WEDNESDAY, 10/23/14 GOSPELS. Mark 2:1-12 “We’ve Never Seen Anything Like This Before!” (By Barry) WORSHIP: This has been my “biking/worship” song lately. Like it? https://youtube/watch?v=antqLO0OQ8s SCRIPTURE: blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=2&t=NLT I love today’s passage. There are so many lessons to be learned in today’s story. It’s difficult to keep this one brief! Jesus is amazing. Let’s jump right in! 1 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” 8 Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 12 And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” Thoughts & Questions… —1. Wow. What a story! This is one of my fav Jesus stories, and we have talked about this before. I NEVER get tired of this story! —2. Once again, we see that Jesus is so popular and so famous, that the crowds are just TOO big. Everyone wants to get to Him, and it’s just not possible. —3. Whose house was this? They were back in Capernaum, and many people think they were once again hanging out at Peter’s house. (I have always wondered, if this is true, how his wife would have felt when people started taking the roof apart!) —4. What an incredible picture. There are five guys who just won’t take “no” for an answer. Jesus is teaching, and healing, and looks up, and sees four guys lowering their friend on a stretcher! —5. Let’s use our imaginations. This man is unable to walk. He was paralyzed. We don’t know much more than that. We don’t know what caused his condition, and we don’t know how long he had been in this situation. But he has obviously heard of Jesus, and he is so desperate to get to Him, that he has his friends carry him on his stretcher to Peter’s (?) house. But when they get there, there is NO WAY of getting in. There is wall-to-wall people everywhere you look. But remember, he is desperate. So somebody comes up with the plan of somehow carrying a paralyzed man up on to the roof of the house, cutting a hole in the the roof, and lowering him down though that hole. Seriously? Yep, that’s exactly what they do! —6. What do you think of the attitude the man and his friends had? They took a lot of risk. They showed a lot of determination. And they were desperate! —7. Why do you think the man wanted to see Jesus? Did he want to be healed or forgiven? —8. Among the other visitors in Peter’s house that day were a bunch of religious know-it-alls. When Jesus forgives the man, they are furious. So what does Jesus do? He heals him of his paralysis, too! —9. Did you notice that Jesus responded to faith? Not just the man’s faith, but the faith of his friends. Faith = trust. How much do YOU trust Him? —10. The man arrived on a stretcher through the roof. But he left through the front door! Catch this: If we will be desperate to get to Jesus, He WILL change us! DIGGING DEEPER: —A. There are a lot of great points in today’s story, but what is the MAIN point for you? —B. I am challenged by this story to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. As you can see, I might have to be inconvenienced, I might have to take some risks, and I might even have to put myself in uncomfortable (or even dangerous) positions in order to do that. Am I willing? Are you? —C. Are you satisfied with the normal average kind of life? OR do you want to be so full of Jesus that you are constantly saying, “I have never seen anything like THIS before!”? PRAYER: Adore. Confess. Thanks. Supplication (Ask). A C T S
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 01:56:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015