Saturday 12 July, 2014

* People brought the paralysed man to Jesus and without that assistance the man would never have been forgiven or healed.

* Jesus liked and responded to the faith of those who brought the paralysed man to him.

* Jesus has the authority to forgive sins and heal diseases. He proves he is God’s son by doing these things.

* After the paralysed man was healed there was a healthy fear of God.

I love the fact that we as believers can play a part in a miracle simply by bringing people to Jesus. Jesus responded to the faith of the friends that brought the paraplegic man to him. That same Jesus responds to our faith as we bring friends and family facing impossible situations to him. I’m encouraged to bring people to Jesus and seek his help.

I have to wonder why Jesus said to the paralysed man, “Your sins are forgiven son” when clearly he was brought to be healed. It certainly stirred up the religious leaders of the day. What the religious leaders took from this statement is that it was as good as saying, “I am God.” They were right in their understanding but not happy with this truth. To then prove this understanding ie. Jesus is God, Jesus heals the man. Jesus pulls rank basically – love it! Jesus has both the authority to forgive sins and heal diseases. Back to the order of events here – I think Jesus forgave the man first because sin blocks our relationship with God. Jesus wanted a relationship with this man more than anything so the sin had to go and go it did.

Thank you Jesus that you have the power to forgive and to heal. Please help me to bring people to you so you can help them and show them who you really are. Amen

Written by Ainslie Woods