VISIBLE FAITH
Luke 5:18-20 nkj
18 Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. 19 And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
This is the famous story of the four men who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Jesus was speaking, and the house was so full that no one could get in the door to get to Jesus. Different cultures have different body space rules, a kind of unwritten code. Americans have big personal distances, while Middle Eastern cultures stand much closer. So, when the scriptures say the friends could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, this was a packed house.
What the friends did next was the outward manifestation of their inward faith. And their faith was visible. Jesus saw their faith. The four men who were carrying their paralyzed friend went up on the roof. Their faith would not let them quit when they were faced with a problem. No one was going to let them get to Jesus by conventional means. Their faith would not allow them to write their efforts off as a good try and go home. They looked for another way. They strongly believed that if they could get their friend to Jesus that he would be healed. I doubt they were looking for Jesus to simply comfort their friend. They believed that Jesus would enable him to walk again.
So these men went up on the roof, removed the tiles, and created a hole large enough to let down the man. Their faith allowed them to interrupt a meeting with many top religious rulers present. What these five men believed was bigger than their fear of rebuke from the religious leaders. Their faith was bigger than their concern for even what Jesus would think. They also must have believed that Jesus was just the type that would appreciate their boldness. So they kept digging.
I can only imagine that there were people yelling for them to stop. You don’t easily tear a man-sized hole through a roof. Their actions had to have caused a disturbance, and the Jewish culture was not overly polite. Somebody was going to say something. But their faith kept them digging.
And the paralyzed man had faith in Jesus as well. He could have backed his friends off, not wanting to create a scene. But he also believed if he could just get to Jesus, he would walk again. Being paralyzed is an awful thing and freedom is wonderful. This man was in complete agreement with the plan. His faith in Jesus said go for it and that’s what they did.
And Jesus saw their faith. The man was healed and able to walk out of the house carrying his bed. And he went glorifying God. It seems the crowd made room for the man with faith who received a miracle.
APPLICATION
This passage is a good reminder that faith is an act. We believe and act. We believe and speak. We believe and don’t give up when we face obstacles. We believe and look for a way. I believe we have more faith than we realize.
Years ago, when we needed a place to have church, we found the roller rink. I knew in my heart that was the place for us. Joy was with me, but many people thought it would never happen. But we kept moving. One of my board members later told me he did not think the roller rink would work, but because I was so convinced, he went along. I had roof-removing faith that the roller rink could be converted to a church, and we were able to utilize that building for seven years. Faith is visible; faith is an act.
PRAYER
Lord, show me where I can act on what I believe. I am not acting on a feeling; I am acting on Your word in scripture and the word You whisper to my heart. I want You to see my faith and be blessed.