Jesus Healing: The Lame Walk

Scripture:

Luke 5:17-26

Quick Summary:

Four friends put the lame man on a cot and carry him to Jesus. When they can’t get into the house, they dig a hole in the roof and lower him in. Jesus heals the lame man while the religious teachers watch.

The Point:

We can carry our friends to Jesus with faith.

Questions for Family Time:

1.     How did the friends help the lame man.

a.      They carried him to Jesus. When they couldn’t get through the door, they went through the roof!

2.     Did Jesus heal him right away?

a.  No, first he forgave his sins. But the teachers didn’t think he could do that.

3.   Did the teachers’ lack of faith keep Jesus from healing the man? 

a.      NO! He healed the man, right before their unbelieving eyes.  

Deeper:

             The man healed is a minor character in this story. He never shows any sign of faith in Jesus nor asks to be healed. In fact, he never speaks. The only time we see him do anything, is when he stands up and carries his mat away. 

The men who carried him are the ones with faith in this story. They carried the body. When the doors and windows of opportunity were closed, they didn’t give up. They dug through the roof and lowered him to Jesus. 

Their faith moved them into action. Their faith was not for their own well-being but for their friend. Have you ever been unable to move, but a friends’ faith, not your own, got you going? Who is that for you? Who is the person who has faith in you? Who carries you when you can’t stand on your own? Who digs through roofs when the doors and windows of opportunity are all shut? Who watches from the roof when your miracle happens? When I went to answer these questions, I thought of my mother. And I hoped that one day, my kids would answer these questions with “my mother.” I hope I am a source of faith in the midst of the doubt. 

But I also know my parents are not the only ones who have carried me. Many, many times it was my church family. A small group sent me notes of encouragement when I was in college and serving my first church. The old ladies brought food when my children were born. The friends my own age  helped me plan outreach events I couldn’t do on my own. In the church, I have found a community that has faith for me in the midst of depression, doubt, and fear. 

There is one more group who takes center stage in this story, though. It’s the haters…the doubters. The religious teachers tell Jesus, “You can’t do that.” After the lame man’s friends did so much work, these teachers say what Jesus did is impossible. Jesus doesn’t have the authority to forgive sins. 

And we all know people like this too, don’t we? People who only see impossibility, never potential. They steal the faith right out of us. But here’s the cool thing about Jesus. The healing of this man did not take place because of the lame man’s faith. It didn’t take place because of the friends who got him there. Jesus healed this man because of the doubt of these teachers.

Often we treat Jesus’ power to perform miracles as solely an effect of the faith present. We think that his power is only as strong as our faith. And as important as it is for us to carry each other, there may be times when we feel surrounded by Rabbis, who say Jesus can’t do it. A miracle can’t happen. All of your cheering section, is stuck on the roof, while the vultures circle around you. But Jesus is there. And no one can weaken Jesus’ power. Jesus has a way of showing them up.  

Personal Reflection:

  Who has faith for you when you can’t move? Who do you have faith for to help them move forward? Do you think God is limited by our faith?

Jesus Heals: Blind Receive Sight

Blind Receive Sight

Scripture:

John 9:1-41

Quick Summary:

On the Sabbath, the disciples see a man blind from birth and ask Jesus whose sin made him blind- his or his parents. Jesus answers their question with “Neither” and then heals him. He mixes up a little mud using the dust from the ground and spit and then sends him to Siloam to remove the dirt and be healed. When the man gets back, he can see. He is brought before the Pharisees. They can’t believe it so they ask his parents to make sure it’s him. The parents say, “Yes its him, but we don’t know anything.” When they find out Jesus healed him, they throw once blind man out of the Synagogue. Then Jesus finds him and he becomes a disciple.

The Point:

There is more than one kind of blindness, but if we want, Jesus can heal them all.

Questions for Family Time:

1.     What kind of blindness did the blind man have?

a.      physical

2.     What kind of blindness did the disciples have?

a.  They thought you could only be blind because of wrong things you have done (sin.)

3.     What kind of blindness did the Pharisees have?

a.      They were blinded by jealousy.

4. What kind of blindness did the blind man’s parents have?

a. They were blinded by fear.

5. Who did Jesus heal.

a. The ones who wanted to be. (blind man and disciples)

Deeper:

             There were a lot of blind people in this story. There was the man blind from birth. He was definitely blind. Physically blind. But one could argue that the disciples were just as blind,

because what they had always believed about faith and morality: suffering equals sin.  After all, when you sin, You suffer. So it makes sense that when you suffer you must have sinned. That way of viewing the world, gave them blindness to the suffering. After all, it was the blinds’ fault they suffered. The disciples were blinded by what the world told them about life. Then Pharisees of course were blind.

They were so blinded by their jealousy and unbelief, that they couldn’t see this as a miracle. Instead, it was crime. They were so blinded by hate, that they kicked a man out of their faith community for telling the truth. And if we are going to talk about the Pharisees, it seems we should also talk about the blindness of the man’s parents because of all the groups, their blindness was probably the most self-inflicted. They were so blinded by fear; they wouldn’t even share what happened to their son.

“Let him get kicked out of the community, but we aren’t taking the risk.”

So What Blinds you? Is it your physical limitations? Is it how you view others who suffer? Is it jealousy? Is it fear? If you were one of the people in the story, who would you be?

I believe Jesus could have healed all of these people, taking their blinders off, and letting them see. But in this story he doesn’t. He only heals those who are ready. The Blind man.  Not only could he look at Jesus. He saw who Jesus really was. For him, both times, it took Jesus coming to him. The Disciples. They start seeing suffering, and more importantly those who suffer, differently. Once they could see suffering as not self-inflicted, they could seek to help those who suffer. It took Jesus to give them a different view of the world.

  

But for the Pharisees, who opposed him, and the parents who were too wrapped up in their stance in society, Jesus doesn’t give them what they don’t want. For the Pharisees, it wasn’t all of them.

We find that they fight at the trial, and then at the end, some of them even become disciples. For the parents, who were hung up on keeping their place in the religious community, there is an interesting twist. Their son ends up losing his place, just as they feared they would, but then he ends up getting a better place, within the community of the Messiah.

Whether it’s your view of the world that keeps you in a rut. Whether it’s something physical that holds you back. Whether its jealousy or hate whether its fear of losing your place in society. Do you want to take the blinder off? Jesus won’t give you what you don’t want, but if you’re ready, he does give sight to the blind.

Personal Reflection:

               What blinds you? Are you ready for Jesus to give you sight.

Spring 2018

In Luke, John the Baptist sent some of his followers to Jesus to ask if him if he was the Messiah. Jesus didn't say a simple yes, but instead asked them to look at his actions. The healing and miracles he performed were to be the sign he was the one the world was waiting for. This semester we are going t to look at each of the signs he pointed them to, and find out who Jesus is.