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This Bible study was originally considered during Midweek Connection on November 19, 2014. 
TELLING THE STORY  THE SETTING Jesus returns to Capernaum (probably to Peter’s home—cf. Matthew 4:13 and Mark 1:21, 29; important to note that this would have been a relatively small and simple home made with stones with a flat roof that would be frequently used for relaxation, oftentimes with an exterior staircase providing access), and the people discover that He’s back. They gather at the house to hear Jesus teach the Scriptures. The crowd of listeners was so large that people were crammed outside against the house. THE PROBLEM A group of men carrying their crippled friend arrive on the scene, trying to get to Jesus. They were unable to, because of the great crowd. THE INCITING MOMENT The friends, insistent on getting their needy comrade to Jesus, are not ready to give up. They climb up the stairs to the roof, and begin tearing up the clay roof above where Jesus was teaching. When they had created a large enough opening, they lowered their friend down into the house near where Jesus was. This was pretty bizarre considering that this wasn’t their house and considering that teaching below would have been interrupted as debris began falling upon those inside. This would have created quite the scene…embarrassment and social awkwardness. THE RISING ACTION When Jesus saw the faith of these friends (and apparently of the paralytic himself) so clearly demonstrated in their aggression, persistence, and boldness (they weren’t embarrassed) in getting their needy companion to Jesus, He responded by performing an invisible, and yet most important, miracle (more important, in fact, than the physical healing of this man, which was, of course, what these men had desired in brining their fellow to Jesus)—the salvation of his soul. Jesus would later actually respond to his initial request and heal him physically, too. THE CONFLICT When the religious leaders heard Jesus forgive this man’s sins, they were troubled. Their doctrine correctly taught them that only God could forgive sins, but their evaluation of Jesus incorrectly led them to conclude that He was blaspheming. The other valid option—that Jesus was God—was never even considered. I’m not sure that my conclusion would have been any different, especially since I’ve been trained as a good Bible student to live by the book. Yes, a logical conclusion was that this man Jesus was God, even the Messiah, but there was so much practical and convention wisdom that went against that idea. It “made more sense” to be doctrinal and conclude that He was a heretic. Any good pastor would have concluded the same; so, I’m not going to fault the scribes here in verse 7. Jesus, knowing this internal conflict within the scribes, begins to help them understand that the option they so readily dismissed (i.e., He is God) was the truth. He asks them whether it is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” Obviously, it is easier to say the first because it is invisible and cannot be visibly proved. The latter can be verified immediately through physical and visible evidence. So, Jesus now determines to effectively say the latter in order to prove that He had effectively said the former. THE CLIMAX: THE MIRACLE The man “immediately” got up and walked “in the sight of everyone.” THE RESPONSE The people were “amazed” and “glorified God.” They also continued to come and listen to Jesus. At this point, however, I believe that a reproof again the scribes is in order. Jesus had sought to correct their legitimate, but incorrect, conclusion—the physical healing proved the veracity of His claim and power to forgive sins, and should have caused the Scribes to change their conclusion and submit to Him as their God. We know, however, that this was not their response. APPLYING THE STORY PRINCIPLE 1 — Jesus knows and can meet our greatest (and perhaps unknown) needs when we have faith in Him.
This man had faith in Jesus’ ability…this was more than knowledge about Jesus, belief in Jesus’ existence. I believe that this man sincerely and earnestly believed (as revealed in tearing the roof up) that Jesus could meet his needs and fix his problems. However, I don’t think that his faith was fully mature, correctly focused, or fully taught. His faith in Jesus is unquestioned, but it seems that he’s overlooking some things that we would consider integral, like Jesus’ purpose to save people from their sin. However, when he came in confident expectation to Christ to fix the problem, Jesus in His omniscience and grace honored his unwavering faith, by meeting his greatest need. The content of saving faith has changed throughout the ages (e.g., “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness”), but saving faith is always rooted in the ability and promises of God. Today, saving faith is a confident belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and in His ability to completely fulfill His promise to save to the uttermost those that come unto God by Him. This man demonstrated saving faith by unwaveringly and desperately clinging to the truth that if he just got to Jesus, Jesus would know what to do. He didn’t have all his theology worked out; He hadn’t thought through all the details of who Jesus was…but He confidently believed in Jesus’ ability to meet his need. And he discovered that faith in Jesus gets all of Him—Jesus met his physical and spiritual needs. This is grace – He didn’t give them only what they asked for. Faith in Jesus, even though not fully mature (i.e., they believed in His ability to physically heal, but perhaps they hadn’t considered His ability to spiritually heal), was what pleased Jesus and caused Him to respond by meeting the need, not just the request. PRINCIPLE 2 — Christ honors our faith when we bring other people to Him. And, considering that He alone really knows the true needs, He may do more than we ever expected. Had they allowed the circumstances to deter their perseverance to get their friend to the only One who they believed could help him (e.g., embarrassment from the situation), their friend would not only have never walked, but he also would have never experienced salvation. Their faith was in some way catalytic to the spiritual healing of their friend. This would have been one of those sobering “wow” moments, in which they would have been very thankful for God’s grace in overlooking their limited faith and using it to draw this man (and perhaps themselves) to Himself. From the paralytic’s perspective, he had done nothing (except believe). His friends had been tools. God had orchestrated everything (i.e., He had given the crippled man these friends and stirred within them this faith in Jesus’ physical-healing ability). Jesus saw and met the true need though these friends. Comparing Scripture with Scripture, this passage cannot be teaching that a man can be saved by someone else’s faith. However, the passage is emphasizing how influential your faith can be in the salvation of someone else. Application: How can we demonstrate faith by bringing people to Jesus? Not bringing people to Jesus reveals a lack of faith. 1. Bringing the unsaved to Jesus:
PRINCIPLE 3 — I don’t need any other proof from Jesus; I just need to trust Him. Dear Church Family,
I got to mix things up a bit this week by being in Junior Boot Camp. It was great! The schedule is different, the games are different, and the kids are different, but the goal is still the same: to point kids to Christ. The beginning of the week was very difficult because I didn't understand where things were and was having a hard time grasping the schedule. I was frustrated and struggling to get where I needed to be at the right time. However, I realized that my need to know everything and have everything go perfect and according to my plan was just pride. Instead of being humble and okay with asking for help, I was determined to try and do everything myself...which never works. God is so gracious to forgive and guide when we mess up! Once I made peace with not having it all together, things went much smoother, we had more fun, and I was able to build more bridges with my campers. Sometimes, you just have to jump in the huge puddles — you can't give up that perfect opportunity! On Monday, I asked each of my campers to write down on a scale of 1 to 10 how sure they were that they would be going to heaven. After seeing their answers, I started praying that a couple of them would be saved or gain understanding and assurance of their standing with God. I was able to get some one-on-one time with one of the girls on Wednesday, who I read had written a 0, while we were walking back to our cabin. She started telling me about her family and I asked her if there was ever a time where she had gotten saved. She responded with a yes and I asked her to explain to me the plan of salvation. Like any kid who grew up in a Christian home, she was able to give me a clear gospel message, but I still wasn't convinced. Finally, I asked her what salvation meant to her, and she got very quiet. After a minute she looked up at me and said, "It's just amazing. God's love is just amazing. I know my parents love my brother and I, and they would do anything for us; I can't believe that God would send His only Son to die for me. I could never earn it and I don't deserve it. It's amazing how much He loves me." What a blessing! This teeny-tiny nine-year-old totally understood the gospel in a very real and moving way. She wasn't too young to understand or apply the gospel to her life. I looked back later at her card, and she had written "10.0," of which I had only seen the last "0." She's definitely saved, but what a great reminder. May the gospel never get old, whether we're nine, nineteen, or seventy-nine. This weekend, I've been meditating on Isaiah 1:18 which says, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." I love that Christ washes us completely clean — there's not even evidence that there was ever a stain! It's such a privilege to be here and see kids come to Christ and be washed with the blood of the cross. I so look forward to seeing some of our church family this week. I will be in JBC again, so I don't think I will have any Colonial campers, but I hope to run into as many as I can! Thank you so much for your prayer and support. I am praying for our church family also this week, as I know it will be a week of remembrance, tears, and joy. Brittany Sherrill Dear Church Family,
This has been another week of amazing joy. I am continually being exhorted with truth, and its incredible! It is such a joy to be here, and God has shown He is more powerful than any circumstance or shortcoming over and over again. He alleviates any pressure for me to "change people" and promises that if I spend my summer loving and enjoying Him, becoming more like His Son, and sharing truth, He will take care of the changing. He doesn't need us, but is the highest honor that, as Christians, we can be involved in His work. I again had seniors and graduated seniors in my cabin, and it was a blast! All were saved and sure they were saved; most of them were even consistent in devotions, so I was able to dig deep and help them with issues that had to do more with growth. God used even this to help me combat my fear of man in helping them to see a blind spot where they may be struggling. They were such a blessing to me, and it was a very joyful, laughter-filled week for us. There was an incredibly tough situation one of my campers had been through, when someone else's sin radically changed her life. She brought this to me at the beginning of the week, and my heart just broke for her. However, God is good 100% of the time, and does good 100% of the time (Psalm 119:68). I wasn't sure that she was really understanding her need to forgive, allow God to judge, and grow, but on Friday, she gave a testimony that God had helped her to change her thinking. Because she had been forgiven of much, she could forgive of much. She left going home with a joyful heart, having a plan and ready to follow in obedience. Praise God that He can make beauty out of ashes! It's amazing that even situations in our own lives that were the result of our sin or another's sin, when given over to God, have produced an even greater understanding of God's character through seeing His mercy, unconditional love, and sufficiency. Praise God that He can even give ministry opportunities to us through those circumstances — He truly is greater than our sin! I'm looking forward to another week of camp. There is so much joy in being surrounded with truth, but I can't wait to get back to our mission field in Indianapolis. Please pray that God will continue to make me broken over my sin. It's such a temptation to "get used" to hearing the preaching everyday, but I MUST listen and examine my own heart for God to use me and change me. It is an incredible privilege to be in a place where I am surrounded by truth, but that also makes me responsible for growth. This week, God has shown me even more that He can change lives, and I desire for him to change mine. Thank you for praying for me. Having a church family like ours is truly a blessing and I can't wait to be back in August! Brittany Sherrill |
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