Mark 2:1-12
~17 min read
💭 Consider this: Who in your life is like the paralytic man—unable to come to Jesus on their own—and how can you be one of the “four friends” bringing them closer to Christ?
TRANSCRIPT
Today we will take a break from our usual study from the book of Exodus and we want to consider a passage from Mark 2:1–12 which was about the healing of the paralytic men. There are several lessons we can learn from this passage, especially in regards to the determination of the four friends who, despite all obstacles and hindrances, still managed to bring their sick friend to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The title of our message is: What does it take to bring someone to Christ?
I. The Preaching Of The Word
Firstly, we see the efforts the four friends undertook to bring their sick friend to hear the preaching of the word.
Let us begin with Mark 2:1-2: “And again he [Jesus] entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.”
Jesus had been preaching for some time around the region. And then He returned to Capernaum, which was commonly known as His headquarter, and He made His appearance there. The disciple Peter was from Capernaum, but here it was not mentioned whether it was Peter's house or not. Nonetheless, when Jesus entered into the house, it was known to the people that He had arrived. It was as if they were anticipating His coming. There were so many people that there was even no room for them to stand, except outside the door.
It was truly a blessing to see so many people pressing forward to come to Jesus. But the question is: 'How did they come to know of His presence, and how did they hear that He was in that particular house?’ In those days, there was no media or telecommunication to send the message across to the people. Most, if not all the time, the news would travel by word of mouth.
So one important lesson we can learn from here is that the people were very evangelistic. Why do we say that? Because the Bible tells us that Jesus was preaching the word, and they had brought their friends and relatives to come and listen to Him.
Perhaps they were telling one another, ‘Come, let us go and hear from Jesus.’
Today, people have this misconception that bringing people to Jesus is the duty of the pastors, preachers, elders and deacons, and as for them, their duty is just to come to church. All they need to do is just to attend the worship services. Bringing people to Christ is not somebody's work. It is everybody's work.
Have we become so self-seeking, complacent and inward-looking that we have forgotten about evangelism? We have forgotten about souls that were lingering outside the kingdom of God—souls that would be lost for all eternity.
We should learn from the disciples in the Bible. Acts 8:4 tells us that when the disciples were scattered abroad, they went everywhere preaching the word. The disciples, who believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, even though they were persecuted and scattered all over the place— but wherever they went, they were preaching the word of God.
Well, some of us may be wondering: But I do not have the knowledge of the Bible and I do not know how to evangelise. Essentially, the issue is not just with the knowledge, but it is with the heart. If we have the heart, we will want to be equipped with the knowledge to begin with. Even with the limited knowledge that we have, we will have the heart to bring the people to church so that they can hear the message of salvation.
If you notice, the people did not come because there was a great banquet in the house. Some years ago, after I attended the worship service in a particular church, someone said to me, ‘I come to church to enjoy the air conditioning. The seats are so comfortable—it is a perfect place to take a nap.’
Most certainly the people did not come for the comfort. Can you imagine so many people packed into one house? It must have been most uncomfortable. Perhaps some came out of curiosity, others came because of their friends. But whatever be the case, they all came, and the Bible says, Jesus preached the word unto them.
It is worthy to note that Jesus preached to the people in the house. It was not in the temple or in the synagogue—it was an ordinary house. Again, people have this misconception that the word of God should only be preached in the church. It should only be preached in a particular setting like in a worship service. The fact of the matter is that the word of God should be preached anywhere and anytime.
It could be over a meal, or visiting a friend in the hospital, or at a birthday party, or during our lunch breaks, etc.—wherever and whenever God gives us the opportunity. Isaiah 32:20 says, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters.”
I urge all of you that, even if you do not know how to evangelise or how to begin evangelising, the least you can do is to give out a gospel tract. Because faith cometh from hearing, and hearing from the word of God.
I remember my days in the Far Eastern Bible College. We used to have gospel rallies. At one particular gospel rally—and prior to that gospel rally—the students would go out week after week to give out gospel tracts in preparation for the gospel rally.
At that particular gospel rally, only one soul was saved. And when we talked to that particular person, he said he received this tract not from someone, but he found it on the floor thrown away by someone else. He read it, he attended the gospel rally and heard the full message of salvation, and he was saved.
You and I cannot imagine the amazing ways in which God can save a person. But it must begin with this heart to evangelise.
Now we come to the four friends who brought their friend who was sick of palsy.
II. The Obstacle To Overcome
This brings us to our second point: ‘The Obstacle To Overcome’.
Mark 2:3-4, “And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.”
To be sick of palsy means he was paralysed—totally disabled and incapacitated. This man had to be carried, while lying in his bed, by at least four people. Everyone was gathered in the house and there was no room even for one more person, let alone someone lying on his bed.
The Bible did not mention anything about healing, except Jesus was preaching the word. So this paralytic man also wanted to hear the word. He could not stand and walk, let alone join the crowd and force his way into the house. But he had four good friends. Friends who brought him to Jesus Christ despite the obstacles.
It is difficult not to notice the four friends who carried the paralytic men. In fact, little or nothing was mentioned about them. We do not know their names, or their ages, or their professions, etc. All those things were non-essentials. The only thing we know about them was that they cared for their sick friend and they wanted him to hear Jesus preach the word.
You can imagine, as they approached the house with their sick friend lying on his bed, the house was crowded to the brink. They would have turned and said to him, ‘Look here, we want you to hear the word, but there's no way we can ever get you into the house—maybe some other time.’ However, they did not give up.
As they looked up to the roof, they thought to themselves, ‘If we cannot get him in through the front door, maybe we can get him in through the roof.’ They brought him up to the roof, took off some of the tiles to let down his bed into the house where Jesus was preaching.
Now this speaks a great deal about their faith and fervency. They just want to bring their friend to Jesus Christ. They were so determined that no obstacle was huge enough to deter them, and they would not give up until their friend was blessed by God.
This reminds us of Jacob in the Old Testament, who wrestled with God. He was so adamant that he would not leave God or let God leave him until He blessed him. You can read about that in Genesis 32:6.
About these four friends, the Bible simply says it in four words: Jesus saw their faith. It is so significant.
Dear friend, let us pause for a moment and consider ourselves. How enthusiastic are we about evangelism? It is inevitable that there will be obstacles in bringing people to Jesus Christ, whether it be our unbelieving grandparents, parents, children or friends.
Perhaps you have tried to encourage your loved ones and friends to come to church but they have always rejected you, or you have tried desperately to plead with them to believe in the gospel but they have always rejected and mock at you. Or you have always been praying for their salvation and there seems to be no response. Are you discouraged? Will you persevere or will you give up?
Like the four friends, those obstacles were like the crowd right before them, but they were able to see beyond the crowd and onto the roof. The only thing in their minds was: how could we get our sick friend to the Lord Jesus Christ? The roof must be broken. No doubt it would be extremely difficult to carry their friend up to the roof, and it would be very troublesome to open a hole large enough to hoist their friend into the house. But whatever be the cause, they were willing to bring their friend to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The question we need to ask ourselves is this: are we willing to overcome the obstacles, whatever they may be, to bring the unbelievers to the Lord Jesus Christ? Can any obstacles like inconveniences, rejections, mockeries, be able to hinder us from bringing someone to the Lord Jesus Christ?
This is a wonderful lesson we ought to learn from the four friends. They went through all those difficulties to get their sick friend to Jesus so that he might hear the word of God. Perhaps they had already heard about Jesus healing the sick, the lame, and the blind, and they were always carrying their sick friend all the time when they thought to themselves that if only we could bring him over to Jesus, we may not need to carry him anymore.
III. The Blessing Of Healing
But they did not expect a greater blessing than that - and that is the blessing of healing. Look at verse five: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Although here only the faith of the four friends was mentioned, it does not mean that the paralytic man did not believe. Salvation is personal and God does not save someone based on the faith of another person. That person has to personally believe in God. If the paralytic man did not believe, he would not have allowed his four friends, however sincere and loving they were, to hoist him up to the roof and then down into the house where Jesus was preaching.
So we can safely say that he did play an active part in urging and allowing his four friends to bring him to the only one who could save him. Then listen to the kind words that Jesus said to the paralytic man: ‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’ It is so comforting to hear someone call us "Son". It speaks of a fatherly care and concern.
God is the Father of every believer and if one of His sons is sick of palsy, would He not be concerned? Most certainly He will be concerned. But God is not only concerned about our physical healing; He's more concerned about our spiritual healing. That was why Jesus said, ‘Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.’
Allow me to quote Matthew Henry, the Bible commentator. He said sin is the root cause of all our pains and sicknesses. You should not be trimming the tree; you go for the roots of the tree. The word of God is not just to help us to feel good about this physical body, but it points us to the root of the problem. And that is sin. And when we understand the seriousness of sin and the effect of sin, the Bible then turns us to Christ our Saviour, and Jesus is able to say, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee.’ Because He is the only Saviour who died on the cross for our sins.
As the psalmist says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases." (Psalm 103:1–3)
When Jesus saw their faith in Him, He touched and healed the paralytic men. It was truly a blessing to be healed by the Almighty God. One moment he could not even stand up and walk, the next moment he could carry his own bed and walk. What a blessing.
But I believe that it was not only the paralytic man who was blessed—the four friends were also blessed in a mighty way. Why? Can you imagine if you are one of the four friends who was used as an instrument to bring someone to the Lord Jesus Christ? Most certainly you will be blessed tremendously. It will be a blessing that words cannot express.
That was the reason why Jesus commended the faith of the four friends—because He knew that they had brought their sick friend despite all the obstacles, hindrances and difficulties. God knows.
Do you think God does not know the difficulties you went through in bringing the people to Him? He knows all the inconveniences, rejections and mockeries that you have to endure. He knows. And the same thing He said to the four friends, He will also say to you: ‘I saw your faith.’
We thank God for the four friends who had such great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But today, there are many people who focus so much on the subject of faith that they forget the object of faith—and that is God.
If you have ever attended the miracle healing in the Charismatic church, you will know what I mean. The pastor will invite those who are sick to the stage in order to be healed without considering the sovereign will of God. He will lay hands on the sick; he will command the entire congregation to pray; he will speak in tongues perhaps and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus to heal. And after all the frenzy, when the person is not healed—and most of the time they are not healed—he would conveniently say, ‘Dear brother, it is because you have this lack of faith, and because of this lack of faith, you are not healed.’
But dear friend, for you know this brother has nothing but faith, and he believes with all his heart that he will be healed. But it is simply not the will of God. He has not considered the sovereign will of the Almighty God.
Remember, Lazarus was raised from the dead not because of his faith, but because of the power and sovereign will of God. The ten lepers were healed—nine of them did not return and give thanks to God, signifying they did not believe. It was not because of their faith, but because of the power and sovereign will of God.
Therefore, you and I must humble ourselves and pray that may the will of God be done.
Look at verses 6 and 7: “But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?"
The scribes and Pharisees were experts of the law and what they said is true. Their doctrine was right—that it was blasphemous that any creature could ever forgive sin, because only God could do that. Forgiveness was God's prerogative. It is true that none can forgive sin but God alone. Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."
Only God alone can forgive sins. Their doctrine was correct, but their hearts were not right. They said this not because of their conviction of God's word, but because of their ignorance and rejection of Jesus Christ. They claimed to believe in the written word—that is, the Bible. But in their hearts, they rejected the living Word—that is, Jesus Christ.
Verse 8: “And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
No man can ever read another man's heart. No man can ever see into the innermost of our hearts. Only God alone can. Jesus already knew that they were questioning Him in their hearts. This proves that He was 100% God, because only God was omniscient, all knowing. Revelation 2:23 says, "I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts."
Only God has the ability to search the innermost of our hearts. And Christ, who is God, has the authority to forgive sins.
Jesus then asks a very pertinent question: “Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy, ) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. (Mark 2:9-12)"
Humanly speaking, to raise a paralytic man is an impossible task. A man who has been a paralytic will probably have to be a paralytic for the rest of his life. It takes a miracle to happen.
But God, who can open the Red Sea, send manna from heaven, water from the rock, and raise the dead—what is it so difficult for Him to say to the paralytic man, ‘Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house’?
If the scribes and Pharisees knew their theology, they would know that it was easier for God to raise the man sick of palsy than to forgive his sins. Why? Because to forgive his sins is entirely different. The penalty of sin has to be paid. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. And not just any blood—it has to be the blood of a perfect man.
And Jesus, who is the perfect God, is also the perfect man, who shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary. He died in order to provide the forgiveness of sins. Only Christ alone has the authority to say, ‘Thy sins be forgiven thee.’
The Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone of us, without exception—we have all sinned. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). We have all gone out of our ways. We do not seek after God. Our natural sinful inclination is to gravitate towards sin and not God.
When God judges us, none of us can stand before Him. Because of our sins, we are all condemned for eternal damnation. But because of God's justice, He must punish our sins; otherwise, He will not be a just and righteous God. But God loves us. Despite us sinning against Him again and again, He loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ - who suffered on the cross, shed His precious blood, and died to provide the forgiveness of our sins.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
It is a terrible thing to be physically handicapped, but the worst thing that can happen to a person is not being physically handicapped, but spiritually blind.
Today there are many people out there, even in our midst, who are spiritually blind. It is not the sin of murder, or the sin of stealing, or the sin of adultery, but the sin of unbelief that will send us to eternal Hell. Because the sin of unbelief is the sin that we will reject the only Saviour who can provide the forgiveness of our sins.
Most of us here have many loved ones who are physically sick. We love them so much, and we want them to be healed. But dear friends, more importantly, we must understand that they are spiritually sick. They are still lingering outside the kingdom of God. As much as we pray for their physical healing, they need to hear the gospel message.
And there will be obstacles. But whatever be the obstacles, we must be like the four friends who were able to see beyond the obstacles and onto the roof. The place whereby they could bring their sick friend to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Are we able to see beyond the obstacles—whether it be inconveniences, hindrances, rejections, mockeries, whatever—and see the path, the opportunity that God has given to us, that we may bring someone to Him?
God knows our hearts. He knows our evangelistic efforts. And whatever we do by faith, like the four friends, it will not be in vain.
The greater blessing is not the physical healing, but the spiritual healing. That is the most wonderful thing—to hear our Lord say to our unbelieving loved ones and friends, ‘My son, my daughter, thy sins be forgiven thee.’
I pray that all of us will learn from these four friends—that their sick friend needed to hear the gospel. Their sick friend needed to come to Jesus. There will be obstacles. But whatever be the cost, they were willing to bring him. And then they would experience the greatest blessing—when Jesus said to him, ‘Son, thy sin be forgiven thee.’
May this be in our hearts and in our minds always—that you and I will be evangelistic. This is what it takes to bring someone to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. Father in Heaven, indeed oftentimes we have become so self-seeking, complacent and inward-looking that we have forgotten about evangelism. That we have forgotten about what truly matters—the saving of souls. Physical healing, as important as it is, the greater blessing is the spiritual healing.
We have come tonight to submit our prayers and supplications, of which many items are pertaining to the healing of our loved ones and friends. Some of them are still lingering outside Thy kingdom. We may have shared the gospel with them in time past, and they have rejected us.
There are obstacles, surely. But we want to learn from the four friends to look beyond the obstacles and onto the way that God has made—a path for us, that we may bring the gospel to our unbelieving loved ones and friends.
May we be evangelistic and enthusiastic in sharing the gospel, so that souls can be saved. May this always be on our minds and in our hearts, and be lived out in our lives.
Bringing people to the Lord is not somebody's work. It is everyone's work. And we pray that we will play a part in bringing people to Thee, all to the glory of Thy precious name. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF MARKWhat Does It Take To Bring Someone To Christ?What Does It Take To Bring Someone To Christ?Mark 2:1-12
If I May Touch But His Clothes, I Shall Be WholeIf I May Touch But His Clothes, I Shall Be WholeMark 5:25-34
He Saw Them ThroughHe Saw Them ThroughMark 6:45-51
Doctrine and DiscipleshipDoctrine and DiscipleshipMark 8:27-38
The Danger of Being a Stumbling BlockThe Danger of Being a Stumbling BlockMark 9:42-50
Deprived by Sight, But Not of FaithDeprived by Sight, But Not of FaithMark 10:46-52