Mat-Carrying, Roof-Raising Friends
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
Luke 5:18-19
It didn’t take long for Jesus’ ministry to take off following His forty days of temptation in the desert (4:1-13). Luke is peppered with brief snapshots of Him teaching, healing, connecting with the people: the news about (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of all their sicknesses (5:15).
Not only did the people show up: one day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law…had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem (5:17) specifically to check out this man.
What follows is one of my favorite stories. In my mind’s eye I can just see these four men (Mark 2:3) picking up the corners of their paralyzed friend’s sleeping mat and carrying him to the house where Jesus was teaching. The crowds had filled the house to capacity; but that didn’t deter them one bit. They lugged their friend up the stairs to the roof. There they tore off enough of the roofing tiles to lower him down on his mat, right in front of Jesus. Kind of got the Lord’s attention didn’t they, as well as that of the onlookers!
It's an eye-popping scene to me. Think of it—four friends who had not only faith in the healing power of Jesus, as He commends them (5:20); but cared enough to go to all that trouble. I wonder—would I have had such audacity given the circumstances?
The importance of faith and friends becomes critical to the story and our lives. In most cases it’s multiple friends with faith, not just one person, who bring others to Jesus. We each have a corner of the mat—a story to tell of personal faith or an example of Christ in our lives. Learning together, growing together, encouraging one another—that’s how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25) so others will see Jesus.
Do you have such mat-carrying, roof-raising friends? Are you such a friend?
Nancy P
All Scripture quotations are from the NIV Translation 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted.
Tags: Jesus, faith, friendship,
