CONVERSATIONS ABOUT JESUS: MIRACLES
JESUS HEALS A LEPER (MATTHEW 8:2-4; MARK 1:40-45; LUKE 5:12-16)
JESUS CURES A PARALYTIC (MATTHEW 9:2-8; MARK 2:1-12; LUKE 5:17-26)
Location of Miracle: Galilee; Capernaum
Set the Scene:
o Jesus had spent quite a lot of time in and around Capernaum. He must have made it sort of a home base because Mark refers to it as “home” (verse 1). He already had a reputation as one who could heal the sick and cast out demons (Mark 2:1-12). In the parallel passage (Luke 5:17-26) we find that Pharisees travelled all the way from Jerusalem to hear Jesus speak. News spread fast that Jesus was back in town and a huge crowd gathered. People packed the house where he was staying.
READ Mark 1:40-45, 2:1-12
Big Take-Aways:
o The crowd of people was packed about the doorway, trying to get a glimpse of Jesus. There was no way four men could carry a man through that crowd and into the house through the door. The four men probably used an outside stairway to carry their friend up to the roof. Roofs were often flat. People could sleep on the roof when it was hot. To make the roof, the builder would lay sticks close together over the beams and cover them with hard-packed clay. Sometimes a roller would be used to pack down the clay. This made for a hard clay roof. To make a hole, the men would have had to dig through the clay and remove some of the sticks. Probably the roof was so low that no ropes were needed to let the man down. People inside the house could reach up and take him as those outside let him down.
o Jesus could see the four men had faith. They would not have done such an unusual thing if they had not believed Jesus could heal their friend. It was a common belief that sickness indicated personal sin, but everyone must have been surprised when Jesus said “You are forgiven” instead of saying “You are healed.”
o The Pharisees have some thoughts of their own, and they are not pleasant. It is miraculous that Jesus knew what the teachers of the law were thinking. They did not speak out loud, after all. They simply thought these things to themselves. Mark tells us that Jesus knows they think He is blaspheming. They must have been shocked when Jesus confronted them. He responded by saying, “So that you might know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . .” He heals. By this one act, Jesus proves he is on equal footing with the Judge of all: God. He can forgive and heal.
Call to Action:
Good friends help us follow God.
o Who are the friends in your life that would go to any lengths to see you healed?
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