The
paralyzed man is this story in Luke 5 could not come to Jesus on his own. He
needed help, and a group of other men took him to Jesus. When the crowd was so
large that they could not get into the house where Jesus was teaching, they
made the arduous effort to climb onto the roof, haul up the paralyzed man, and
cut a hole in the roof to drop the man in front of Jesus.
Faith is
usually the biggest factor in the Gospel accounts of healing. Usually Jesus or
the Gospel writers note the faith of the one asking for healing as the reason
he or she is healed. In this passage, though, Luke is clear that Jesus saw their faith – that is the faith of the
paralytic’s friends. The intercession of others combined with the “power of the
Lord to heal” (vs 17) ultimately led to this man’s healing.
“I will pray
for you” must be more than a polite remark to friends in need. Even when those
struggling are at the end of their faith, Jesus can see and respond to the
faith of others who are working hard to bring their loved ones’ needs to him.
Intercession is powerful. Take some time to pray for someone else today.
No comments:
Post a Comment