HE WAS BORNE OF FOUR
Mark 2:1-5
Morning Meditation 5/20/17
Verse 1-5 says, “And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Capernaum seems to be a second home of Jesus. I have stood on the ruins of that city twice. The ruins of the old synagogue is still there. It is across the sea of Galilee from Tiberias where there was a camp of Roman Soldiers. Capernaum is said to be the red-light district for this camp. There is always a red-light district near a military camp. It is amazing that Jesus would make this His second home. However, Jesus came to seek and save the lost and He was surrounded with lost and needy people in Capernaum. Jesus could not do many mighty works in Nazareth because of their unbelief, but that is not true in Capernaum.
We have recorded in this story one of the episodes that took place in Capernaum where Jesus healed a man of the palsy. Palsy is a disease where one experiences "complete or partial muscle paralysis, often accompanied by loss of sensation and uncontrollable body movements or tremors.” This man was so affected by the disease he could not walk. Our text says, “He was borne of four.”
We have the bare essentials of the story. Had the four who brought the man to Jesus been around when Jesus had healed before? Did they act on what they had heard of Jesus, or did they act because they had seen the results of what Jesus had done to another? We do not know. What we do know is that they brought the man to Jesus. It wasn’t easy. The curious crowds pressing around the door were major hindrances. The four men with their palsied friend just couldn’t get by. So they did something drastic. They got this man on the roof, broke through the roof, let him down into the room where Jesus was, and our text says, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
Wait a minute. What is the owner of this house going to say? How is he going to feel about his house being torn up? You say, “It doesn’t make any difference what he says. The man needs to be healed.” That it is a lot easier to say if it is the other man’s house!
The determination of these men was great. A lot of us would have put the man down outside the house and just wait our TURN. In other words it is easy to accept the barriers and say, “Well, it just wasn’t God’s will for us to get this one to Jesus.” These men said, “Jesus may not be here always. We can’t take a chance on Him slipping away. We must get our friend to Jesus while we can.” So they made a decision that could cause them problems and bring criticism if not legal charges. They could well have said, “We can build this house back. That is in our power. But we can’t heal this man. We believe Jesus can. So let’s tear the roof off if it takes it to get our friend to Jesus and we will do what is necessary to restore the house later.”
They were determined. And their determination was rooted in FAITH. Verse 5 says, “When Jesus saw their faith . . .” Faith that does not act can’t be seen. It can be there but it is no practical good unless it acts. What is the difference between faith that acts and faith that doesn’t. James says, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:20). Faith that acts gets. Faith that does not act is alone.
Jesus said to the man, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” This indicates that there is a connection between sin and sickness. Was it a particular sin that this man had committed or was it sin in general, i.e., that which we are by nature? We do not really know. Either position is a possibility. It would have been easy for Jesus to say, “Son, be thou cleansed of the palsy.” That would have ended the disease. He would have been healed and it would have happened without controversy. Jesus did what He knew would cause controversy. He wanted them to know that the “Son of man hath power on earth to forgiven sins.” Because of this they accused Him of blasphemy (vs 7).
This miracle was immediate. Notice in verse 12, “And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God saying, We never saw it on this fashion.” He didn’t limp off the platform! He didn’t says, “See, I have almost ceased to shake.” The man left the house with no symptoms of what he had when they let him down through the roof! Jesus doesn’t do anything half way. Now I have been healed by the Lord. My healing was not like this man’s. It took place over a period of time. It was something that they doctor told me I would have to live with the rest of my life. I asked the Lord to heal me and He did (it was not over a long period of time but in cannot be said to be immediate). God does have different ways of doing things. We are looking at this one. This man did not have as much trouble getting out of the house as he had entering! They made way for him as he left with his bed in his arms. I think he winked at someone he knew as he passed and said, “I still need this to sleep on at night!” Glory to God, someone hold my mules!!!
These four men were the human instruments in bringing this man into contact with the Lord. So, I want to mention four essentials if we are going to bring men to Christ.
FIRST, PREVAILING PRAYER
James says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Prevailing prayer is preceded by making sure that we are righteous. That is a condition of this verse. There are several kinds of righteousness in the Bible. Two are the most common. First, there is God’s righteousness. Second, there is man’s righteousness. Both are dealt with in Phil. 3:9: “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” The first Paul mentions here is self righteousness (mine own righteousness), the second, “the righteousness which is of God by faith.” One is the righteousness which comes by keeping rules, the other comes by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and is a gift (Rom. 5:17). A verse that helps me over and over again is 1 Cor. 1:30: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” Jesus is our righteousness before God and the ONLY GROUND on which to expect an answer to prayer.
When we pray, Satan is always there to accuse us of some act or thought we have had that makes us unworthy. It is not possible to be free from this problem as long as we are in the body. Paul exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul was trapped in a body with an old sin nature that he hated.
Jesus said in John 14:30: “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” Jesus is the only man who could make this claim. Jesus did not have an old sin nature (He was virgin born and not the son of Joseph. Therefore, he did not have the sin nature passed to him; Rom. 5:12). Satan still has a claim on the sin nature in our body after we are saved. This is the reason he can still accuse us and make us miserable. But faith tells him that Jesus is our righteousness and he can do nothing with that. This resists him effectively (James 4:7).
This is what it means to pray in the Name of Jesus. We approach God by faith in what Jesus deserves. Grace is where God gives us what Jesus deserves. The effectual prayer is a struggle. It is a struggle because we must bring ourselves to the place where we are not expecting God to answer because of a felt merit but objects of His willing mercy and grace.
SECOND, A POWERFUL FAITH
F. E. Marsh said, “No ordinary faith will suffice if it is to accomplish effective work.” It is faith that goes beyond simple saving faith. Jesus said to His disciples four times, “O ye of little faith” (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 16:8; Luke 12:28). There are other times that He used the equivalent of this.
We need to grow in faith. Matthew 21:21: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
We need mountain moving faith. Let me say I do not believe that we will ever get more faith by concentrating on faith. I believe an increase of faith comes by concentrating on God’s ability. We need to see God as able and grace as the proper means of approach to His throne (Heb. 4:16).
THIRD, A PERSONAL LOVE
Love is a Biblical motive. Paul says, “Love never faileth.” F. E. Marsh said, “The heart of love is sympathy, the hand of love is help, and the act of love is sacrifice.”
If we are going to bring men to Christ, there must be the heart of love. This comes through the Holy Spirit: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). God is able to give us His love for others.
If we are going to bring men to Christ, there must be the hand that reaches out to help. Not only is the love to be in the heart but there must be the Samaritan’s hand who binds up the wounds of the dying man, and puts him on his own beast, and takes him to the Inn.
If we are going to bring men to Christ, there must be sacrifice. We will have to give up something. We will have to be willing to sacrifice something. There is the sacrifice of time to go soul winning. There is the sacrifice of money to help the missionary get the message to others. We must be willing to be criticized as Christians if we are to be a witness. People don’t mind you being a Christian as long as you keep your mouth shut. But when you refuse to go to the Christmas party and tell them why, the hair gets in the butter! We must be willing to sacrifice.
FOURTH, THERE MUST BE PERSISTENT EFFORT
The four men who brought this palsied man to Jesus were persistent. There is no way to know what they had to overcome (things that are not mentioned) before they actually got him to Jesus. One of the things we know is that the crowd around the door was a barrier. They could not get him to where Jesus was THROUGH THE DOOR (the normal way). Next, how are they going to get him on the roof if this house? Then the roof itself is a barrier. What will be the consequence of breaking through the roof to get this man to Jesus? These are all considerations. But the passage indicates that they did the right thing.
There are two verses that exhort us: Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13 says, “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.”
We are to be persistent by faith. In other words, if we know we are doing what He tells us to do, but there is no apparent good coming from it, we must continue by faith (not by what appears to be true), believing that as He has said, “for in due season we shall reap, if we faith not.”
These four things are essential if we are going to bring men to Christ. May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
