The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]
Chapter 13. Jesus Healed a Paralyzed Man
IF YOU CAN HAVE ONE, YOU CAN HAVE THE OTHER
As Jesus continued his journey, news about him spread quickly. People were eager to hear him teach and witness his amazing miracles. Many wanted to be near him, believing that he could teach them about God and to help them in their time of need.
One day, Jesus was teaching in a crowded house in Capernaum. The place was filled with people, and a number of them could not even get inside.
Outside the house, a group of friends carried a man on a mat. This man was paralyzed and could not walk. His friends cared about him, and they had heard that Jesus could heal him. They wanted to get their friend to Jesus, but when they arrived, the crowd was too big for them to get inside.
They were determined to get help for their paralyzed friend, and so they came up with a bold plan. They climbed up to the roof of the house! Then they made an opening in the roof and lowered their friend down right in front of Jesus.
Jesus was not upset by this bold action and the interruption. He saw their faith. What they did showed Jesus that these people believed he could heal the paralyzed man. They believed that Jesus could do a miracle, and they took action to put their friend in a position where he could receive from Jesus.
So rather than getting angry, Jesus said to the man, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” What a relief this must have been. The man had experienced much suffering, humiliation, and inconvenience. Now at least he knew that he could be on the right terms with God. Whatever people thought of him, he knew that God forgave him and God did not hate him. This is often the beginning of healing in other areas of our lives.
However, some people in the crowd were offended. They were angry that Jesus said this. They had assumed that only God could forgive sins, and since they did not think of Jesus as God, they did not think he had the authority to declare someone’s sins as forgiven. But we understand that Jesus was indeed God. He was the Word made flesh. In any case, they complained, “Who does he think he is? He speaks blasphemy. Only God can forgive sins.”
They thought Jesus said something very wrong and disrespectful toward God. But it was not that they respected God very much themselves. It was only that they thought of themselves as very spiritual, and so whenever someone did something that disagreed with their doctrines and traditions, they became angry. They were not interested in protecting God, but in protecting themselves.
Jesus knew their thoughts and answered, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?” He claimed that he had authority to both forgive the sinful and heal the sick. He continued, “But to show you that I have the power to forgive sins,” he turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Get up, take up your mat and go home.”
Then the man did what he could not do before. He immediately picked up his mat and walked out in front of everybody. The people were amazed and praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!” Again, a healing miracle caused people to praise God. When God causes physical blessings, it also brings spiritual benefits.
Never hesitate to ask God for physical things. Some people will separate the physical and the spiritual, and they will tell you that you should ask God only for spiritual things, or they will say that God will give you only spiritual things.
This is obviously false. These people do not know God at all. Which is easier for God: the spiritual or the physical? God can do both spiritual and physical things, and he is interested in doing both spiritual and physical things in our lives.
The spiritual and physical are related. We can even say that spiritual forgiveness and physical healing are two sides of the same coin. If you have one, you can have the other. If you cannot have one, you cannot have the other. God is the author of them both. They come from the same source, and God gives them as one blessing.
Do not forget the important role the friends had in this miracle of healing. Many people might tell a sick man not to expect a miracle, and that he should not even try. But these friends joined together to bring the man to Jesus, and then they even carried him to the top of the house and broke a hole in the roof. Get friends like these for yourself, and be a friend like this to someone else. Be someone who brings people to Jesus.