Do We REALLY—Do as JESUS did?
The city Capernaum was crowded with people everywhere. Signs of Jesus teaching in the synagogues and healing as he went throughout several towns remained in the peoples’ minds. Now, Jesus returned back to Capernaum, and the people heard that Jesus was at home, so they ran toward that house. Imagine the scene.
“And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door;
(The Gospel According to Mark 2: 2 NASB)
and He was speaking the word to them.”
Things don’t always work the way we plan. Oftentimes, even our best plans go awry. I am a list-maker; maybe you too. If you are like me, then we find it comforting to plan out our weeks and days because then it’s easier to accomplish much when we plan.
The other day, while talking to another, discussing an upcoming event, I pulled out my phone, and this person saw my color-coded calendar. When she did, she responded: “Wow, Ms. New, look at your calendar. You are busy, and You have a lot to do.” If you could see my calendar, then you would see the colored boxes, prioritizing my days, even my whole month.
Since her comment, the LORD has placed this truth on my heart: His Plans often do not align with my plans.
We set out in the morning with our to-do list clutched in our hands, intent to cross off the list as the day progresses (at least this is what I do), and if the list is not accomplished, maybe we just shuffle forward leftover tasks to the next day. Today, let us ask ourselves two important questions:
- What do we do when interruptions come? &
- How do we react when God’s plans change our best laid plans?
When Jesus walked as a man on earth, His popularity became so widespread that He could no longer publicly enter a city unnoticed. So, the Son of God began to stay in unpopulated areas. Pause right there and allow that to sink in—Realize how the Savior of the world slept night-after-night on the hard ground, warmed only by the leaves and surrounding brush. The sky would have been his roof, and the morning dew would have dampened His clothing.
In this particular text, we read how Jesus was at home, in the large port city, Capernaum. Jesus was seated in the home, preaching to the people, and the crowd became so large that it was pressing into the interior, people were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, around the walls, filling the doorway and the entire space.
Do We REALLY—Do as JESUS did?
“there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.
(The Gospel According to Mark 2: 2b-4a NASB)
And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.
Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; . . .”
A few years ago, there was a craze, one that caused many to wear a bracelet with four letters: WWJD. This object was designed to help us remember how every action we did should reflect the actions of Jesus Christ. In this biblical narrative, it’s rather important to notice how Jesus reacted to the interruption that occurred right in the middle of His preaching “the word to them.”
Jesus saw this interruption as a divine opportunity to reveal God to them. Just as Jesus did, our high calling is to do the will of God, in God’s power, and only for the glory of Almighty God.
While He was preaching, above His head, pieces of the ceiling began to fall onto the heads. The four men could not squeeze into the press of the room, and their friend (the paralytic) needed Jesus. So, they did what they had to do: they climbed onto the roof of the home and broke it open.
“And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.
(The Gospel According to Mark 2: 3-4 NASB)
Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him;
and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.”
Our days do not always go JUST AS WE PLAN. Oftentimes our calendars change because of interruptions that we could never foresee. God may override our plans to accomplish His purposes. Therefore, we must TRUST HIM, for HE KNOWS THE BEGINNING TO THE END.
The man, Solomon, who asked God to grant him wisdom above anything else wrote:
“Many plans are in a man’s heart,
(The Proverbs 19: 21 NASB)
But the counsel of the LORD will stand.”
Do We REALLY—Do as JESUS did?
“And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic,
(The Gospel According to Mark 2: 5 NASB)
“Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Many religious leaders sat in the crowded house that day; in fact, they probably took the best, front row seats near Jesus. When they heard the words of Jesus, they began to grumble inside their hearts, but GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING—INCLUDING THE THOUGHTS WE THINK!
What these leaders reasoned as blasphemy, when Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins, they became angry because JESUS FORGAVE SINS AS GOD.
“Why does this man speak that way?
(The Gospel According to Mark 2: 7-11 NASB)
He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them,
“Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say,
‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’?
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—
He said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”
Christians and followers of Jesus, He calls each one of us to a radical mission, to be on HIS MISSION, as we walk through every one of our days. Each day, ‘lost’ ones surround us, and while they might be carried around on pallets from place to place, still they remain lost to our heavenly Father. We may not see their visible signs; we may not see with our eyes how they cannot walk, but still, they remain crippled and unable to walk with God in their present state. Maybe we even watch them drag through life, placing their hopes in getting all they can while they live and enjoying all the pleasures this world has to offer them. We who believe in Jesus watch the lost, and maybe we choose to look the other way, to not see their unforgiven state. Could it be that we even find ourselves turning away and not sharing the love of Jesus with them when God’s divine opportunities change our calendar plans?
You see, they are the crippled ones, the ‘walking’ dead.
Do We REALLY—Do as JESUS did?
That day, the four friends made space for Jesus to change their plans, allowing for Him to work through their hands and feet. They knew their friend needed the healing touch of Jesus, so they carried their friend to Jesus and lowered his broken body at the feet of Jesus. WE CAN TOO!
That day, the four friends allowed their faith in Jesus to dictate the movement of their hearts and feet, as they also gave God space to use their hands to bring their friend to Jesus.
Do We REALLY—Do as JESUS did, or do we just SAY that we do?
That day, the four friends allowed God’s kingdom work to interrupt their day, and Jesus allowed their faith to interrupt His preaching of the word. What happened next was nothing but a miracle of God.
“And he got up [the paralytic] and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying,
(The Gospel According to Mark 2: 12 NASB)
“We have never seen anything like this.”
- May We REALLY—Do as JESUS did, allowing interruptions to our day!
- May We ALSO—Carry our friends and family to JESUS!