The man with Palsy - Thoughts on "Hope" - Wednesday evening notes 10-7-2020

 

The man with Palsy…….

“And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 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. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.”

“When they could not come near to him for the crowd, they removed the roof where he was” (v. 4a). They chop a hole in the roof to lower their friend into Jesus’ presence. As I understand it,the typical house of that day, the roof would be flat, supported by beams laid across the walls, and composed of a mud/thatch mixture. People would sometimes sleep on the roof during hot nights, and the roof would provide a private retreat from a busy household. There would usually be a ladder standing outside to permit access to the roof. Getting a paralyzed man up the ladder would be no small task, and would require courage on the part of the paralyzed man. Chopping a hole in the roof would be a bold means of solving the problem of access to Jesus. Some say that it is easy to repair a mud/thatch roof, but it is difficult to patch any roof so that it doesn’t leak. This damage is not trivial. It involves “a major demolition job”….

“When they had broken it up, they let down the mat that the paralytic was lying on” (v. 4b). Just imagine the paralyzed man’s feelings. He would not be securely strapped to a rigid litter—his mat would be a very makeshift carrying device. The friends probably didn’t chop a hole large enough for him to be lowered while perfectly horizontal. Nor would his friends be trained to handle litter patients. It is likely that the paralyzed man experienced a bit of rough handling as his friends lowered him through the roof.

Furthermore, this man was probably accustomed to sick-room quiet and solitude. To be the centre of attention in a crowd was probably as uncomfortable for him as his bumpy ride.

But he was a man without hope—except that in this moment he has hope that the healer will do for him what the healer has done for others. This would be a moment of almost unimaginable anticipation—and quite a lot of anxiety. But he had HOPE…

How important it is for us to have HOPE through Christ…. And how sad it is to be without HOPE.. To be hopeless…. A state of hopelessness would be the depth of despair..But through Christ we may have hope in out lives.. We pray because we have hope.. Or faith is a manifestation of our hope… It is another gift from God.. Praise God… Thank you Jesus…

It was this man's misery that he needed to be so carried, and shows the suffering state of human life; it was kind of those who so carried him, and teaches the compassion that should be in men, toward their fellow-creatures in distress. True faith and strong faith may work in various ways; but it shall be accepted and approved by Jesus Christ. Jesus implies that Sin is the cause of all our pains and sicknesses. The way to remove the effect, is to take away the cause. Pardon of sin strikes at the root of all diseases of the soul. Christ proved his power to forgive sin, by showing his power to cure the man sick of the palsy. And his curing diseases was a figure of his pardoning sin, for sin is the disease of the soul; when it is pardoned, it is healed. When we see what Christ does in healing souls, we must own that we never saw the like. Most men think themselves whole; they feel no need of a physician, therefore despise or neglect Christ and his gospel. But the convinced, humbled sinner, who despairs of all help, excepting from the Saviour, will show his faith by applying to him without delay.

(Read Mark 2:13-17)

In reflection Matthew was not a good character, or else, being a Jew, he would never have been a publican, that is, a tax-gatherer for the Romans. However, Christ called this publican to follow him. With God, through Christ, there is mercy to pardon the greatest sins, and grace to change the greatest sinners, and make them holy. This extends to you and I. In those days a faithful, fair-dealing publican was rare. And because the Jews had a particular hatred to an office which proved that they were subject to the Romans, they gave these tax-gatherers an ill name. But such as these our blessed Lord did not hesitate to converse with, when he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh

Christ would not withdraw, though the Pharisees were offended. If the world had been righteous, there had been no occasion for his coming, either to preach repentance, or to purchase forgiveness. We must not keep company with ungodly men out of love to their vain conversation; but we are to show love to their souls, remembering that our good Physician had the power of healing in himself, and was in no danger of taking the disease; but it is not so with us. In trying to do good to others, let us be careful we do not get harm to ourselves in the process….

It is wisdom that we must have as we oft times stumble forward….“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” - James 1:5

Let us pray for knowledge and wisdom daily… we can be thankful for HOPE in our lives and we pray for those who are without..those who despair and those who are hopeless… We pray that thou would give us strength, cool our weary heads , grant us peace and healing.. We know that you see our weaknesses clearly.. Raise us up Lord.. Help us rise above our weaknesses and human nature…

Lord Jesus, You promised to send your Holy Spirit to teach us all things. Bless this bible study

As we read and study your word today,

allow it truly to touch our hearts and to change our lives.

Amen.