Anything Is Possible: How Nine Miracles of Jesus Reveal God's Love for YouSample

Day 2: The Paralytic

Imagine yourself in this scene...you are in a home wall to wall with people listening to Jesus teach. The intensity in the room is probably palpable and suddenly the roof starts falling. You look up and there is a paralyzed man being lowered down by four other men.

In Mark 2, the first thing Jesus does is recognize the faith of the men and tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven. Jesus is making a statement here. He is claiming to be the Son of God because only God can forgive sins. Only God has that authority. It is after this statement that Jesus heals the man physically. He tells the man to roll up his nasty mat and take it as a record of proof that he is no longer the paralyzed man who once laid on it; he has been made new.

Another important aspect of this account is the four friends who carried the man and did whatever they had to do to get him to Jesus. As Christ-followers we are called to pick up a corner of someone’s mat and do whatever it takes. We can look at these four corners as ways of helping someone else come to Jesus.

Corner #1-Share Your Faith - In Acts 1:8, Jesus says that those who follow Him are witnesses. A witness shares what they have seen and heard. We can do this by sharing the gospel (you are dead and need to be made alive and only Jesus can do that), sharing your story (your life before surrendering to Jesus, when and how you surrendered and your life as a follower of Jesus), sharing an invitation to church and sharing a cup of coffee (building a relationship).

Corner #2-Serve in Your Local Church - If you have surrendered to the lordship of Jesus then you are a saint and Ephesians 4:11 says that the church equips the saints to do ministry to build up the body of believers. The church is not a building, but the gathering of saints. One way you can help create a welcoming environment for those to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus is by serving.

Corner #3-Bear the Stretcher - Be willing to do whatever it takes to make room for everybody to meet Jesus. If Jesus is the kind of shepherd who will leave the 99 for the one, then you need to be on the triage team ready to receive the one.

Corner #4-Come to Jesus - In John 15:13-16 Jesus calls His disciples a profound word-“friends.” The King of Kings and Lord of Lords offers friendship to you, which means you can go to Him with all your pain, worries and fears. He will not send you away but welcome you and only do what He can do.

Do you need to ask some friends to carry you to Jesus? Do you have a friend who needs you to pick up their mat? Don’t hesitate but go!