Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him

 

 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering or your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  

Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"

 

- Luke 5:12-26 

 

 Yesterday we read that, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

 

  And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  My study Bible comments here that leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of Christ's time.  It brought tremendous physical suffering, and included total banishment and isolation from the community.  Leprosy is also symbolic of our sin.  

Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately the leprosy left him.  And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering or your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."   According to the Mosaic Law, a priest had to give a certificate certifying that a person was clean leprosy and could therefore rejoin community.  According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, my study Bible notes, Christ gives this command to "show yourself to the priest" in order to convince the priests by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, but Christ heals leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  However, my study Bible points out, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and still she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).  

However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.  Let us note Christ's withdrawal into the wilderness to pray.  It emphasizes that if this solitude for prayer was necessary for Christ, how much more necessary for each of us?

 

 Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.  Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him.  And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.  When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."  And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise up and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the man who was paralyzed, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.  And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today!"  My study Bible comments that, as shown by the healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  It notes that faith is collective as well as personal, for the faith of the paralytic's friends helped in his healing.  Three signs of Christ's divinity are on display here.  First, that He knows the secrets of hearts ("when Jesus perceived their thoughts").   See 1 Kings 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30.  Second, Christ forgives sins, which is a power belonging only to God.  Finally, He heals by the power of His word.

 

 Leprosy as a sign or symbol of sin forms a great deal of imagery from the Old Testament. Seen in this light, we can understand how a defect or imperfection forms a kind of mark or impurity, symbolizing the reality of sin on our true image in God, with healing coming through its lifting via repentance.   It's important to know that in a traditional Christian context, paralysis also is symbolic of sin, as in sin we are seen as "stuck" somewhere, victim of a type of stumbling block, unable to move forward in our faith.  Certainly the habitual return to repeated sin so often works like an addiction of one sort or another, and this emphasizes the symbolism of paralysis.  In this sense, we see what help there is to avail us to move past our stumbling block, move past where we are stuck, where a particular habit or temptation has a hold of us.  Many people have observed the help of this paralyzed man's friends, and how necessary it is to his salvation.  In this we see not only that the nature of faith is collective as well as personal, as my study Bible noted.  But we also see the universal need to acknowledge that such collective nature extends to the communion of saints, and our need to recognize prayer within this communal reality.  When saints -- living or dead according to worldly perspective -- are venerated or we ask for their prayers, we are asking for the kind of work done by this man's friends.  Even lowering his bed down to Christ can be seen as help "coming from above," so to speak, in the form of friends.  The same is true of asking for prayers from our own friends and community and fellow believers.  So often, this kind of prayer can help to bring a person to healing when that person, for whatever reason, is unable to pray for themselves.  Such is the power of prayer, that even our prayers for the dead are important in this respect, to help to draw closer to God.  The importance of prayer, as we've observed, is emphasized in our reading in the fact that Christ Himself often withdrew to solitude in order to pray.  This tells us that there are those who are helpful in pursuing what we need, to draw closer to God, and those who are not.  Let us consider the power of community in prayer, and all those who are in the "great cloud of witnesses" upon whom we call for help with prayer.  For there are those times when we can't help ourselves to move forward, but we can call upon others to help us to do so.

 

 

 

 

 

Which is easier?

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

- Mark 2:1-12

We have just finished chapter 1 of Mark's Gospel. Jesus' Galilean ministry has been widely established. In yesterday's reading, we read of several healings: by touch, Peter's mother-in-law was healed of fever; then the whole city gathered to his door in Capernaum, and Jesus healed many with diseases and cast out demons from others. Jesus again showed His power over the demons because He would not let them speak. Long before it was light, early in the morning, Jesus went out to pray alone. But everyone was looking for Him. He told Peter they must go to the next towns, "that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." Then a leper came to be cleansed, and Jesus healed Him. He forbade the healed leper to tell others of it, but simply to go to the priest for a certificate. Nevertheless, Mark tells us, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Jesus sticks to His purpose: for the ministry, preaching comes first. My study bible points out that "Jesus preached wherever there were people -- in the synagogue, on the mountain, on the plain, and here in a house."

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." There's an interesting note here that this story relates to our preparation for Easter. This particular passage tells us "(1) We must come to Christ in faith and let Him heal us of our spiritual paralysis. Sin is a paralysis of the soul. (2) We should let nothing deter us from getting to Christ, who alone can heal us, both in body and in soul. (3) We must help each other come to Christ." Many comment on the help of friends illustrated here, and of course, to me it suggests also the power of intercessory prayer on behalf of others. It also speaks of the great effort we may put in to get this great gift, the presence of Christ. In faith, the effort confirms our great and true desire.

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?" In Scripture, the heart is usually meant to refer to the center of our consciousness, which includes both our will and reason. Jesus, as the Gospels so often illustrate, and as the Apostles prayed, is the knower-of-hearts. Neither is He afraid to challenge the scribes, based on His knowledge.

"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" My study bible says that the point here is not which is, in fact, easier, but rather that the one who can say to a paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed and walk" also has the power to forgive sins. The scribes have, in an ironic twist, confirmed that only God can forgive sins, and the implication about Jesus' divine nature is clear, yet remains a great secret! As we read in yesterday's cleansing of the leper, this secret is one that is, in fact, hidden in plain sight, so to speak. And the people give glory to God in their amazement, and say, "We never saw anything like this!"

Have you ever experienced anything in your life that felt to you as if it must have been the work of God's presence in your life, and yet to all others it passed as the normal order of the day? I don't think this is such a very unusual experience. Often we may attribute workings in our lives, or insights we may gather, simply to natural forces or the capacity of our own minds. I have had friends insist that this must be so for me, when I tell of insights that I don't feel I could possibly have had without spiritual grace -- things I don't feel I learned from merely my experiences of life. Regardless of how we feel we get there, today's story is an expression of the effort that is always worthwhile, and that is the power that we put into our faith. It really doesn't matter how things look to others. Jesus illustrates this by His conviction, His preaching, because "for this purpose" He "has come forth." He doesn't heal to please people, nor to gather followers, but rather out of compassion -- and in today's story, we learn, He "saw their faith." The knower-of-hearts responds to what is in our hearts, and out of our hearts comes our effort. What may be hidden in plain sight, even to those who may be amazed, won't be hidden in the heart when we understand the relationship of faith to effort, to love and relationship, and to the Comforter, the One that graces us with help. How do you prepare for Easter today by making the effort to find the One whom your heart most desires?