Mark 2:1-11

I’m fortunate to be in a small Bible study group led by retired pastor and devotional writer/editor Brian Emmet. Brian is never content to let our discussion stay surface level. He continually probes, forcing us to look deeper into scripture and into ourselves. His favorite phrase during our study is what else? And he will ask it over and over until we have plumbed the depths of a passage. 

And you know what? That’s an excellent tool for individual Bible study, too. If you’ve been a Christian and student of the Bible for years, many of the passages our devotionals explore are already familiar to you. Thus, it’s easy to think, oh, I know this one. But do we -- do we really? 

Let’s look at a likely-familiar incident of Jesus healing a paralyzed man lowered to Him through the roof of a house. Jesus forgives the man’s sins and heals him. OK, we might say, I remember this; what amazing friends who are creative in caring for a helpless friend. And we move on. 

But what else might you see? On the surface, we see compassionate friends so undeterred by crowds they go to extremes to gain access to Jesus (v.4). What else? Is this a model of how we should bring people to Jesus? Are we to do more than pray for healing? How determined are we, how creative are we willing to get? It’s easier (surface-level, if you will) to pray or invite someone to church than to tear through physical (or other) barriers. 

What else? The unexpected comes when Jesus forgives this man’s sins before healing him (v.5). A surface-level explanation is because that’s his greater need, and that’s certainly true. But what else could be going on? Why doesn’t Jesus forgive the friends’ sins, too? Jesus is deliberate in all things, so is He aiming to shock by not even commenting on the roof disaster? Jesus’ prioritizing forgiveness definitely offends the teachers of the law silently who accuse Him of blasphemy (v.7). 

What about the others? Is the paralyzed man wondering, “I’m not here for forgiveness”? Are the onlookers puzzled over talk of forgiveness since this man is clearly paralyzed? What else? What should we take from this? What do we want Jesus to fix when He might be angling to fix something else first? Does Jesus want us to differentiate between needs and wants? Remember, He does heal the man, so we know Jesus cares about both.

What else? Jesus draws a crowd. He’s been busy healing (see Ch.1). Of course, people are curious. Put yourself in this small-village crowd. Why did you come? Because you want to be healed? What’s your reaction to such a huge crowd for someone who grew up here? What’s your reaction to the miracle? Do you even believe it? You’re a teacher of the law; why are you there? And when you silently criticize Jesus (v.7) and He immediately calls you out (v.8), what’s your reaction…and why? When the man picks up his mat and walks away, everyone is amazed and praises God (v.12). Sure, that makes sense; I would do the same. But does that include the teachers of the law? 

Can you take one more what else? I’ll keep it short. What about the verb seen? “‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (v.12). Jesus started by “preaching the word” to them, but what they walk away with is amazement at something they saw. Did anything Jesus say stick with them? He called Himself “Son of Man” and claimed “authority on earth to forgive sins” (v.10). The core of Jesus’ plan was always to rescue us from sin. Were they listening? Are we?

So, what’s your takeaway? Amazement at the evidence of Jesus’ power and authority? A bit jealous of these friends’ determination? Conviction to be more proactive in bringing a friend to Jesus? Analysis of where you might be elevating physical healing over something else Jesus is trying to accomplish in you? What else? Dig below the surface, friend.