Continuing in the Gospel of Mark series, Pastor Ernie expounded on the story of the paralytic and the four friends from Chapter 2:1-12. He reminded us that during that period in Israel where God was silent and the Jews were in Roman captivity, sickness and poverty abounded among God’s people. When Jesus came on the scene with His distinctive teaching and miraculous healing, they pinned their hopes on Him as their long-awaited Messiah to free them from their bondage in Rome. They flocked to Him everywhere to hear Him and to seek a miracle from Him.
In that perilous time, the Jews believed that sin and sickness were connected. The link between sin and sickness, forgiveness and restoration of health, is illustrated in an early rabbinic saying: “A sick man does not recover from his sickness until all his sins are forgiven him, as it is written, ‘Who forgives all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases’ [Ps. 103:3].”
In Mark 2, Jesus was teaching in a house packed with people, including Jewish leaders. Outside, four men were trying to get their paralytic friend in to Jesus for healing but they could not get past the crowd. Determined to get Jesus’ attention, they climbed unto the top of the house, broke the roof, and lowered their friend on a mat right in front of Him. Seeing what had just happened, Jesus commended their faith, forgave the paralytic and healed him completely. Without these four men, the paralytic would never have walked again, let alone get an audience with Jesus.
From this passage, Pastor Ernie drew three lessons for us. We all need:
1. A “roof-breaker” friend, and be a “roof-breaker” friend to others. Such friends stick around no matter what. In the church especially in the cell group, unless lives intersect and we “love out loud”, we would not be a loving community of believers, where we can provide encouragement, prayers, proclamations, faith declarations for one another. Pastor Ernie exhorted us to invest time in each other’s lives in order to give practically of what we freely receive from God. See Matthew 25:40.
2. Pursue inner healing as compared to physical healing. Citing James 5:16, Pastor Ernie encouraged us to have a practice of confession to a trusted Christian friend, taking the leap of faith to be vulnerable and open to each other. This will open the door for the Cell group to get stronger as the relationships will become stronger.
3. To have an eternal perspective of our circumstances. Sharing from Paul’s word in Philippians 1:21 “… to live is Christ and to die is gain…”, Pastor Ernie urged us to consider our lives and its present circumstances as temporary. Instead, we should pin our hope on our heavenly destination. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13.
Discussion Questions
1. Read Mark 2:1-12. Imagine yourself as one standing among the packed crowd in the house where this is all happening, what do you see? What impacts you personally at that moment and why? (Was it the shock of seeing the roof falling apart? Or what Jesus says? Or what He does? Or what is happening to the paralytic?) [15 min]
2. In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
What are the obstacles that prevent you from being a roof-breaker friend to another? And how can thinking about Jesus’ act of ultimate sacrifice help you do so? [15 min]
3. Read James 5:16. Our cell conversations usually revolve around topics other than the deeper issues of the heart and soul. Confession of sins is a lost sacrament in the church. We usually “confess” or present our sicknesses, our issues at work, or our problems with children for prayer but rarely confess to one another our deepest struggles with sin. Discuss how we can allow ourselves to be vulnerable and authentic in the cell and in church. [15 min]
