Getting People To Jesus

If you're like me and you grew up in Sunday school classes in the glory days of flannel graph especially, you will be familiar without a doubt with this story.

I actually looked up this week, believe it or not, when I was thinking about this, I looked up to see if I could find a flannel graph board that actually portrayed this story.

And we could have used it as an object lesson today for our class and I couldn't find one that reflected this one especially.

But I remember learning it so often growing up as a kid.

I feel like I hear about it less as an adult, but as a kid I was so familiar with this story.

It's a favorite story for many people and for good reason.

It contains all of the elements of a great story.

All of them are at play in this particular story.

There's a need, a desperate need.

There's a problem that has to be met.

There is opposition to the one that can actually help the problem.

There's evil here.

There's wickedness here.

There is determination.

There's perseverance in this story.

And then there, of course, is great victory in this story.

All the things that make for a great story are included.

And I assume that's probably why it's deployed so often in children's classes.

But we must be careful that our love for great stories doesn't inadvertently lead us to miss the message,

to miss the point for why God has actually given these stories to us.

We need to remember that this is not a fictional narrative.

All we read in the Bible is not fiction.

It is not myth.

It is historical accounts.

This is a real thing.

These were real people.

This was a real moment in history.

There is plenty of eyewitnesses gathered, as we have just read, to verify its validity.

And so far as we can tell, all throughout history and early church history,

none of the people that were gathered there ever popped up and said,

you know what, it didn't quite happen the way that you're saying that it has happened.

It's amazing how that works, isn't it?

All of the people that witnessed these things that we study in the Gospels,

all of them gave credit in that time to what they saw and what they heard and what they experienced.

It only takes a few hundred years for us to finally decide that we're going to deny the truthfulness

of whatever actually took place.

This isn't fiction.

This is real life.

And its purpose in this particular instance is not simply to communicate the persistence of good friends

or the intellectual triumph of Jesus over the Pharisees and the scribes.

That's probably one of my favorite parts of this story.

The way that Jesus handled the scribes and the Pharisees is awesome.

It's not really about that.

And it's not so much about the excitement that comes once again with seeing the healing power of Jesus.

All of those things are important.

All of those things are a part of the story.

All of those things we need to examine and we need to learn from.

But they're all there to support the main point,

which is to proclaim that Jesus is God and that he alone can forgive sin.

That's the point of this story.

What's the point of Jesus' message that he's preaching?

Well, it's that point.

It's the same point that all the gospel authors have.

What's the point of Mark bringing out this question in the hearts of the scribes and the Pharisees?

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

Well, his point in bringing out that question is that's the point of the passage.

Only Jesus can do that.

And what does the miracle do?

Proves that Jesus is actually the one that can forgive sin.

Jesus says as much when he gets to the end.

He says, here's the point of all of this.

He looks at the Pharisees.

They didn't say a word.

He read their minds.

And after reading their minds and understanding their hearts,

he says, tell me what's easier?

To say, your sins are forgiven?

Or to say, arise and take up your bed and go thy way?

And then he tells the Pharisees,

this is happening in order that you may know,

certainly, definitively,

that I have power to forgive sin.

And then he turns away from the Pharisees and he looks at the paralytic and he says,

arise, take up your bed and go your way.

And what happens?

The man immediately gets up.

Immediately he's healed of his paralysis.

Immediately he picks up the pallet or the bed or the mattress or the pillow,

whatever it is he's been carried on.

He picks it up and he goes home.

And what's that all about?

It's not really about the man being healed of his paralysis.

It's about seeing through that to see what Jesus said.

This is happening in order that you may know that I indeed have power to forgive sin.

It's a fantastic story.

Not just for its ability to convey excitement and adventure and victory and triumph,

but because as believers we can come to this and we see clearly what this is for.

We see clearly what it's about.

This is about a savior.

This is about a redeemer.

This is about God forgiving sins.

And all that's taking place is just giving proof of the fact that Jesus is that savior.

He is that God.

And we can look at that just briefly and just understand the basic structure of a story like this.

Basic point of why this is given.

And that should bring joy and excitement.

Yes.

You ever have those moments when you're reading your Bible and it's just like something clicks with you.

The spirit opens your mind to something and you piece something together maybe for the first time

or you really begin to understand it in a deeper way.

And it's one of those like it's real moments.

Not that you ever doubted before that it was real necessarily,

but every now and then the Lord helps us just to have a moment where we are just filled with joy

and excitement over the truth of God's word.

This story gives us that if we're looking at it with the right view.

If we're seeing it for what it is and for the purpose that it gives us.

And indeed that's the case with all of scripture.

We look at it for its purpose.

And all of the purpose of the scripture is ultimately to point us to Jesus,

which fills us with such joy and excitement.

Well, let's look here at the setting.

In the first couple of verses we see what's happening.

We're told in verse 1 that Jesus has come back to Capernaum and he was in the house.

Now Capernaum seems to have been the headquarters for Jesus's ministry during the time that he was in Galilee.

But he had left the city and you remember that when we were studying in chapter 1.

In fact, look with me back up at verse 38 of chapter 1.

Remember Jesus had this 24-hour period where he was teaching in the synagogue

and then they brought all of these people to Peter's house to be healed

and then he was out praying in the wilderness.

And then in verse 38,

And he said unto them, that is his disciples,

Let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also.

For therefore came I forth.

And so we saw in chapter 1,

despite the popularity that was growing for Jesus in Capernaum,

he had a priority of purpose.

And his priority of purpose was to preach the word.

And so he left Capernaum and he has spent some time.

We don't know how much time,

but some time is what Mark tells us here in verse 1.

And he has now come back to Capernaum.

And he is in the house, we're told.

And we assume here that the house that it's speaking of is Peter's house once again.

In fact, I think it's safe for us to assume that whenever Jesus is in a house in Capernaum,

unless the scripture specifically notes it as otherwise,

I think it's safe for us to assume that it's probably Peter's house.

Because of the success of his business, he certainly had a large enough place.

What they believed to be Peter's house, even still today,

and what they found in the ruins of Capernaum,

indicates that it would have been sufficient to house not only Peter and Andrew

and Peter's family and Peter's mother-in-law,

but certainly would have had space for Jesus as well.

And so as they come back to Capernaum,

they find their place again at Peter's house,

where we see other things taking place in the gospel events as well.

And as you might expect,

it didn't take very long for word to get out that Jesus was back.

Look with me at verse 2.

Immediately, Mark says,

many were gathered together in so much

that there was no more room to receive them,

not even near the door.

Now imagine you're Jesus or Peter or Andrew or James or John.

At this point in Mark's account,

these are the four that we know of

that are actually following Jesus closely.

You've left Capernaum,

and you left Capernaum probably a little bit tired.

You're running on a little bit of adrenaline

because this amazing night

where all of these people are being brought,

and you immediately adventure out.

You leave Capernaum,

and you're traveling.

You're going from town to town

and from village to village in Galilee,

and you're following Jesus.

And everywhere you go,

there's crowds of people.

It's hard to have any kind of privacy.

It's hard to have any kind of rest

because all the people that are coming,

now they perhaps,

maybe even snuck their way into Capernaum.

They find their place at Peter's house,

and maybe they're just looking for a little bit of rest.

They're looking for a place

where they can just relax for just a bit

to have any kind of respite from the crowds,

any kind of respite from the ministry

that they're involved with,

and then it just doesn't take very long.

It's not very long, and word gets out.

Now remember, when they left Capernaum,

they were leaving a crowd of people

that were desperately searching for Jesus.

So they were awaiting Jesus' potential return to the town,

and as soon as word gets out,

what are those same people doing?

He's back.

Let's go.

They know where he probably is.

Peter's house.

So they make their way to Peter's house,

and immediately the house is full of people.

The courtyard is full of people,

and Mark tells us,

you couldn't even get near the door of the house.

There were so many people that had begun to gather.

And what's amazing about this

is that we see once again Jesus was always willing

to sacrifice his own comfort for others.

Isn't that amazing?

Anytime, and we see it over and over in the Gospels,

don't we?

Anytime he'll send the disciples off,

or he'll try to make his way to the mountains

to have some time to prayer,

or he'll try to get alone,

and when the people press on him,

what does Jesus do?

He expends himself for them.

And that's exactly what he does here.

He could have said, no way.

Could have kept the door shut.

But he didn't do that.

He welcomed them.

Why?

Because he had a purpose.

He had a purpose for why he was there.

And that purpose is given to us once again

at the end of verse two.

Look with me again.

Immediately they were gathered together.

There was no room to receive him.

Couldn't even get near the door.

And what did Jesus do?

He preached the word to them.

What?

That's not gonna build his popularity.

What did they come there to see?

It was probably a mixed crowd, actually.

There probably were a few people that were gathered

that had become disciples of Jesus at this point.

At least they were in the realm of Peter,

and Andrew, and James, and John,

where they were beginning to believe this message,

and they wanted to hear more of this message,

and they maybe legitimately wanted to hear

what Jesus had to say.

Perhaps there were people in the crowd

that were like that.

We know that there were Pharisees and scribes there, too.

Luke tells us that they came from every town

and village in Galilee.

They were all looking for Jesus,

except they weren't looking to hear Jesus.

They were looking to entrap Jesus in some way.

The critical eyes were in the crowd.

Of course, there was the curious crowd,

the curious ones that were just there.

It's not that they believed Christ.

It's not, they just wanted to see

what this was all about,

because that's what happens, right?

You could be walking down,

didn't even know that Jesus was there,

and you see a massive crowd gathered somewhere.

What is your instinct?

I'm gonna go see what this crowd is all gathered for.

You ever been to New York City before?

Julie and I, we enjoy going, we enjoy visiting,

going to watch a baseball game,

or spending time with friends.

And if you've ever been,

and you've gone to Times Square,

you'll see from time to time,

you'll just happen upon masses of people,

large crowds of people gathered in one place.

And what's your first instinct?

It's not just to pass on by.

Typically, if you're like me,

your first instinct is to join the crowd,

because you want to see what's going on.

No doubt there's people in the crowd that are that way.

They're walking by.

This is right next to the Sea of Galilee.

This is right by the synagogue.

So we know that people are there.

They're passing by, and they see a crowd,

and they want to go see what Jesus is up to.

And of course, there were people that did hear

that Jesus was there,

and they gathered just to see another sign.

It's a mixed crowd.

But Jesus doesn't give them what they want.

What does he do?

He preached the word.

He preached the word.

He did what he always did.

He had a priority of purpose,

and his priority of purpose was to preach the gospel.

And we immediately see this pattern continue

in Jesus's life and ministry.

But what exactly was it that Jesus was preaching?

Mark tells us in chapter 1.

You may remember it.

In fact, just flip back to it.

Verse 14, Mark chapter 1.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Now, after John was put in prison,

Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel

of the kingdom of God.

And here was the summary of his message,

saying,

The time is fulfilled.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

It's near.

Repent and believe the gospel.

Repent and believe the gospel.

Jesus's message was a declaration

that the kingdom of God was near.

And by this, of course,

he was referring to himself.

At hand in that passage,

or the kingdom of God is near or at hand

is a reference to space, not time.

He didn't mean that the time frame,

chronologically,

of what was going to take place

with the kingdom was near.

That's not what he meant by that.

What he meant was in space, physically.

The kingdom is near you.

In other words, he was saying,

I am the representative and fulfillment

of this kingdom

that the Jews have been long awaiting.

What was this message doing?

It was pointing their eyes to himself,

pointing their eyes to Jesus,

because when they saw Jesus,

they saw the kingdom.

When they saw Jesus,

they saw the Christ.

When they saw Jesus,

they saw God in the flesh.

And then after he pointed their attention

to see himself,

the kingdom of God is near you.

It is close to you in me.

What did he say?

Repent and believe it.

Repent and believe the gospel.

The good news.

That's what Jesus preached everywhere he went.

Now, what I love so much

about chapter two and verse two

is that Mark reminds us

that Jesus preached this message

of the kingdom from the word.

What's it tell us in verse two?

He preached the word unto them.

Same thing that Paul tells Timothy

to do in his letters.

Preach the word,

Timothy.

Preach the word.

Well, what was Jesus doing?

He was preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

How was he doing it?

By pointing people to the scripture.

Here is what the scripture says.

Now repent and believe the gospel

because the kingdom is here.

I am representative of it.

Jesus placed such a priority on the Bible.

How much more should we be concerned to do so?

It almost sounds silly to say it

on a Sunday morning.

A church like ours,

I believe is faithful people

that love the Lord and love the word.

But how surprised are we

when we find out how many people

profess to know Christ,

profess to be Christians,

yet have such little disregard

for the word.

Yet the message that Jesus preached

was founded in the scriptures.

And if Jesus,

the very word of God,

thought that to be important,

how much more should we?

The gospel message pervaded

everything that Jesus said and did.

And that should be true of his church as well.

The things that we do as a church,

it's the gospel message,

it's the scriptures

that should pervade all of it.

When we gather for worship on a Sunday,

what is it that is to pervade our worship?

It's the word of God,

the message of the gospel in the word.

That's why we have so many readings.

That's why we open with a call to worship

that's rooted in the scripture.

That's why we have times

where we just read the Bible together

in the service.

That's why we close with benedictions

that are for the most part

based in the scripture.

That's why we give so much time every week

to an exposition of the scripture

because everything we do as the church

should be engrossed in,

the permeated by,

the scripture, the word of God.

Now you need to keep that message in mind

because as we study this story

over the next two Sundays,

it's important for us to understand

this is what Jesus was doing

when these men showed up.

So everybody there,

even the man that's being lowered down

into the house,

everybody there had fresh on their mind

the gospel of the kingdom,

the word of God being preached to them.

It's all in the context of their reactions

and we'll see that as we go through.

In the course of our study

and our exposition to help structure it,

we'll look at the narrative

through five groups of people

or five characters in the story

maybe you would like to say it.

And to begin with today,

we'll look at the four friends.

In fact, if you're keeping notes for this

as we go through,

that would be your first point.

The four friends.

The four friends.

Now look with me at verse three.

And they came unto him,

bringing one sick of the palsy,

which was born of four,

four friends perhaps.

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.

The first group of people

to which our attention is turned

consists of four individuals

who brought this disabled man to Jesus.

And nothing biographical

is given to us about these men.

Luke's account tells us

that they were men,

which is why I refer to them that way.

And we assume

that they were at least

friends of this man.

But what's interesting

is that the text

doesn't actually tell us.

No biographies are given.

No biographical sketches.

All we know is that

these four men

brought this paralyzed man

to Jesus.

We don't know exactly

what their relationship

to the man was.

But it's abundantly clear here

that they were determined

to get the man

to Jesus.

Their focus was set

on the man being healed

of his paralysis.

And they were desperate

to get him to Jesus

because Jesus was the one

whom they believed

was actually capable

of meeting the man's need.

And so that's what

begins to unfold.

We see the determination

of these men

to get their friend

to Jesus.

The only one

who could help him.

Of course we see

in these men

a passion

that should exist

in the heart

of every person

who knows

the power

of Christ.

A passion

to get others

to Jesus

so that he too

may meet

their need.

Of course

the focus

of these men

was not on the man's

spiritual well-being.

That's not why

they were bringing him

to Jesus.

They didn't understand

exactly who Jesus was yet.

Their understanding

wasn't made complete.

It wasn't even made complete

at this point

for the disciples.

There was still much

they were learning

about Jesus

and much that they

wouldn't understand

until his crucifixion

and resurrection

were accomplished.

They were bringing

the man

specifically so that

Jesus would meet

his physical need.

but we have a greater

knowledge

of how Jesus

can meet

the spiritual

needs

of those around us.

You know

a much greater work

that Christ can do

in the hearts

of others

and we should have

at least

the same amount

of passion

if not

more passion

to get people

to Jesus

for the purpose

of forgiveness

as these men

had

in getting

this man

to Jesus

for the purpose

of healing.

Let's just take

a moment

this morning

to consider

what we learn

about these men

here

what was going

on in their lives

and how we

can apply that

even to our own

evangelistic efforts

as believers.

The first thing

we see

is that they

were compassionate.

These men

were compassionate

men.

Again verse 3

and they came

unto him

bringing one sick

of the palsy

which was born

of four.

There's no way

that this event

would have ever

even happened

if it weren't

for these four men

having a compassionate

heart.

It would have

never even

taken place.

Compassion

was the prerequisite

here.

Now it's likely

that they knew

the man personally.

They could have

been friends

of his.

They could have

been colleagues.

Maybe this was

a brother

or a father

or a son

to one of them

that they probably

knew in that way

but the text

doesn't actually

tell us that.

Maybe he was

a friend.

Maybe he was

a beggar.

Maybe he's just

a man that they

passed on the street

from day to day

who was just

hoping that

someone would

show a little

pity toward his

plight.

The point is

it doesn't matter

how they knew him.

It doesn't

matter what

their relationship

to this man

was.

What matters

is the compassion

that they felt

for the man

and how that

compassion

encouraged them

to bring the man

to Jesus.

Without compassion

their actions

would have never

taken place.

The man

would have remained

deprived

physically

and spiritually

and we wouldn't

have this incredible

lesson to learn

about Jesus

and his identity

and his purpose.

What does it

all begin with?

Four men

who looked with

compassion on

somebody

with a great

need.

Bringing people

to Jesus

begins

with recognizing

that others

have a need

for Christ

and having

compassion

towards that

need.

if we don't

look compassionately

at our friends

and our family

and our colleagues

and our community

how will they

ever have their

need met

by Christ?

Christ.

Now

I believe

that God

will accomplish

his work

in one way

or another

this scripture

is clear

but it's also

clear that we

are his instruments

of grace

that he uses

to accomplish

his work.

Remember Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

we all know

verse 13

whosoever shall

call upon the

name of the

Lord

shall be saved.

Your salvation

is based

on the grace

of God

through

the justification

by faith

alone.

But what does

verse 14 say?

Paul writes

how then

shall they

call

on him

whom they

have not

believed?

And how

are they

to believe

in him

of whom

they have

never heard?

And how

are they

to hear

without

somebody

preaching

telling them

the gospel?

And how

are they

to preach

unless

they're

sent?

As it's

written

how beautiful

are the feet

of those

who preach

the good news.

salvation

is the

work of

God's

grace.

It's

not in

us

to do

it

but we

are his

instruments

of grace

for others.

And what

that begins

with is

just

compassion.

Looking at

the world

around us

with some

compassion

toward their

condition.

Not their

condition

financially.

Not the

condition of

their employment.

Not the

condition of

their family

per se.

But something

deeper than

that.

Their

condition and

their sin.

And show

some

compassion

towards the

gospel message

that God

has given

you,

blessed you

with,

and then

entrusted

you with.

It all

starts with

compassion.

That's how

it began

with these

men.

If we're

to be

effective

in our

witness,

that's how

it'll

begin

with us

as well.

So they

were

compassionate.

Secondly,

we see that

they were

relentless.

They were

relentless.

In fact,

the next three

of these

characteristics

all come

from verse

four in our

understanding of

what they

actually did.

Let's read

it.

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.

you know,

perhaps that

day when

Jesus was

leaving

Capernaum,

remember

that morning

he'd gotten

up a great

while before

day,

everyone else

was asleep,

and he

went out

into a

solitary

place,

and he

prayed,

and he

was seeking

the will

of the

Father,

and that

is what

is directing

him in

those moments,

right?

The disciples

finally find

him,

but Mark

tells us

that it

wasn't only

the disciples

that were

looking for

him.

Peter speaks

up when he

finds Jesus,

he says,

everybody's

looking for

you,

it's not

just us,

everyone.

There's a

mad search

right now

in Capernaum

to find

Jesus of

Nazareth,

and Jesus

says,

well,

we're going

to hit

the road

now,

because I

got to

go preach

other

places,

that's

why I

came.

Perhaps

this man

laying on

his bed,

perhaps

these four

friends had

picked up

the man

that morning.

They had

heard about

what had

happened

with Jesus

in the

synagogue

the morning

before.

They'd

heard about

what Jesus

had done

late into

the night

as masses

of sick

people and

lepers and

demon-possessed

people were

being brought

to Jesus,

and he

healed every

one of

them.

Perhaps

that morning

they find

out,

and they

get up

and they

go find

their buddy,

and they

pick up

each corner

of his

bed,

and they're

trying to

find Jesus

desperately,

but they

can't find

him because

he's left

out.

Jesus

left,

and this

man was

still in

his condition.

There's

probably a

lot of

people that

that happened

to.

Now that

they hear

what's

going on,

nothing's

going to

stop them

from getting

the man

to Jesus,

right?

And so

they hear

Jesus is

back,

and they

go and

they get

their buddy,

and they

pick up

his bed,

and they

head over

to Peter's

house,

that's where

they assume

that Jesus

is,

or at least

that's what

they've

heard he

is,

and as

soon as

they get

there,

they're

immediately

met with

a massive

obstacle.

The obstacle

is a crowd.

They can't

get to

Jesus.

The house

is full.

Not only

is the

house full,

they can't

even get

to the

door.

There's

just people

everywhere,

and no one

else in the

crowd was

compassionate

enough to

see that

there's a

healer in

the house,

and there's

a man

that's sick

of the

palsy with

the paralysis

out here.

We gotta

get this

man to

Jesus.

No,

nobody

cared to

do that.

They wanted

their own

place in

line.

No

cutting

today.

We gotta

make sure

we get

to him

first.

There's

no compassion

in them,

but there's

some compassion

in these

men,

and this

compassion led

to a

relentless

determination

to get

this man

to Jesus.

Most of

us,

at least

if you're

like me,

I shouldn't

say most

of us,

because maybe

you're not

quite like

this,

but this

is the

point where

I might

have

accepted

the prospect

of getting

the man

to Jesus

was impossible.

Sorry,

man,

we did

all we

could do.

We tried

to get you

here as

soon as

we can.

There's

just people

everywhere.

We can't

get there.

We can't

even get

close enough

to the

house to

signal

someone

that

could help

us,

and we

just give

up.

We get

discouraged.

Not these

men.

They were

relentlessly

determined to

get this man

to Jesus,

and what was

that?

It was the

overflow of

their compassionate

heart.

You see how it

starts to build?

The more

compassion they

felt for that

man, the more

determination they

had to get that

man to Jesus.

the more

compassion we

feel for our

colleagues, the

more compassion we

feel for our

community, the

more compassion we

feel for our

friends, the

more compassion we

feel for our

family, the more

determined we will

be to get the

gospel to

them.

As God helps

us to develop a

genuine compassion,

we will indeed

develop this

relentless

determination.

But Christians

should live with

an attitude of

determination that

is rooted in

trusting the

sovereign work of

God.

The problem

sometimes with our

evangelism is we

think that it all

relies on us.

That if I just

learn to say the

right things, or if

I learn to bring the

conversation to this

way, and that's

helpful, but that's

not the end, it's

just a means.

And when we

witness and we

witness and we

witness and we

share and we

share and we

share and we

pray and we pray

and we pray and

nothing seems to

happen and we

leave discouraged

because of, am I

not doing this

right?

But we need to

remember, only God

can save.

The task has not

been given to us

to save a

person.

We can't do it

no matter how

hard we try.

The task that's

given to us is

just to share the

gospel.

Alistair Begg says

all the time, I

don't know if it's

original to him, it

may be to someone

else.

We are responsible

for faithfulness.

God is responsible

for fruitfulness.

Paul said this,

there was infighting

in the church of

Corinth about

divisions.

Some proclaim that

they were on

Paul's team.

Others claim that

they were on

Apollos' team.

The super spiritual

said, well, we're on

Jesus' team.

And what did Paul

write?

I planted, Apollos

watered, but it's

God that gives the

growth.

And what did he go

on to say?

So he that plants is

nothing.

He that waters is

nothing.

But only God who

gives the growth, the

increase.

So don't get

discouraged in your

witness if there's not

a lot happening.

We are relentlessly

determined to share

our compassionate

hearts as we preach

the gospel, but we do

so fully trusting that

God will do his work

the way that he is

determined to do his

work.

And so trust him.

Be faithful to the

task and trust the

Lord.

Thirdly, they were

creative.

They were creative.

They're compassionate.

They're relentless.

Now we see that

they're creative.

And this is our

favorite part, isn't

it?

To see what these

men did.

And it all is

continuing to build.

It starts with this

compassion and they've

developed the

compassion for the

man that led to a

relentless determination

to get the man to

Jesus.

And born out of that

relentless determination

is this creativity

to find any way,

just some way,

to get the man to

Jesus.

When faced with what

seemed like an

impossible situation,

they started to think

outside of the box,

which sometimes is

important for us to

do.

Now, houses in Israel

in this day, from what

I understand and from

what I've read, were

single-story houses

with flat roofs.

And when they would

construct these roofs,

they started with large

wooden beams that

they would run in one

particular direction.

And then laying across

those beams was a

mixture of sticks and

thatch and other things

that they would mix

together and they would

fill in the gaps in the

roof itself.

And they would continue

to do that until it was

about two feet thick.

Once it was about two

feet thick, it would

harden.

All of the mixture that

they put together would

then harden.

And then once it was

hard enough and it was

stable enough, they would

lay tiles on the top of

this thatch and these

sticks and this wood that

they had all mixed

together on the house.

And that made it safe for

someone to go up on the

roof and they could walk

on the roof.

They could have easy

access through probably

an outdoor stairwell that

was either connected to

their own home or maybe a

home that was connected

to their home.

And they could walk

across the roofs quite

literally.

So the men come to Jesus

and they're trying to get

to him and they can't get

there.

And then they look and

they notice a stairwell

and they immediately head

up the stairwell.

They go to the roof.

They find and pinpoint the

location of Jesus in the

building.

And then they quite

literally dug a hole.

They dug a hole in the

roof.

This isn't shingles.

This isn't like something

they're peeling away.

This isn't just like a

thick layer of thatch.

This is thick.

This was time consuming.

This was distracting.

But they were creative.

They were relentless.

They just wanted to get the

man to Jesus.

It's just amazing what they

did.

We look back on these

actions.

We read this story and this

is what we love, right?

When we're kids in the

Sunday school class and we

see the flannel graph and

this is what's so cool.

Oh man, they tore the roof

apart because we all want to

as kids, we want to tear

roofs apart.

We want to tear everything

apart.

And they start to tear it

and we love it.

Well, even as adults, we

look back at what they did

and even as I'm doing right

now in this sermon, we are

esteeming these men for what

they did.

What determination, what

creativity.

They did what no one else

would do in order to get this

man to Jesus.

But how often are we actually

guilty of condemning similar

actions in others?

Think about the distraction

this must have been to the

service.

We get frustrated if a baby

cries or a kid has to go to

the bathroom.

Imagine you're sitting there

listening to Jesus on this

day.

And it's not just that

someone's fiddling around on

the roof.

It's that for quite a bit of

time, somebody's up there

with a shovel or whatever they

had and they're digging a

hole in the roof.

Talk about distraction.

You're crunched in.

There's no social distancing

happening in this house.

They've got as many people in

there as they can get.

You're shoulder to shoulder

touching people you don't want

to touch anyways.

And now the debris is

starting to fall.

It's getting on you and it's

aggravating and you can't hear

and there's distractions and

you're frustrated because this

is inconvenient.

And this is bothering me.

And how many of the people in

that house looked at those men

and thought, wow, what

creative genius is that?

Oh, they probably were

irritated.

Just like we would be

irritated if right now

somebody just starts coming

through the roof.

Who won the world?

What about Peter?

We believe this is probably

his house.

He and his brother and James

and John are sitting there.

Somebody had to help this man

get through the hole, right?

His four friends are on the top.

I doubt they came armed with

rope.

They just got to dig it up the

best they can and get the man

down.

Somebody in the house had to

receive him on the other end,

right?

Jesus didn't just miraculously

cause the man to levitate and

come down like an elevator in the

room.

That's not what happens.

Perhaps Jesus even looks at Peter

and says, why don't you help

these guys out?

Imagine if Peter was just

ticked off that somebody's

tearing his house apart.

And instead of trying to help

the man get down, he's just

fussing about all of this mess

and who's going to pay for this?

This is just a mess.

There are a lot of reasons for

people to be irritated by these

men.

But Jesus never rebuked them.

He never said, I wish y'all would

just sit down and be quiet for a

minute.

I'm not done.

He seems to be thrilled with what

they did actually.

Because it's when he looked on

them and saw their faith that he

responds to the man that they had

brought.

The question for us has to do with

which side of this equation do we

find ourselves on most often?

Are we creatively searching for

ways to get people to Jesus and

hear the gospel?

Or are we more prone to condemn

the efforts of others and point

out all the ways that they're doing

it wrong?

I'd like to think that I would

have been with these four men on

this.

But the reality is that most often

it's a spirit of criticism that

pervades my heart.

But I can't help but see the

reaction of Jesus here.

It's convicting isn't it?

I understand my own nature is to be

irritated when it doesn't go the way

that I want it to go.

And yet Jesus isn't irritated at all.

I had a friend, he pastors in

Connecticut just a couple of weeks

ago.

He just made a great statement that

helped me at a good time.

And he said, he said this, he said,

if God is pleased, then we don't

need to worry about who isn't.

If God is pleased, we don't need to

worry about who isn't.

There's a house and courtyard full of

people irritated with these men.

They didn't care.

They just try and get the man to

Jesus.

Now that's not to say that Jesus is

pleased with every method that's ever

employed by churches.

There certainly are ways that churches

and individuals do this and actually

end up sinning against the Lord in the

process.

It's not to say that God is pleased with

every method.

But our offense most often has to do

with our own displeasure rather than

the Lord's.

If we're going to do anything for the

Lord as a church, we're going to have

to stop thinking, how's this going to

be perceived by everyone else?

How's this going to be perceived by

our community?

How is this going to be perceived by

the other churches?

How is this going to be perceived by

others?

And we're going to have to start

thinking more about what's actually

going to please the Lord.

What's going to please what he's told

us to do in the word.

And so long as our creative,

relentless determination and

compassion isn't going against the

clear teaching of the scripture, why

not do everything we can to get the

gospel where it needs to go and to get

people where they need to be to hear

it.

They're compassionate.

They're relentless.

They're creative.

Finally, they're sacrificial.

Sacrificial men.

Everything they did was sacrificial in

nature.

They got nothing from this.

And the best we can tell, they were

seeking nothing for themselves.

They sacrificed their own needs in

order to put first the needs of their

friend.

I'm sure they had needs that could be

met.

Maybe they had already seen Jesus at

some point.

Maybe that's why they wanted to bring

this man to them.

Maybe their need had already been

met.

But in either case, they prioritize

their friend.

They sacrificed their time to actually

take the man to Jesus and ensure he

was able to meet him.

That took time.

How many of us, we struggle with this

in our lives because it's just hard to

find the time.

It's hard to make the time.

It's hard to sacrifice the time.

Their choice to tear open the roof, that

was a calculated sacrifice.

I don't think they went there that day

planning to do that.

But surely somebody in these five men

stopped before they did it and said,

okay, wait a minute.

Who's going to pay for this?

Somebody's got to pay for it.

Peter's not just going to say, yeah,

tear the whole place down.

I'll take care of it.

Somebody's going to have to.

They sacrificed for this.

They sacrificed their pride as they

risked the danger of being ostracized

by the people who disagreed with them.

They're a minute of sacrifice.

So are those who give themselves to

bring people to Jesus for spiritual

healing.

They're sacrificial in nature.

They sacrifice their time to teach

and share the gospel.

They sacrifice their finances to

support the church and its gospel

efforts.

They sacrifice their reputation when

they risk being mocked and persecuted

for their beliefs.

They sacrifice their pride when

they're opposed by those who only

want to criticize.

But why do they sacrifice so much?

Because they want others to experience

the grace that they've experienced.

They want others to know the

forgiveness that they know.

And there's no sacrifice that would

keep them from doing that.

We hope.

But yet often

we're not willing.

The narrative is not about these

four men.

They're playing supporting roles here

in this story.

The point is

that these 12 verses

emphasize that Jesus is God

and only he can forgive sin.

But we can't ignore

or diminish the role

that these men played

in this process.

They didn't understand

fully who Jesus was

or even what Jesus was

going to do.

In fact,

Jesus' first response

would have been a surprise

to all of them.

But they were convinced

that he was the only way

that their friend could be helped.

The question for us is

do we believe that Jesus

is the only way

that the people in our lives

can actually be helped?

And if so,

are we committed

to bringing people

to Jesus compassionately,

relentlessly,

creatively,

sacrificially?

We dedicate our lives

to all kinds of things.

All kinds of things.

Noble things.

I thought about this morning

and I actually wrote it

in my notes.

The statement by C.T. Studd

who was a missionary to China

and then to Africa

and I think the Congo maybe.

There were various places

that he served.

But what is it that he said?

Only one life will soon be passed.

This was a poem that he wrote.

Only what's done for Christ

will last.

I'm not saying that you give up

everything in your life

for this.

But this should be a priority

for all of us.

If Jesus is who we believe he is,

we have no other choice

but to give our lives

telling others about him.