“And they came, bringing to him [Jesus] a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘My son, your sins are forgiven.’” (Mk. 2:3-5, ESV)
Jesus sees their faith. The text doesn’t say the faith of the paralytic. The faith of the four men becomes the means for the paralytic to get healed. We don’t know whether the paralytic has faith or not. The text is silent about his spiritual condition. One of the key aspects of this story is their faith. In this context, Jesus responds to the communal faith. The small group of four presents this paralytic perfect in Christ (see Col. 1:28). The four unnamed men place the paralytic in front of Jesus so that he can get healed. Interestingly, rather than being healed physically, he first gets healed spiritually: “Your sins are forgiven.” Then Jesus says to him, “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” (2:11)
The first mention of faith (2:5) in Mark significantly links it with acting rather than with knowing or feeling. We know nothing of the beliefs of the four friends of the paralytic except that they take action, including circumventing crowds and removing roofs to ensure that their charge is brought to Jesus. Faith is first and foremost not knowledge about Jesus but active trust that Jesus is sufficient for one’s deepest and most heartfelt needs.[1]
The four friends take action together. This is biblical fellowship. First of all, they don’t just believe and talk about their faith. They put it into action. Their faith is action-oriented. Second, they don’t merely act out their faith individually. They execute their faith together. Third, when they can’t get near Jesus because of the crowd, they don’t complain or give up. I believe that they discuss about the situation and come up with a solution so that they can accomplish the mission. Fourth, it is not easy to move the paralytic up to the roof and let down the paralytic on his bed. It is hard work. They work hard.
[1] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Leicester: Apollos, 2002), p. 76. This is one of the best commentaries on Mark’s gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment