If you're like me and you grew up in Sunday school classes in the glory days of flannel graph especially, you will be familiar without a doubt with this story.
I actually looked up this week, believe it or not, when I was thinking about this, I looked up to see if I could find a flannel graph board that actually portrayed this story.
And we could have used it as an object lesson today for our class and I couldn't find one that reflected this one especially.
But I remember learning it so often growing up as a kid.
I feel like I hear about it less as an adult, but as a kid I was so familiar with this story.
It's a favorite story for many people and for good reason.
It contains all of the elements of a great story.
All of them are at play in this particular story.
There's a need, a desperate need.
There's a problem that has to be met.
There is opposition to the one that can actually help the problem.
There's evil here.
There's wickedness here.
There is determination.
There's perseverance in this story.
And then there, of course, is great victory in this story.
All the things that make for a great story are included.
And I assume that's probably why it's deployed so often in children's classes.
But we must be careful that our love for great stories doesn't inadvertently lead us to miss the message,
to miss the point for why God has actually given these stories to us.
We need to remember that this is not a fictional narrative.
All we read in the Bible is not fiction.
It is not myth.
It is historical accounts.
This is a real thing.
These were real people.
This was a real moment in history.
There is plenty of eyewitnesses gathered, as we have just read, to verify its validity.
And so far as we can tell, all throughout history and early church history,
none of the people that were gathered there ever popped up and said,
you know what, it didn't quite happen the way that you're saying that it has happened.
It's amazing how that works, isn't it?
All of the people that witnessed these things that we study in the Gospels,
all of them gave credit in that time to what they saw and what they heard and what they experienced.
It only takes a few hundred years for us to finally decide that we're going to deny the truthfulness
of whatever actually took place.
This isn't fiction.
This is real life.
And its purpose in this particular instance is not simply to communicate the persistence of good friends
or the intellectual triumph of Jesus over the Pharisees and the scribes.
That's probably one of my favorite parts of this story.
The way that Jesus handled the scribes and the Pharisees is awesome.
It's not really about that.
And it's not so much about the excitement that comes once again with seeing the healing power of Jesus.
All of those things are important.
All of those things are a part of the story.
All of those things we need to examine and we need to learn from.
But they're all there to support the main point,
which is to proclaim that Jesus is God and that he alone can forgive sin.
That's the point of this story.
What's the point of Jesus' message that he's preaching?
Well, it's that point.
It's the same point that all the gospel authors have.
What's the point of Mark bringing out this question in the hearts of the scribes and the Pharisees?
Who can forgive sins but God alone?
Well, his point in bringing out that question is that's the point of the passage.
Only Jesus can do that.
And what does the miracle do?
Proves that Jesus is actually the one that can forgive sin.
Jesus says as much when he gets to the end.
He says, here's the point of all of this.
He looks at the Pharisees.
They didn't say a word.
He read their minds.
And after reading their minds and understanding their hearts,
he says, tell me what's easier?
To say, your sins are forgiven?
Or to say, arise and take up your bed and go thy way?
And then he tells the Pharisees,
this is happening in order that you may know,
certainly, definitively,
that I have power to forgive sin.
And then he turns away from the Pharisees and he looks at the paralytic and he says,
arise, take up your bed and go your way.
And what happens?
The man immediately gets up.
Immediately he's healed of his paralysis.
Immediately he picks up the pallet or the bed or the mattress or the pillow,
whatever it is he's been carried on.
He picks it up and he goes home.
And what's that all about?
It's not really about the man being healed of his paralysis.
It's about seeing through that to see what Jesus said.
This is happening in order that you may know that I indeed have power to forgive sin.
It's a fantastic story.
Not just for its ability to convey excitement and adventure and victory and triumph,
but because as believers we can come to this and we see clearly what this is for.
We see clearly what it's about.
This is about a savior.
This is about a redeemer.
This is about God forgiving sins.
And all that's taking place is just giving proof of the fact that Jesus is that savior.
He is that God.
And we can look at that just briefly and just understand the basic structure of a story like this.
Basic point of why this is given.
And that should bring joy and excitement.
Yes.
You ever have those moments when you're reading your Bible and it's just like something clicks with you.
The spirit opens your mind to something and you piece something together maybe for the first time
or you really begin to understand it in a deeper way.
And it's one of those like it's real moments.
Not that you ever doubted before that it was real necessarily,
but every now and then the Lord helps us just to have a moment where we are just filled with joy
and excitement over the truth of God's word.
This story gives us that if we're looking at it with the right view.
If we're seeing it for what it is and for the purpose that it gives us.
And indeed that's the case with all of scripture.
We look at it for its purpose.
And all of the purpose of the scripture is ultimately to point us to Jesus,
which fills us with such joy and excitement.
Well, let's look here at the setting.
In the first couple of verses we see what's happening.
We're told in verse 1 that Jesus has come back to Capernaum and he was in the house.
Now Capernaum seems to have been the headquarters for Jesus's ministry during the time that he was in Galilee.
But he had left the city and you remember that when we were studying in chapter 1.
In fact, look with me back up at verse 38 of chapter 1.
Remember Jesus had this 24-hour period where he was teaching in the synagogue
and then they brought all of these people to Peter's house to be healed
and then he was out praying in the wilderness.
And then in verse 38,
And he said unto them, that is his disciples,
Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also.
For therefore came I forth.
And so we saw in chapter 1,
despite the popularity that was growing for Jesus in Capernaum,
he had a priority of purpose.
And his priority of purpose was to preach the word.
And so he left Capernaum and he has spent some time.
We don't know how much time,
but some time is what Mark tells us here in verse 1.
And he has now come back to Capernaum.
And he is in the house, we're told.
And we assume here that the house that it's speaking of is Peter's house once again.
In fact, I think it's safe for us to assume that whenever Jesus is in a house in Capernaum,
unless the scripture specifically notes it as otherwise,
I think it's safe for us to assume that it's probably Peter's house.
Because of the success of his business, he certainly had a large enough place.
What they believed to be Peter's house, even still today,
and what they found in the ruins of Capernaum,
indicates that it would have been sufficient to house not only Peter and Andrew
and Peter's family and Peter's mother-in-law,
but certainly would have had space for Jesus as well.
And so as they come back to Capernaum,
they find their place again at Peter's house,
where we see other things taking place in the gospel events as well.
And as you might expect,
it didn't take very long for word to get out that Jesus was back.
Look with me at verse 2.
Immediately, Mark says,
many were gathered together in so much
that there was no more room to receive them,
not even near the door.
Now imagine you're Jesus or Peter or Andrew or James or John.
At this point in Mark's account,
these are the four that we know of
that are actually following Jesus closely.
You've left Capernaum,
and you left Capernaum probably a little bit tired.
You're running on a little bit of adrenaline
because this amazing night
where all of these people are being brought,
and you immediately adventure out.
You leave Capernaum,
and you're traveling.
You're going from town to town
and from village to village in Galilee,
and you're following Jesus.
And everywhere you go,
there's crowds of people.
It's hard to have any kind of privacy.
It's hard to have any kind of rest
because all the people that are coming,
now they perhaps,
maybe even snuck their way into Capernaum.
They find their place at Peter's house,
and maybe they're just looking for a little bit of rest.
They're looking for a place
where they can just relax for just a bit
to have any kind of respite from the crowds,
any kind of respite from the ministry
that they're involved with,
and then it just doesn't take very long.
It's not very long, and word gets out.
Now remember, when they left Capernaum,
they were leaving a crowd of people
that were desperately searching for Jesus.
So they were awaiting Jesus' potential return to the town,
and as soon as word gets out,
what are those same people doing?
He's back.
Let's go.
They know where he probably is.
Peter's house.
So they make their way to Peter's house,
and immediately the house is full of people.
The courtyard is full of people,
and Mark tells us,
you couldn't even get near the door of the house.
There were so many people that had begun to gather.
And what's amazing about this
is that we see once again Jesus was always willing
to sacrifice his own comfort for others.
Isn't that amazing?
Anytime, and we see it over and over in the Gospels,
don't we?
Anytime he'll send the disciples off,
or he'll try to make his way to the mountains
to have some time to prayer,
or he'll try to get alone,
and when the people press on him,
what does Jesus do?
He expends himself for them.
And that's exactly what he does here.
He could have said, no way.
Could have kept the door shut.
But he didn't do that.
He welcomed them.
Why?
Because he had a purpose.
He had a purpose for why he was there.
And that purpose is given to us once again
at the end of verse two.
Look with me again.
Immediately they were gathered together.
There was no room to receive him.
Couldn't even get near the door.
And what did Jesus do?
He preached the word to them.
What?
That's not gonna build his popularity.
What did they come there to see?
It was probably a mixed crowd, actually.
There probably were a few people that were gathered
that had become disciples of Jesus at this point.
At least they were in the realm of Peter,
and Andrew, and James, and John,
where they were beginning to believe this message,
and they wanted to hear more of this message,
and they maybe legitimately wanted to hear
what Jesus had to say.
Perhaps there were people in the crowd
that were like that.
We know that there were Pharisees and scribes there, too.
Luke tells us that they came from every town
and village in Galilee.
They were all looking for Jesus,
except they weren't looking to hear Jesus.
They were looking to entrap Jesus in some way.
The critical eyes were in the crowd.
Of course, there was the curious crowd,
the curious ones that were just there.
It's not that they believed Christ.
It's not, they just wanted to see
what this was all about,
because that's what happens, right?
You could be walking down,
didn't even know that Jesus was there,
and you see a massive crowd gathered somewhere.
What is your instinct?
I'm gonna go see what this crowd is all gathered for.
You ever been to New York City before?
Julie and I, we enjoy going, we enjoy visiting,
going to watch a baseball game,
or spending time with friends.
And if you've ever been,
and you've gone to Times Square,
you'll see from time to time,
you'll just happen upon masses of people,
large crowds of people gathered in one place.
And what's your first instinct?
It's not just to pass on by.
Typically, if you're like me,
your first instinct is to join the crowd,
because you want to see what's going on.
No doubt there's people in the crowd that are that way.
They're walking by.
This is right next to the Sea of Galilee.
This is right by the synagogue.
So we know that people are there.
They're passing by, and they see a crowd,
and they want to go see what Jesus is up to.
And of course, there were people that did hear
that Jesus was there,
and they gathered just to see another sign.
It's a mixed crowd.
But Jesus doesn't give them what they want.
What does he do?
He preached the word.
He did what he always did.
He had a priority of purpose,
and his priority of purpose was to preach the gospel.
And we immediately see this pattern continue
in Jesus's life and ministry.
But what exactly was it that Jesus was preaching?
Mark tells us in chapter 1.
You may remember it.
In fact, just flip back to it.
Verse 14, Mark chapter 1.
Now, after John was put in prison,
Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel
of the kingdom of God.
And here was the summary of his message,
saying,
The time is fulfilled.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
It's near.
Repent and believe the gospel.
Jesus's message was a declaration
that the kingdom of God was near.
And by this, of course,
he was referring to himself.
At hand in that passage,
or the kingdom of God is near or at hand
is a reference to space, not time.
He didn't mean that the time frame,
chronologically,
of what was going to take place
with the kingdom was near.
That's not what he meant by that.
What he meant was in space, physically.
The kingdom is near you.
In other words, he was saying,
I am the representative and fulfillment
of this kingdom
that the Jews have been long awaiting.
What was this message doing?
It was pointing their eyes to himself,
pointing their eyes to Jesus,
because when they saw Jesus,
they saw the kingdom.
When they saw Jesus,
they saw the Christ.
When they saw Jesus,
they saw God in the flesh.
And then after he pointed their attention
to see himself,
the kingdom of God is near you.
It is close to you in me.
What did he say?
Repent and believe it.
Repent and believe the gospel.
The good news.
That's what Jesus preached everywhere he went.
Now, what I love so much
about chapter two and verse two
is that Mark reminds us
that Jesus preached this message
of the kingdom from the word.
What's it tell us in verse two?
He preached the word unto them.
Same thing that Paul tells Timothy
to do in his letters.
Preach the word,
Timothy.
Preach the word.
Well, what was Jesus doing?
He was preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
How was he doing it?
By pointing people to the scripture.
Here is what the scripture says.
Now repent and believe the gospel
because the kingdom is here.
I am representative of it.
Jesus placed such a priority on the Bible.
How much more should we be concerned to do so?
It almost sounds silly to say it
on a Sunday morning.
A church like ours,
I believe is faithful people
that love the Lord and love the word.
But how surprised are we
when we find out how many people
profess to know Christ,
profess to be Christians,
yet have such little disregard
for the word.
Yet the message that Jesus preached
was founded in the scriptures.
And if Jesus,
the very word of God,
thought that to be important,
how much more should we?
The gospel message pervaded
everything that Jesus said and did.
And that should be true of his church as well.
The things that we do as a church,
it's the gospel message,
it's the scriptures
that should pervade all of it.
When we gather for worship on a Sunday,
what is it that is to pervade our worship?
It's the word of God,
the message of the gospel in the word.
That's why we have so many readings.
That's why we open with a call to worship
that's rooted in the scripture.
That's why we have times
where we just read the Bible together
in the service.
That's why we close with benedictions
that are for the most part
based in the scripture.
That's why we give so much time every week
to an exposition of the scripture
because everything we do as the church
should be engrossed in,
the permeated by,
the scripture, the word of God.
Now you need to keep that message in mind
because as we study this story
over the next two Sundays,
it's important for us to understand
this is what Jesus was doing
when these men showed up.
So everybody there,
even the man that's being lowered down
into the house,
everybody there had fresh on their mind
the gospel of the kingdom,
the word of God being preached to them.
It's all in the context of their reactions
and we'll see that as we go through.
In the course of our study
and our exposition to help structure it,
we'll look at the narrative
through five groups of people
or five characters in the story
maybe you would like to say it.
And to begin with today,
we'll look at the four friends.
In fact, if you're keeping notes for this
as we go through,
that would be your first point.
The four friends.
Now look with me at verse three.
And they came unto him,
bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was born of four,
four friends perhaps.
And when they could not come nigh unto him
for the press,
they uncovered the roof where he was.
And when they had broken it up,
they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
The first group of people
to which our attention is turned
consists of four individuals
who brought this disabled man to Jesus.
And nothing biographical
is given to us about these men.
Luke's account tells us
that they were men,
which is why I refer to them that way.
And we assume
that they were at least
friends of this man.
But what's interesting
is that the text
doesn't actually tell us.
No biographies are given.
No biographical sketches.
All we know is that
these four men
brought this paralyzed man
to Jesus.
We don't know exactly
what their relationship
to the man was.
But it's abundantly clear here
that they were determined
to get the man
to Jesus.
Their focus was set
on the man being healed
of his paralysis.
And they were desperate
to get him to Jesus
because Jesus was the one
whom they believed
was actually capable
of meeting the man's need.
And so that's what
begins to unfold.
We see the determination
of these men
to get their friend
to Jesus.
The only one
who could help him.
Of course we see
in these men
a passion
that should exist
in the heart
of every person
who knows
the power
of Christ.
A passion
to get others
to Jesus
so that he too
may meet
their need.
Of course
the focus
of these men
was not on the man's
spiritual well-being.
That's not why
they were bringing him
to Jesus.
They didn't understand
exactly who Jesus was yet.
Their understanding
wasn't made complete.
It wasn't even made complete
at this point
for the disciples.
There was still much
they were learning
about Jesus
and much that they
wouldn't understand
until his crucifixion
and resurrection
were accomplished.
They were bringing
the man
specifically so that
Jesus would meet
his physical need.
but we have a greater
knowledge
of how Jesus
can meet
the spiritual
needs
of those around us.
You know
a much greater work
that Christ can do
in the hearts
of others
and we should have
at least
the same amount
of passion
if not
more passion
to get people
to Jesus
for the purpose
of forgiveness
as these men
had
in getting
this man
to Jesus
for the purpose
of healing.
Let's just take
a moment
this morning
to consider
what we learn
about these men
here
what was going
on in their lives
and how we
can apply that
even to our own
evangelistic efforts
as believers.
The first thing
we see
is that they
were compassionate.
These men
were compassionate
men.
Again verse 3
and they came
unto him
bringing one sick
of the palsy
which was born
of four.
There's no way
that this event
would have ever
even happened
if it weren't
for these four men
having a compassionate
heart.
It would have
never even
taken place.
Compassion
was the prerequisite
here.
Now it's likely
that they knew
the man personally.
They could have
been friends
of his.
They could have
been colleagues.
Maybe this was
a brother
or a father
or a son
to one of them
that they probably
knew in that way
but the text
doesn't actually
tell us that.
Maybe he was
a friend.
Maybe he was
a beggar.
Maybe he's just
a man that they
passed on the street
from day to day
who was just
hoping that
someone would
show a little
pity toward his
plight.
The point is
it doesn't matter
how they knew him.
It doesn't
matter what
their relationship
to this man
was.
What matters
is the compassion
that they felt
for the man
and how that
compassion
encouraged them
to bring the man
to Jesus.
Without compassion
their actions
would have never
taken place.
The man
would have remained
deprived
physically
and spiritually
and we wouldn't
have this incredible
lesson to learn
about Jesus
and his identity
and his purpose.
What does it
all begin with?
Four men
who looked with
compassion on
somebody
with a great
need.
Bringing people
to Jesus
begins
with recognizing
that others
have a need
for Christ
and having
compassion
towards that
need.
if we don't
look compassionately
at our friends
and our family
and our colleagues
and our community
how will they
ever have their
need met
by Christ?
Christ.
Now
I believe
that God
will accomplish
his work
in one way
or another
this scripture
is clear
but it's also
clear that we
are his instruments
of grace
that he uses
to accomplish
his work.
Remember Romans
chapter 10
we all know
verse 13
whosoever shall
call upon the
name of the
Lord
shall be saved.
Your salvation
is based
on the grace
of God
through
the justification
by faith
alone.
But what does
verse 14 say?
Paul writes
how then
shall they
call
on him
whom they
have not
believed?
And how
are they
to believe
in him
of whom
they have
never heard?
And how
are they
to hear
without
somebody
preaching
telling them
the gospel?
And how
are they
to preach
unless
they're
sent?
As it's
written
how beautiful
are the feet
of those
who preach
the good news.
salvation
is the
work of
God's
grace.
It's
not in
us
to do
it
but we
are his
instruments
of grace
for others.
And what
that begins
with is
just
compassion.
Looking at
the world
around us
with some
compassion
toward their
condition.
Not their
condition
financially.
Not the
condition of
their employment.
Not the
condition of
their family
per se.
But something
deeper than
that.
Their
condition and
their sin.
And show
some
compassion
towards the
gospel message
that God
has given
you,
blessed you
with,
and then
entrusted
you with.
It all
starts with
compassion.
That's how
it began
with these
men.
If we're
to be
effective
in our
witness,
that's how
it'll
begin
with us
as well.
So they
were
compassionate.
Secondly,
we see that
they were
relentless.
They were
relentless.
In fact,
the next three
of these
characteristics
all come
from verse
four in our
understanding of
what they
actually did.
Let's read
it.
And when
they could
not come
nigh unto
him for
the press,
they uncovered
the roof
where he
was.
And when
they had
broken it
up,
they let
down the
bed wherein
the sick
of the
palsy lay.
you know,
perhaps that
day when
Jesus was
leaving
Capernaum,
remember
that morning
he'd gotten
up a great
while before
day,
everyone else
was asleep,
and he
went out
into a
solitary
place,
and he
prayed,
and he
was seeking
the will
of the
Father,
and that
is what
is directing
him in
those moments,
right?
The disciples
finally find
him,
but Mark
tells us
that it
wasn't only
the disciples
that were
looking for
him.
Peter speaks
up when he
finds Jesus,
he says,
everybody's
looking for
you,
it's not
just us,
everyone.
There's a
mad search
right now
in Capernaum
to find
Jesus of
Nazareth,
and Jesus
says,
well,
we're going
to hit
the road
now,
because I
got to
go preach
other
places,
that's
why I
came.
Perhaps
this man
laying on
his bed,
perhaps
these four
friends had
picked up
the man
that morning.
They had
heard about
what had
happened
with Jesus
in the
synagogue
the morning
before.
They'd
heard about
what Jesus
had done
late into
the night
as masses
of sick
people and
lepers and
demon-possessed
people were
being brought
to Jesus,
and he
healed every
one of
them.
Perhaps
that morning
they find
out,
and they
get up
and they
go find
their buddy,
and they
pick up
each corner
of his
bed,
and they're
trying to
find Jesus
desperately,
but they
can't find
him because
he's left
out.
Jesus
left,
and this
man was
still in
his condition.
There's
probably a
lot of
people that
that happened
to.
Now that
they hear
what's
going on,
nothing's
going to
stop them
from getting
the man
to Jesus,
right?
And so
they hear
Jesus is
back,
and they
go and
they get
their buddy,
and they
pick up
his bed,
and they
head over
to Peter's
house,
that's where
they assume
that Jesus
is,
or at least
that's what
they've
heard he
is,
and as
soon as
they get
there,
they're
immediately
met with
a massive
obstacle.
The obstacle
is a crowd.
They can't
get to
Jesus.
The house
is full.
Not only
is the
house full,
they can't
even get
to the
door.
There's
just people
everywhere,
and no one
else in the
crowd was
compassionate
enough to
see that
there's a
healer in
the house,
and there's
a man
that's sick
of the
palsy with
the paralysis
out here.
We gotta
get this
man to
Jesus.
No,
nobody
cared to
do that.
They wanted
their own
place in
line.
No
cutting
today.
We gotta
make sure
we get
to him
first.
There's
no compassion
in them,
but there's
some compassion
in these
men,
and this
compassion led
to a
relentless
determination
to get
this man
to Jesus.
Most of
us,
at least
if you're
like me,
I shouldn't
say most
of us,
because maybe
you're not
quite like
this,
but this
is the
point where
I might
have
accepted
the prospect
of getting
the man
to Jesus
was impossible.
Sorry,
man,
we did
all we
could do.
We tried
to get you
here as
soon as
we can.
There's
just people
everywhere.
We can't
get there.
We can't
even get
close enough
to the
house to
signal
someone
that
could help
us,
and we
just give
up.
We get
discouraged.
Not these
men.
They were
relentlessly
determined to
get this man
to Jesus,
and what was
that?
It was the
overflow of
their compassionate
heart.
You see how it
starts to build?
The more
compassion they
felt for that
man, the more
determination they
had to get that
man to Jesus.
the more
compassion we
feel for our
colleagues, the
more compassion we
feel for our
community, the
more compassion we
feel for our
friends, the
more compassion we
feel for our
family, the more
determined we will
be to get the
gospel to
them.
As God helps
us to develop a
genuine compassion,
we will indeed
develop this
relentless
determination.
But Christians
should live with
an attitude of
determination that
is rooted in
trusting the
sovereign work of
God.
The problem
sometimes with our
evangelism is we
think that it all
relies on us.
That if I just
learn to say the
right things, or if
I learn to bring the
conversation to this
way, and that's
helpful, but that's
not the end, it's
just a means.
And when we
witness and we
share and we
pray and we pray
and we pray and
nothing seems to
happen and we
leave discouraged
because of, am I
not doing this
right?
But we need to
remember, only God
can save.
The task has not
been given to us
to save a
person.
We can't do it
no matter how
hard we try.
The task that's
given to us is
just to share the
gospel.
Alistair Begg says
all the time, I
don't know if it's
original to him, it
may be to someone
else.
We are responsible
for faithfulness.
God is responsible
for fruitfulness.
Paul said this,
there was infighting
in the church of
Corinth about
divisions.
Some proclaim that
they were on
Paul's team.
Others claim that
they were on
Apollos' team.
The super spiritual
said, well, we're on
Jesus' team.
And what did Paul
write?
I planted, Apollos
watered, but it's
God that gives the
growth.
And what did he go
on to say?
So he that plants is
nothing.
He that waters is
nothing.
But only God who
gives the growth, the
increase.
So don't get
discouraged in your
witness if there's not
a lot happening.
We are relentlessly
determined to share
our compassionate
hearts as we preach
the gospel, but we do
so fully trusting that
God will do his work
the way that he is
determined to do his
work.
And so trust him.
Be faithful to the
task and trust the
Lord.
Thirdly, they were
creative.
They were creative.
They're compassionate.
They're relentless.
Now we see that
they're creative.
And this is our
favorite part, isn't
it?
To see what these
men did.
And it all is
continuing to build.
It starts with this
compassion and they've
developed the
compassion for the
man that led to a
relentless determination
to get the man to
Jesus.
And born out of that
relentless determination
is this creativity
to find any way,
just some way,
to get the man to
Jesus.
When faced with what
seemed like an
impossible situation,
they started to think
outside of the box,
which sometimes is
important for us to
do.
Now, houses in Israel
in this day, from what
I understand and from
what I've read, were
single-story houses
with flat roofs.
And when they would
construct these roofs,
they started with large
wooden beams that
they would run in one
particular direction.
And then laying across
those beams was a
mixture of sticks and
thatch and other things
that they would mix
together and they would
fill in the gaps in the
roof itself.
And they would continue
to do that until it was
about two feet thick.
Once it was about two
feet thick, it would
harden.
All of the mixture that
they put together would
then harden.
And then once it was
hard enough and it was
stable enough, they would
lay tiles on the top of
this thatch and these
sticks and this wood that
they had all mixed
together on the house.
And that made it safe for
someone to go up on the
roof and they could walk
on the roof.
They could have easy
access through probably
an outdoor stairwell that
was either connected to
their own home or maybe a
home that was connected
to their home.
And they could walk
across the roofs quite
literally.
So the men come to Jesus
and they're trying to get
to him and they can't get
there.
And then they look and
they notice a stairwell
and they immediately head
up the stairwell.
They go to the roof.
They find and pinpoint the
location of Jesus in the
building.
And then they quite
literally dug a hole.
They dug a hole in the
roof.
This isn't shingles.
This isn't like something
they're peeling away.
This isn't just like a
thick layer of thatch.
This is thick.
This was time consuming.
This was distracting.
But they were creative.
They were relentless.
They just wanted to get the
man to Jesus.
It's just amazing what they
did.
We look back on these
actions.
We read this story and this
is what we love, right?
When we're kids in the
Sunday school class and we
see the flannel graph and
this is what's so cool.
Oh man, they tore the roof
apart because we all want to
as kids, we want to tear
roofs apart.
We want to tear everything
apart.
And they start to tear it
and we love it.
Well, even as adults, we
look back at what they did
and even as I'm doing right
now in this sermon, we are
esteeming these men for what
they did.
What determination, what
creativity.
They did what no one else
would do in order to get this
man to Jesus.
But how often are we actually
guilty of condemning similar
actions in others?
Think about the distraction
this must have been to the
service.
We get frustrated if a baby
cries or a kid has to go to
the bathroom.
Imagine you're sitting there
listening to Jesus on this
day.
And it's not just that
someone's fiddling around on
the roof.
It's that for quite a bit of
time, somebody's up there
with a shovel or whatever they
had and they're digging a
hole in the roof.
Talk about distraction.
You're crunched in.
There's no social distancing
happening in this house.
They've got as many people in
there as they can get.
You're shoulder to shoulder
touching people you don't want
to touch anyways.
And now the debris is
starting to fall.
It's getting on you and it's
aggravating and you can't hear
and there's distractions and
you're frustrated because this
is inconvenient.
And this is bothering me.
And how many of the people in
that house looked at those men
and thought, wow, what
creative genius is that?
Oh, they probably were
irritated.
Just like we would be
irritated if right now
somebody just starts coming
through the roof.
Who won the world?
What about Peter?
We believe this is probably
his house.
He and his brother and James
and John are sitting there.
Somebody had to help this man
get through the hole, right?
His four friends are on the top.
I doubt they came armed with
rope.
They just got to dig it up the
best they can and get the man
down.
Somebody in the house had to
receive him on the other end,
right?
Jesus didn't just miraculously
cause the man to levitate and
come down like an elevator in the
room.
That's not what happens.
Perhaps Jesus even looks at Peter
and says, why don't you help
these guys out?
Imagine if Peter was just
ticked off that somebody's
tearing his house apart.
And instead of trying to help
the man get down, he's just
fussing about all of this mess
and who's going to pay for this?
This is just a mess.
There are a lot of reasons for
people to be irritated by these
men.
But Jesus never rebuked them.
He never said, I wish y'all would
just sit down and be quiet for a
minute.
I'm not done.
He seems to be thrilled with what
they did actually.
Because it's when he looked on
them and saw their faith that he
responds to the man that they had
brought.
The question for us has to do with
which side of this equation do we
find ourselves on most often?
Are we creatively searching for
ways to get people to Jesus and
hear the gospel?
Or are we more prone to condemn
the efforts of others and point
out all the ways that they're doing
it wrong?
I'd like to think that I would
have been with these four men on
this.
But the reality is that most often
it's a spirit of criticism that
pervades my heart.
But I can't help but see the
reaction of Jesus here.
It's convicting isn't it?
I understand my own nature is to be
irritated when it doesn't go the way
that I want it to go.
And yet Jesus isn't irritated at all.
I had a friend, he pastors in
Connecticut just a couple of weeks
ago.
He just made a great statement that
helped me at a good time.
And he said, he said this, he said,
if God is pleased, then we don't
need to worry about who isn't.
If God is pleased, we don't need to
worry about who isn't.
There's a house and courtyard full of
people irritated with these men.
They didn't care.
They just try and get the man to
Jesus.
Now that's not to say that Jesus is
pleased with every method that's ever
employed by churches.
There certainly are ways that churches
and individuals do this and actually
end up sinning against the Lord in the
process.
It's not to say that God is pleased with
every method.
But our offense most often has to do
with our own displeasure rather than
the Lord's.
If we're going to do anything for the
Lord as a church, we're going to have
to stop thinking, how's this going to
be perceived by everyone else?
How's this going to be perceived by
our community?
How is this going to be perceived by
the other churches?
How is this going to be perceived by
others?
And we're going to have to start
thinking more about what's actually
going to please the Lord.
What's going to please what he's told
us to do in the word.
And so long as our creative,
relentless determination and
compassion isn't going against the
clear teaching of the scripture, why
not do everything we can to get the
gospel where it needs to go and to get
people where they need to be to hear
it.
They're compassionate.
They're relentless.
They're creative.
Finally, they're sacrificial.
Sacrificial men.
Everything they did was sacrificial in
nature.
They got nothing from this.
And the best we can tell, they were
seeking nothing for themselves.
They sacrificed their own needs in
order to put first the needs of their
friend.
I'm sure they had needs that could be
met.
Maybe they had already seen Jesus at
some point.
Maybe that's why they wanted to bring
this man to them.
Maybe their need had already been
met.
But in either case, they prioritize
their friend.
They sacrificed their time to actually
take the man to Jesus and ensure he
was able to meet him.
That took time.
How many of us, we struggle with this
in our lives because it's just hard to
find the time.
It's hard to make the time.
It's hard to sacrifice the time.
Their choice to tear open the roof, that
was a calculated sacrifice.
I don't think they went there that day
planning to do that.
But surely somebody in these five men
stopped before they did it and said,
okay, wait a minute.
Who's going to pay for this?
Somebody's got to pay for it.
Peter's not just going to say, yeah,
tear the whole place down.
I'll take care of it.
Somebody's going to have to.
They sacrificed for this.
They sacrificed their pride as they
risked the danger of being ostracized
by the people who disagreed with them.
They're a minute of sacrifice.
So are those who give themselves to
bring people to Jesus for spiritual
healing.
They're sacrificial in nature.
They sacrifice their time to teach
and share the gospel.
They sacrifice their finances to
support the church and its gospel
efforts.
They sacrifice their reputation when
they risk being mocked and persecuted
for their beliefs.
They sacrifice their pride when
they're opposed by those who only
want to criticize.
But why do they sacrifice so much?
Because they want others to experience
the grace that they've experienced.
They want others to know the
forgiveness that they know.
And there's no sacrifice that would
keep them from doing that.
We hope.
But yet often
we're not willing.
The narrative is not about these
four men.
They're playing supporting roles here
in this story.
The point is
that these 12 verses
emphasize that Jesus is God
and only he can forgive sin.
But we can't ignore
or diminish the role
that these men played
in this process.
They didn't understand
fully who Jesus was
or even what Jesus was
going to do.
In fact,
Jesus' first response
would have been a surprise
to all of them.
But they were convinced
that he was the only way
that their friend could be helped.
The question for us is
do we believe that Jesus
is the only way
that the people in our lives
can actually be helped?
And if so,
are we committed
to bringing people
to Jesus compassionately,
relentlessly,
creatively,
sacrificially?
We dedicate our lives
to all kinds of things.
All kinds of things.
Noble things.
I thought about this morning
and I actually wrote it
in my notes.
The statement by C.T. Studd
who was a missionary to China
and then to Africa
and I think the Congo maybe.
There were various places
that he served.
But what is it that he said?
Only one life will soon be passed.
This was a poem that he wrote.
Only what's done for Christ
will last.
I'm not saying that you give up
everything in your life
for this.
But this should be a priority
for all of us.
If Jesus is who we believe he is,
we have no other choice
but to give our lives
telling others about him.