"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." (Mark 2:3-5)
Another point I find interesting in Mark 2:5 is when Jesus says that He saw their faith—it was the collective faith of all the friends that moved Jesus to forgive and heal the paralytic. The passage doesn't specifically mention that the paralytic himself had faith to be healed. Unlike other accounts in the Gospels and Acts, where the individual’s faith is highlighted, here, it was the faith of the friends that made the difference. Isn’t that interesting? What if the paralytic didn’t have faith, but his friends did, and that was enough for Jesus to forgive and heal him?
We know from other accounts, like in Mark 6:5, that Jesus couldn’t do many miracles in His hometown because of their unbelief. It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t want to heal them, but their lack of faith prevented it. Here, however, the friends' faith was enough to bring about the miracle. Their determination and belief in Jesus’ power brought their friend to Him, and that act of faith was enough for Jesus to work.
This idea is echoed in the Old Testament, where God often spared judgment if He found righteous individuals. For instance, Abraham interceded for Sodom, and God agreed to spare the city if even ten righteous people were found (Genesis 18:32). Similarly, Naaman the leper was healed because he followed the prophet Elisha’s instructions, even though there were many other lepers in Israel at the time who were not healed (2 Kings 5:1-14). Jesus Himself walked past the steps where the man Peter healed in Acts 3:1-10 sat begging. Perhaps that man hadn’t spoken up like blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52) or hadn’t had friends to bring him to Jesus, like in this story.
This challenges me deeply in how I view and interact with people. How many people do I encounter daily who need Jesus? Am I helping and praying for them to come into contact with Jesus so that He can forgive and heal them? As a member of His church, I am called to be a priest, interceding on behalf of others and bridging that gap. We represent Jesus, filled with His Spirit.
May I be encouraged to take those steps of faith, and may my faith be evident so that God can work through me. I want to be persistent, never giving up, but always pressing forward to bring others to Jesus. I pray that I can live out this calling with boldness and compassion, helping others find the healing and forgiveness that only Jesus can provide.
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