Several days following that experience, Jesus returned home to Capernaum and of course, news spread that He was there, and again, great crowds came to Him. The place He was in was so filled with people that no one could even get in the door. Jesus used this time to preach God's Word to them.
There were four men bringing a friend to Jesus to be healed. They could not get to Jesus, but notice that they did not give up and would not be turned away. They were determined. They hoisted their friend up onto the roof and dug a hole in it and lowered the friend to Jesus. All of them knew beyond a doubt that Jesus cold heal the man. They did what they had to do, even though it was not easy, so they could get him before Jesus. I imagine the whole room was stunned at this guy coming through the ceiling. Some may have even been angry for being interupted. Some may have called these guys names or told them to go away so they could listen to Jesus' teaching.
In chapter 2 verse 5 we read, "Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My child, your sins are forgiven." We have a moment of the expression of complete faith in Christ. We see Jesus respond to their expression of faith and trust in Him.
When we come before Jesus, do we come with enough faith and enough determination to dig a hole in the roof of our lives and lower ourselves into His presence with all the trust we can muster? Or, do we walk near, see the crowds, make one feeble attempt by shouting out for Jesus to do what we want Him to, and if things don't change in a moment, do we walk away grumbling that He didn't answer our prayer? Do we come before Jesus but not really believe that things will change? Do we ever walk away never fully believing that He can or will help us?
These guys came fully committed. They were not going to let some traffic jam get in their way. They believed so much so, that somehow they hoisted their friend on a mat up onto the roof of a building. Somehow they dug a hole in the roof and lowered him right down in front of Jesus. I might add that I find it easy to believe that once they lowered him into the room, they would not be able to hoist him back out. I can easily see that these guys believed it was within their ability to get their friend in front of Jesus but it was Jesus who had to be the one to get the man out of the room. He went in through the roof but would have to either be carried back out the front door or would have to walk out by the power of Jesus Christ. I believe they had no plan to carry him out the front door. They had to feel that if they couldn't get in through that door to carry their friend to Jesus, there was no way they were going to be able to walk in and bring him out. Their faith and trust gave them the drive to do what had to be done on their part and leave the rest, "in trust," up to Jesus.
The last thing I want to point out in this encounter is that none of the four men making the effort to get to Jesus was doing it for himself. These four men had a friend in need. They may have called in sick from work or taken a PTO or vacation day to get their friend to the man who could change his life. They saw the need, they made the time taking time out of their own life to take their friend to the only man who could or would heal him.
Also, notice there is no mention of where the men came from or how they got there. They could have been next door or they may have been five buddies who had no pickup truck or van to get him there. Maybe they came from 20 miles away and had to carry their friend every step of the way. Maybe it took them three days of walking to get their friend to the man they knew was the only person who could change his life.
Do we believe and trust that Jesus can and will change the lives of those around us? Do we believe and trust that He can change lives and even eternal destinations? Is our trust big enough and our faith strong enough to take on such a journey? Do we love those around us enough to take time out of our overly busy lives on behalf of another person in need? Just how much will we trust and believe? Just how much will we care and love? Over and over again in Scripture, Jesus responds to faith by doing great things in the lives of those who come to Him desperate and filled with faith and trust in Him. We can surely learn from these examples. We can surely grow in our faith and trust by studying Jesus' responses to those who call out to Him in faith.
Of course, as soon as Jesus does something great and wonderful, there are those who attack Him. What is their goal? Is it to undermine Jesus' work? Do they believe so much in the rules that they cannot see the truth standing before them? I imagine the answer to both of these questions is yes. Jesus responded with a teaching that begins with the words, "Why do you question this in your hearts?" We cannot understand some things in our heads, but I think, somehow our hearts understand things our minds cannot. Why question what our minds cannot understand? Why not move forward with faith and acceptance in our hearts and trust in Christ? Jesus said, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home." And the man did. The man walked out the front door and did not need to be hoisted back out the way he came in. The man came in one way but after being with Jesus he went out the door a new man. A man looking forward to a better life, a more whole and complete life. His biggest struggle of life had been healed by the power of Christ. He was new, never to be crippled by life again.
The onlookers were stunned. I think that to be stunned something has to happen that you did not expect. Maybe that tells us the crowd was not expecting Jesus to heal the man. Now they knew better. We are told they were all amazed and they began praising God. When Jesus changes our life and circumstances, do we stop and realize what has happened? Do we stop and praise God with all that is in us for what He has done? Do we shout from the rooftops that Jesus Christ is Lord? Does the path of our life change?
Jesus then calls Levi (Matthew, a tax collector) to be one of His disciples and he left and followed Jesus. No excuses, no delay. He simply heard the call and got up and went. Levi brought Jesus and the disciples to his house for dinner. They dined with some of Levis' friends and business associates. There were other tax collectors, and a variety of other sinners gathered. Of course, the Pharisees just weren't getting Jesus' ministry and couldn't figure out why Jesus would associate with those they considered scum. Jesus heard their comments and responded ( I love His response in the NLT translation) "Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do. I have come to call not on those who THINK they are righteous, but those who KNOW they are sinners." Okay, wow!
If you think you have it all together, if you think you are tight with God, maybe then you also don't think Jesus has anything you need. Maybe Jesus knows people with such a mindset won't hear or get what He is saying. Jesus' heart is to help those who know they need help.
Jesus was asked why He and His disciples weren't fasting as others were. Fasting was typically an act done in atonement or to express sorrow. Jesus talks of His being among His disciples like a wedding feast. A wedding feast is a time of great joy and celebration. Who, if they found themselves at a wedding, would fast? Would they not celebrate while they were with the groom? Just as there will be a time that the groom will be gone from them, Jesus will also be taken from them. Jesus was talking about His arrest and crucifixion. When that time comes, fasting will be appropriate. However, now that He is with them, this is a time to be full of joy.
Jesus then went on to explain that the religion of Judaism was old compared to the newness of the Gospel He brings. His first expression of the differences between the old and new related to fasting. Then Jesus compared the old religion to His Gospel by saying that the old wineskin was like the old religion. It has been used and shrunk and worn out. It was in need of repair. For it to be repaired and last, it would have to be repaired with a a part of an old wineskin. Jesus' Gospel was like a new wineskin that was of new material and had not been shrunk. If you try to take an old material and repair it with new material, the new material would simply pull away and make the old material even worse. Likewise, new wine is put into new, soft and supple wineskins. As the wine ferments, the wineskin ages and changes with the fermenting wine. As you use the fermented wine, the wineskins it fermented in become stiff, unyielding and not flexible. Should you pour new, unfermented wine in the old hard wineskins, they would burst. Pouring new wine in old wineskins would burst the old wine skin, ruining it and the wine. What He was telling His listeners was that you cannot mix the Salvation and Good News He brings with the old religion.
He was then attacked again, for as they were walking through the fields, some of them were breaking off the heads of wheat and eating them. They were accused of "harvesting" on the Sabbath. I won't even spend time on this becasue to me breaking a few heads of grain off is hardly what anyone could call "harvesting" or work. This was a weak attempt to find wrong with Jesus and His followers again. Jesus did respond by sharing David's feeding of his men who were in desperate need. The point was that the way the Pharisees continued to interpret the Law was not the intent of the Law and they were doing so wrongly.
Jesus ends chapter two by teaching that God made the Sabbath for people. He made it so they could rest and rejuvinate. Maybe so they could spend time with their families. He then spoke to how the Pharisees have taken what was meant to give men rest and turned it into rules that had to be followed or be punished. Instead of being thankful and grateful for the Sabbath, as God intended, the religious leaders had people worshipping, being imprisoned by and fearful of the Sabbath and it's rules. It had become one more day of stress, not a day of peace and rest.