Our text for this morning is another one of those stories of an amazing day that stuck vividly in the memories of his disciples. When you follow Jesus you never know what is going to happen. .
Our text for this morning is Luke 5:17-26.
17 One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting near by (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; 19 but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. 20 When he saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." 21 Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, "Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 22 When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"-- he said to the one who was paralyzed-- "I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home." 25 Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. 26 Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
This story has 4 characters to it. In the center is this man who desperately needed to get to Jesus. And then there are his 4 friends, who were real friends, who did what it took to carry him to Jesus. But they ran into a crowd that got in the way, and, of course, Jesus himself.
Let’s start with this man. He was paralyzed. This was a day when pretty much all labor was manual labor and maybe he had been badly injured in a fall off of a roof or from a tree while picking fruit. We don’t know how he became paralyzed. This was a day when there was no modern medical care. This man was going to die without a miracle from Jesus. And he was paralyzed. There was no way he was going to make it to Jesus on his own.
Think about people you know. Do you know someone who really needs Jesus to touch their life, but you know there is no way they are going to come to Jesus, to walk into a church on their own? Maybe they are just fine physically, but something is broken in their heart that is paralyzing them spiritually.
Do you know someone who is paralyzed to come to Jesus on their own because they got hurt in church, perhaps years ago? Maybe they got criticized. Maybe they were really disappointed by people who came to church then gossiped cruelly. Maybe they were scandalized by seeing someone talk really religious at church and then do things during the week that showed them to be a total hypocrite. Is that person going to come to church on their own?
Do they need the support of the church? Do they need to come to Jesus?
What can we do to “carry them” to Jesus? We can listen to their hurt, draw out the poison. And it may take time for that to happen. We can share with them good things that God is doing here. Sharing about church may be the thing that will start the conversation they need to have; they may really want to have. We can invite them to come. We can offer to meet them at the door and sit with them, or even better, pick them up.
It’s very likely you know someone who is deeply grieving the tragic loss of a loved one. They know that God is there somewhere. But there is this big cloud of pain and grief in their hearts and they just don’t know how to fit their pain together with God’s love. Maybe they feel deeply disappointed in God, maybe angry with God. Do they need Jesus? Do they need God’s comfort? Do they need the healing support of the church? Absolutely. But they’re not going to come on their own.
How might we help them come to back to church? How might we carry them to Jesus?
They need us to pray for them. They need us to live a life of Christian integrity before them. They need us to listen to their story of what happened, to draw out the poison, to care. They don’t need us to condemn them. They don’t need us to push them too fast. Most of all they need us to love them. People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.
Do you know someone who is paralyzed to come to Jesus on their own because they just don’t see the point? There are more and more people around us who have no church background. And, sure they need information about Jesus. But they need much more than facts. The Bible says that apart from Christ we are spiritually dead. We just won’t get it. We’re blind to the things of God. There are a whole lot of people who need to be born again. There is a switch in their souls that needs to be turned from “off” to “on.” Do you know somebody who is like that? They need our prayers. They need our love. They need to hear for themselves that God is moving in your life to give them hope that God can move in their lives. They need to be in church for help in seeing God for themselves.
Back to our text, this crippled man had wonderful friends and we need to look at them. They determined to do what they could. They couldn’t know for sure what Jesus would do, but they carried their friend to Jesus and they did it with high hopes. They ran into obstacles. It’s hard work carrying someone. We don’t know how long it took them to convince their paralyzed friend to take the risk of being carried to Jesus. We don’t know how far or how long they carried him. When they got there they found a big crowd that blocked the doorway. But that didn’t stop them.
Houses in Galilee in that day would have a flat roof, with an external staircase so they could go up and enjoy the cool evening breezes. They carried their friend up that staircase. They took apart part of the roof and lowered their friend down into the crowd. I imagine the owner of the house wasn’t real happy about that. I’m sure some of the people there were unhappy to have their nice religious meeting disrupted. But these 4 friends went the extra mile, because they wanted to bring their friend to Jesus. Do you know someone who needs you to go the extra mile?
And I want us to look at the crowd. Here is a man who desperately needs to get to Jesus. He’s dying. And the crowd is standing in the way. Some of them are there because they are really hungry to learn from Jesus. That’s great. There are Pharisees there and some of them probably there to check out this new competitor so they can find things to criticize. Some are there because their friends are there and it’s the place to be. But nobody needs Jesus more than this man who’s stuck outside. And the crowd is in the way.
What does that have to do with us? Could the crowd in a church get in the way of someone meeting Jesus?
We have a video to illustrate some ways that church members can get in the way for people who are seeking Jesus and ways that they can open the way for people who need Jesus. Let’s watch it together. And as we watch, be thinking about ways we can be just as welcoming as we can be when visitors come here. As you watch it I encourage you to take some notes on your bulletin insert of ways we can really show God’s love to visitors.
[Show video: A Tale of Two Churches]
In two weeks it will be Friendship Sunday at Bethel Church. I hope we will all be here to show how many of us have found the goodness of Jesus for ourselves. I hope we will put all our personal agendas aside and focus on giving the love of Jesus to those who visit. And is this for just one Sunday? No, every Sunday.
It is so important for every one of us to be doing what we can to bring visitors to Bethel. Maybe you can’t think of someone to invite or figure out how to put your invitation into words. Maybe October 27 just isn’t the right date for you to make an invitation. Well, be praying for someone you know. Be praying for one another that some of us will find a way to bring someone.
And, to make it easier to invite someone, you should all have a copy of our new Bethel brochure in your bulletin. Take it out and look at it for a moment. God is doing good things at Bethel. I listed many of them in the brochure. I gave you this brochure so that you can have something to hand to a friend and point them to something specific that will be a blessing to them. Do you know someone with children who would just love to be in Sunday School? Or maybe children who would drag their feet at first, but really need to know Jesus? Hand them the brochure, point out the part about Sunday School and say a few words of encouragement to come. We have very strong classes for the parents to come, also. Patty Robinson’s Young and Restless Class has a problem that they are struggling to fit into the space of the room. We have good classes for kids, youth and adults.
Do you know someone who enjoys making music? Invite them to come be part of the choir or the Praise Band.
Do you know someone who cares about world issues or community needs? Point out the part about Methodist’s commitment to serving in the community.
I know many of you have found wonderful fellowship in your Sunday School class. There are some really lonely people out there, people who enjoy a good discussion, people who would appreciate the chance to talk through their life issues with some caring friends. Invite them to you class.
You’ve probably noticed that Shannon is a pretty small village. For many of us, that’s why we’re here. It’s wonderful. But Bethel does an amazing job of being a full service church even in a small village. Now we need to get the message out.
And on Friendship Sunday we’ll have some great special music to enjoy. I will have a small gift for our visitors, an attractive copy of the gospel of John. If you feel comfortable, introduce your friend during the joys and I will hand them a copy. If you don’t feel comfortable, introduce them to me before or after the service and I would like to give them their copy.
Let’s go back to our scripture for one more look. What happened when those 4 faithful men brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus? We always need to look at Jesus. The first thing that happened was that their friend found healing for his soul. Jesus knew his heart and spoke the word of forgiveness that he needed to hear. How many times have you come to church with an aching heart and Jesus touched that ache through something in the service and you found the healing that you needed? Maybe you have a friend who needs to hear what Jesus has done for you. There are many wonderful social agencies around us that can do such important things for people’s physical needs. But no other agency can touch what God does through the love of his people in church. Don’t be afraid to talk about what God can do for our hearts.
And Jesus healed the paralyzed man that day. I haven’t figured out how to get God to heal everyone I pray for yet. But Bethel Church has come through for people with physical needs many times in the past. That’s just who we are in Christ.
So this morning, think about people you know who need Jesus and are not going to come to church on their own. Think about what you can do to carry them a bit, to bring them closer to Jesus. If they aren’t ready to fit into our schedule of Friendship Sunday, that’s OK, people are more important than church schedules. Invite them when the time is right for them. But pray, love, share what God has done for you. And watch for the time.
And when people come here to meet Jesus, let’s all be here. Let’s set aside our own agendas. Let’s do all we can to be sure the path is open for them to meet Jesus. AMEN
