“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’” (Mark 2:1-12)
In Verse 4, we read the words: “they uncovered the roof”.
The force of the word “uncovered” is that they broke up the roof of the house, tearing up the fabric in order to lower the man down into the presence of Yeshua.
Observe what Yeshua did. He looked into the man’s eyes, and said: “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
This was a word of absolution, a word of God. The scribes were right when they said: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” They were wrong when they said: “Why does this man speak blasphemies like this?”
They did not know him.
Yeshua claimed that the authority which was that of God alone was vested in him as the "son of man". At that point the title “son of man” emerges in this Gospel. That title linked him to other men in a state of humility yet marked his relationship to God as one unified with his Heavenly Father – a perfect vehicle for the doing of the work of God.
When we consider Yeshua as the pattern of our service, we feel limited by any such consideration. We may, however, summarize the value of such incidents by saying that it reveals the relationship between prayer and power. Yeshua would pray in the early morning, and all the consequent influence followed upon that prayer.
Prayer is not just about bringing all of our petitions before God. Prayer also entails listening for God. Hearing what God has to say; consenting to what God does say; asking God for the power to obey.
To neglect these things is to be powerless when we meet circumstances where humanity is in suffering.
It is only through those of humble spirit that God always pours out his fullness for the blessing of others.
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