Power at Every Level – Part 2

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No matter the severity of the problem, Jesus is always more than enough.

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Mark 2:3 – And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

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Today, let’s consider the man who was afflicted by palsy.  A few things should be quite evident.

• He had palsy; a disabling, crippling, killing disease. 
• Having this disease, you can only live as long as there is someone to take care of you.
• It frequently attacks one’s ability to walk, to have full functionality of the hands, and diminishing one’s ability to speak, and possible even to reason.
• It often attacks a person some years after birth, when they will begin to stumble, fall, and lose their mobility.
• When this happens as a child, other children, in their ignorant cruelty, will blame such a person for things they didn’t do. 
• Fear of the pain of falling and the blame for damaging things, often grips the palsied mind, crippling them even further.

Now with all those things in mind, can you imagine the terror in the palsied man’s mind as he is taken from his home, carried through strange areas, lifted high above the ground to the roof of a house, all the while fearing that he may be dropped or blamed for damage to the roof.  I can only imagine the depth of fear and torment that must have been coursing through his being.  The only thing he had was whatever trust he had in those who carried him; those four men, four acquaintances, four friends, for men of faith, for it was their faith that moved Jesus. 

I have often meditated upon the scene inside that house.  Picture it with me.  This man had been plagued by palsy, likely most of his life.  He was accustomed to the shaking, immobility, slurred speech, and total dependence upon other.  He had mentally trained himself most of his life to live in such a condition without thought; after all, there was no cure for him.  Lying on the floor before Jesus, the first words he hears are that his sins are forgiven.  You and I know that sickness and disease in the fruitfulness of sin, and that if sin is conquered, so is sickness, disease, poverty, and all that goes with them.  Because of the known connection, I am convinced that as soon as Jesus told him his sins were forgiven, all manifestations of the palsy that afflicted him, ceased to operate, and it was not until Jesus told him to get up, take his bed, and go home, that he realized he was healed.  Many times, we do not know a miracle or healing has taken place until we are challenged to do something we don’t think we can do.  Such a statement challenges our thinking in such a way as to cause us to recognize the current reality that is different from our past.  Let God’s Word do that for you today.

Manna for Today – Mark 2:1-12; Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 18:19-20; Deuteronomy 32:30; John 14:12-14; John 17:18; John 20:21