Carry It To Jesus – By Ritchie Way

Carry it to Jesus – by Ritchie Way

Apr 8, 2016 2013

When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, 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.’

At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, ’This fellow is blaspheming!’

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, ‘Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say, ‘Get up and walk? But that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins he said to the paralytic, ‘Get up, Take your mat and go home.’ And the man got up, picked up his sleeping mat and went home.When the crowd saw this they were filled with awe; and they praised God. (Matthew 9:1-8).

On the opposite side of the lake, Jesus met two tragic cases: a man driven mad by demon possession, and a young man suffering from paralysis. He could have fallen from the mast of a fishing boat while rigging the sails, and landed with his spine across an oar. There are many ways he could have ruptured his spinal chord, and it’s such a severe injury.

Jesus was well able to heal a man’s tortured, demon-possessed mind. Was he able to heal this man’s excruciatingly torn spinal chord and spine? Surgeons would throw up their hands in a gesture of helplessness rather than be asked to heal such an impossible case.

But Jesus offered to help this man because of the faith of his friends who carried him to the Master. Jesus called this man, “son”, which probably indicates he was a young man, which makes his crippling infirmity even more tragic.

Significantly, Jesus focused not on the state of the man’s body, but on the state of his soul. He could see the paralytic was more distressed over his state of heart and the sins he had committed, than over his terrible physical injury. So he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

There were religious leaders looking on, whose hearts were in a far worse state than the young man’s. They weren’t hoping that Jesus’ words would bring relief to the young man; they were looking for a way to trap Jesus. And it seemed they had succeeded, for what they said in reply to Jesus was quite true: “only God can forgive sins”. What they refused to see, however, was although it had been clearly evident for some time, Jesus was God in the flesh. And Jesus demonstrated the truth of that by getting the young man back on his legs with just a command.

There were five people who sang God’s praises all the way home that day: the healed paralytic and the four men whose faith had been amply rewarded.

The lesson for us is this: Is there someone you should be ‘carrying’ to Jesus by faith, someone who needs your help? The Saviour is no less willing to restore such people today; to give them the assurance that their past has been taken care of, and that they have a glorious future with him. It just needs you to introduce them to Jesus.

– Ritchie Way

Eliezer Gonzalez

Apr 13, 2016

You are welcome! :)

Murimi Gikunju

Apr 13, 2016

Brethren , I am really delighted by your powerful bible related articles. The articles have changed by spiritual life for the better. May God bless you abundantly. With thanks

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