Encouragement

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Luke 5v17-26

We come across a very familiar story that has several lessons attached to it. This man had issues that kept him confined to one position for a very long time. His condition was so drastic that this man's life was confined to a bed. There was nothing more he could do but sleep and watch the world go by. His days must have been long ones because he was now accustomed to the same routine day in and out. The times of fun that he had spent with his friends seemed to fade into oblivion and it seemed like he was becoming a burden to them. One day he heard about the man called Jesus and how He went about healing people who were like him. I believe he had spent his wealth on physiotherapy to no avail and had visited all the specialists of the time and still his condition was unchanged. But, his encounter with Jesus was going to be a radical one and a life changer.

One day Jesus came to his town and held a conference where there was so much of the Presence of God. Scripture tells us in verse 17 that, "the power of the Lord was present to heal them." This meant that whoever had an ailment could receive immediate healing. But there was only one problem. The conference was fully booked and there was no space for an extra man, let alone a paralytic. Four friends had about this conference and decided that this could be the best bet for their friend to receive what he had cried for all his life.

So they strapped him onto a stretcher and made way for this conference. Getting to the venue, they did not allow the crowds to distract their main purpose of coming to the place. Talking to one of the ushers about the urgency of their need, these four men received negative feedback, "There is no space for you, the venue is fully booked, sorry I cannot let you in," The man pleaded with the ushers taking their case to the head usher but they were told in no uncertain terms to come back for another session at another time. But these men knew that power was present to heal the man and therefore they could not leave without him being healed. They had made an agreement to carry him to the venue and that the return leg was going to be his problem, as he had to carry the bed he was lying on.

These men used their powers of negotiation to no avail. Then they decide it was time to break with formality and do the undone. They had tried every entrance and found no cooperation and this time they decided to go onto the roof and make their way in. I bet the house was newly done and the owner had invited Jesus to bless it. But all the money he had put into the roof and ceiling was soon going to be wasted. The four friends started by taking off the tiles and then working their way through the ceiling, finally drawing the attention of everyone one in the house. It was then that Jesus stopped talking to everyone but the sick man. He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you." That was a shattering statement, man, can you believe it when the Lord of the Universe says to you that He has forgiven your sins. Everyone was shocked as to why Jesus would say such a thing. After all who was He to do such a thing?

When Jesus perceived their thought He asked them a question that was hard to contain, "Why reason you in your hearts, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?" Why should people reason at the fact that someone's sins had just been forgiven them? It was then that Jesus commanded the man to get up, take his mat and go home. And the man did just that. It was something unusual in the sight of many; it was a new thing that completely took the stuffing out of them. This man was healed and according to the faith of his friends was able to carry his mat home.

After all these facts, what lessons can we draw from this story?
• This man and his friends understood the complexity of the problem at hand. There was nothing in their own power that could help the paralytic except a higher authority. We too need to come to that place where we recognize that we cannot do anything about our problems except we take them to Jesus. This man's problem confined him to one position. His life was now governed by others as he could not make decisions on his own. He was paralyzed in his thinking and doing and so he was in serious trouble.
• They knew to come to Jesus. After all, they had tried everything and everyone but Him. We need to get to the place in our lives when we come to Jesus and lay our problems on Him. It is He who said to come to Him with our loads and burdens. Even though they had been shut out by overzealous ushers, the men pressed on to come to Jesus.
• They also broke the protocol. Never in the Scriptures had there been talk of breaking into a house to get to the power that was present to heal. They did away with the everyday protocol and broke the roof. We too need to break the protocol in order for us to get the healing. We should get rid of the formality we are so prone to being when we seek the extraordinary. Jesus does things for people who break with formality. Remember the woman with the issue of blood? She chose to disregard Mosaic laws that confined her and touched Jesus' garment to get her issue to stop flowing.
• They managed to attract the attention of Jesus. By breaking down the roof these men managed to get Jesus focused on them. It was their faith that caught the attention of Jesus. In Revelations 8 we read about the praying saints that caused heaven to keep quiet or half an hour. The acts of our faith must attract Jesus to us and when His focus is on us we can get the things we need.
• They went away satisfied. The men faded out of the story but they got what they had come for. Their friend was healed and they could no more worry about the roof or what people were saying. We too need to leave Jesus having been satisfied

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