise. Jesus said, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Jesus knew that the crippled man had sins. His handicap didn’t override his sins. That doesn’t happen. A hard life doesn’t change our relationship with the Lord. Living miserably doesn’t excuse nor remove sins. Only Jesus can remove sins. This also tells us that Jesus saw what the crowd didn’t. They saw a crippled man. Jesus saw a crippled soul. Had Jesus made his legs well and that was all that He did, the man would have walked out of that house still crippled on the inside. A person can live with crippled legs. A crippled heart will keep us from Heaven. Jesus shows us what is most important. So often we pray in our congregations about folks who are sick and in the hospital. We ought to do that and we need to do that. However, have you noticed how few prayers are offered for spiritual sickness. It can appear that we are more interested in living longer here than we are with having a right heart with the Lord. Jesus forgave his sins.

Fourth, the text doesn’t tell us what happened after the man left the house, carrying his cot, working his way through that massive crowd. I expect as he got outside, there were four friends who had just come down from the roof. I would think that together they embraced, smiled and praised the Lord. Prayers were ascending as their hearts were rejoicing. Those that were looking on might have thought, I too have a friend that is crippled. I should have brought him. I didn’t think about that. I didn’t think Jesus could or would.

The heroes of this story? First and always, Jesus. But without those four friends, Jesus and the crippled would have never intersected. That’s the remarkable part. Carried by four friends. Do you have someone that you would carry? Do you have someone that you would allow to carry you? Their love for each other is a tribute to fellowship.

Four friends…four friends and Jesus. There are those that we need to take to Jesus. They may not be crippled in body, but they may be crippled in attitudes or in their soul. What they need is Jesus. Maybe they are waiting for someone to carry them there. That could be you.

Roger