Rise and Be Healed
The scene is set in Luke 5: 17-26. Jesus was in a house in Capernaum. Crowds had gathered to hear Him speak, more noticeably the Pharisees and teachers of the law had come from every village in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. Scripture says, "And the power of the Lord was present to heal them"! The doctors and teachers of the law had come with ulterior motives. Their aim was to ensnare and trap Jesus accusatively and disapprovingly. However blatant and disturbing to imagine, not all who come to Jesus approach Him like minded and like hearted, rather they come with as many diverse and differing facades and faces as they appear. Luke 5:17 says these Pharisees and teachers were sitting there. This is significant in that while everyone else stood, the teachers took their place of authority by being seated. This act demonstrated their standoffish stance against Jesus. How unreceptive and rigid of them! Once again we witness the face-off between the law and Grace. Jesus' accusers came to throw the book at Him at a place that was charged with the power of God to heal, to deliver and to set free.

Meanwhile outside the house amongst the multitude a group of men carrying their paralytic friend on a makeshift bed were desperate to get him to Jesus. Just the thought of Jesus' presence was enough to stir their hearts and efforts in doing all they could to get their friend to Jesus. Amazing how faith swells and enlarges in the presence of God's Grace. Amazing how radical faith will find a way to Jesus, however unconventional, however crude, odd and eccentric! If these men could not press past the crowd through the door of the house, then they had to resort to another means. The roof! "When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus." This was desperate faith! Would you not want friends like these? Is this not a challenge for us to take our friends, our loved ones, families, neighbours, work-colleagues, all who are in our sphere of influence to Jesus?! That despite the opposition, the unbelief, the sceptics', the doubt and hostility - we will be driven by the Hope, the Salvation, the Healing virtues and abounding Grace of Gods limitless power. That paralysis of body and mind need not keep us in bondage when we have the life giving pulsating motion of Gods power at our disposal to surge through our limp bodies, healing, restoring, delivering and liberating completely and wholly.

"When Jesus saw their faith, He said, "friends your sins are forgiven" Faith always attracts God, its magnetic and compelling. It moves Gods Hand, His Heart and His Spirit. Jesus was gobsmacked! Such radical unconventional faith required holistic healing, spiritual healing by the forgiveness of sins and physical healing of the body. While the Pharisees and teachers scoffed at Jesus' pardoning of sins as in their opinion only God reserved the right to forgive sins, here was a man and his friends who through their unflinching faith believed in Jesus. Scripture says only believe! Grace enables us to approach Him as we are. The law condemns, but Jesus pardons. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Romans 8:1). Jesus said to the paralysed man, "Arise, take up your mat and go home" Immediately the man stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God!" Everyone was amazed and gave thanks to God. Jesus calls us to be bold in our prayers and our deeds. Jesus said in Matthew 11:12: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful people lay hold of it." Those who really want something spiritually and "go for it" are the ones who get it. This is true in our own lives and through us in the lives of others. Determination and perseverance tears through walls and roofs if they must, breaks barriers and crosses boundaries, risks everything because it realises that those who take the Kingdom by violent determined force, will lay hold of it! You will encounter Him, He will see your faith and make you whole!