The paralytic being healed by Jesus is one of the most told Bible event in Sunday School.
I would love to tell you some interesting aspects of this story that I would like you to think about.
When a lot of people tell this story it is boring. Hopefully my account will be reasonably exciting. The first thing to remember is that this story actually took place as an historical event. I want you to think of the many people involved in this story. The first person involved is the paralytic. He obviously believed that if he went to see Jesus that Jesus could heal him. Since he couldn't move and constantly lay on a mat he had to convince four of his friends to get him to where Jesus was.
Now the paralytic has four friends taking him to see Jesus. They come to the house and they see that it is not only packed inside but there are lots of people on the outside trying to listen to what Jesus is saying. I am sure that the paralytic must have been very disappointed. But then one of them comes up with an idea. He says, "We can take him up on the roof, take out part of the roof and lower him to the floor." I can imagine the paralytic saying, "Are you guys nuts. And what if you drop me. I am in bad enough shape already." I am sure that it must have taken some convincing for the paralytic to do this. But now there are the semantics of how to do this. One of them must have said, "I can quickly get some rope." Then another guy must have said, "I have a knife" So they quickly get the rope and start measuring how long it had to be. The paralytic says, "Make sure it is long enough. I don't want to go splat onto house floor." They measure the rope and add some more just to be sure and start. For everyone outside the house they must have wondered what on earth these guys were up to. They carefully get the paralytic up on the roof. Now they have to remove a large portion of the roof in order to get the paralytic down safely.
Jesus was teaching inside the house as they started to remove the roof. Jesus must have gotten a kick out of what these guys were doing. Just imagine this, Jesus is continuing to teach and as he is teaching he starts to see some straw coming down from the roof and a small hole is developing. Then more and more straw is coming down and the hole is getting bigger and bigger. Then Jesus sees these guys hoisting a man on a mat down to the house floor. And I can also imagine what every one was thinking. The house owner would be royally ticked off as these guys are destroying his roof. And initially every one else in the house was wondering what was going on.
Now the paralytic is on the house floor looking up at Jesus. Of course the only thing that the paralytic wants is to be healed. So what is the first thing that Jesus says. He says, "Your sins are forgiven." Now imagine the expression on the paralytic's face. He was hoping to be healed and all that Jesus says to him is that his sins are forgiven. Initially I am sure that the paralytic must have been greatly disappointed. But the expressions on every one elses faces in the house was utter shock. They said to each other "Did you hear what he just said. He said he is God." The only one who can forgive sins is God. The religous leaders in the house must have being going nuts when they heard this. I have heard many people over the years say that Jesus never said he was God. But the truth is that there are many times in the New Testament where Jesus said he was God.
Let's continue with the story. The next thing that Jesus says to the paralytic is, "I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Now I want to tell you why Jesus used the phrase "Son of Man." This was a term that was used in the Old Testament for the coming Messiah. So Jesus has told every one there that he is not only God but that he is the long awaited Messiah.
I also also want you to think of this. When you have been sick for awhile and try to stand up and bend over there is a pretty good chance that you will fall flat on your face. This paralytic has been this way for a long time and yet he was able to stand up without falling down. Another miracle in itself. The other thing I want you to think about is balance. Balance is a learned experience. Think about when you are seeing a child trying to walk for the first time. They always fall down. It was another miracle in itself when the paralytic who has never walked is now able to bend over and pick up his mat and walk out of the house. If I was there I would sure be in awe of Jesus.
If you come across some one who says they are God you immediately peg that person as a lunitic. Now Jesus said he was God a number of times. Either he was a lunatic, a liar or he was telling the truth. Look at all the evidence and you will come to the conclusion that I have, that Jesus Christ is God.