“Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men”  (Mark 2:3) 

This story is one that has been filled with heartache and struggle. We’re not sure when it began, but obviously, it’s been going on for quite some time. Another smeared life turned upside on the Artist’s canvas. What has happened? 

He’s a paralytic. In other words, his body doesn’t work. No movement in his arms. No strength in his legs. His limbs are dead; useless.  

He’s broken. 

We don’t know how he ended up like this. It could be that he was born this way. Maybe he was dropped on his head as a child. Or perhaps it was the result of a tragic accident later in life. How he arrived here is unknown. He’s just here: paralyzed, dependent, pathetic.  

Jesus—the One who speaks authority over evil, chases sickness away, touches the untouchables—is across town.   

Was there a stirring in the paralytic’s heart to get to Jesus? Were thoughts rushing through his mind of getting to where Christ was? Or, did his friends simply insist that he go? Perhaps he was embarrassed. After all, he can’t feed himself, bathe himself, or go for a walk. He could never get to where Jesus was. Not, on his own. What a pitiful state. Just lie there. It was his sentence. It was his life.  

However, the story doesn’t end there. 

We meet four men. They’re nameless men. 

No titles or position. But they have huge hearts.  

They define the word friendship.  

When the paralytic couldn’t get to where Jesus was, they would take him. What this poor man could not do for himself, they would do for him.  

Matt carriers. That’s who they are.  

Burden bearers. 

The Greek word pheró (fer’-o) can be translated to bring, bear, carry, or carry a burden. That’s what his life had become—a burden. He was a burden not only to himself but to others as well.  

If he were to eat, someone would have to feed him.  

If he were bathed, someone had to wash him.  

A burden. And the burden has become much too heavy. So, they go to the only place they know to go. They bear the burden across town. 

Jesus Was in the House 

Touching Jesus was all that mattered. 

So, they bring him to Jesus. 

You see, if Jesus would touch a leper, certainly He can meet this need. 

If He could banish sickness, disease, and evil . . . then paralysis is no challenge. 

 They’re so desperate for a genuine encounter with Jesus, they’re, willing to do anything to make it happen! Let’s highlight this. It’s an important fact! 

They are so desperate to get to Jesus, they’re willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES. 

Do you know that God absolutely loves it when we’re desperate for Him? Oh, how that blesses Him! Flash forward to Luke 18:35-43. We see this same kind of desperation in the blind man beside the road. He’s so desperate for a genuine encounter with Jesus, he starts shouting, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

He’s an outcast. Just like this paralytic. 

People consider him a freak. Just like this paralytic. 

He’s desperate for wholeness. Just like this paralytic. 

Jesus is so moved by the blind man’s desperation that in spite of all the other things vying for His attention, He stops in front of the blind man and heals him. 

Have you experienced this kind of desperation? Are you so spiritually desperate for a genuine encounter with Jesus that you’re willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to experience Him? 

We’ll pick up here next week . . . Until then, let’s live with this sort of desperation to touch Jesus in our lives. Not only for ourselves; but, for others as well.