Weekend, February 5, 2022
A Group Effort
“Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven’” (Mark 2:5 NLT).
They just wanted to get their friend to Jesus. He was paralyzed and needed a physical touch from the Lord. But they couldn’t even get into the house where Jesus was because it was packed wall-to-wall with people. So they lowered him through the roof instead.
In first-century Capernaum, the roofs of houses were flat, with outside staircases leading up to them. So that day, four men made their way up to the roof of the house where Jesus was, and they started digging through it.
Imagine the scene. Jesus was inside speaking, with His audience listening to His every word. Suddenly a little dirt clod falls to the ground, followed by another and then another. And before long, shafts of light shine through, and then a man on a mat slowly descends right in front of Jesus.
So Jesus, seeing the faith of the man’s friends, said to him, “My child, your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5 NLT).
I love how these four guys worked together. In the same way, if we want to see people come to Jesus, then we need to work with other believers as well. When we join efforts, we will get a lot more done. We’re much stronger together than we are alone.
For instance, when Peter was arrested for preaching the gospel, the Bible tells us that “the church prayed very earnestly for him” (Acts 12:5 NLT).
There’s power when we pray together. Jesus said, “If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you” (Matthew 18:19 NLT). He also said, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them” (verse 20 NLT).
If we want to bring our friends to Jesus, then we need to pray and work together.
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