Throughout life, there will be those special people who will come along beside you and help wherever and whenever needed. They love you and want what is best for you. These are the people we call friends. We have moved to 5 different states with my husband’s work, and every move, God placed people in my life who were true friends. Those are the people you hold close to your heart and never forget. The Bible speaks about friendship as one who sticks closer than a brother in Proverbs 18:24. This friend crosses the ties that blood binds. We cannot choose the family we are born into, but we can choose our friends. Wow, what a friend that will be closer to me than family. This verse also gives us instructions on how to find this kind of friend. We must show ourselves to be friendly. We must be selfless instead of selfish and be the kind of friend to others that we would desire for ourselves.
Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
In Mark 2:1-12, we find the story of a paralyzed man. He had no means of healing and was dependent on others to do anything that required the use of his legs. While this would be a horrible situation, he was blessed with four friends who were determined to get help for him.
Jesus was in Capernaum in a house, and soon the news that he was there spread. People flocked to hear and see this miracle worker. In verse 2, so many people were in the house that there was no way to bring the man through the door. Some friends would feel sad but would accept this packed house as a “closed door” to help their friend. However, these friends were the kind that would never give up. These friends saw the closed door as a chance to be creative and continue until their goal was achieved. They transported their friend to the rooftop and created an opening in the roof to lower their friend through. The result was the success in healing their friend.
Interestingly, Jesus’ response was, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” There are two reasons that scholars say they think He said they sins are forgiven as opposed to first giving him the command to walk. First, the Jews acquainted sickness as a result of sin. Second, it was Jesus way of showing who He was, God in the flesh!
Jesus saw the faith of these five men, and He rewarded them with a miracle. The paralyzed man had to have great faith to allow these men to lower him from a rooftop, but it was the faith of the four men that carried him that I want to focus on. These four men were determined to get their friend to Jesus. Nothing was going to stop them. They had undoubtedly tried many ways to get into the house, all of which had failed. The only other option was to tear a hole in the home’s roof. I can only imagine the conversation between them. They were taking a big risk. It is not stated that they knew the owner. What we do know is that they were friends on a mission. Their faith in Jesus and their love for their friend could not be stopped. Their persistence paid off. Their friend was healed. I can only imagine the joy that filled their hearts as they watched this miracle unfold. This man not only had four friends who were committed to Him, but he now had a friend in Jesus. Wow, what friends!
Mark 2:2-12 “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. 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. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there were 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? 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? 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.”
These men faced adversity, and Jesus faced ridicule and accusations of blasphemy, but nothing stopped them from pushing through to gain physical and spiritual healing for him. What are you willing to do for those you call friends? What about those who are lost without Jesus? Their sickness is worse than physical sickness; unless you get them to the Great Physician, they will suffer Hell eternally. Do you love them enough to suffer ridicule, the loss of money you needed for something else, or the loss of their friendship if you were honest with them? True love does what is best for their friend. If you are not seeking to help them find Jesus or grow in their faith, you do not love them the way you are supposed to. We must examine our lives to see if we love selflessly or selfishly. At the end of the day, it is all about how much you love Jesus, because if you love Him “you will keep His commandments” (John 14:15b). Do you love Jesus enough to do whatever it takes to get people to Him?
