Good Morning Friends,
“So many gathered that there was no room
left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic,
carried by four of them. 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. When Jesus saw their
faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mark 2:2-5)
The homes in Jesus’ day were usually made
with stone walls. The roofs were layered
palm branches with a covering of dried mud.
The roofs were flat, and there was usually a staircase leading up to
them. They were used as quiet places of
retreat and gathering places. The houses
were small and the extra room on the roof was helpful.
When the four men brought their friend
seeking help from Jesus they could not get him into the house. The crowd was too large and the people too
eager to hear Jesus themselves for them to make room for the paralyzed man to
be brought through. They could have
given up and gone back home, perhaps to wait for another day. But their need was urgent, they wanted to see
Jesus help their friend. They cared
about their friend that much!
What an effort they made. They carried the man onto the roof. Then once on the roof, they dug down through
it to make an opening. I can’t imagine
that the owner of the house was pleased with that! He’d have a roof repair job to do the next
day. But they didn’t allow anything to
stand in the way of bringing their friend to Jesus.
Do we make that kind of effort to bring our
friends to Jesus? Do we make any effort
at all?
His, by Grace,
Steve
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