Devotionals

Scripture Reading: Mark 2:1-12

We see in this passage of Scripture found in Mark 2:1-12 that there are five men trying to get into the presence of Jesus. One man was stricken with palsy (a paralytic – he was suffering from the relaxing of the nerves of one side of the body). The sick man was borne (raised up, elevated, lifted up) by four other men, who were his friends. Five in the Scriptures represents Grace.

The four friends of the paralytic knew that Jesus was in the house. They had faith that if they could just get their paralyzed friend to Jesus, then Jesus could deal personally with him. Their faith to get him to Jesus did not save or heal their paralytic friend; but their faith put them into action to get their friend to Jesus. They knew that if they could just get in the presence of Jesus, He could do a work in his life. They knew that he could, by faith through the Grace of God, be healed. They knew that God’s Grace would be sufficient in this circumstance.

The Bible tells us that when they arrived at the house where Jesus was, there was “no room to receive them”. The house was filled with a crowd of people as Jesus preached the Word of God to them. No doubt there were many different kinds of people in the crowd that day – those who followed Jesus, those scribes who doubted Jesus, and onlookers who just wanted to see what was going on, or who were only present to be seen by others.

Sounds like our churches today, except that today most of our churches are not filled with people to the point that there is “no room to receive them.” There are people who attend church because they truly love the Lord Jesus and have accepted Him as their Savior. Some attend who are not saved and who doubt the Word of God being preached to them. They are at church just because they were invited by some relative who just would not leave them alone until they attended church with them. And then there are those who attend out of tradition and to be seen of men – it’s just what they are supposed to do on Sunday.

The friends of the paralytic man were so determined to get him to Jesus that they stopped at nothing. When they realized the room was full, they weighed their options. The only way they could see to get him to Jesus was to take part of the roof off, and lower the man down through the ceiling to Jesus. They knew without a doubt that Jesus was the only hope for their dear friend.

The paralytic man also had faith. He had faith that if he could somehow just get to Jesus, things would be okay. I believe he had come to the end of his rope and could find no hope in this world. He realized his only hope was in Jesus. The five men had faith that Jesus and Jesus alone could heal the man.

Verse 5 tells us of Jesus’ response to their faith. It says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”

The scribes who were there began to reason in their hearts why Jesus said what he did. They considered it blasphemy for Him to say “thy sins be forgiven thee” because only God could forgive sins, and they did not consider Jesus God.

To prove that He, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, was also God and had power on earth to forgive sins, he told the sick man “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.” As the man arose and went his way, the onlookers were amazed and glorified God.

You see, by grace through faith this man was healed not only of his physical sickness, but also of his spiritual sickness. Jesus did a work in Him that could only be explained as being of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The paralytic man was not the same after he he came into the presence of Jesus as he was before. He was a new (a new kind, uncommon, unheard of) creature in Christ.

I wonder today how God could work if each one of us was as determined as those four friends were to come into the presence of Jesus. I wonder what would happen in our homes, churches, communities, states, and nation, if we Christians were as steadfast in our faith as those men were. I wonder what mighty works God could perform in people’s lives if we truly realized just who Jesus is – that He was not just a prophet, but that He is “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

Oh, dear friend, it is time that we Christians get back to the basis of our faith. It is time “that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14) but rather get back to the principles of God’s Word, realizing that there is “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4)

I am amazed and saddened by all the things people put their trust and hope in these days. People live from day to day based on the words of some palm reader, horoscope, or fortune cookie. There’s even a program on Facebook that supposedly gives you a divine revelation for the day – a message that God wants you to know, it says. God help us to get back to the truths of God’s Word and quit being deceived by satan.

God speaks to us through His scriptures, His Holy Word. In the good times, He speaks through His Word. In the bad times, He speaks through His Word. The problem we have today is that most people don’t take time to study God’s Word to know what it says. Many only pick up their Bible on Sunday morning as they read along with the preacher. And then they don’t know enough about what God’s Word says to know when satan is deceiving them or to know what to do when they are faced with hard times or trying circumstances.

Satan makes things sound right, but he is a liar and a deceiver. It’s time, Christians, to quit being deceived by the lies of satan and quit living by what we think is right instead of what the Bible declares as Truth. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Oh, how God could work if we would be as faithfully determined as the friends of the paralytic man were. Oh, how God could move through the hearts of men and women, boys and girls, if we Christians would quit worshipping other gods, quit being concerned about what men think of us, and begin seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

Oh, if we would just be faithfully determined to be in the presence of Jesus, we would be amazed and astonished at the works He could perform in our lives and in lives all around the world.

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• Posted by: Angie Gentry