And behold, some men were bringing
on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay
him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd,
they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into
the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins
are forgiven you” (Luke 5:18-20).
Did
you ever notice that the apostle Paul rarely ministered alone? Paul’s epistles often mention entire lists of
co-workers and travelling companions in his apostolic ministry. The Lord Jesus himself made use of co-workers
in his messianic ministry. He appointed
twelve and then seventy to go forth preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He was often with three close companions in
choice moments of his life and ministry.
Just
prior to the passage quoted above, we are told that the power of the Lord was present to heal (v.17) and several men
(four we are told in Mark) carry a paralytic in need of healing to Jesus. These men discerned something, an opportune
moment had come to help their suffering friend – perhaps a once in a lifetime
chance to encounter the Messiah under an open heaven of healing power. What was required of these men, and what
brought about the extraordinary miracle of healing they witnessed? A few simple things – eight strong arms,
perhaps a few hours of time, a common concern, determination, faith, and a kairos or opportune moment.
Let’s
consider the elements of ministry which brought this man to a life-changing
encounter with Jesus.
1. Effective ministry often
requires a team.
As
stated above, even Jesus and Paul engaged many people in the execution of their
ministries. C.H. Spurgeon speaking on
this incident in his message “Carried by Four,” put it this way: “There are
cases that will need the aid of a little band of workers before they will be
fully saved.” If this is so, we do well
to ask ourselves, “Who are my co-workers in ministry?” If we can’t answer this question, we do well
do ask the Lord to help us develop our connection to a team of like-minded
servants of Christ who will enhance our efforts to extend his kingdom.
2.
Effective ministry requires determined commitment.
These
men had a plan of action all put together.
Carry their friend into the house and lay him at Jesus’ feet. There was only one problem – the place was a guzhva (a descriptive Croatian word for
a disorganized, jostling crowd – you know, a guzhva). There was no way to
get in and lots of reasons to give up the entire venture as just a bit of
quixotic folly.
Life
in general and ministry in particular, rarely go the way we envision them. That should be a given. Planning is a great tool, but our limited foreknowledge
makes every plan imperfect in some way.
This means that “one-tries” are at a great disadvantage in accomplishing
anything of significance. (A “one-try”
is someone who tries once and gives up).
Any coach or teacher worth the name trains their disciples to make
determined commitments. This is a key to accomplishment in any endeavor – not a
guarantee, but a pre-requisite. These
men possessed a determined commitment to fulfilling their mission, even to the
point of heading onto the roof, tearing off the tiles, and lowering the man
into Christ’s presence.
Genuine
faith possesses this doggedly determined quality – think of the woman with the
issue of blood who pressed through the crowd, or blind Bartimaeus who refused
to be silenced by the disciples until he got an audience with Jesus, or the
Syro-Phoenecian woman who insisted on deliverance for her demon-possessed
daughter. Genuine faith refuses to be cowed
by obstacles, or even ridicule. There
are always reasons to quit. Faith sees
beyond these to a cherished outcome worthy of the fight. Dabblers never overcome. Sometimes we have to be willing to change our
plans and to tear the tiles off the roof.
The
annals of missionary history are filled with those who possessed a dogged
determination even through unexpected detours – Williams Cary, Adoniram Judson,
Richard Wurmbrand, Mother Theresa. This
is not to mention the biblical pantheon of faith – Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and
others who through faith conquered
kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out
of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight
(Hebrews 11:33-14).
David
Platt in his book Radical writes
perceptively:
Contemporary church-growth
philosophers tell me in magazines, articles, flyers, and gimmicks that to be
effective, we must organize everything we do in no more than six or eight week
segments. Church-goers today want
short-term commitments with long-term benefits.
I am thankful that Christian
history has not always operated on this philosophy. David Brainerd (1718-47) spent years
suffering through loneliness, depression, and pain before he saw God bring
revival among Native Americans in the Northeast. William Carey (1761-1834) stayed committed to
preaching the gospel for seven years before he saw one person saved in
India. John Hyde (1865-1912) wore his
body down through long nights of prayer and fasting in order to see people come
to Christ in one of the hardest mission fields in the world, the Punjab. The examples of Brainerd, Carey, and Hyde
should inspire us to ask, “What if long-term benefits are reserved for
long-term commitments?”
Even the world believes this. Why else would graduating high school seniors
commit, to a minimum, four years and thousands of dollars to further their
education? Why else would law and
medical students suffer through tireless work and grueling schedules? Why else
would musicians practice their instruments day after day, or why else would
athletes train year after year for a sport? People make long-term commitments
all the time out of a desire for long-term benefit (David
Platt, Radical, Multnomah Books, 2010, p. 184-5).
3. Effective ministry requires faith and discernment.
Genuine
faith empowers perseverance. Faith can be defined as a settled conviction
regarding an unseen reality. All true
faith has as its object the saving grace of Jesus Christ. It believes in His dynamic power to save and
to heal, to resolve hard dilemmas.
Genuine faith discerns the moment of opportunity, and seizes the
moment. Despite all that has been said
about perseverance, faith also recognizes how to submit to disappointment
without becoming bitter or deluded by denial.
There is a time to search and a
time to give up (Ecclesiastes 3:6a NIV).
This is a fine line.
Christ
holds our best interest at heart. These
men saw a personal encounter with Christ as the means of healing for their
friend. It is only his dynamic power (dunamis) that can forgive, heal, or
save.
4. Effective ministry requires a
godly purpose.
The
purpose of ministry is to extend the grace of God to others. We, like the four who carried the paralytic,
are privileged to be the means of bringing others into a dynamic encounter with
Christ. This is the purpose of these men
– to show their friend to the kingdom of heaven. It is compassion for him that moves them,
most likely.
We
do well to remember that the purpose of ministry is to serve others by showing
them the compassion of Christ. As we consider the human condition, including
our own, this should come easily, moreso than it actually does. It is Plato who first said, “Be kind, everyone
you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Loss,
pain, grief, need, loneliness, depression, and despair are all around us, even
in those who seem to have everything going for them. Perhaps especially those who seem to have
everything going for them.
As
a boy, I often made the trip to RFK Stadium to watch the old Washington
Senators play. My brothers and I, our
neighborhood friends, and sometimes our Dads would make the 45 minute trip into
D.C. We could sit in the outfield at the sparsely attended games for $1, a
bargain even then. When it was just the
teenagers, we used to have plenty of time to kill. We loved to hang around the
locker room exits after the game. Within forty-five minutes players would
emerge and we would hound them for autographs. All of which I’ve since lost or thrown
away! One summer afternoon we saw the
New York Yankees play. They had a pantheon of stars. We chased them for autographs like a swarm of
bees. Some obliged, some not. Then, the great Mickey Mantle emerged from the
dressing room - every boy’s hero. He
went straight to the bus without signing.
We stood on a ledge and pounded on the window of the team bus. I looked for a moment into the eyes of a
cultural icon. I saw something there that
startled my adolescent mind. Even as a
kid, I recognized some mysterious adult pain in his distant gaze. I just backed off. Anyone who has read about his life knows that
the sport’s great man carried immense emotional and physical pain throughout his
career. This kind of painful journey is true for many celebrities, and quite
often for those in our own circles whom we think “have it made.”
We
each have grace to fight only our own battles.
Passing judgment on how others fight theirs is usually beyond our
gifting. It is Christ who knows our true
burden and our deepest need. He knows
the paralytic’s need is the forgiveness of his sins, a release from his
spiritual prison as well as his physical paralysis.
5. Effective ministry requires a
worthy goal.
It
seems I just said that in the previous point.
Actually, there is a subtle difference between a godly purpose and a
worthy goal. The purpose of our
ministry is to bless others, our goal is to glorify God, not ourselves or our
ministry. After the amazing healing of
this man, Amazement seized them all, and
they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen
extraordinary things today’ (Luke 5:26).
The team’s efforts pointed all to the glory of God.
Serving
God is a team sport. It often requires a
group effort which works together to discern opportune moments, bless suffering
people, and bring glory to God. It
leaves us with the question, who are my teammates and how are we doing?
