Mark 2:1-12- There’s a hole in the roof!
Mark 2:1-12- There’s a hole in the roof!
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
We see this is kind of like a church gathering. News is out about this Jesus- he is a teacher with authority- admired by John the Baptizer and he heals people- even lepers. People are going to Peter’s home because Jesus is there preaching- there are many reasons to go to a friends house, but getting a chance to hear and see Jesus would be pretty high on my list.
After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up."
"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"
"Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen."
People see church in all kinds of different ways- is it a place where we go to hear a loud-mouth shout opinions- are we going to be around people- or do we get together to be close to Jesus- to heal each other’s wounds- and take care of one another. I believe this stories speaks straight to some of these issues and much, much more- If you want to follow along in your sermon outline...
Faith of Friends:
It is important to have individual faith- an individual trusting, personal relationship with God- and even just a mustard seed is enough for this relationship to grow
Verse 5: "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
- but sometimes in life situations there is a need for more- for faith of friends. Individual faith- isn’t enough- we are not called to be islands all by ourselves- we are called to be in communities of faith- groups, families, local church- communities that together trust in God
The friends of the paralytic worked so hard to get that hole in the roof
They didn’t care if they looked foolish- possibly fifty people there- [largest excavated home is 18 feet]
May have been a staircase to the roof- made of dried mud- very hard
I want friends like them- I want a church like them- that when I need it- they will carry me- they will break walls- roofs- they will take me to God
"The best time to make friends is before you need them."
You may be called to be a friend of faith for someone in your life- it may be your sacred duty to carry your friend- with other friends helping- and dig through whatever mud and barrier you have to get them to Jesus. They may be paralyzed by alcoholism, gambling, sexual immorality, anxiety, addiction- whatever it maybe- your faith may be called upon to carry them to our Lord
But lest we grow proud- there will be times when we are the paralyzed one- when we are so hurt, broken or lost- that are friends will need to grab us and for our own good take us to the feet of Jesus. Many of us have had these experiences- of our friends faith carrying us through dark and difficult times. Thank God for friends of faith
Don’t go through life without friends of faith- Don’t go through life not being a friend of faith. This is a beautiful lesson from this story.
Having a "God Break-through"
Put yourself in the crowd- you would be looking up at some guys digging through a roof
There would be mud and dirt and sticks falling on the crowds
crowds= church, people who are curious, who are listening but also in the way of people trying to get to Jesus
hole in the roof= a little faith goes along way- the faith of the friends is what Jesus saw and he healed the man- saying "your sins are forgiven" because of the faith of the friends. The friends are breaking through a barrier to get to Jesus.
Ceiling= a temporary barrier to Jesus
Why go through the roof rather than ask the crowd to move? 1. Because the crowd has a choice and the ceiling does not. 2. The crowd may not want to touch a paralyzed person- Who knows?
Didn’t the friends do what Jesus did? They busted through a barrier for their loved one- isn’t that what God in Jesus did? Came out of heaven in order to save his loved ones?
what a shock to the crowd- he went from blasphemer to healer!!!
Why does Jesus say "your sins are forgiven?"- This is the priority of Jesus’ mission- to tell people that God has come to forgive them of their sin- of any behavior that they believe blocks them from being a good person. Forgiveness of sin is more important than any physical healing. Physical healing is a great blessing in this life. But God did not come to earth just to physically heal several hundred folks in Israel and Samaria- no he came to break the barriers between humans and God- to bury all our sins in the depths of the sea. Jesus shows his true mission here- is the freely given forgiveness of all our sins- past present and future.
There’s a hole in the heavens
Isa 64:1
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
- And the heavens were torn open when the Son of God was born into this world.
God has torn through the heavens to be with us- because God believes that we are worth saving- God even believes that the world will be redeemed by His spirit living in and through us
Faith is tearing through the walls and roofs of our lives so that we can get to this God - so that we can get our friends to this God
We need God in our lives- just as much as that paralyzed man did- maybe we can’t see it- but we are all sick and in need of God’s healing
There’s a hole in our roof- There’s a hole in heaven- God loves you so much that he sent his one and only son so that if you believe in you will live in the everlasting life- We are saved to live a life full of goodness and love here on earth- a life that will not end when we die- because there is a hole in the roof- and our friend Jesus will carry us home.
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"
We see this is kind of like a church gathering. News is out about this Jesus- he is a teacher with authority- admired by John the Baptizer and he heals people- even lepers. People are going to Peter’s home because Jesus is there preaching- there are many reasons to go to a friends house, but getting a chance to hear and see Jesus would be pretty high on my list.
After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother, "Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up."
"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"
"Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway, and I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen."
People see church in all kinds of different ways- is it a place where we go to hear a loud-mouth shout opinions- are we going to be around people- or do we get together to be close to Jesus- to heal each other’s wounds- and take care of one another. I believe this stories speaks straight to some of these issues and much, much more- If you want to follow along in your sermon outline...
Faith of Friends:
It is important to have individual faith- an individual trusting, personal relationship with God- and even just a mustard seed is enough for this relationship to grow
Verse 5: "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
- but sometimes in life situations there is a need for more- for faith of friends. Individual faith- isn’t enough- we are not called to be islands all by ourselves- we are called to be in communities of faith- groups, families, local church- communities that together trust in God
The friends of the paralytic worked so hard to get that hole in the roof
They didn’t care if they looked foolish- possibly fifty people there- [largest excavated home is 18 feet]
May have been a staircase to the roof- made of dried mud- very hard
I want friends like them- I want a church like them- that when I need it- they will carry me- they will break walls- roofs- they will take me to God
"The best time to make friends is before you need them."
You may be called to be a friend of faith for someone in your life- it may be your sacred duty to carry your friend- with other friends helping- and dig through whatever mud and barrier you have to get them to Jesus. They may be paralyzed by alcoholism, gambling, sexual immorality, anxiety, addiction- whatever it maybe- your faith may be called upon to carry them to our Lord
But lest we grow proud- there will be times when we are the paralyzed one- when we are so hurt, broken or lost- that are friends will need to grab us and for our own good take us to the feet of Jesus. Many of us have had these experiences- of our friends faith carrying us through dark and difficult times. Thank God for friends of faith
Don’t go through life without friends of faith- Don’t go through life not being a friend of faith. This is a beautiful lesson from this story.
Having a "God Break-through"
Put yourself in the crowd- you would be looking up at some guys digging through a roof
There would be mud and dirt and sticks falling on the crowds
crowds= church, people who are curious, who are listening but also in the way of people trying to get to Jesus
hole in the roof= a little faith goes along way- the faith of the friends is what Jesus saw and he healed the man- saying "your sins are forgiven" because of the faith of the friends. The friends are breaking through a barrier to get to Jesus.
Ceiling= a temporary barrier to Jesus
Why go through the roof rather than ask the crowd to move? 1. Because the crowd has a choice and the ceiling does not. 2. The crowd may not want to touch a paralyzed person- Who knows?
Didn’t the friends do what Jesus did? They busted through a barrier for their loved one- isn’t that what God in Jesus did? Came out of heaven in order to save his loved ones?
what a shock to the crowd- he went from blasphemer to healer!!!
Why does Jesus say "your sins are forgiven?"- This is the priority of Jesus’ mission- to tell people that God has come to forgive them of their sin- of any behavior that they believe blocks them from being a good person. Forgiveness of sin is more important than any physical healing. Physical healing is a great blessing in this life. But God did not come to earth just to physically heal several hundred folks in Israel and Samaria- no he came to break the barriers between humans and God- to bury all our sins in the depths of the sea. Jesus shows his true mission here- is the freely given forgiveness of all our sins- past present and future.
There’s a hole in the heavens
Isa 64:1
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains would tremble before you!
- And the heavens were torn open when the Son of God was born into this world.
God has torn through the heavens to be with us- because God believes that we are worth saving- God even believes that the world will be redeemed by His spirit living in and through us
Faith is tearing through the walls and roofs of our lives so that we can get to this God - so that we can get our friends to this God
We need God in our lives- just as much as that paralyzed man did- maybe we can’t see it- but we are all sick and in need of God’s healing
There’s a hole in our roof- There’s a hole in heaven- God loves you so much that he sent his one and only son so that if you believe in you will live in the everlasting life- We are saved to live a life full of goodness and love here on earth- a life that will not end when we die- because there is a hole in the roof- and our friend Jesus will carry us home.
posted by Palouse Fed. Church at 10:16 PM
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