<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark&nbsp;2;1-5<div><b><br></b></div><div><b>1. &nbsp;And when he returned to Caperna-um after some days, &nbsp;it was reported that he was at home.</b></div><div><b>2. &nbsp;And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them.</b></div><div><b>3. &nbsp;And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.</b></div><div><b>4. &nbsp;And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.</b></div><div><b>5. &nbsp;And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>What does it mean when it says, <i>“when Jesus <u>saw their faith</u>” </i>?</div><div><br></div><div>What was it that Jesus “saw”?</div><div><br></div><div>Hebrews 11;1 teaches, <i>“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”</i></div><div><i></i><i><br></i><div>Certainly, these men hoped for the paralytic to be <u>what,</u>&nbsp;healed and made to&nbsp;walk again? &nbsp;<span>Or, to be forgiven? &nbsp;</span></div><div><span>Of <u>what</u>&nbsp;were these men convicted about? &nbsp;Were they convinced Jesus would not mind if they made a hole in the roof of his (?), Peter’s home? &nbsp;Were they convinced Jesus would take pity on the paralytic and heal him? &nbsp;Or, forgive him?</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Was the compassion and urgency of these men who brought the paralytic to Jesus founded upon their concern over affliction of the paralytic’s sin sick&nbsp;soul? &nbsp;Were they worried about his spiritual health? &nbsp;Or, the health of his body?</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>My suspicion is that they were doing all this in hopes that Jesus would physically heal the paralytic.</span></div><div><span>I do not think they were thinking about his soul.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Yet, Jesus saw ‘faith’ in them. &nbsp;He saw their <u>love and sacrifice</u>&nbsp;for their friend. &nbsp;He saw their <u>determination and inventiveness</u>&nbsp;in finding an unconventional (<u>risky and laborious</u>) way to get their friend to Jesus. &nbsp;If we had been there I believe&nbsp;we would have seen a smile on the face of our Lord.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>It is the will of God that we be healed both in body and soul, but the soul is the&nbsp;first and greatest need. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span>What good is a sound body if the spirit remains dead? &nbsp;&nbsp;God prefers to work from the inside out. &nbsp;Soul and spirit first, then the flesh. &nbsp;Many of us suffer physically, be assured, our physical healing <u>will happen,</u>&nbsp;in the Resurrection. &nbsp;It is a done deal!</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Jesus had become very&nbsp;well known in Galilee, people all over were coming out to find him…for their physical needs. &nbsp;Jesus used this opportunity to change the narrative. &nbsp;He is not just a physical&nbsp;healer, he does what only God can do, he heals spiritually, he&nbsp;forgives our&nbsp;sins. &nbsp;He sees not only the sicknesses of our bodies, he sees the sickness of our souls.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>There is nothing that we have ever done that Jesus does not know. &nbsp;Nothing is hidden from him. AND,&nbsp;all the times&nbsp;we should have done something, or said something, or given of ourselves and failed to do it…he knows those as well, &nbsp;&nbsp;all of both our sins of commission and omission. &nbsp;<i>“And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bear to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” &nbsp;</i>(Hebrews 4;13)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The great beauty of this event is that the men who brought the paralytic <u>did</u>&nbsp;have faith, they just did not realize everything that Jesus could do with their faith, through them for others! &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>We are no different, God’s gift to us, (a&nbsp;little,<i>&nbsp;“mustard seed of faith,”</i>)<i>&nbsp;&nbsp;</i>faith which has no idea how great and wonderfully God can work in and through us,&nbsp;is all the Lord needs to work his miracles. &nbsp;</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Our Lord seeks to do so much more in and through us than we could ever hope or believe.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Prayer: &nbsp;Most merciful Heavenly Father, bless us to know our faith is hope and conviction <u>in action.</u></span></div><div><span>Increase our expectations and destroy our doubts concerning all that You can do in and through us.</span></div><div><span>Grant us true&nbsp;determination to get our friends&nbsp;to Jesus,&nbsp;empowered by Your own&nbsp;love. <i>“Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.”</i></span></div><div><span>(Ephesians 3;20&amp;21)</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Love,</span></div><div><span>Dad/Baba/Eric</span></div><div><span>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</span></div><div><span>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span><u></u>&nbsp;</span></div><div><br><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 2;1-5
1.  And when he returned to Caperna-um after some days,  it was reported that he was at home.2.  And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them.3.  And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.4.  And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.5.  And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”
What does it mean when it says, “when Jesus saw their faith” ?
What was it that Jesus “saw”?
Hebrews 11;1 teaches, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Certainly, these men hoped for the paralytic to be what, healed and made to walk again?  Or, to be forgiven?  Of what were these men convicted about?  Were they convinced Jesus would not mind if they made a hole in the roof of his (?), Peter’s home?  Were they convinced Jesus would take pity on the paralytic and heal him?  Or, forgive him?
Was the compassion and urgency of these men who brought the paralytic to Jesus founded upon their concern over affliction of the paralytic’s sin sick soul?  Were they worried about his spiritual health?  Or, the health of his body?
My suspicion is that they were doing all this in hopes that Jesus would physically heal the paralytic.I do not think they were thinking about his soul.
Yet, Jesus saw ‘faith’ in them.  He saw their love and sacrifice for their friend.  He saw their determination and inventiveness in finding an unconventional (risky and laborious) way to get their friend to Jesus.  If we had been there I believe we would have seen a smile on the face of our Lord.
It is the will of God that we be healed both in body and soul, but the soul is the first and greatest need.  What good is a sound body if the spirit remains dead?   God prefers to work from the inside out.  Soul and spirit first, then the flesh.  Many of us suffer physically, be assured, our physical healing will happen, in the Resurrection.  It is a done deal!
Jesus had become very well known in Galilee, people all over were coming out to find him…for their physical needs.  Jesus used this opportunity to change the narrative.  He is not just a physical healer, he does what only God can do, he heals spiritually, he forgives our sins.  He sees not only the sicknesses of our bodies, he sees the sickness of our souls.
There is nothing that we have ever done that Jesus does not know.  Nothing is hidden from him. AND, all the times we should have done something, or said something, or given of ourselves and failed to do it…he knows those as well,   all of both our sins of commission and omission.  “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bear to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”  (Hebrews 4;13)
The great beauty of this event is that the men who brought the paralytic did have faith, they just did not realize everything that Jesus could do with their faith, through them for others!  
We are no different, God’s gift to us, (a little, “mustard seed of faith,”)  faith which has no idea how great and wonderfully God can work in and through us, is all the Lord needs to work his miracles.  
Our Lord seeks to do so much more in and through us than we could ever hope or believe.
Prayer:  Most merciful Heavenly Father, bless us to know our faith is hope and conviction in action.Increase our expectations and destroy our doubts concerning all that You can do in and through us.Grant us true determination to get our friends to Jesus, empowered by Your own love. “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.”(Ephesians 3;20&21)
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”
 


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