This Week's Story
click here to play audioA paralyzed man finds an unusual way to get to Jesus!
This Week’s Story relives American history and the Bible through brief inspiring stories presented on mp3 audio recordings and text for reading.
The Man with no Name
“You guys, carry me through the crowd. Push, shove, whatever works. Get me into the house to Jesus.”
“We’re blocked. There’s no more room by the house’s door or inside.”
“I have to see Jesus.”
“We know. That’s why we carried you here on your mat.”
“You’re strong and there are four of you. Get rope and cut a hole through the roof. Lower me into the room below. Place me beside Jesus.”
“We can’t cut a hole into someone else’s house. Maybe tomorrow morning Jesus will take a walk to the sea. His followers Andrew and Simon Peter will probably be with him. You know how they used to fish with their dad on the Sea of Galilee.”
“Yes, I know, but do you know, my friends, how many years I have felt useless?”
“Too many!”
“You’re right! What can I do? I’m a man with no name. People call me ‘The Paralytic.’ My heart beats, but I am trapped in a body that won’t move. Use your arms, legs, and brains and get me to Jesus.”
“What if he can’t heal you?”
“He healed an ugly leper! No man can heal leprosy, unless he has God’s power. Jesus sent the man to a priest to be examined and to confirm that the healing was real.”
“We know. Everybody’s talking about it; that’s why Jesus can’t escape crowds.”
“Then take me to him now. No matter what time of the day we try to find him, people will be searching for him.”
One of the paralytic’s carriers got rope. The men hauled their friend up the outside staircase at the back of the house and placed him on the flat roof. Carefully they lifted roof tiles up. They dug through branches packed with dried mud. People in the room below were trying to listen to Jesus, but they couldn’t understand what was happening on the roof over their heads. Mud began dropping past the ceiling beams and onto the people.
Two of the four men leaped into the packed room. Two men above gently lowered the paralyzed man. The outstretched hands of his two friends reached him and placed him directly in front of Jesus.
Jesus said to him, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”
He calls me ‘my son’ and lifts my burdens.
Some religious teachers hissed, “Who does this man think that he is? He mocks God. Nobody but God can forgive sins.”
Jesus heard their accusations and asked, “Why do you think that my words are a curse against God? Is it easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ or to tell him, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’? I will show you that I have the authority to forgive sin.”
He turned to the stunned man who was also beginning to smile. “Stand up and take your mat. Go home. You are healed.”
The man jumped up with his mat. Then he did what his four friends couldn’t do. He pushed through the crowd. There was shocked quiet and then mouths flew open.
“Wow! Look at him move.”
“Amazing! I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“This passes belief, but I saw Jesus heal him.”
“I know this man. We both live in Capernaum.”
“God did this miracle. Praise God!”
This is Barbara Steiner with a story found in the Bible in Mark 2 and Luke 5. Please check out thisweeksstory.com.
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