The Faith of the Friends

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven, my friend.”

Luke 5:18-20 GNT

It is a story you may know well. I thought I did. It is about a paralyzed man’s sins being forgiven. But it is also about the love and the faith of his friends. These men cared so much, they believed so much that no obstacle would prevent them from carrying their friend into the healing arms of Jesus. Am I that determined, that passionate about the life of my friends?

Thursday morning I listened as Toria Peterson taught this scripture of the paralyzed man lowered through the ceiling tiles, hoping for a miracle. It is an important story, showing up not only in Luke but also in the Gospels of Matthew (9:1-8) and Mark (2:1-12). I am in the process of writing the story of Jesus and I had written about this exact passage last spring. I posted that writing in March of this year, but I had missed something. I missed the faith of the friends!

As Toria taught, she instructed, “Look at the verbs!” I circled the ones in her translation: “…were carrying”, “trying to bring him”, “to set him down”, “did not find”, “went up on the roof”, “lowered him down”. Look at what the friends were doing. They were strong enough to carry a heavy burden of dead weight. They were resolute, refusing to be deterred by obstacles. They were wise to discern how to succeed in their objective. Look at what the paralyzed man did. Nothing. Nothing.

Look at what Jesus saw, “And Jesus, seeing their faith…” He didn’t see the faith of the paralyzed man – he saw the faith of the friends! And so, a miracle took place that day. Not only did the paralyzed man walk on strong legs; he walked into a new future, forgiven.

Let this be a great encouragement and a wonderful reminder; God grants miracles on behalf of our faith for our friends. That doesn’t seem possible, does it? God sees our concerns, He hears our prayers, He is moved by our determination to bring others to Him – to feel His healing touch, to hear His forgiving words, to receive His promise of life eternal. Do not be discouraged. Even when it seems impossible. Your faith is a powerful force in the healing hands of Jesus.

God uses willing people, full of faith. How will He use you?

Seeing their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

When we see those around us with the eyes of God, this is what we see: Beautiful by MercyMe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vh7-RSPuAA

Toria Peterson is Family Support Manager with Kidz2Leaders working to end generational incarceration. Kidz2Leaders provides stability, opportunity, and a Christian community for children of inmates to break the cycle of incarceration. Website: https://www.kidz2leaders.org

My previous post on this passage:

https://www.smallstoriesofabiggod.com/blog/2021/3/18/the-unforgivable-act-of-forgiving-sins