Healing the Paralytic
Who's Your One • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
Intro
Here Jesus is in the midst of his earthly ministry and is teaching Pharisees and teachers of the law. It’s important to understand that these were “holy” men. They’ve come from all around to see Jesus and hear him speak.
Sermon Point 1: These Men Had a Mission
v. 17-18
People had come from all around to hear Jesus and this frustrated a small group of men standing outside. They had a friend who was paralyzed, and they were desperate for him to get the kind of healing only Jesus could provide.
The problem was there was no way for them to get in, especially with a stretcher.
They had heard so much about Jesus, they knew they had to see him.
They loved this brother so much that when they saw something could be done about his disability, they did everything in their power to get him the help that he needed.
Question
What drives you?
What things, spiritually, has God put on your heart that you long to see come to fruition in your lifetime?
Do you have kingdom dreams (like seeing people come to faith in Christ), or are your dreams all tied to this life?
Sermon Point 2: These Men Had an Eager Expectation
These men had already heard about Jesus and they believed that Jesus could heal their friend. They thought, “Maybe, just maybe if we get him to Jesus he might be healed.”
The only reason they took this risk is because of their mission. We see this truth throughout the bible as we find men and women driven by their God given mission.
Now imagine that your house is so packed that nobody else could get in. It’s standing room only.
But then, you hear this weird noise and the next thing you know is there’s a man being lowered THROUGH your roof.
I’d love to see you make an insurance claim for that!
What we see here is a tremendous example of faith.
The only reason they took this risk is because of their mission. We see this truth throughout the bible as we find men and women driven by their God given mission.
Question
Do you have an eager expectation of something coming to faith?
Does your eager expectation move you to action?
Sermon Point 3: These Men Encountered an Obstacle
The only reason they took this risk is because of their mission. We see this truth throughout the bible as we find men and women driven by their God given mission.
Now, make sure you don’t miss what’s happening here. Imagine you’re having a bible study at your house. You might get a little upset if someone spilled coffee on your carpet or broke a dish.
Now imagine that your house is so packed that nobody else could get in. It’s standing room only.
But then, you hear this weird noise and the next thing you know is there’s a man being lowered THROUGH your roof.
I’d love to see you make an insurance claim for that!
What we see here is a tremendous example of faith.
Because of the crowd, there was no way to Jesus.
At this point, many of us would have given up. Oh, well… there’s no way in.
We assume that an open door is equal to the path of least resistance. Think about this. Imagine if the apostle Paul would have only walked through open doors?
Half the New Testament would never have been written.
These men saw the obstacle, but because their hope and belief were so strong, they made their own door.
What people need more than anything else in this world is for someone to bring them to Jesus. Whatever trouble these men went through to bring their friend to Jesus was worth it.
Yet so often we let little things get in the way of inviting a friend to church, or offering to pray for someone, or bringing a Christ-centered perspective into a conversation.
What people need is a direct, personal encounter with Jesus Christ. So we should do whatever we can to bring them to a place where they can experience his healing touch.
Question
Who’s your one?
Who do you know that needs to know Jesus?
What lengths are you willing to go in order to introduce them to Jesus?
What would it look like for you to dig a hole in the roof?
Sermon Point 4: These Men Got More Than They Bargained For
Jesus doesn’t say anything about the man’s legs or paralysis. He focuses on the man’s soul and forgives the man’s sins.
Don’t settle for the mundane when Jesus wants the miraculous.
Everyone else thought the primary need of this paralyzed man was external and what we see Jesus do here in this passage is exactly what we all need.
This man’s problem was not that he was paralyzed. His problem was that he was a sinner!
Here’s what Jesus thinks about sin:
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
In his commentary on this passage, Thabiti Anyabwile says, “it’s better to limp into heaven than to run into hell.”
Jesus shows us that our greatest need is an internal posture of the heart that needs to be changed.
Our main need is spiritual forgiveness and this is what Jesus addresses.
When Jesus addresses that deeper need, people are filled with awe!
This brothers and sisters is the heart of the gospel.
Question
How did others play a role in your trusting in Jesus?
In what ways has Jesus transformed your life?
Why would you not long for this same type of transformation in others?
v. 21
These so-called holy men are correct that only God can ultimately forgive sin. They don’t recognize what’s going on right before their eyes.
We can see here that people can sometimes have the right theological position but still not have a right relationship with God.
The scribes and Pharisees failed to recognize that Jesus IS God the eternal Son.
By forgiving people’s sins, Jesus was effectively claiming to be God.
v. 22
Jesus doesn’t argue or try to explain. Our Lord visibly demonstrates that he is God. He proves that he has authority to legitimately forgive sins.
The miracle that takes place here is not that the man ends up picking up his things and walking away, the miracle is that the Christ has forgiven sin!
v. 26
You know what’s interesting about this?
The people that were there to witness this, see Jesus forgive a man’s sin. They watched as Jesus proves he can forgive sin by healing a paralyzed man.
They are fulled with awe. “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
You mean to tell me that not one of them came forward and to say, “Since you can forgive sins, please forgive my sins, too!”
They are generally amazed but don’t worship Jesus or seek forgiveness of their own sin.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
matt 13:13
How often in our day is the gospel preached and sinners will not hear?
Man, that was a good sermon today! That was a good word! but no one says, “Forgive me my sins, Lord!”
Conclusion
Matt 4:
19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
JD Greear the president of the Southern Baptist Convention tells this story.
Try this on for size.
What if there were a group that existed that called themselves fishermen.
There were fish in the water all around. The whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish.
Week after week, month after month and year after year, these people who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their call to fish. They talked about the the abundance of fish and how they might go about fishing.
They would talk about the different types of tackle, reels and casts. They’d talk about the various techniques.
Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.
They searched for new and better methods of fishing and for new and better definitions of fishing. They even created witty slogans and displayed them on big, beautiful banners.
These fishermen built large, beautiful buildings called “Fishing Headquarters”. In every meeting the plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish.
However, the one thing they didn’t do… was fish.
In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board hired staff and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing and to decide what new streams should be thought about.
However, the staff and committee members did not fish.
Large elaborate and expensive training centers were built with the purpose of teaching fishermen how to fish. Over the years, there were classes taught about the needs of fish, the nature of fish, where to find fish, the psychological reactions of fish and how to approach and feed fish.
The people who taught these classes had doctorates in fishology.
However, the teachers… did… not… fish.
They only taught fishing.
Year after year, after tons of training, many graduated and were given fishing licenses. They were sent to do full-time fishing.
Many of those who felt the call to fish, were commissioned and sent to fish.
However, like the fishermen at home, they… did… not… fish.
They engaged in all kinds of other occupations. Some felt their job was to relate to the fish in a good way, so the fish would know the difference between good and bad fishermen. Others felt that simply letting the fish know they were nice, land-loving neighbors and how loving and kind they were was enough.
Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don’t fish were really not fishermen.
Not matter how much they claimed to be.
To hear it put this way, it kind of makes sense.
Is a person a fisherman if, year after year, he never fishes?
Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Brothers and sisters, It’s time to start casting our nets.
Who’s the one you’re going to go after?
Who’s your one?