Succession with friends
Discipleship happens in the encounter with Jesus Christ. But different people react differently. Based on the biblical story of the four men who brought their paralysed friend, we encounter three types. They all encounter Jesus differently. The givers know exactly what is going on. They are present, but with a critical eye. The trusting ones show their faith in action. They are firmly convinced that Jesus Christ can help, and so they bring the needy person to him. The needy are in a hopeless situation. They need Jesus so that they can be healed and made whole.
Today’s service is all about the teens» blessing. So they also gave me a few ideas on what I could preach about. These ranged from humility, trust and living in love to the so-called armour of God and the question «What if I don’t feel Jesus Christ at the moment?». I chose a story that I think has a lot to do with trust and the question «What if I don’t feel anything/am too weak at the moment/can’t». The Lifegroup consists of two parts. One is dealing with issues of faith and the other is focussing on cultivating relationships with people of the same age. It is a wonderful story where faith and relationships between friends come together. This story has a lot to do with the year’s theme of discipleship. It seems to be so important that it is mentioned in three of the four gospels. To start the sermon, let’s read the first three verses together. «One day, some Pharisees and scribes were sitting with Jesus as he taught. The men had come from villages all over Galilee and Judea and even from Jerusalem. And the healing power of the Lord went out from Jesus. A few men carriedäner on a mat a geläThey came here. They tried to get through the crowd to Jesus, but were unsuccessful. ClosessThey climbed onto the roof, took away a few tiles and leftssthe patient on the mat in the middle of the audience.örer down, Jesus right at his feet» (Luke 5:17–19 NLB).
Three basic types
In this story, we encounter three people, or rather groups of people. I describe them somewhat boldly as «the givers», «the trusting» and «the needy». We want to go through this story with these three. I think that all three types are represented here in this service today.
There are the grantors. These are the Pharisees and scribes in this story. They know their way around and know what needs to be done and said. Their goal is to keep the commandments of God. They heard about Jesus and what he did and therefore came together. They travelled from far and wide to check whether what this Jesus said was also in their interest. Their basic attitude is characterised by «We know the way». They allow Jesus to preach in their presence, but not to them. They are a picture of people who are detached. They are present, but absent in terms of reception.
We also encounter those who trust. We know from the Gospel of Mark that there are four men. We do not know whether they had met Jesus before or whether they had only heard about him. They had a friend with them. I assume that it was difficult and arduous to bring this man to Jesus. When they finally reached the house, it was crowded and there was no way through. But their trust in Jesus was still huge. He was their only help for their friend. So they got up on the roof and started to cover it. A few years ago, I went on a study trip to Israel. There we were shown how houses were built back then. Building a roof was labour-intensive work. The men certainly knew this. Nevertheless, they were deeply convinced that they now had to come to Jesus with the paralysed man. I assume that it was their friend, otherwise they would probably not have taken this upon themselves. They accepted the risk of being treated with hostility or whatever. Their trust was shown in their actions. Those who trust are a picture of people who are on the way to Jesus Christ. In their trust in God, they overcome various hurdles.
Finally, there is the needy person. He was paralysed. In the original Greek text, he is described as a «man who was paralysed». The translation paralysed is therefore correct. But there is much more to this description. For the word used for man also refers to the sinful nature. Sin is a transgression that is contrary to God’s will. In other words, it could be said that this was «a man who lived contrary to God’s will, who was paralysed». We do not know why he was sick. He is the passive one in this story. We will see that this man will walk a path from paralysed/in contradiction to God, to healing/freedom. The needy man is an image for people who have not yet come into contact with Jesus.
Encounter with Jesus
All three have an encounter with Jesus. Their reaction, but also that of Jesus Christ, is very instructive and shows a lot about these guys. After the men let the paralysed man down, the following happened: «When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: «Son, your SüYou are forgiven» » (Luke 5:20 NLB). Jesus did two things. He saw the faith of the men. But how did this manifest itself? It was not lip service. The men’s faith was shown by the fact that they trusted so firmly in Jesus Christ’s ability to help that they overcame all obstacles. On the other hand, Jesus saw the need the man was in. This was twofold. On the one hand, he was paralysed. On the other hand, there were things that stood between him and God. This includes the analogous description «a man who lived in contradiction to God’s will, who was paralysed». Here is an exciting part of this story. Jesus forgave the man not because of his faith, but because of the faith of the four men. «Help each other with your difficulties and problems, so you fulfil the law we have from Christ» (Galatians 6:2 NLB). They helped him with his difficulties and problems in the sense that they brought him to Jesus. Faith is a realisation, approval but also a trust in divine truths. The men trusted in promises of what the promised Saviour would one day do. «He will not break the bent reed or extinguish the smouldering wick. He will faithfully bring justice to light» (Isaiah 42:3 NLB).
Mixed reactions
Two reactions to Jesus» words and actions can be seen in the story. The givers were beside themselves. « «Füfor whom häDoes this man behave himself?» said the Phariseesähe and the scribes to each other. «This is the love of Godästering! Whoeversshe God can SüForgive them?» (Luke 5:21 NLB). They accused Jesus of the worst kind of slander. But they also made a true statement: God alone can forgive sins! But they had such a preconceived idea that they did not recognise Jesus. They were outraged by this statement and so Jesus confronted them with the question of what was easier. To say your sins are forgiven or to get up and walk. So Jesus continued « «I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins. And he turned to the paralysed man and said: «Get up, take your mat and go home».» (Luke 5:24 NLB). Jesus did exactly what the Pharisees and teachers of the law indirectly attributed only to God, namely healing people. Nevertheless, they could not believe in Jesus Christ, even though he demonstrated his deity by doing so. They were too prejudiced.
We know nothing about the reaction of the men, but all the more about the reaction of the paralysed man. What did the man do after Jesus had spoken to him? «Then the man jumped onto the floor in front of everyone present.üsse picked up his mat and went home, praising God with all his heart» (Luke 5:25 NLB). After the paralysed man encountered God and was healed, he began to praise God. The Pharisees feared that Jesus was blaspheming God with his statement. But the exact opposite happened. The paralysed man praised God and all those present were beside themselves with awe and praised God.
The path of succession
Now I come back to you teenagers. The obligatory part of the Lifegroup ends here. You are religiously mature. This means that you are allowed to decide for yourselves what and how you believe. If you choose the path of discipleship, there may be moments when you are not able to trust God yourselves. But this story shows the importance of community. The men trusted Jesus and he healed their friend. Community is important and a good support in times of doubt, illness and suffering. Other people can come to Jesus with me, even if I may not be able to believe at the moment. This also raises the question, «What if I don’t feel Jesus Christ at the moment?» My tip: Grab your friends, or it would be even better if your friends grabbed you in such a situation and came to Jesus with you. But be careful, the friends didn’t heal the paralysed man or forgive him his sins, they brought him to Jesus. They did not bind him to themselves, but to Jesus. I hope that you have found just such friendships in the Lifegroup. Friendships that carry you through even in difficult times.
During my preparations today, I was tempted to ask which path you would choose. But this is the wrong question. Because it’s not about deciding whether I want to be a giver, trusting or needy person. Rather, it is about whether I am ready to come into God’s presence and trust him. It can happen that I fall into the position of the giver from time to time. Namely, that I am convinced that I know exactly how things are going. I would like to be able to take on the position of the one who trusts for the most part. I want to do something with confidence, even though I don’t yet know the exact result. But perhaps I am also in the position of the needy from time to time. How good it is when I am embedded in a network of friends who support me. As a church, we want to be just such a network. This is an invitation to you to support and be supported. As a rule, we cannot decide which position we want to take. But we can make basic assumptions. I would like to name three opennesses. The openness to let Jesus show me new things again and again. The openness to dare to do things with trust in Jesus. The openness to admit my own inability and to place myself in the presence of Jesus.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Luke 5:17–26
- Where would you categorise yourself? Which tendency do you have the most? The giving, the trusting or the needy?
- How could you become even more of a person who trusts God?
- What does verse 20 trigger in you? «When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man: «Son, your SüYou are forgiven» » (Luke 5:20 NLB).
- How do you practically help other followers of Jesus with their difficulties and problems? What could you do?
- How do you respond to the three opennesses? The openness to let Jesus show me new things again and again. The openness to dare to do things with trust in Jesus. The openness to admit my own inability and to place myself in the presence of Jesus.
