“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. But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. 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.” Mark 2:1-12
What a tremendous change takes place in men’s lives when they meet Jesus. Sick become well, sinful become forgiven, dead becomes alive. He came to change men’s lives.
On the other hand, there were those who came to look or to enquire and went away hardened and in a worse condition than before. The rich young man who came enthusiastically as a potential follower, but went away sorrowfully. The rulers or the Jews were hardened until they crucified the Lord of glory. Coming to Jesus then meant coming to a mighty, changing power either for good or ill. See John 15:24, “They had not sin, but now. [Since I have come and done the works, things must be reckoned in a new way.]”
The same applies when Jesus comes to us. For the world did not come to Jesus, He came to the world. And those who do not put themselves in a place to hear Him will find that in one way or another, He will come to them.
What a difference we see in this man’s state! Coming as he did, being borne of four, the roof being broken up, we may be sure that a real commotion was caused by his entrance through the roof and that his being laid at the feet of Jesus caused all eyes to be upon him and our Lord. But his coming and his going were quite different. He came through the roof, but went through the door, his sins forgiven and his body healed.
So it was, when men came to the Son of God when He was here. So it is when they come to them today. The coming of a man or woman to Jesus Christ is a something that usually employs quite a few people. Someone prays, another witnesses; one preaches, another invites, etc. And oft times, there must be great trouble taken, things disturbed, exceptional measures taken to get people in touch with the Son of God. Sometimes, even the roof must be taken up, if there is not a way, a way must be made—anything to get them to Jesus!
This is praiseworthy surely, but what manner of people ought they to be after they have received a touch from the Son of God? They should be willing to do as this man did, to take up their bed without further ado and go to their house.
Too many continue desiring to be borne of four after Jesus has touched them. But He did not call the four men and tell them to be careful with the healed man and for the crowd to make way so that they might carry him back home again, or that they should lift him up again through the hole in the roof. No, he was told not only to go by himself, but to carry the mat with him.
Jesus knew that the man had been healed, and He treated him accordingly, and nor did the man ask for assistance. No, he obeyed Jesus with such a will “immediately” that they were all amazed. The one who had been carried went away bearing his own load.
There are far too many people today who enjoy having roofs broken up for them, far too many who desire to be borne of four. And unless someone is carrying them, they think they are not getting along. But after we have been touched by Jesus, there is no place for broken-up roofs, there is no need for our being borne of four, but we must be willing to bear whatever burden that may be placed upon us.
This applies not only to natural sickness, but to spiritual palsy. Instead of being those who are looking for others to bring to Jesus, some must continually have others bearing them. Broken-up roofs, urgings, carryings and trouble mark their spiritual life.
Let us put aside the enjoying of poor health spiritually and respond with a will to Jesus’ “Arise! Take up thy bed.” Bed time, palsy time has passed. And, endowed with the power of God, we may bundle up the mat on which we have so long laid and stride forth, not only healed, but with a reliance on the Son of God to the setting free of others who have borne us, to the end that they might help someone else.
While there is a place for bearing one anothers’ burdens, that is no reason that we should be a burden. Rather, that should be an incentive for us to be a burden bearer. Far from desiring a place in the bed, we should bear others to Christ.
Let us do away with the breaking up of roofs. As we hear a commotion, as there is disturbance in the Spirit, it is often only the roof being broken up again for someone who has caused the same thing to be done before, someone who has the attention of people who should be employed at other work. Let us beware of monopolizing the time of the saints with bearing us, but rather, go forth, praising God for deliverance, to take our place as bearers of others. Amen.
Thomas and Hannah Lowe in Colombia
Thomas Ernest Lowe delivered this message to assemblies in Maryland in the early 1930’s before leaving long-term for the mission field in Colombia in 1936.
Mr. Lowe, an able and zealous minister, seeing the great abundance of Gospel opportunity for North Americans and realizing the scarcity of that same opportunity for millions in South America, set out in the 1930’s for Colombia, to survey the spiritual landscape, and was joined there by his wife, Hannah. They worked together until Mr. Lowe, still a relatively young and most vigorous man, died in the capital city of Bogotá in 1941. Mrs. Lowe, vibrant in service to her Lord until her final days, died at Jerusalem in June 1983, having spent a year in the beloved City.