Tag Archives: roof

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – BOOMERANG BLESSING!

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BOOMERANG BLESSING!

“One day as He was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, He said, ‘Friend, I forgive your sins.'” Luke 5:17-20.

Talk about initiative! These men were certainly determined to get their friend to Jesus.

How big was the house? A normal family home could not have been big enough to host fifty or a hundred people even if they squashed into every room. And it was full of scribes and Pharisees. What an elite congregation Jesus had that day from all over Israel, so Luke tells us! This rabbi must have caused quite a stir in the land – without Twitter or Facebook!

The men with the sick friend weren’t concerned about who was in the congregation. They had a mission — to get their friend to Jesus. He needed a miracle and there was no one better than Jesus to do it. There was no way they could get him through the door and past all the people, but a flat-roofed house and the roof conveniently accessible by an outside staircase was all they needed to carry out their plan.

Imagine the surprise and consternation when pieces of the roof began falling on the crowd inside. Then some faces appeared and next a man suspended on a mat. The hole in the roof must have been quite big to allow them to manoeuvre a paralysed man on a sleeping mat through.

Of course the people made way for him then. They didn’t want him coming down on their heads! Talk about determination! If the crowd would not make space for him from below, they certainly would from above. Nothing was too big an obstacle for them even to ripping up the roof. That could always be repaired but Jesus might move on and their opportunity might have been lost.

What went through Jesus’ mind as the man was slowly lowered to the ground in front of Him? Was He amused? He certainly was impressed, according to Luke. Jesus, impressed? God, impressed? Is there anything that humans can do to impress God? It seems that the answer is ‘Yes”.

There was one thing that impressed Jesus, many times over – faith. He even categorised faith; no faith; little faith; great faith and such great faith. Why was faith such a big deal to Him? What else is there that links people to an unseen God and gets such a lavish response from Him?

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV).

It’s quite understandable really. If you don’t trust me, why should I do anything for you?

But what is more surprising is that Jesus responded to the faith of the friends. Can one person believe for another? Of course! Don’t we do that all the time when we pray for others; otherwise what’s the point?

There’s something beautiful about believing for others. It’s part of the way God works. Every time we reach out to someone else, be it through prayer or helping in some way, we create a current that comes back to us. It’s one of those laws that God has built into the very fabric of human life.

Jesus put it like this: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV).

It’s what I call “boomerang blessing.”

The Conflict Begins

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THE CONFLICT BEGINS

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that He had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to Him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on (Mark 2: 1-4).

Picture the scene. Jesus left Capernaum after a mass healing in the town. A leper had been cleansed but, instead of keeping quiet about it as Jesus had instructed him to do, he became a walking advert for the Healer, forcing Jesus to withdraw from the town. After a few days, when the dust had settled, He returned, only to be mobbed again, this time to hear Him preach. He was in the house – whose house we do not know – and every room was crowded with people who wanted to hear Him.

When a group of men arrived, carrying their paralysed friend on a mat, no one would give way for them. The people were wedged so tightly together in the house that it was impossible for them to make a gap, even if they wanted to. The mat-bearers had only one alternative – the roof. Imagine that! They were so determined to plant their friend under Jesus’ nose that they had no compunction about ripping a hole in the roof to do it.

Flat-roofed houses in the Middle East had balconies which were used to cool off at night. The men quickly carried their burden up the outside staircase, set him down and began to dig up the roof. Imagine the surprise of the people inside when bits of mud and plant debris began to fall from above. They must have wondered what on earth was going on! They soon got out of the way, leaving a cleared space right where Jesus sat.

That was exactly what these men were aiming for. When their friend came down through the roof, lowered on his mat by the four men, he came to rest right at Jesus’ feet.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralysed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Mark 2: 5).

Hey! That’s not why they came. The man needed healing, not forgiveness. If he wanted forgiveness, they could have taken him to the temple and offered a sacrifice for him. What was wrong with Jesus? Couldn’t He see what the man’s problem was?

Ah, but Jesus saw his heart. His friends thought they knew what he needed but Jesus knew better. Perhaps the condition of his body was merely a symptom of something deep inside, something he had never dared mention to another soul. He had enough hours in every day to think. Perhaps his mind was so locked into his past that he was desperate to stop thinking.

What music the words of Jesus must have been in his ears. Forgiven! He never imagined it possible that he could feel such peace in his heart in an instant after all these years of guilt, shame and regret. Whoever this man was who had pronounced him forgiven, he believed Him; he felt it and it was like being in heaven. Even if he never walked again, it was worth the upheaval he caused to hear that word, “Forgiven!”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ (Mark 2: 6-7).

Enter the opposition! It had to happen. Sooner or later Jesus would bump heads with the religious types. They were like the proverbial Gestapo, always around to sniff out anything Jesus might say or do which could be used in evidence against Him. His popularity began to get to them. They were there, not to learn but to spy on Him to see how they could bring Him down.

Forgiven! This stuck in their throats. ‘How can He pronounce a man forgiven, just like that? What about sacrifice? How can He override what the Torah says about sin and sacrifice? This man is a blasphemer. He thinks He is God. He says things He has no right to say. We’ll have to watch Him closely. He’s leading the people astray. He must be crazy.’

We can’t judge them. Yet. After all, they knew nothing about Jesus except that He had amazing powers to heal and evict demons, and they had no idea how He did it.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Boomerang Blessing!

Bible Study, , ,

BOOMERANG BLESSING!

“One day as He was teaching, Pharisees and religion teachers were sitting around. They had come from nearly every village in Galilee and Judea, even as far away as Jerusalem, to be there. Some men arrived carrying a paraplegic on a stretcher. They were looking for a way to get into the house and set him before Jesus. When they couldn’t find a way in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof, removed some tiles, and let him down in the middle of everyone, right in front of Jesus. Impressed by their bold belief, He said, ‘Friend, I forgive your sins.'” Luke 5:17-20 (The Message).

Talk about initiative! These men were certainly determined to get their friend to Jesus.

How big was the house? A normal family home could not have been big enough to host fifty or a hundred people even if they squashed into every room. And it was full of scribes and Pharisees. What an elite congregation Jesus had that day from all over Israel, so Luke tells us! This rabbi must have caused quite a stir in the land — without Twitter and Facebook!

The men with the sick friend weren’t concerned about who was in the congregation. They had a mission — to get their friend to Jesus. He needed a miracle and there was no one better than Jesus to do it. There was no way they could get him through the door and past all the people, but a flat-roofed house and the roof conveniently accessible by an outside staircase was all they needed to carry out their plan.

Imagine the surprise and consternation when pieces of the roof began falling on the crowd inside. Then some faces appeared and next a man suspended on a mat. The hole in the roof must have been quite big to allow them to manoeuvre a paralysed man on a sleeping mat through.

Of course the people made way for him then. They didn’t want him coming down on their heads! Talk about determination! If the crowd would not make space for him from below, they certainly would from above. Nothing was too big an obstacle for them even to ripping up the roof. That could always be repaired but Jesus might move on and their opportunity might have been lost.

What went through Jesus’ mind as the man was slowly lowered to the ground in front of Him? Was He amused? He certainly was impressed, according to Luke. Jesus, impressed? God, impressed? Is there anything that humans can do to impress God? It seems that the answer is ‘Yes”.

There was one thing that impressed Jesus, many times over — faith. He even categorised faith; no faith; little faith; great faith and such great faith. Why was faith such a big deal to Him? What else is there that links people to an unseen God and gets such a lavish response from Him?

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV). It’s quite understandable really. If you don’t trust me, why should I do anything for you?

But what is more surprising is that Jesus responded to the faith of the friends. Can one person believe for another? Of course! Don’t we do that all the time when we pray for others; otherwise what’s the point?

There’s something beautiful about believing for others. It’s part of the way God works. Every time we reach out to someone else, be it through prayer or helping in some way, we create a current that comes back to us. It’s one of those laws that God has built into the very fabric of human life. Jesus put it like this: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV).

It’s what I call “boomerang blessing.”