Read Chapter 5:17-26...then come back...
The crowds around Jesus must have been enormous making it impossible for anyone to get near Him...
I love closing my eyes and imagining what it must have been like...
I can just see these guys trying to get their beloved friend through the massive crowds. Many would have given up, but these guys just wouldn't take "no" for an answer. So they struggle around to the side, climb up either by the side of the building or up stairs all the while carrying their sick friend on what was probably something like a stretcher we use today to transport the sick...
...So they finally reach the top, (homes during that time had flat roofs made of mud and straw) and they begin to break away the dried mud/straw mixture until they have a hole big enough to get the stretcher down there...
Remember, this right above where Jesus would have been sitting...I bet He knew what was going on...because the debris would have been falling down around Him as He spoke to the crowd...
Then all of a sudden, they start lowering the man down...everybody looks up and see's what's going on...
These guys aren't messin around...their faith and determination is huge! To do all that proves two things to me...1. They really loved this sick man to have gone through so much to get him up there and down through the hole. 2. They really believed that Jesus would heal him when they did.
I believe the Lord is looking for people just like that...people who are determined and full of faith to do anything and everything it takes to get the job done. That kind of faith doesn't let anyone or anything stand in the way....and when we do, just like these men, we get the reward.
I need friends like that, and I want to be a friend like that...
The second thing this story re-enforces for me is that forgiveness of our sin and receiving physical healing comes together.
When we come to Him believing...we can expect to receive both....
Isaiah 52:4-5 "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
1 comment:
It must be amazing to have faith that strong. I will have that type of faith one day. Sometimes I feel my faith is that strong, then bamm something happens. Another attack from the devil. But just like these men, trying to get their friend to Jesus, they did not give up. They didnt even let a little thing like a roof stop them. They just kept picking away till it was gone and they could see Jesus. That is what this scripture has shown me-- that we must not give up seeking Jesus. There will always be things trying to stop us. But if I just keep picking away at the crap that stops me one day it will be gone. And it will just be Jesus and I. I will be able to see Him more clearly. Sure it may get cloudy at times and I'm having a hard time seeing. But I know He will make the wind blow and chase the clouds away when I ask Him-- and I will always ask Him
Thanks Donna
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