Scripture Mark 2:1-12
Matt 9:1-9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you
entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say,
'Get up and walk'? 6 But so that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7 And the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw
this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such
authority to men.
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
Luke
5:17-28
One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the
law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem,
were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the
sick. 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.
20 When Jesus saw
their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
The Pharisees and the teachers of the
law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this
fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Jesus knew what they were thinking and
asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is
easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But
that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. .
. ." He said to the paralyzed man,
"I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them,
took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. Everyone was amazed
and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Mark
2:1-12
A few days later,
when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even
outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3 Some men
came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the
crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through
it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's
blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what
they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you
thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say
to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat
and walk'? 10 But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, 11 "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full
view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen
anything like this!"
The
faith of the Friends / (Jesus has authority to forgive sins)
Mr. Mefford
– baseball coach
Mrs.
Bland – 6th grade tutor
Zach
Wilcox – backdoor neighbor
Bryan
Hitch – best friend
Who
are the ones you are carrying to set before Jesus?
To Timothy, my dear son: I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also (because they carried you on a mat and laid you before Jesus). For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God (to carry other people to Jesus), which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
What you heard from me, keep as the
pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good
deposit that was entrusted to you — guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit
who lives in us.
May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me (he carried Paul to Jesus). May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.
Augustine of Hippo
“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
1 Cor
13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love (to carry someone on a mat to bring them before Jesus), I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love (to carry someone on a mat to bring them before Jesus), I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love (to carry someone on a mat to bring them before Jesus), I gain nothing. 1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
It’s hope that picks up their mat, it’s faith that sets
their mat before Jesus, but, it is love that carries their mat. Once you get
them their it is the words of Jesus – the words written in red – the words from
the son of God that will bring hope, healing, encouragement and life eternal!
No comments:
Post a Comment